Chapter 1: The New Apartment
One cool Saturday morning in May 2019, I met my childhood friends Sarah, James, and Henri at their new apartment in Forest Hills. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. "Can you show me around the new apartment?" I asked. "It looks very nice." "We sure can," James agreed, "and thank you very much." "You're welcome," I replied. "So, you guys live right across the street from the BP gas station on Ardmore Boulevard?" I asked. "It took me a while to get here through Wilkinsburg." "Yes, and we can even pick you up and drive you to the apartment sometimes, if you like," James offered. Sarah, James, and Henri showed me the living room where we will have our discussion groups starting in the fall, the kitchen where most of our meals will be cooked, the bathrooms if I need to go use the bathroom or wash my hands, and the bedrooms that they sleep in. There was even a guest bed in Sarah's room in case I had plans to stay overnight most of the time. The best part of the tour was that Sarah, James, and Henri showed me their new pet cat, which was a gray tabby by the name of Silky. "We adopted that cat from the shelter on Hamilton Avenue," Sarah explained to me. "Just like where Mom adopted Mattie from," I explained. "Are you being nice to Mattie?" Sarah asked me. "Yes, I have been much nicer and better with her," I told Sarah. "Because you know, if you treat our cat like how you used to treat Mattie, you will not be welcome back at our apartment anymore." "Okay, Sarah," I agreed. "I will remember that." We sat down and James cooked us waffles for breakfast, which was one of our favorite breakfast foods. "So, what is it like to live on your own without your parents?" I asked. "It's pretty fun," Henri replied. "Wow, my best friends are really growing up," I stated. "I can't believe that it has been almost 17 years since we met each other, and that was at your parents' wedding in Natrona Heights Presbyterian Church!" "I was just a little girl when I met you guys back then," I remembered. "And, I also don't remember you guys approaching your 30s so quickly! James is already 30 years old and Sarah will be 30 later this year on November 30." "Cool," Sarah remarked. "I will be 30 on the 30th." "You know, this has been our first year since 2006 not living in the city of Pittsburgh," James told me, "since we lived in Natrona Heights." "I was wondering where you guys lived all this time, because I have missed you so much," I stated. "We lived in Squirrel Hill from 2006 to 2012 so we could go to college, then in Shadyside for 3 years, then in Highland Park for a year, then in Oakland for 2 years, then in Shadyside again before moving back here," James explained to me. "Nice," I remarked. I took a bite of my waffles. "Are you going to cook some more meals for us?" I asked James. "You seem to be a pretty good cook." "Thanks," James replied. "I would like you to cook spaghetti and salad like we ate at your middle school and high school honors banquet," Henri stated. "I just love Italian food." "I find it funny how you didn't like much Italian food back then," I stated. "Can we have spaghetti and salad tonight for dinner, James?" Henri asked. "No, Henri," James replied. "We are going out for dinner tonight." "Do you guys still have the ravioli from Alex's birthday dinner at Buca di Beppo?" I asked. "We sure do," Sarah replied. "We ordered some extra ravioli to cook in the microwave at home." "Why didn't we just order spaghetti and meatballs, instead?" Henri asked. "Because I wanted ravioli that night, Henri," James explained. "Carly and her parents ate the spaghetti and meatballs for dinner," Sarah remembered. "I also enjoyed sharing the lasagna with Alex, Justin, and Max," I remembered. "Since Jenna wants us to help volunteer for the Moser-Mifflin girls' monthly slumber parties this summer, we will be rather limited on outings this summer than in the past," Sarah explained. "That's okay, because we already have the ice cream intern as our extra outings," I explained. "And besides, didn't we have fun volunteering for those slumber parties?" "Yes, we did," James replied. We decided to go to Hunan Palace for Chinese food later that evening before taking a drive through Trafford, and then Sarah, James, and Henri drove me back to my mom's apartment in Highland Park. "Thanks for a great day, everyone!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Bye, guys!" "Bye!"
