On the Sunday before Halloween, after a catfish dinner at my best friend, Carly Shay's apartment in Oakland, my other best friend, Alex Russo agreed to drive me up to the Pittsburgh Glass Center in East Liberty, where Sarah, James, and Henri's Halloween party was taking place. Carly was taking a drive up with her parents Sam and Freddie, while Alex was driving up with her friends from high school, Justin Evans and Max Greenwald. "Let me guess, you are Little Red Riding Hood... again?" I asked Alex. "Yep," Alex replied. "I dress up as Little Red Riding Hood every year. It saves me money so I don't have to buy a Halloween costume every year. Are you a goddess?" she then asked as she noticed my costume. "Yes, Alex," I then told her. "How did you know?" "I believe I saw that costume before my senior year of high school," Alex remembered. "That's because I switch between my medieval princess and goddess costumes every other year," I explained to Alex. "It saves me money, too." "So, what are we going to do at the party, Angel?" Alex asked. "We're going to listen to music, play games, and eat snacks," I explained. "Do you want Sarah and me to teach you and Carly how to play Scrabble?" "Of course," Alex replied. "I love that game. I'm not sure if Carly has played it, though." We then got out of Alex's car and saw more people dressed up in costumes: Justin as Kent Clark from Superman, Max as a Power Ranger, and of course, Carly as her favorite Disney princess, Pocahontas. Carly's parents, Sam and Freddie, even dressed up as "emoji" feelings. We all then went inside the Pittsburgh Glass Center to meet Sarah, James, and Henri, after they were done setting up the party. Of course, my other friends brought along more yummy snacks to eat. The Shays brought along a platter of chips, crackers, and pretzels. Alex brought homemade vanilla cupcakes that she baked herself, as she enjoyed baking cupcakes with me last Sunday. Her friends, Justin and Max, brought delicious chocolate chip cookies with whipped cream in between them. Sarah, James, and Henri were in the conference room waiting to greet us. Sarah was dressed up as Black Widow, James as the Star Trek conscience, and Henri as a space warrior. "Hi, everybody!" I greeted my friends. Sarah then showed Carly, Alex, and me to the main table. We then all got some snacks to eat. "Angel told me that we were going to play Scrabble, Sarah," Alex stated. "Is that true?" "Uh-huh," Sarah agreed. "We sure are, Alex." "I've never played Scrabble before," Carly admitted. "How do you play, Sarah?" "You have to spell out words to get points," Sarah then explained. "It's a fun game, Carly. You'll like it." She then took a drink of her apple cider. "Apple cider," Carly noticed. "I love that drink, too." "Me too," Alex agreed. "What do you guys think of my cupcakes?" I then took a vanilla cupcake. "They're very good, Alex," Carly remarked. Halloween-themed music was playing in the room, as James created a playlist of his all-time favorite Halloween songs. Before we could play games, the 10 of us took a tour around the Pittsburgh Glass Center and saw how glass was made. After our tour, we went back to the party room and continued on with our party. James, Henri, Justin, and Max played Bananagrams, while as promised, Sarah and I taught Carly and Alex how to play Scrabble. Carly's parents, Sam and Freddie just supervised us. "To play Scrabble," Sarah explained, "you each get 7 letters to work with, and you have to create a chain of letters that start different words." "This sounds like a fun game," Carly stated. "I think I am going to like this." "I think I remember playing this game before," Alex stated. "That's good, girls!" Sarah remarked. "I'll go first, then Alex, then Angel, then Carly." Sarah then took her turn at Scrabble. She spelled out the word "read". "It's your turn, Alex," Sarah reminded. She then spelled the word "feed". I then took my turn, and spelled the word "fawn". "You're next, Carly," Sarah reminded. Carly then paused. "This game looks harder than I thought!" She then spelled the word "nap". "Your turn again, Sarah," Carly reminded. Sarah then spelled another word. For a while, Alex was in the lead, until later in the game, when Sarah spelled out more words on the board. "Aw, man," Alex stated when it was her turn again. "You're too good for me, Sarah." "I'm not having any luck so far, Sarah," Carly then admitted. "Neither am I," I then admitted to my best friend. "Look at all the 2-letter words that you can make." We then tried making 2-letter words to help us, except for Carly was struggling because she made things that were not words. In the end, Sarah ended up winning the game. We then checked out the boys playing Bananagrams, which was James's favorite board game, kind of similar to Scrabble. James was helping Justin make good words in Bananagrams, while Henri spotted Max dressed as a Power Ranger, which was one of Henri's favorite Halloween costumes, and Henri pigged out on almost all the chocolate chip cookie and whipped cream sandwiches. Sam and Freddie continued to just sit there in their "emoji" costumes and supervise our party. Us girls then decided to strike up another conversation of our own about our costumes. "Let me guess... is Pocahontas your favorite Disney character, Carly?" Sarah asked Carly. "It sure is, Sarah," Carly then replied. "And my all-time favorite Disney movie, too!" "Angel was telling me how she rotates between her medieval princess and goddess costume every year," Alex told Sarah. "And, Alex told me how she likes to be Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween every year," I then explained to Sarah. "Well, I decided to be Black Widow from The Avengers because that is one of my favorite movies," Sarah told us all. "Well, thanks for coming to the party, girls! It's almost over, and we better clean up!" Alex then volunteered to drive me back to Mom's apartment in Highland Park, while Carly drove back to Oakland with her parents, and Justin and Max, as well. Sarah, James, and Henri then agreed to stay and help clean up the Glass Center. "Wasn't Sarah, James, and Henri's Halloween party fun, Alex?" I asked my friend. "It sure was," Alex agreed. "Sarah seems like a very nice hostess, who knows what she is doing." "I definitely think that you guys and Carly should meet me, Sarah, James, and Henri for other fun events this fall," I then told Alex. "Since they get along with you guys very well." "We'll see, Angel," Alex stated. She then dropped me off at Mom's apartment. "Bye, Alex!" I told my friend. "Happy Halloween!"