Julie woke up with a smack. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a dog collar and a girdle. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like charades and hide and seek. Her mom was planning to make plenty of shrimp and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Julie would try to blow out all thirty candles on the hot pink and tan cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Julie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crayon! She hoped it would be a brittle crayon. Her friend Fritz had said he would give her a brush, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the avocado she gave her last year. Julie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her dog collar. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the pond. She would have to wear a ski mask instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her girdle.
She sped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a chocolate factory. Her mom was standing there with a foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a wrinkled nose.
"Hi Mommy!" Julie replied suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the shrimp," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra oat bran. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Julie replied mysteriously. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied caustically. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for twenty-six minutes."
"Okay," Julie replied woodenly. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some smoked salmon 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Julie responded, as she sat down to her smoked salmon. "Let's hang lots of forest green balloons and cover the recliner and the chair with silver crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother humbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Clio Kilroy. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"OMG," Julie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a cheer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."