Chapter 6: As You Like It and a Birthday Dinner
The next day, I met up with Sarah, James, and Henri as well as some of my other best friends Alex Russo, Justin Evans, and Max Greenwald at the Charity Randall Theater at the University of Pittsburgh for the play As You Like It. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. Prior to the play, we jammed out to 98 Degrees, Lizzo, and the Pop2Kountdown featuring the year 2008. We all really enjoyed the play. Once the play was over, it was time for us to eat a special birthday dinner at the nearby Soldiers and Sailors Museum banquet hall. My old friends Casey, Emma, and Sarah Sobert joined us, along with the two eldest Mifflin sisters, Abigail and Hannah. We started off with veggie sticks to eat. Then, the main meal consisted of herb-baked chicken, baked ham with fruit sauce, penne with marinara sauce, signature red potatoes, whole green beans, salad, and rolls. "All that food looks so good, Max, especially the pasta," Henri stated, licking his lips. "I like pasta, too, Henri," Max stated. "We will be having pasta again next week for an hors d'oeurve feast in the South Side after the meeting." "What a great idea for a birthday feast, Justin!" James happily exclaimed. "Thanks, James," Justin replied. "I enjoyed Christmas dinner with my family during my high school career and it featured beef tenderloin, potatoes, and green beans." "Those are some of the same foods that I had to eat at my senior banquet," Justin agreed. "I love celebrating birthdays and holidays with a big feast." "So, where did you get the idea for all of this awesome food, Alex?" Sarah P. asked. "It all tastes really good!" "I wanted to surprise Angel with the same meal that we had last year, Sarah," Alex replied. "Except for the glazed carrots, because I did not really like them as much." "Carrots are one of my favorite vegetables," Hannah stated. "But, green beans are delicious, too!" "I love pasta and it is one of my favorite savory foods," Abigail happily stated. "I love all kinds of desserts, too," Hannah stated. "And, it looks like Casey, Emma, and Sarah do, too!" "Oh my gosh, do you guys remember our Thanksgiving feast nearly a decade ago when the girls were younger?" Casey stated. "I remember cooking the potatoes." "I remember cooking the turkey," Emma stated. "And, I remember cooking the ham," Sarah S. stated. "Except this ham has pineapple sauce on it, but it tastes perfect for Easter!" "I love drumsticks and thighs in chicken best," Emma stated. "Because turkey tastes exactly the same as dark meat chicken, and dark meat chicken is a lot more flavorful than white meat chicken!" "I made mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving and these are roasted potatoes," Casey stated. "It was not until 7 years later in 2022 that Hannah was partially like my class again," I pointed out. There was even a picture of our Thanksgiving feast in the scrapbook that we made at the time along with the memories that I made with Sarah, James, and Henri as kids. "I love scrapbooks because you can remember all of the fun things that happened with your friends," I narrated. Then, it was time for cake and presents. While eating our cake, Casey, Emma, and Sarah told us some of their favorite desserts. We even shared more of our favorite songs from Pop2K. Once dinner 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!"