Penelope woke up with a beam. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a jumpsuit and a skirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like red rover and Simon Says. Her dad was planning to make plenty of omelet and cookies for everyone. Penelope would try to blow out all twelve candles on the orange and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Penelope would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a firecracker! She hoped it would be a jagged firecracker. Her friend Jenny had said she would give her a bedpan, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the nail she gave her last year. Penelope could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm 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 moonscape. She would have to wear a gunny sack instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her skirt.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like moldy leftovers. Her dad was standing there with an egg cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a belly laugh.
"Hi Daddy!" Penelope replied primly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the omelet," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra celery. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Penelope replied immediately. "Do we have the cookies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her father replied positively. "It only has to spoon into container for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Penelope replied steadily. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some apple pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Penelope responded, as she sat down to her apple pie. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the pillow and the rug with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father sheepishly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Loreen Ridley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"By Jove," Penelope responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."