Chapter 5: Carnival Invitations
One cool, rainy fourth Saturday of September 2023, I met up with my childhood friends Sarah, James, and Henri along with some of my other best 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 Hannah Carson's apartment in Point Breeze. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. We jammed out to Kate Bush, Lizzo, NSYNC, and 98 Degrees just prior to the start of the shift. Hannah was making ticket invitations to her Carnival Fun Night Sleepover in 2 weeks. "Yikes! Are you girls okay?" Hannah asked us. "We're fine, Hannah," I replied. "We just got injured from some last-minute summer fun." "I have been in not 1, but 2 car accidents this summer," James explained. "It makes me mad because this is my favorite BMW that I have had ever since I was a teenager." "I loved James's birthday party in Cheswick at the car dealer and the now-extinct Pizza Hut," Sarah continued. "Not to mention, I kept changing hairstyles that day." "You were probably just bored of the rain and needed something to do," I pointed out. "I hate the rain," Hannah glumly stated. "Everything is just so dark and gray." "I even wore black for my outfit today to blend into the all-black environment," Henri stated. "Just like as students blending into an all-black environment." "The good news is I get my boot off on October 10, just 3 days after your party," I told Hannah. "I ran away from disgusting lantern bugs in the Waterfront." "I get my cast off on the day of the party," Carly happily stated. "So, that is something to look forward to!" "Does your school have a carnival every fall?" Spencer asked. "No, but I wish we did," Hannah replied. "When that mean guy, Nevel, was on the Highlands School Board, he would never let people have fall carnivals or anything fun," Mr. Benson pointed out. "I went to Homecoming at Taylor Allderdice, and it was a lot of fun!" Hannah exclaimed. "Guess who won Homecoming Queen?" "Who?" Sarah asked. "Madison Dayley!" Hannah happily exclaimed. "Congratulations!" I exclaimed. "I remember that she was involved in the Dual Childhood Chat with Taylor Paulson in the western suburbs, and also all 3 Mifflin girls were involved in the Dual Childhood Chat, Abigail with her best friend, Jessica Linden in the northern suburbs, Hannah with Julia Robison in the southern suburbs, and Samantha with Grace Luster in Hampton Township." "Madison and all of her best friends were on the Homecoming Court, but Madison was the most well-known of the group, so therefore she won," Hannah explained to us. "Speaking of carnivals and fall fun, I have an idea for a program that I can host for next summer," Alex stated. "It was something that I did when I was in high school between my junior and senior years of high school, and it is a weekly camp program at Kennywood and Sandcastle where we get to ride rides and do other activities in the Waterfront area. Munhall will be the main site!" "That's a great idea, Alex," Justin agreed. "I would love to host a program like that!" Max agreed. Alex sighed. "Why did I have to break my ankle on the last weekend of summer?" Alex asked. "I miss going to Kennywood and Sandcastle every week, and my last day at Sandcastle was ruined when some rude guy stepped on and twisted my ankle as I was ducking a wave at the wave pool. Maybe, I shouldn't swim in the wave pool at Sandcastle anymore." "Why, Alex?" I asked. "You just have to be more careful, that's all." "No, I am just kidding," Alex replied. "I love the wave pool. I just feel bad that this happened to me 2 years in a row with the second injury being worse than the first." "On this rainy day, I am just going to talk about Favorite Things and get new hair accessories, and Jill is going to play some Flashlight Games in the dark," Hannah told us. When Hannah was done making her invitations, she delivered them to her friends Ashley, Kaitlyn and Colleen, and Beth. Then, it was time for all of us to go home for the day. "Thanks for a great day, everyone!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Good night, guys!" "Good night!"