😉

"Wakey, wakey, sweet potatey," a soft voice sang.

I sprang up, throwing my fist in the direction of the voice.

"Ouch!" Someone protested. I rubbed my eyes and saw Jason gingerly touching his nose.

"Good morning," I said, stretching luxuriously.

He eyed my outstretched fist. "Keep that thing away from me."

I rolled my eyes and got out of bed.

Jason's eyes stayed glued to my legs, and I looked down. Huh. I have no pants on.

"Where did my pants go?" I furrowed my brow.

He frowned, trying to remember. "I think you threw them at me last night."

Well, that seemed likely.

I climbed out of bed and went to retrieve them from where they were on the floor.

"Maybe you should like, not put any clothes on," Jason suggested.

"Good idea," I said. "I'll just head downstairs now in my underwear."

"I changed my mind," He said.

Smiling, I pulled on a floral shirt and some jean shorts from Katie's area.

"Do you know what today is?" I asked causally, pulling my glossy blonde hair into a ponytail.

"Arbor Day?" He asked.

I shook my head, "Here's a hint, it starts with the letter B."

He thought for a minute. "National Butt Slapping day."

I stepped away from him. "Um, no."

"Darn," He frowned.

Deciding that he would never get it, I came right out and said, "It's my birthday!"

He grinned, "Hey, cool!"

Then he frowned again, "What's a Birthday?"

I frowned as well.

Then he burst out laughing, "Kidding, I know what a birthday is!"

I gave an uneasy laugh, not quite believing him, "We should do something fun."

"What if we go to the dollar store and get you something nice?" He offered.

My face lit up, "Good idea!"

And fifteen minutes later, me, Jason, Kenzie, and Luke walked into the Dollar store.

The store was organized into five huge tables, each with a large number on it. I headed to table One when a creepy old lady stepped in front of me.

She smiled, "Hello ladies, may I assist you?"

I started to say something snappy when Luke interrupted me.

"How are the tables arranged?"

She grinned, "Good question! The tables are arranged by price."

Then she walked away. Finally! I ran to table one and dove into the goodies there.

"Whoa! They have chapstick!" I exclaimed in delight. I grabbed one and smelled it. "Yep, this stuff smells like good quality!"

I poked around some more.

"So what do you want?" Jason asked.

I thought to myself, "I want a brown paper bag."

He said ok and took the bag off the table. Then he brought it to the sales lady.

"One bag, please!" He smiled, and gave her a dollar.

"That will be one dollar and eight cents." She said.

"What?!" Jason said. "But you said it was only one dollar!"

She rolled her eyes, "Plus tax."

"TAX?!" He roared, outraged.

Suddenly I got an idea. I grabbed the bag and shoved it over her head. Then I ran back to table one, snatched another bag, and ran out of the store.

The others followed, and we dashed out of the place as the lady cried out.

What a lovey birthday!