Read the following story. Then summarize it using the rules for writing a good summary. Lexie woke up excitedly on the morning of her 16th birthday. She was beaming when she came downstairs for breakfast, expecting to find her favorite chocolate chip pancakes. Instead, all she got was a note from her mother. The note said that her mother had to leave for an early-morning meeting. Lexie grumpily poured herself a bowl of cereal. This was not how she’d expected her birthday to begin.

Still, Lexie was looking forward to going to school. She was sure her friends had planned something special for her. They always did! But Lexie’s heart dropped when she got to school. None of her friends even wished her a happy birthday. They just rushed off to their classes as soon as she approached them in the hallway. She thought to herself sarcastically, “Happy birthday, Lex. Best birthday ever.” Then she sighed and went off to her algebra class.

The algebra teacher, Mrs. Fields, was one of Lexie’s favorite teachers. She thought, “Surely, Mrs. Fields will remember my birthday. She has the entire class sing for everyone’s birthday.” As luck would have it, Mrs. Fields didn’t remember her birthday either. Lexie did all she could to control her emotions, but she felt like crying. She was relieved when school ended for the day. Usually Lexie hung out with her friends after school, but today she couldn’t find any of them. “Great,” she thought. “They’ve ditched me on my birthday. This day can’t get any worse.”

Lexie couldn’t wait to just go home and take a nap. She was surprised to find some strange noises coming from her house as she approached it. As she slowly opened the front door, her mother and Mrs. Fields jumped up shouting, “Surprise!” All her friends and classmates were there too. Lexie was thrilled to realize they hadn’t forgotten her birthday after all. She thanked everyone and thought to herself, “Now this is more like it!”