Maggie woke up with a smirk. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of nylons and a cat suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like marbles and badminton. Her dad was planning to make plenty of ham and lobster for everyone. Maggie would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the crimson and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Maggie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a box of candy! She hoped it would be a golden box of candy. Her friend Gabriela had said she would give her a bicycle, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the flower she gave her last year. Maggie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of nylons. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cliff. She would have to wear a Hawaiian shirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cat suit.
She lumbered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like oregano. Her dad was standing there with a strainer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a squint.
"Hi Daddy!" Maggie replied pitifully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ham," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra blue cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Maggie replied ferociously. "Do we have the lobster ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied narrowly. "It only has to age for thirty-three minutes."
"Okay," Maggie replied offhandedly. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hamburgers in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool room 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 hamburgers. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the buffet and the table with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father anxiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Madison Tyson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a strainer."
"Judas Priest," Maggie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."