Chapter 1: Shopping and Dinner in the Strip District
The next day, my best friend, Emily Mistle and I, as well as Emily's siblings, Michael and Erin, joined Sarah, James, and Henri, as well as some of my other friends Alex Russo, Justin Evans, and Max Greenwald in the Strip District for shopping and dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Casa Reyna. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. "We just got some ice cream in Klavon's Ice Cream Parlor," James told us. "It's one of our favorite places to get ice cream," Henri chimed in. Alex, Justin, and Max soon arrived. "Sorry we're late, guys," Alex apologized. "I was getting my nails done in Squirrel Hill." "You're not late for anything, Alex," Emily remarked. "The trouble is not that I'm late, guys," Alex explained. "What's wrong, Alex?" Sarah asked. "I can't tell you guys," Alex told us. "Oh, come on, Alex," I encouraged my friend. "We're your best friends. You can tell us anything." "Okay, but do you promise not to laugh at me?" Alex asked. "We would never do that," Sarah remarked. "Now, what's wrong?" "I feel like I'm gaining weight," Alex told us. "Why are you gaining weight?" Sarah asked. "Because I tried on the dress I bought at the Monroeville Mall, and it was a size too small," Alex explained. She sighed. "I've always been a size medium. I've never been a size large before in my life." "What caused the weight gain?" I asked. "Justin, Max, and I have been taking advantage of Rita's in Squirrel Hill giving out free ice cream cones for the first day of spring," Alex explained. "Rita's opened for the season around my birthday," Justin explained. "It is one of our favorite places to get ice cream, just like Klavon's in the Strip District is your favorite place," Max chimed in. "Good thing we got ice cream beforehand, huh, James?" Henri asked. "I'm sorry about all of this, Justin," Max apologized. "Guys, let's just walk around the Strip District on this beautiful, sunny day before we get dinner," I suggested. "We're going to Casa Reyna for dinner," Alex told us. "It's a Mexican restaurant." "We've been to that restaurant before," Sarah stated. "Sometimes after work, we come here. What other restaurants in the Strip District have you been to?" "Well, Sarah, we have been to Luke Wholey's Wild Alaskan Grille and Peppi's Old Tyme Sandwich Shop so far this spring," Alex explained. "There's Roland's Seafood Grill," Justin noticed. "I remember going with you guys there last summer," James remembered. "Let's not forget about Lidia's Italian Restaurant," Max remembered. "I just had Italian food for dinner last night," Henri remarked. "I remember going to Lidia's last fall, too," Erin chimed in. "Yes, guys, the Strip District has so many nice restaurants," Michael told everyone. "But, Angel, Emily, Erin, and I are in the mood for Mexican food!" "Michael!" James exclaimed. "So good to see you again!" "Good to see you too, James," Michael agreed. "Do you have Facebook, Justin?" "No, I don't, Michael," Justin replied. "Otherwise, I would love to be Facebook friends with James like Mrs. Shay is." "I'm still good friends with you, Justin, whether you have Facebook or not," James pointed out. "Alex, don't worry so much about your weight and just have a nice dinner," Sarah encouraged. "Okay, Sarah," Alex agreed. "I'll try to." We got seated at a table in Casa Reyna. "So, how have things been, Sarah?" Alex asked. "I heard that you and Robert got back together again." "Yes, we did, Alex," Sarah replied. "We went to Park Bruges in Highland Park for dinner on Friday night, and then took a walk around the reservoir." The Cuban Overture was playing on the stereo. "This is the song that I reunited with one of my old boyfriends, Benedict over," Sarah remembered. "I know that," Alex remembered, "because you already told me." "Romance is just hard sometimes, isn't it?" Sarah asked. "I had a hard time asking Justin to prom my senior year, but I knew that he always wanted to go with me," Alex remembered. "I wonder what it would be like if Justin and I got married. Do you think it would be like if you and Robert got married?" "I know I will marry somebody eventually," Sarah pointed out, "maybe not Robert." "Oh yeah," I agreed. "Robert and Sarah Cooksey- that would be weird since I knew your last name has always been Phillips!" "Alex Evans?" Alex asked. "That would be weird, too." Pretty soon, our food came. I ordered steak fajitas, Emily ordered shrimp tacos, Michael ordered black bean vegetarian tacos, Erin ordered classic beef tacos, Sarah ordered chicken fajitas, James ordered Cuatro Moles Tradicionales, Henri ordered the Enchiladas Monterrey, A La Parrilla, Alex ordered the La Margarita Salad, Justin ordered beef quesadillas, and Max ordered the Burrito Reynosa with beef. "I can see why you didn't want any appetizers or desserts, Alex," I noticed. "Because you are trying to lose weight in order to get back down to a size medium." "Yeah, those baskets of tortilla chips most Mexican restaurants bring out are so fattening," Alex agreed. "I need something light and easy, like a salad!" "You shouldn't have been going out and eating ice cream every day," Sarah remarked. "It's not healthy for you." "Yeah, Alex," I agreed with my friend. "If you are craving ice cream when the weather gets nicer, try low-fat frozen yogurt instead." I paused for a second. "What are some junky snacks that you guys crave, and some healthy snacks that you guys could substitute?" "I like chocolate chip cookies," Justin stated, "but Fig Newtons are a classic cookie that is yummy and less caloric." "Sarah and I both crave potato chips on occasion," James stated, "but popcorn is a guilty pleasure of mine that is not quite as guilty." "And, I crave pretzels to give me a break from fruits and vegetables," Sarah added. "I love to eat candy bars once a week," Henri stated, "but I realized that granola bars are much less caloric, but still tasty." Henri paused for a second. "What about you, Max?" Henri asked. "What is your junky snack craving and what is something healthy that you could replace it with?" "Well, Henri," Max replied, "I'm glad you asked because I love homemade brownies so much, although I realized that low-fat chocolate pudding is a much healthier way to satisfy my chocolate craving." The song Bolero de Strings played on the stereo. "I think I remember this romantic song playing before our prom," Alex remembered. "Oh, if you want, Sarah, I can e-mail you an autocopy of us playing the Cuban Overture in jazz band." "Sure, Alex," Sarah agreed. "I would love that." "Can you also do me another favor?" Alex asked. "Can you go with me to Monroeville Mall to return the dress and shoes I bought for at least a bigger size since I am off from work on Tuesday?" "I can go with you after I am finished with work," Sarah agreed. "Let's go home, guys," I told Emily, Michael, and Erin. "All this talk of food and healthy snacks is making me hungry, and I am sure that Michael has some healthy snacks for us to eat in the car on the way home." The Mistles drove me back to 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!"