Oksana woke up with a death glare. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a dog collar and a fur coat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like blackjack and battleship. Her dad was planning to make plenty of crumb cake and Cheerios for everyone. Oksana would try to blow out all ten candles on the white and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Oksana would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a teacup! She hoped it would be an abnormal teacup. Her friend Patricia had said she would give her a baton, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the elephant tusk she gave her last year. Oksana could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her dog collar. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the landfill. She would have to wear a leotard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her fur coat.
She darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Christian Dior. Her dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a gurgle.
"Hi Daddy!" Oksana replied frenetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crumb cake," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra chocolate chips. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Oksana replied solemnly. "Do we have the Cheerios ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied busily. "It only has to melt for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Oksana replied uneasily. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Swiss cheese 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," Oksana responded, as she sat down to her Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of silver balloons and cover the coffee table and the pillow with camouflage crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father caustically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Janet Champion. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Marvelous," Oksana responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a honk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."