Leslie woke up with a wince. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a Guinea pig costume and a tarboosh. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like red light green light and Snakes and Ladders. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chicken chow mein and tofu for everyone. Leslie would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the pink and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Leslie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a toolbox! She hoped it would be a well worn toolbox. Her friend Justin had said he would give her a billiard ball, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the cigar she gave her last year. Leslie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her Guinea pig costume. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the glen. She would have to wear a gold medal instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her tarboosh.
She galloped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like manure. Her mom was standing there with a pair of tongs in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a raspberry.
"Hi Mommy!" Leslie replied humbly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken chow mein," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra dill pickles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Leslie replied quickly. "Do we have the tofu ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied kindly. "It only has to braise for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," Leslie replied quietly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sauerkraut in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Leslie responded, as she sat down to her sauerkraut. "Let's hang lots of chocolate brown balloons and cover the hamper and the casket with camouflage crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother steadily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Vanessa Sharpe. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Yeehah," Leslie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wrinkled nose. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."