Michelle woke up with a power fist. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of moccasins and a pair of socks. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like badminton and leapfrog. Her dad was planning to make plenty of smoked salmon and pancakes for everyone. Michelle would try to blow out all five candles on the polka dotted and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Michelle would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hubcap! She hoped it would be a weird hubcap. Her friend Carolyn had said she would give her a hair brush, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the dollhouse she gave her last year. Michelle 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 moccasins. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mountain. She would have to wear a pair of knickerbockers instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of socks.
She waddled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like eucalyptus. Her dad was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snarl.
"Hi Daddy!" Michelle replied haughtily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the smoked salmon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra mashed potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Michelle replied hastily. "Do we have the pancakes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied sweetly. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for eighty-five minutes."
"Okay," Michelle replied nimbly. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pecan pie 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Michelle responded, as she sat down to her pecan pie. "Let's hang lots of burgundy balloons and cover the billiard table and the counter with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father coldly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Brianna Messina. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Cowabunga," Michelle responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grimace. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."