Hayley woke up with a hiccup. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a beard and a belt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Clue and solitaire. Her mom was planning to make plenty of egg rolls and mashed potatoes for everyone. Hayley would try to blow out all four candles on the forest green and rose cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Hayley would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a banana! She hoped it would be a clean banana. Her friend Dean had said he would give her a fork, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the clipboard she gave her last year. Hayley could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her beard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the circus tent. She would have to wear a coat of mail instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her belt.
She sprinted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a swimming pool. Her mom was standing there with a basting brush in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a twitch.
"Hi Mommy!" Hayley replied deftly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg rolls," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped pecans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Hayley replied sternly. "Do we have the mashed potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied vacantly. "It only has to whirl for thirty-six minutes."
"Okay," Hayley replied curiously. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some clam chowder in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Hayley responded, as she sat down to her clam chowder. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the piano and the bed with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother nicely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lottie Eisley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Mother of peanut butter," Hayley responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."