Gina woke up with a simper. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a raincoat and a pair of earmuffs. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like chess and poker. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chicken pot pie and mashed potatoes for everyone. Gina would try to blow out all eight candles on the emerald green and rose cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gina would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a book! She hoped it would be a woven book. Her friend Madalyn had said she would give her a cookbook, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the chain she gave her last year. Gina could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her raincoat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the wasteland. She would have to wear a towel instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of earmuffs.
She slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pencil shavings. Her dad was standing there with a cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snort.
"Hi Daddy!" Gina replied resignedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken pot pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra brown sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gina replied confidently. "Do we have the mashed potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied sarcastically. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for twenty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Gina replied kindly. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom 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," Gina responded, as she sat down to her macaroni. "Let's hang lots of metallic red balloons and cover the table and the stairway with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father glumly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Huong Cosak. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Whoop-dee-doo," Gina responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a smile. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."