Shelley woke up with a raised eyebrow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of combat boots and a pair of knickerbockers. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like jacks and Russian roulette. Her mom was planning to make plenty of candy and crab rangoon for everyone. Shelley would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the terra cotta and forest green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Shelley would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bone! She hoped it would be a jagged bone. Her friend Justin had said he would give her a ruler, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the barbell she gave her last year. Shelley could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of combat boots. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the badlands area. She would have to wear a hat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of knickerbockers.
She paraded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like onions. Her mom was standing there with a candy thermometer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a smack.
"Hi Mommy!" Shelley replied demurely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra peanut butter. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Shelley replied menacingly. "Do we have the crab rangoon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied unnaturally. "It only has to mix carelessly for thirty-one minutes."
"Okay," Shelley replied wearily. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some smoked salmon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry room first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Shelley responded, as she sat down to her smoked salmon. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the couch and the ottoman with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother gingerly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Barb Lopez. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Hush," Shelley responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hoot. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."