Maggie woke up with a grunt. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a midi skirt and a thong. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Cootie and seven-up. Her dad was planning to make plenty of ravioli and tofu for everyone. Maggie would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the sparkly and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Maggie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cream puff! She hoped it would be a stuffed cream puff. Her friend Francie had said she would give her a pearl, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the bat she gave her last year. Maggie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her midi skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gully. She would have to wear a set of vampire fangs instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her thong.
She sped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a bouquet. Her dad was standing there with an egg cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snigger.
"Hi Daddy!" Maggie replied woodenly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ravioli," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sauerkraut. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Maggie replied swiftly. "Do we have the tofu ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied briskly. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Maggie replied energetically. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beans in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Maggie responded, as she sat down to her beans. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the coat rack and the desk with turquoise crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Loreen Ackerman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Duh," Maggie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."