Drew woke up with a tear. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a poodle skirt and a suit of armor. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like baseball and old maid. Her mom was planning to make plenty of falafel and ice cream for everyone. Drew would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the terra cotta and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Drew would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fossil! She hoped it would be an original fossil. Her friend Saul had said he would give her a flower, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the houseplant she gave her last year. Drew could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her poodle skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the country meadow. She would have to wear a surgical mask instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her suit of armor.
She tiptoed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Avon. Her mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a belch.
"Hi Mommy!" Drew replied confidently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the falafel," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra tomato sauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Drew replied rapidly. "Do we have the ice cream ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied glumly. "It only has to fry for fourteen minutes."
"Okay," Drew replied properly. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some waffles in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Drew responded, as she sat down to her waffles. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the dishwasher and the bookshelf with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother testily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Trixie Funk. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Eeek," Drew responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a raised eyebrow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."