“I feel like Barbra Streisand at the end of Yentl,” she whispered to herself.
“What?” A deep voice asked, full of accusation. Startled, Olivia turned around.
“You know at the end when she’s on the ship…coming to enjoy the freedoms of the New World?” Olivia gazed up at the tall creature, already knowing that by the time she reached his eyes, they would be glazed over. She was right. People did that a lot when she talked to them, for some reason.
“Um, okay. Whatever.” The tall creature skulked off to the other side of the ferry. Olivia sighed. Her mother had told her that there were some topics you shouldn’t start with to make conversation with a prospective peer, such as Barbra Streisand (or any of the movies she starred in), the PBS channel, or eighties dance flicks.
You see, Olivia and her wonderful classmates were on an enriching trip to Ellis Island. Mrs. Nowitzki had said it was very important to know where one came from, the hardships that their ancestors went through to get to this “New World.”
Olivia stared off into the sea, leaning over the steel railing into the belly of the sea. There must be so many band-aids in there, she thought to herself. You could say Olivia was a tad peculiar. She enjoyed making collages and listening to the static radio stations. It made her feel like she was going up into space. She enjoyed re-enacting scenes from Goodfellas with her grandma, as she was the only one senile enough to do it with her. And every Friday when she came home from school, she watched The Sound of Music. To say she was unconventional would be an understatement.
“You know you’re in a really good position for somebody to push you in there,” a deep tone called. Olivia whipped around to see whom this booming voice belonged to. Contrary to what she thought, it was not the boy who had the good fortune of hearing her Yentl anecdote. It was in fact, the new kid. His name was George.
“Oh. Well maybe if I get pushed in, I’ll find some sea treasure,” she responded gently. He laughed. Genuinely. Olivia’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why are you laughing?” she inquired. He suppressed his laughter.
“Well, I just think it’s funny that that’s the first thing to come to your mind when asked to be careful by a boat ledge,” he said. Olivia was confused.
“I mean, wouldn’t anybody? There could be gold coins down there, or a statue of Jesus–”
“Or maybe just lots of mud and trash,” George quipped, gesticulating wildly. Olivia just stared at him blankly.
“Or ancient artifacts,” she stated after a while. George just laughed some more. “Again, why are you laughing?” Olivia asked. “I mean I know I can tell a good knock-knock joke, but–”
“No, no. It’s not that. Although I believe you about the knock-knock jokes,” he breathed, catching his breath. “It’s just that I find it amazing that you refuse to believe the facts, that’s all!” George exclaimed. Olivia thought for a moment.
“Well, maybe the facts were written by liars,” she stated quietly, turning to look back at the murky ocean. George just stood there, perplexed.
“Perhaps…perhaps you’re right,” he stated after a bit of contemplation. Olivia’s ears perked up at this, and she slowly turned around to face him.
“Perhaps I am,” she announced proudly. She smiled at George, who grinned back.

Perhaps the trip wouldn’t be so bad after all.