Chapter 3: An Art Presentation at the Frick Museum
One cold third Saturday of January 2024, 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 the Frick Museum in Point Breeze for a presentation on art. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. We jammed out to our usual music of Kate Bush, Lizzo, NSYNC, and 98 Degrees along with a song or two from the SiriusXM radio station Pop2K. Prior to the presentation, we looked around at some different exhibits in the museum. "Can you believe how cold it is today?" I asked my friends. "No, I can't," Sarah stated. "I am looking forward to warmer weather next week." "So am I," James stated. "I am, too," Henri stated. "I was hoping that this winter would not be a repeat of when we first became friends and especially not when we reunited for the first time," I told my friends. "The more comfortable I am with you guys, the warmer the weather pattern will be!" "I don't know about that, but the baseball game at my high school was a lot of fun," James stated. "I just realized that the majority of us have spring birthdays, and Sarah is the lone person with a birthday in the second half of the year," I told everyone. "Since we are talking about spring, sometimes, it can get very hot in the spring so early." "Yes, the time when we helped sell lemonade was super cool," James stated. "I did not think that it was super cool," Sarah stated. "I just stayed inside doing my geography homework." "Kudos to us for thinking warm thoughts on a cold winter day," I pointed out. "Speaking of warm thoughts, I did an awesome project about photosynthesis in middle school," Carly happily stated. "That was a fun project!" Mr. Benson agreed. "I had the exact same project a year earlier," Spencer added. "Justin and I have very exciting news for you guys," Alex happily stated. "We are getting married!" "What?" we all exclaimed. "No, we are just kidding," Alex stated. "But, Justin and I are applying for Brass and Woodwind Instructors for the Music Support Group Varsity Marching Band in Turtle Creek!" "I get to be a brass instructor to some incoming freshmen who applied at the school," Justin added. "I wanted to apply for the position, but I do not feel like I am as much of a leader as Alex and Justin are," Max stated. "After seeing this marching band perform at Kennywood Park last summer, I found out some interesting things about the band," I added. "Their halftime show was Rock of Ages, there was an alumni event for Homecoming, and we all saw them perform with the Greater Pittsburgh Concert Band at Heinz Hall the Friday before Christmas." "That was a fun concert," Alex agreed. "My favorite piece was the last one they did, 'Feliz Navidad', because we performed that exact same version at our Christmas concert in high school." "Not the Tom Wallace arrangement, but the Chris Sharp arrangement," I stated. "The high school band performed the Tom Wallace arrangement 2 years ago, I remember." "Oh, well, the Chris Sharp arrangement is just as fun," Alex added. "If Justin and I applied for this position and got the job, then we could see the band members every day, and I would know 5 of the marching band members from our current job with Pittsburgh's Perfect Parties." The art and dress exhibits were amazing and fun and then we saw a really nice presentation on some famous and well-known artists. Pretty soon, it was time for all of us to leave. "Thanks for a great day, everyone!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Good night, guys!" "Good night!"