Chapter 9: The Camp-In Sleepover
One seasonably warm second Saturday of June 2023, I met up with my childhood friends Sarah, James, and Henri along with some of my other friends Alex Russo, Justin Evans, Max Greenwald, Carly Shay, and Spencer Puckett, as well as Carly's stepdad, Freddie Benson, at Pittsburgh's Perfect Parties client Abigail Carson's apartment in Point Breeze for her Camp-In Sleepover. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. The room looked like a comfortable campground decorated with moon and star shapes out of poster board hanging from the ceiling, teddy bears and stuffed animals used for "wildlife", a cooler for drinks and snacks, and a traditional tent pitched using rope, two chairs, a sheet, books, and other heavy objects. Mess kits and creepy-crawly napkins were included with dinner. While jamming out to Kate Bush and Lizzo, we composed a Childhood Chat in which Nicole Ellis discussed doing a secret handshake in 4th grade in downtown Pittsburgh, Victoria Spurnick discussed telling the truth in 5th grade in East Liberty, Madison Dayley discussed sporting new socks in 2nd grade in the North Side, Brooke Leesaw discussed coloring in 11th grade in Oakland, Jessica Linden discussed doing makeovers in 9th grade in Shadyside, and Sophia Cleng discussed telling a silly story at 12 years old in the South Side. Then, while jamming out to NSYNC and 98 Degrees, we composed another Childhood Chat in which Elizabeth Mosh discussed telling the truth in 5th grade in Bloomfield, Kaitlyn and Colleen Marioni discussed making YouTube videos in 1st grade in Highland Park, Natalie Bay discussed having a party with a bowling theme in 9th grade in Lawrenceville, Rachel Luster discussed taking a selfie in kindergarten in Morningside, Abigail Mifflin discussed using her new duffel bag in 10th grade in Point Breeze, Emily Grey discussed coloring at 10 years old in Regent Square, Brianna Shokoko discussed telling a silly story at 22 years old in Squirrel Hill, and Emma Wallace discussed buying a new stuffed animal at 20 years old in Stanton Heights. The icebreaker game was where Carly and the boys navigated their way from East Liberty to Bloomfield, Alex and the boys navigated their way from Oakland to Regent Square, and Sarah and the boys navigated their way from Squirrel Hill to the South Side. Then, we got started with the Nature Treasure Hunt and Mosquito Bite game, which we played throughout the night. Then, we played some campfire favorite games, including Weird Wildlife Sounds, Mirror, Mirror, and Follow the Ranger. "This is so much fun!" Abigail happily exclaimed. "At least, this company knows the right way to have fun when school is out for summer," Sarah remarked. "What are you talking about again?" Abigail asked. "Remember that birthday party that Sarah and I snuck into as kids when we were not invited?" I asked. "Oh, right," Abigail remembered. "Except Molly's Sweet 16 party was in November, and it was wild and unsupervised," Sarah pointed out. "I thought that the Olympic-themed party that we had for Spencer's birthday on Wednesday was amazing," James stated. "Are you sure that you are not afraid of the dark, Henri?" he then asked his younger brother. "Of course not, James," Henri stated. "Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and we passed out candy to trick-or-treaters in the dark. As a matter of fact, I have an idea about what party I want to host after your Camping Sleepover, and it will be the Completely Creepy Halloween Party, and then Mr. Benson can host the Abracadabra Magic Party." "Are you saying that I get to host the Magic Sleepover this summer, Henri?" Mr. Benson asked. "Yes," Henri replied. "I thought that my Olympic party was amazing," Spencer stated. "Can we have the same s'more brownies that you brought to the picnic last weekend?" Carly asked. "That was my favorite dessert next to Mom and Freddie's wedding cake from years ago." "I can think about bringing it to tomorrow's dinner at Vincent's Pizza Park after the discussion group." "The red, white, and blue sprinkle cookies were my surprise dessert," Carly stated. "We need to talk about healthier foods," Alex stated. "How was your school year going?" Justin asked. "It was awesome," Abigail replied. "How does it feel to be out of middle school now?" Max asked. "Awesome," Abigail replied. "When I am older, I will have to take something called the SATs to determine what college I will get into." "I didn't find my SATs hard or grueling at all because school came naturally to me," Alex explained. "I prefer healthier snacks over the junk food that everyone else is talking about, and that is why Justin, Max, and I served most of the food at the picnic last week." "Aw, I was playing with Samantha last Sunday and she wanted to come and check up on what was going on at Prospect Shelter in Schenley Park," Abigail explained. "Well, she is only 5 years old, much too young for an adult picnic in Schenley Park," I explained. "My friends and I are 14 years old, so we are not exactly old enough, either." Then, it was time for all of us to go to bed. "Thanks for a great evening, guys!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Good night, guys!" "Good night!"