Last night I dreamed about a lot of things, but mostly about my success and failures in life. When I awoke, I remembered a conversation I had with my friend Chyna 20 years, 2 months, and 8 days ago…
That day everything had been going wrong. They were serving green beans in the cafeteria (I hate those things!), Angus wouldn't leave me alone, and my homework got trampled by the big kids. I sat down on the couch in the A.N.T. Farm, wondering why I was even here.
In the previous days I had been thinking about how I could never seem to be as good as the other kids. Everyone loved hearing Chyna sing or play some bizarre instrument like an ocarina. Fletcher was able to wow everyone with his various artistic talents, even though most of his works were all of CHYNA. And me? I was just the annoying 11-year-old with the giant brain.
As I sat on the couch, Chyna walked in the room. Chyna was the only person who ever understood me, and she knew me like the back of her hand. To her, I was an open book. "What's wrong, Olive?" she asked.
"Me! That's what's wrong!" I exploded.
Chyna was instantly confused. "What are you talking about?" she asked, sitting down next to me.
I trusted Chyna more than anybody else in the world, so I opened up, "Why am I even in the A.N.T. program? Since when is memorizing everything suddenly a talent? Even if it was, why would anybody take any interest in me?"
"Because you're Olive, that's why!" Chyna answered, "I don't see why you're all confused about this. I mean, the school chose you, so obviously they…"
"What about my future?" I asked, getting more emotional as each word came out of my mouth, "What kind of career can a person get just because they remember everything?"
"Well…" Chyna thought aloud, "you could be a teacher!"
I shot her a look that said "you know why I can't do that." I was a substitute teacher once, and I drove everyone up the wall with my obnoxiousness. There was no way that being a teacher was anywhere in my future.
"How about a doctor?" Chyna suggested.
"I could never live with the thought that people's lives are in my hands! That's way too much pressure!"
"You could be…" Chyna thought as hard as she could, "a librarian!"
"WHAT KIND OF A CAREER IS THAT?" I shouted. I was a loud person, but I don't think I had ever shouted that loud before. I think I scared Chyna a little bit.
"Let's just face it. I'll never be as talented as you, and I'll never have a real job, and I'll live my whole life alone and miserable!" Unexpectedly even to me, I burst into tears. This was the first time I had ever cried in front of Chyna.
It was silent for a minute (32 seconds to be precise) as I let my tears roll down my face. I hardly ever cried privately, but much less in public!
I could tell Chyna was choosing her words carefully. She wrapped her arm around me and said with the softest voice, "Listen. Years from now, you will remember everything that happened right here. Even if I said something stupid like… monkey butt."
Chyna was successful in getting a chuckle out of me.
She continued, "But whatever career you end up getting, you'll remember exactly what you just said to me, and you'll wonder, 'what was I thinking?'"
Chyna was right. I do remember. I remember every word perfectly, and each and every word was what got me through my life, not only at the A.N.T. Farm, but during every step I took after high school.
I also remember seeing Gibson scratch his… never mind.
ABOUT THIS STORY I decided to add a little segment at the end of my stories that tells you why I wrote this story. Well, I was watching a new episode of A.N.T. Farm today (yes, I actually happen to love that show, and I think it's hilarious!) and Olive was kicked out of the A.N.T. program because she had lost her memory. It got me wondering, "Is memory even a real talent?" which of course is what Olive wondered during this fanfic. So this obviously came to mind! If you're wondering about the strange ending, I did this because A.N.T. Farm is a comedy that rarely touches on emotional issues, so I decided to end this in a comedic way.