Chapter 10: A Day at Kennywood Park

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 Kennywood Park for a day of fun and games. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. We jammed out to 98 Degrees and Lizzo prior to our day of fun. Rides we rode included the Sky Rocket, the Thunderbolt, the Phantom's Revenge, the Black Widow, the Pittsburgh Plunge, the Whip, the Spinvasion, the Pirate, the Exterminator, the Racer, the Jack Rabbit, and the carousel. Unfortunately, 2 of the rides we planned to ride, the Musik Express and the Grand Prix, were shut down. We even saw a couple of familiar bands perform in the Fall Fantasy Parade, including the University of Pittsburgh Varsity Marching Band and the Music Support Group Academy of Turtle Creek marching band, in which a few of our clients who are now freshmen, performed in the parade. We sang along to the "Hail to Pitt" national anthem and "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang, in which the Music Support Group Academy's parade song was, which was also a general anthem for Pittsburgh's Perfect Parties. At the end of the day, we got hungry, so Alex, Justin, and Max ate dinner at Parkside Cafe and Sarah, James, and Henri ate dinner with me at my favorite restaurant, the Pagoda. "Wow, what an amazing day that we had, Max!" Henri happily exclaimed. "Thank you for inviting us!" "You are so welcome, Henri," Max happily replied. "It was nice to see my Carnegie Mellon University mentor, Daniel at Customer Service because he helped me get into college prior to high school graduation," James stated. "It would be cool to see the Mercyhurst marching band perform, James," Justin happily stated. "I feel the same way about Carnegie Mellon University, Justin," James agreed. "That same day, we had a birthday dinner for Angel's birthday at Station Square," Sarah continued. "It feels like only yesterday we came here to Kennywood one last time before Angel left for college at Edinboro University," Alex agreed. "In case you guys were wondering, last year had the stage in which we were departing win for August and this year had the stage in which we first met win for August weather-wise." "That's cool, Angel," Alex remarked. "Angel is really fascinated with the weather, Alex," Sarah explained. "I already knew that, Sarah," Alex pointed out. "She has been talking about her theories about the weather with us since we all came together again." "2009 was my senior year and you guys' junior year," I told Alex. "So, kudos to the classes of 2024 and 2025 becoming the new versions of us!" "I was a sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University and James was a senior in 2009," Sarah added. "We lived in the exact same neighborhood that we live in now for 6 years just so we could attend Carnegie Mellon University, and Henri attended high school at Taylor Allderdice." "The sophomores are partially like him this year," I also pointed out. Not to mention, there were other MSG Academy alumni from the McCandless location and not just our clients from Pittsburgh's Perfect Parties involved in the band, but another group of kids who transferred from Freeport to Turtle Creek who were now seniors. "Why is everyone talking about college now?" I asked. "Is college superior to elementary, middle, and high school now?" "Of course it is, Angel," Sarah replied. "Just think, we live closer to our colleges now than our elementary, middle, or high schools," Alex agreed. "High school graduation is considered to be the beginning of the end in a person's life," I pointed out. "Just like the Kennywood Day at the tail end of summer is like the caboose on the train." "This has happened during just about every August since 2012," Alex pointed out. "Just like Semisonic's song 'Closing Time', every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end!" "Yes, it is always sad to see summer end, but it will be back next year," I stated. "Both of James's male friends, Spencer and Justin, are 5 years younger than him. That is a pretty big age difference and seems more like a father-son relationship than a BFF relationship." "So, you are saying that Carly and I have a mother-daughter relationship with Sarah just because we are 3 and 4 years younger than her?" Alex asked. "I am just kidding," I stated. "I am saying that because Sarah and James are not in the same age group as the other group members are, they are more like Mom and Dad to the group." "That's not necessarily true," Sarah stated. "You can be friends with people from any age group, but you are more like an older sister or brother based on age differences rather than a mother or father." "You guys know that I am just kidding around, right?" I asked. "I am glad that we are all friends with each other! Old friends and new friends blend in perfectly together!" Once Kennywood closed, it was time for all of 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!"