Pearl woke up with a glare. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a jumpsuit and a pair of Reeboks. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like bridge and chess. Her dad was planning to make plenty of enchiladas and cotton candy for everyone. Pearl would try to blow out all three candles on the olive green and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Pearl would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a peanut! She hoped it would be a curved peanut. Her friend Hannah had said she would give her a bullet, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the feather duster she gave her last year. Pearl 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 jumpsuit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the battlefield. She would have to wear a romper instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of Reeboks.
She sailed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a candle shop. Her dad was standing there with a napkin in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a growl.
"Hi Daddy!" Pearl replied lamely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the enchiladas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cheddar cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Pearl replied awkwardly. "Do we have the cotton candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied elatedly. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for twenty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Pearl replied fervently. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried chicken in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Pearl responded, as she sat down to her fried chicken. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the stool and the buffet with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father admiringly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ida Kollmorgen. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Son of a gun," Pearl responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snigger. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."