Chapter 1: A Night at the Mistles' House

One cool and rainy Saturday in early September 2017, I drove up with my childhood friends Sarah, James, and Henri to the Mistles' house in East Liberty. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. "Why don't you guys join us for some pizza?" Emily offered. Emily was one of my best friends, along with her older brother, Michael and younger sister, Erin. Emily was eating chicken-pesto pizza, Michael was eating BBQ Yardbird pizza, Erin was eating Farmers' Market pizza, and I, of course, was eating Hawaiian pizza. Emily ordered Sarah, James, and Henri a regular cheese pizza from Pizza Fiesta. "So glad that you guys could come over," Emily happily stated. "Emily and I have been friends since May," I told my friends. "That is 1 whole session." "Yeah, and we were best friends for 15 years," Sarah added. "Wow," Emily remarked. "That long?" "Yes, and it was at Sarah and James's parents' wedding at Natrona Heights Presbyterian Church," I told everyone. "I was so excited to have Sarah as a stepsister," James remembered. "So was I," Henri agreed. "Emily has been working with me ever since I graduated from Edinboro University," I added. "Didn't we have our awards banquet at that exact same church, Sarah?" James asked. "Yes, we did," Sarah replied. "There was no pizza to eat at the banquet," Henri added. "Just spaghetti and salad." "You didn't like salad at the time though, Henri," I pointed out. "Well then, thank goodness there is no salad with this pizza," Henri stated, "even though spaghetti sauce is the same sauce on pizza." "We had another fun activity for you guys to do tonight," Emily told us, "but we won't be able to do it tonight since the weather is not all that great." "What was it?" Sarah asked. "Well Sarah," I explained, "it was a scavenger hunt through Garfield where we had to look for many different things." Instead, I showed Sarah, James, and Henri all the pictures that I took: all three Pittsburgh sports team memorabilia (Pirates, Penguins, and Steelers), a wall mural, a sculpture, a chair or other item saving a parking spot, a restaurant, a tattoo shop, flowers, a bike station, an exercise facility, someone walking their dog, an arcade, a place of worship, a coffee shop, a medical facility or doctor's office, a convenience store, a bank or atm, a bus stop, a pub or bar, and an area with grass or a park. Michael and Erin soon joined us. "Hey guys, what's up?" Michael asked. "Oh nothing much," I replied. "Some of my friends are here." "Would you guys like to play a game?" Erin asked. "We have lots of games that you guys can play." "Do you have Apples to Apples?" James asked. "I love that game." "We sure do," Michael replied. "What is with the graham crackers and chocolate bars?" Henri asked. "We are making s'mores for the kids to eat," Erin told us. "Do you want some?" "No thanks, Erin," I replied. "I baked a key lime pie to share with my friends." "Well, you guys have fun," Emily told me. "I am going to toast some marshmallows in the microwave." Emily left and we started our game of Apples to Apples. I ended up winning the game. After our game, Sarah, James, and Henri drove me back to Mom's apartment. "Thanks for a great evening, guys!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome," Sarah replied. "Bye, guys!" "Bye!"