Faye woke up with a beam. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a trench coat and a camisole. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and musical chairs. Her mom was planning to make plenty of refried beans and oatmeal for everyone. Faye would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the terra cotta and jet black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Faye would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a rubber chicken! She hoped it would be a disgusting rubber chicken. Her friend Norman had said he would give her a towel, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the business card she gave her last year. Faye could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her trench coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the briar patch. She would have to wear a beanie instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her camisole.
She dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like onions. Her mom was standing there with a potato masher in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a chuckle.
"Hi Mommy!" Faye replied suavely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the refried beans," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Cheerios. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Faye replied defiantly. "Do we have the oatmeal ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied sadly. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Faye replied curiously. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cinnamon toast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Faye responded, as she sat down to her cinnamon toast. "Let's hang lots of peach balloons and cover the pillow and the china cabinet with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother smoothly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Faye Haddad. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Sure," Faye responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."