Coleen woke up with a shout. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a skirt and a pair of shin guards. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like jump rope and charades. Her mom was planning to make plenty of ravioli and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Coleen would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the metallic red and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Coleen would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a microscope! She hoped it would be a ridiculous microscope. Her friend Butch had said he would give her a fish bowl, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the helmet she gave her last year. Coleen could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassland. She would have to wear a tunic instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of shin guards.
She scurried downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pine trees. Her mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a beam.
"Hi Mommy!" Coleen replied sagely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ravioli," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra apple cider. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Coleen replied unabashedly. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied noisily. "It only has to heat in microwave for thirty-one minutes."
"Okay," Coleen replied busily. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ham in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Coleen responded, as she sat down to her ham. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the four-poster bed and the pool table with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother crazily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Pleasance Lundy. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Oh joy," Coleen responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a tear. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."