Jordan woke up with a shout. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bicycle helmet and a uniform. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like badminton and tennis. Her mom was planning to make plenty of egg rolls and cornbread for everyone. Jordan would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the lavender and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jordan would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tennis racket! She hoped it would be a cotton tennis racket. Her friend Luis had said he would give her a box, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the hammer she gave her last year. Jordan could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bicycle helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the desert. She would have to wear a pair of khakis instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her uniform.
She galumphed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Max Factor. Her mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a wince.
"Hi Mommy!" Jordan replied testily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg rolls," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra blue cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jordan replied stupidly. "Do we have the cornbread ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied tensely. "It only has to blanch for fifty-six minutes."
"Okay," Jordan replied sternly. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Jordan responded, as she sat down to her shrimp. "Let's hang lots of terra cotta balloons and cover the bar stool and the china hutch with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother roughly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Samantha O'Connor. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"By all the saints at the backside door of purgatory," Jordan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."