Chapter 1: Exercise at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater
One chilly fourth Saturday of March 2025, I met up with my childhood friends Sarah, James, and Henri as well as some of my other friends Carly Shay and Spencer Puckett, along with Carly's stepdad, Freddie Benson, at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater for a movement class. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. We jammed out to Kate Bush, NSYNC, and the Pop2Kountdown featuring the year 2001. "How do you feel about your birthday coming up on Monday, Henri?" Mr. Benson asked. "It feels great, Mr. Benson," Henri happily replied. "I like the fact that we are birthday buds!" "The instructor makes me think of my old girlfriend, Phillis because she always loved creative movement," James stated. "What do you think of that, Spencer?" "I think that it is pretty amazing, James," Spencer remarked. "It is awesome to go back to creative movement because I have not done that since I first started high school," Carly happily stated. "That is neat to know, Carly," Sarah remarked. "Of course it is, Sarah," Carly agreed. "I really have a feeling of gratitude now that we officially finished our fall and winter activities for the season," I told my friends. "April will be here before we know it, and Carly and I both have birthdays in the month of April, mine on the 3rd and hers on the 14th. I bet that you feel left out because Henri and Mr. Benson share birthdays in March, James and Spencer share birthdays in June, and Carly and I share birthdays in April, and you are the lone person in the group with a fall/almost winter birthday." "I actually don't mind that, Angel," Sarah told me. "After all, you can't change the day you were born!" Pretty soon, we met up with our other friends at Taylor Allderdice High School to see The Wedding Singer musical, which we all really enjoyed. Cousins Grace and Rachel Luster were both involved in the cast, and their relationship reminded me of my relationship with Sarah, except that we are nowhere near cousins or sisters, just close friends. After the musical was over, 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!"
