Chapter 17: All-in-One Invitations

One mild first Saturday of November 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 Samantha Carson's apartment in Point Breeze. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. While jamming out to Kate Bush and Lizzo, we composed a Childhood Chat in which Nicole Ellis discussed eating popcorn in 4th grade in downtown Pittsburgh, Sophia Cleng discussed taking quizzes in 2nd grade in the North Side, Allison Brawner discussed using her night light in 10th grade in Oakland, and Ashley Cassoin discussed spreading gossip in 9th grade in the South Side. "I would like to celebrate Halloween with a trick-or-treat scavenger hunt and caramel apples, and I even kept my Halloween decorations up," Samantha stated. "Then, we will celebrate Thanksgiving with turkey dinner sandwiches and Trim the Turkey, Christmas with stockings, egg nog, holiday cookies, and a gift exchange, New Year's by counting down to midnight, Valentine's Day with cards and cookies, Easter with decorating Easter eggs, and the 4th of July with firecracker popcorn and 4th of July decorations." "Wow, that is a lot of holidays!" Sarah stated. "This is just as exciting as my high school ski trip during the summer," James stated. "But, Sarah helped us out with card games and snacks," Henri remembered. "Plus, my birthday is on Tuesday," Samantha happily stated. "I will be 6 years old." "Like we said last week, your birthday is considered to be a holiday, too," Sarah stated. "Who can forget about the house party that I threw when I came home from my ski trip?" James asked. "That was a fun night," I happily stated. Then, while jamming out to NSYNC and 98 Degrees, we composed another Childhood Chat in which Isabella Black discussed going to bed early in preschool in downtown Pittsburgh, Taylor Paulson discussed watching YouTube videos in 7th grade in East Liberty, Sarah Ching discussed staying comfy in 7th grade in the North Side, Brianna Shokoko discussed taking quizzes her sophomore year at Pitt in Oakland, Jennifer Preager discussed sleeping with her blankie in 11th grade in Shadyside, and Jessica Linden discussed spreading gossip at 20 years old in the South Side. "I cannot wait for all of the fun crafts at the party," Carly stated. "Yes, valentines and Easter eggs sound like a lot of fun," Spencer agreed. "I liked making Easter eggs with Carly when she was in middle school," Mr. Benson stated. "Easter was in March in 2008, and Easter will be in March next year in 2024," I remembered. "I am looking forward to the scavenger hunt and the trim the turkey game," Alex stated. "That was like some of the games we played a few weeks ago at our carnival," Max stated. "I liked going bowling last weekend," Justin stated. "We bowled at Zone 28 a lot to make money for our band trips," Alex stated. "You guys really know how to get your game on," I happily remarked. Then, we went to Target to shop for everything that we needed for Samantha's All-In-One Celebration Sleepover next Saturday. After that, 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!"