Sandi woke up with a finger gun. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of tights and a jumpsuit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like trivia and red light green light. Her dad was planning to make plenty of Cheerios and ramen noodles for everyone. Sandi would try to blow out all nine candles on the hot pink and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sandi would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bell! She hoped it would be a speckled bell. Her friend Celeste had said she would give her a cotton ball, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the spinning wheel she gave her last year. Sandi could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of tights. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the stream. She would have to wear a hoop skirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her jumpsuit.
She went downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like creosote. Her dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a finger gun.
"Hi Daddy!" Sandi replied boisterously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Cheerios," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra lemon juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sandi replied suavely. "Do we have the ramen noodles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied diligently. "It only has to simmer for fourteen minutes."
"Okay," Sandi replied courteously. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cornbread in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium 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," Sandi responded, as she sat down to her cornbread. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the bar stool and the cushion with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father fervently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Cassie Nolan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Loopers," Sandi responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."