Bria woke up with a raised eyebrow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a fur coat and a T-shirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Candy Land and cribbage. Her dad was planning to make plenty of clam chowder and Hamburger Helper for everyone. Bria would try to blow out all five candles on the metallic red and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bria would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an amulet! She hoped it would be a fresh amulet. Her friend Constance had said she would give her a spider, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the ingot of plutonium she gave her last year. Bria could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her fur coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the dumpster. She would have to wear a gladiator helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her T-shirt.
She darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cheap cologne. Her dad was standing there with a food processor in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a blush.
"Hi Daddy!" Bria replied kindly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the clam chowder," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra lemon juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bria replied rapidly. "Do we have the Hamburger Helper ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied gently. "It only has to roast for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Bria replied glumly. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fondue in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Bria responded, as she sat down to her fondue. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the bench and the nightstand with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mim Stoker. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Phew," Bria responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with an evil eye. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."