Jeanette woke up with a power fist. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pith helmet and a bomber jacket. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like hopscotch and baseball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of waffles and candy for everyone. Jeanette would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the red and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jeanette would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cardboard box! She hoped it would be an original cardboard box. Her friend Mario had said he would give her a chess set, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the dish she gave her last year. Jeanette could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pith helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the swamp. She would have to wear a belt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bomber jacket.
She sallied forth downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like something died. Her mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sneeze.
"Hi Mommy!" Jeanette replied flightily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pepper. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jeanette replied nervously. "Do we have the candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied deftly. "It only has to marinate for thirty-five minutes."
"Okay," Jeanette replied awkwardly. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"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 front porch 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," Jeanette responded, as she sat down to her Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of forest green balloons and cover the chair and the catbird seat with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother curiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Chloe Pough. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Swell," Jeanette responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a grin. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."