Chapter 5: Christmas at Station Square
The next day, I met up with Sarah, James, and Henri, as well as some of my other best friends Alex Russo, Justin Evans, and Max Greenwald, at the Hard Rock Cafe in Station Square for a Christmas party. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. There were candy canes at our tables as well as a big Christmas tree and classic rock music videos playing on the TV. "It was stressful to find a place to host the Christmas party this year, especially since we moved into our own condominium this year," Alex told us. "It was like my birthday all over again!" "Not to mention, had dance anthems by 98 Degrees and Santana," I added. "I don't really know if that has anything to do with it, Angel," Alex told me. "What are you thinking about ordering to eat, Sarah?" she then asked. "I think that since you're ordering a grilled chicken Caesar salad, I may order one, too, Alex," Sarah replied. "I am ordering grilled chicken, too," I told my friends. "Except as a sandwich instead of a salad." "I was trying to find an extra-special restaurant especially because of the coronavirus restrictions," Alex told us, "but I failed." "Oh, you didn't fail," Sarah encouraged Alex. "You just had bad luck. I mean, you can't go wrong with the Hard Rock!" "The Grand Concourse would have been a nice place to go for Sunday brunch, too," I stated. "Especially since that was where my birthday dinner took place and I had a delicious chicken parmesan dinner along with a birthday sundae to share with you. Don't you remember?" "That will give us something to do for one of our birthdays in the spring!" Alex happily exclaimed. "Are you going to have a bacon cheeseburger, James?" Justin asked. "Because that is what I am having to eat." "Of course, Justin," James asked. "That is one of my favorite things to eat here, along with their seasoned fries." "I gotta try the pulled pork sandwich, Max," Henri stated. "Especially since you are having it, too." "Sounds good, Henri," Max agreed. "Sometimes, I just wish that we could skip winter and go straight to spring and summer already," Alex told us. "That's how I felt during my first year at Hiram G. Andrews Center when I wanted to meet up with my high school friends one last time over the summer, and when it finally happened, I was super excited because I got to ride all of the rides and feel all of the excitement for one last time before Angel and I went to real college, even though Angel started in the fall and I started in the spring." Pretty soon, our meals came and we began to talk some more as we ate dinner. We played some holiday icebreaker games like Would You Rather? and renaming famous holiday songs. But, our favorite part of the meal was the dual Childhood Chat, in which Jennifer Preager discussed a secret handshake in Hampton Township and Abigail Mifflin discussed going to bed early that same night. Elizabeth Mosh discussed sleeping in total darkness in Westmoreland County and Sarah Ching discussed taking her selfie that same night. Kaitlyn and Colleen Marioni discussed telling a silly story in the southern suburbs and Jessica Linden discussed doing makeovers that same night. Natalie Bay discussed using her new stuffed animal in Ross Township and Sophia Cleng discussed telling the same silly story that same night. Samantha Mifflin and Julia Robison discussed pulling pranks on each other in the northern suburbs during that same night. "Well, we have just learned that the younger one is almost always the active one," I stated. "So, when we get back to the condo, are you suggesting that I go to sleep while you do something active?" Sarah asked. "I guess that is the case," Alex replied. Then, we had our gift exchange and ate cake for dessert. Then, when the party was over, it was time for us to go home. "Thanks for a great day, everyone!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Good night, guys!" "Good night!"