Chapter 20: Shopping at Monroeville Mall
The next day, we all met up at Monroeville Mall to go shopping. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. While jamming out to NSYNC and 98 Degrees, we composed a Childhood Chat in which Hannah Mifflin discussed watching YouTube videos in kindergarten in Westmoreland County, Sarah Ching discussed taking a selfie in 4th grade in the western suburbs, Grace Luster discussed using her new duffel bag in 1st grade in the northern suburbs, Madison Dayley discussed sporting her new slippers in 4th grade in the southern suburbs, Jennifer Preager discussed drinking and selling lemonade in 9th grade in Hampton Township, Kayla Jennis discussed staying comfy in 11th grade in Ross Township, and Julia Robison discussed pulling pranks in 12th grade in McCandless. Then, while jamming out to Kate Bush and Lizzo, we composed another Childhood Chat in which Elizabeth Mosh discussed telling the truth in 6th grade in Hampton Township, Kaitlyn and Colleen Marioni discussed watching YouTube videos in 2nd grade in the western suburbs, Natalie Bay discussed having a party with a sports theme in 10th grade in the northern suburbs, Rachel Luster discussed taking a selfie in kindergarten in the southern suburbs, Abigail Mifflin discussed using her new duffel bag in 10th grade in McCandless, Lauren Bennett discussed singing karaoke in 4th grade in Ross Township, and Emma Wallace discussed using her new blankie her freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University in Westmoreland County. We all went to different stores in the mall, including Go Toys and Games, Claire's, H&M, and another old-fashioned toy store. Then, we all met up at the food court to eat dinner. "I love to go shopping for lots of fun things, but I also love the sweet shop to buy goodies like ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and pudding," Carly stated. "As a matter of fact, I had a pudding and yogurt bar during the summer of 2008." "I love pudding," Mr. Benson stated. "Pudding looks like ice cream but does not need to be frozen," Spencer stated. "I want a dessert here, too," Alex stated. "After all, the brownie and apple crisp I baked were delicious!" "My favorite dessert is cannoli," Max stated. "My favorite dessert is apple pie," Justin stated. "Sorry, but I do not like any of those desserts," Alex stated. "As we all know, my favorite dessert is fruit salad. I felt like I wanted to binge on a lot of desserts that awful winter of my junior year," Alex stated. "I have tried apple pie and cannoli, and I gained a ton of pounds!" "I never eat too many of these desserts, either, based on a video that I saw on ," I told everyone. "Key lime pie is not a very healthy dessert, either," Alex told us. "Natural fruit tossed in a salad is the best way to eat breakfast, and it is much better than canned or processed fruit!" "I like to eat mozzarella sticks for an appetizer," Henri stated. "I like tacos a lot, but my all-time favorite food is cheeseburgers with bacon on top," James stated. "Chicken tenders and chicken nuggets are my all-time favorite food court meal," Sarah stated. "You guys must really like the Flamers Charburgers restaurant here," I pointed out. "We sure do," Sarah stated. "We had pizza from Pizza Hut the day of my surprise birthday party," I pointed out. "Thanks for keeping me company that day while Sarah and Henri planned my surprise party, James!" "You are so welcome, Angel," James replied. "You are a great big brother to us, James," Sarah stated. "And, you still are even as a high school graduate, a college graduate, or even an adult!" "I only got to see James's high school graduation ceremony and not Sarah's or Henri's," I pointed out. "It was in your original hometown of Freeport!" Pretty soon, 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!"