Chapter 5: The Meetings
The next day, I met up with some of my other best friends Alex Russo, Justin Evans, Max Greenwald, and Carly Shay, as well as Carly's parents, Sam and Freddie, at the Pittsburgh's Perfect Parties office in Monroeville after wrapping up a meeting with Sarah, James, and Henri about safety in different situations. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Alex greeted back. There were even chocolate and vanilla cupcakes to eat during the meeting. Rather than Alex, Justin, and Max leading the meeting, our boss, Mrs. Ellis lead the meeting. "How are you guys doing with finding support and services?" Mrs. Ellis asked. "I am doing very well with this job," Carly stated. "This is much cooler than my old job at Macy's in downtown Pittsburgh." "Have you ever thought of getting mentoring services, Carly?" Mrs. Shay asked. "Mentoring services?" Carly asked. "You know, where you have a random boy or girl in Pittsburgh who automatically becomes your friend and often has a lot of younger siblings to look after," Mr. Benson explained. "Sort of like what Jenna and Jill are to me," I explained. "Okay," Carly agreed. "I get it now." "Do you remember the Sobert sisters, Carly?" I asked. "From Rochester, New York?" "Of course I do," Carly replied. "I met them just before my mom and dad get married." "Well, when I went up to school at Edinboro, the youngest sister, Sarah, had a boyfriend named Matt and we looked after his 3 sisters together, who I am sure you guys all know about," I explained. "Because of our love for music, and our inability to participate in regular school, we went to Music Support Group (or MSG) Academy in Freeport," Alex explained. "This made it easier for us to commit to our love for music," Justin explained. "Don't get me wrong," Max chimed in. "We still got to learn regular subjects, too." "I remember taking the SATs as a junior in high school and I had a guidance counselor who could walk me through the basics of the test," Alex explained. "I ended up going to Hiram G. Andrews Center, which is a private school in Johnstown, and then, I went to the University of Pittsburgh for 4 years immediately after that." "I am a bit of a late bloomer, as well," I told everyone. "But, I always had the support and services that I needed!" "But, I must admit that Pittsburgh's Perfect Parties is a very cool job to have," Alex continued. "I was desperate to find a job because I needed more than just social security money, and I found something totally awesome and amazing." After our meeting was over, it was time for all of us to leave. "Thanks for a great day, everyone!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Alex replied. "Bye, guys!" "Bye!"