Chapter 9: Imagery and Piper's Pub
The next morning, I met one of my other best friends, Carly Shay, and her parents, Sam and Freddie, at Pamela's P&G Diner for breakfast. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Carly greeted back. "How is your weekend going?" Mrs. Shay asked. "It's going good," I replied. "What are you going to have to eat?" Mr. Benson asked. "Pancakes, of course," I replied. We then ordered our breakfasts. I ordered blueberry hotcakes, Carly ordered strawberry hotcakes, Mrs. Shay ordered a Belgian waffle, and Mr. Benson ordered Pittsburgh hash. "How have your sessions at Pittsburgh's Perfect Parties going?" Carly asked. "They have been going great," I replied. "I just had to be careful not to stay up all night, so I would still have energy for the fun today." "My favorite snack to eat at a slumber party has always been popcorn, especially at that one sleepover I had for my 14th birthday," Carly stated. "That was Lindsay's favorite snack, too," I pointed out. "Who is Lindsay?" Carly asked. "Lindsay Hutchison," I replied. "She was one of the guests at Jill's slumber parties." "Oh yeah," Carly remembered. "Like the Sea Soiree from last summer. I believe that Jill hosted that, right?" "Yes, she did, Carly," I replied. "You should check out our TV at our house," Mrs. Shay stated. "I like to binge shows on Netflix, like Stranger Things," Mr. Benson stated. "And, I like to play video games on the Wii," Mrs. Shay stated. "I just hope that you two don't fight, like James and Henri did last night," I told Mrs. Shay and Mr. Benson. "What were they fighting about?" Mr. Benson asked. "A theme for their first slumber party at their apartment in Penn Hills," I explained. "When are they moving to Penn Hills?" Mrs. Shay asked. "Who knows?" I asked. "Hopefully, soon!" After breakfast, we met some more of our friends Alex Russo, Justin Evans, and Max Greenwald at the Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill to talk about imagery. "How people see me is very important," Carly stated. "The old saying 'you never get a second chance to make a good first impression' is true. This is based on the way you talk, the way you dress, your body posture, etc." "I need to work on not fighting with my husband, Freddie," Mrs. Shay stated. "We don't fight, Sam," Mr. Benson disagreed. "Not even about what to watch on our TV." "For both of our YouTube channels, we need to make sure that we are well-rested and well-presented," I told Alex. "Do you, Justin, and Max still think that I am annoying?" "The trouble is that you don't have a very good filter, Angel," Alex pointed out to me. "You talk too loud and too much, sometimes." "Just like Alexander Hamilton as a blabbermouth?" I asked. "I don't know what you're talking about, Angel," Alex continued, "but okay." "I also agree that making an impression on people is very important, as well," Justin stated. "If you do something weird or freaky, then that is how the person will perceive you as," Max agreed. "Like when Mom told me not to laugh so much on the street because people would look at me and think that something was wrong with me," I told everyone. "But, it is just my way of showing that I am happy. As they say, you only live once! YOLO!" After our discussion group, Alex, Justin, Max, and I went to Piper's Pub in the South Side for an Irish dinner. I ordered buttermilk fried chicken, Alex ordered the Pub Salad with grilled chicken, Justin ordered the Pub Burger with French fries, and Max ordered the Reuben sandwich with French fries. We even had cheesecake for dessert to celebrate Justin's birthday 2 days early. "I remember a few weeks ago how the last scary movie Alex saw was the movie Beetlejuice back in 2010," Justin stated. "The other day, I found Beetlejuice randomly on Netflix." "I got a new wheelie bag for my birthday, in case I express an interest in traveling," Max stated. "I am glad that I wore my tennis shoes since we would be walking around a lot today," Alex admitted. "But, I cannot always find matching socks." "I cannot always find matching socks either, Alex," I agreed. "Like this morning, for example." I paused for a moment. "Are you sure that you would not want me to make you a craft or anything for your birthday, Justin?" I asked. "No, you don't need to," Justin replied. "But, we're going to Dave and Buster's for my birthday on Tuesday night, if you would like to come." "I will have to wait and see how I feel that day," I replied. After we paid our checks for dinner, Alex, Justin, and Max 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," Alex replied. "Bye, guys!" "Bye!"