Chapter 2: Thanksgiving Weekend
The last Saturday of November 2018 was milder when I met my childhood friends Sarah, James, and Henri at their apartment in Shadyside, along with one of my other best friends, Carly Shay and her parents, Sam and Freddie. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. "What are we doing today?" Carly asked. "Today, we are going to draw a few pictures from our Thanksgiving week," Sarah instructed. "How are you enjoying your new job, James?" Mrs. Shay asked. "It's going great, Mrs. Shay," James asked. "Thanks for asking!" "It was getting harder for us to commute to Wexford, so that was why we switched jobs," Henri told Mr. Benson. "I can see why," Mr. Benson pointed out. After we ate pancakes for breakfast, we began drawing our pictures. "Do you want to play Picture Charades with me, Carly?" Sarah asked. "I would love to, Sarah," Carly replied. "I want to play, too," I replied. Sarah drew a bag with little corn kernels coming out of the bag. "I know what that is," I pointed out. "It's popcorn." "Good guess, Angel," Sarah stated. "I helped make popcorn on Monday morning." Sarah drew a lunch package, with turkey and cheese on crackers and Oreos, as well as a drink. "I don't know what that is," I stated. "Could it be Lunchables?" Carly guessed. "Right, Carly," Sarah agreed. "I made Lunchables last Tuesday, and that is exactly what I ate." Sarah drew her next picture, which was round and had pepperoni, olives, green peppers, and pineapple on top. "Yum, that looks like pizza," I guessed. "We made that on Wednesday before work," Sarah explained. Next, Sarah drew green beans in a bowl with cream sauce and mushrooms on top. "Yum, it's green bean casserole," Carly stated. "One of my favorites." "Yes, and that is what I cooked for Thanksgiving," Sarah admitted. "I can draw one more picture." Sarah drew what looked like a cherry pie. "Is that cherry pie?" I guessed. "It sure is," Sarah agreed. "One of my favorite pies to cook... besides pumpkin!" James and Henri also presented their Thanksgiving dishes, which were sweet potato casserole and pecan pie. "Did you guys have any of this for your Thanksgiving dinner?" James asked. "We went to a buffet dinner at Lidia's in the Strip District," Mrs. Shay explained. "That sounds yummy," Henri stated. "What all did you have to eat?" "Foods like turkey, mashed potatoes, fish, pasta, macaroni and cheese, French fries, chicken tenders, stuffing, soup, shrimp, cookies, pie, cake, and prime rib," Mr. Benson replied. "Mmm, that sure is a lot of food!" Henri exclaimed, licking his lips. "Getting a new job and doing it right takes a lot of practice," James told us. "Even when I was a teenager, I learned how to juggle balls in the air, and I didn't give up." "We are also very grateful that Angel is able to help us make all the food and get to work on time, as well," Sarah stated. "That's very nice of you to say, Sarah," I kindly remarked. We also played shadow puppets and worked on designs for T-shirts. Later that night, we went to Carly's relatives' house in Polish Hill for a special dinner after looking at some of the stores in Polish Hill. Dinner was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, biscuits, and chicken sandwiches. "This looks a lot like KFC food!" Carly remarked. "I was so glad to eat it for dinner again the weekend after the fall festival was over, since my Saturday dinners were pretty much booked back then." After dinner was over, 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!"