Carmen woke up with an evil eye. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a Hawaiian shirt and a lab coat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like badminton and Rummy. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cookies and pizza for everyone. Carmen would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the olive green and camouflage cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Carmen would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a helmet! She hoped it would be a slimy helmet. Her friend Ethel had said she would give her a flashlight, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the coat hanger she gave her last year. Carmen could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her Hawaiian shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cesspool. She would have to wear a surgical mask instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her lab coat.
She swaggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like buttermilk. Her dad was standing there with a cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a coo.
"Hi Daddy!" Carmen replied positively. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cookies," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra frankfurters. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Carmen replied firmly. "Do we have the pizza ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied haughtily. "It only has to melt for eighty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Carmen replied furiously. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sauerkraut in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Carmen responded, as she sat down to her sauerkraut. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the ironing board and the toilet with sea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father ingeniously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lottie Madison. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Criminy," Carmen responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."