Melissa woke up with a shiver. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a ring and a diamond bracelet. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like chess and Snakes and Ladders. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chicken chow mein and sushi for everyone. Melissa would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the brown and rose cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Melissa would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of beer! She hoped it would be a mechanical can of beer. Her friend Brett had said he would give her a curling iron, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the flash drive she gave her last year. Melissa could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her ring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the island. She would have to wear a pair of cargo pants instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her diamond bracelet.
She flounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cherry pie. Her mom was standing there with a cookie cutter in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a blush.
"Hi Mommy!" Melissa replied miserably. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken chow mein," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra bananas. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Melissa replied sourly. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied needlessly. "It only has to simmer for eighty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Melissa replied happily. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Swiss cheese 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," Melissa responded, as she sat down to her Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of jade balloons and cover the display case and the china hutch with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother merrily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Connie Maxwell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Good gracious," Melissa responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."