Kelley woke up with an air kiss. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a hoodie and a set of football pads. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like Simon Says and Parcheesi. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chicken soup and lamb curry for everyone. Kelley would try to blow out all eleven candles on the orange and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kelley would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a handkerchief! She hoped it would be a dusty handkerchief. Her friend Harold had said he would give her a cane, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the joint she gave her last year. Kelley could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her hoodie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the creek. She would have to wear a balaclava instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of football pads.
She skidded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rose petals. Her mom was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a dope slap.
"Hi Mommy!" Kelley replied miserably. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken soup," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kelley replied hungrily. "Do we have the lamb curry ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied ingeniously. "It only has to slow cook for thirty-three minutes."
"Okay," Kelley replied humbly. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lasagna in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the family room first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Kelley responded, as she sat down to her lasagna. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the bookcase with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother nimbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Loretta Cruz. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Verily," Kelley responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a squint. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."