Bailey woke up with a grunt. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of khakis and a smartwatch. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like hearts and leapfrog. Her mom was planning to make plenty of scrambled eggs and ceviche for everyone. Bailey would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the fuchsia and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bailey would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sponge! She hoped it would be a chic sponge. Her friend Horace had said he would give her a radio, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the plaque she gave her last year. Bailey could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of khakis. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the moonscape. She would have to wear a name tag instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her smartwatch.
She ran downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a stable. Her mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a furrowed brow.
"Hi Mommy!" Bailey replied shakily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the scrambled eggs," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra bananas. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bailey replied fiercely. "Do we have the ceviche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied happily. "It only has to spread into container for sixty-one minutes."
"Okay," Bailey replied valiantly. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken chow mein in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Bailey responded, as she sat down to her chicken chow mein. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the coat rack and the ping-pong table with brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother humbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Beulah Findley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Say what," Bailey responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."