Nelly woke up with a snigger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bedsheet and a pair of briefs. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like golf and crazy eights. Her mom was planning to make plenty of hash and crumb cake for everyone. Nelly would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the brilliant orange and magenta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nelly would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a boomerang! She hoped it would be a gross boomerang. Her friend Bix had said he would give her a clock, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the feather duster she gave her last year. Nelly could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bedsheet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the savanna. She would have to wear a pair of UGGs instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of briefs.
She blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like dill pickles. Her mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a jeer.
"Hi Mommy!" Nelly replied dolefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hash," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra watercress. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nelly replied boldly. "Do we have the crumb cake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied unexpectedly. "It only has to shake for thirty-one minutes."
"Okay," Nelly replied mysteriously. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cookies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Nelly responded, as she sat down to her cookies. "Let's hang lots of aqua balloons and cover the four-poster bed and the display case with sparkly crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother dolefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Brianna Zedong. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Far out, man," Nelly responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a smack. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."