Megan woke up with a sniffle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a polo shirt and a derby. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like bridge and Monopoly. Her mom was planning to make plenty of tofu and ramen noodles for everyone. Megan would try to blow out all six candles on the mauve and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Megan would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crayon! She hoped it would be a filthy crayon. Her friend Jason had said he would give her a clock, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the sea shell she gave her last year. Megan could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her polo shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the oasis. She would have to wear a wristwatch instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her derby.
She crawled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peppermint. Her mom was standing there with a chopstick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snarl.
"Hi Mommy!" Megan replied positively. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tofu," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra red cabbage. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Megan replied curiously. "Do we have the ramen noodles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied testily. "It only has to broil for fifty-five minutes."
"Okay," Megan replied blissfully. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some country glazed ham in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Megan responded, as she sat down to her country glazed ham. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the table and the overstuffed chair with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother gracefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Rhoda Irons. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Huzzah," Megan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."