Chapter 6: Frightful Invitations
One chilly third Saturday of October 2020, I met up with my childhood friends Sarah, James, and Henri at Pittsburgh's Perfect Parties client Lauren Bennett's house in Cheswick. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. Lauren was making her Creepy Crawly Invitations for her Fear Factor Fun Sleepover in 2 weeks while we ate pancakes for breakfast. They were made out of cardboard tubes, tissue paper, and toy bugs to set the tone. "I don't like bugs," I told my friends. "They scare me." "They're one of the particular reasons why I am not a fan of summer," Sarah explained. "Well, summer is still my favorite season, anyway," James stated. "Wait a minute... bugs are still around in the fall?" Henri asked. "Of course, Henri," James replied. "They are around all year round." "What really annoys me is how I keep getting bug bites on my sweet little face," I told my friends. "I have to keep putting cover-up makeup on in order to cover them up." "I wonder if my old girlfriend, Sybil liked bugs and other scary things back in high school," James stated. "That is probably one of the reasons why she broke up with you, James," Sarah explained. "And Angel, I don't think those are bug bites," Sarah told me. "It is probably just dry skin that causes bumps on your face." "Those are still very painful to get," James agreed. "Imagine School Picture Day a while ago when you and Henri helped Sarah and me out. We would have been freaking out if we got even one little pimple or bug bite on our face." "That is often why we have makeup," Sarah explained. "Tell me about it," Lauren stated. "I am an 11-year-old girl going through puberty, and it includes things like oilier skin and having a sweatier body." "How would you guys like to participate in Childhood Chat with me once our shift is over?" I asked my friends. "Sure," Sarah replied. "We can do that." After we ate cobb salad for lunch, we helped Lauren deliver the invitations to her 4 guests Fiona, India, Juliet, and Emily, who was one of our clients. Emily Grey talked about her favorite activities in the spring and summer of 2010 in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Grace Luster talked about her favorite activities in the spring and summer of 2011 in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Madison Dayley talked about her favorite activities in the spring and summer of 2012 in the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Jennifer Preager talked about her favorite activities in the spring and summer of 2014 in the western suburbs of Pittsburgh, and Jessica Linden talked about her favorite activities in the spring and summer of 2015 in the city of Pittsburgh. Then, we ate potatoes for dinner while interviewing more clients together. After our shift was over, Sarah, James, and Henri drove me to my old house on Carlisle Street in Natrona Heights. "Thanks for a great day, everyone!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Bye, guys!" "Bye!"