Stranger Danger by Michelle Simpson

Author:Michelle Simpson [Slater, David Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Incorgnito Publishing Press
Published: 2020-05-19T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

The SS Batavia

"Behold, my new friends,” said Menschy, “the SS Batavia, bringing in more immigrants to New York on one ship than any before it. There are 2,584 passengers about to arrive at Ellis Island.”

“Wow!” everyone cried. They were witnessing history!

“Look!” Benjy said, pointing to the island’s landing dock, where a large group of people had appeared. They were waving signs.

“There’s a welcoming committee!” Sadi cheered when she turned to look as well.

Everyone turned their telescopes that way.

One by one, the friends’ faces went pale. The faces of everyone on the dock were twisted into angry expressions. They were shouting. Their teeth were bared.

“Um,” said Asher, after reading one of the signs. “I don’t think they’re a welcoming committee.”

“Oh, my gosh!” Zara gasped when she read a sign.

“Oh, my gosh!” everyone else gasped when they read some, too.

All the signs said the same thing: “Dirty Immigrants Go Home!”

“This… this is horrible!” Asher cried. “All those people on the ship are probably really scared to start a new life in a strange place. Can you imagine how they’re going to feel when they arrive to see… that?”

“What can we do?” Ezra asked.

Everyone turned to Menschy, hoping he had an idea. “Anyone have an idea?” he asked them, instead.

The kids looked at each other, desperate for a plan.

“We have to do something!” Abi insisted. “My grandparents came to America through Ellis Island. If we’d lived in this time, those people could be us!”

“Got it!” Benjy said. “What if those protesters thought we were the immigrants? We could maybe distract them while the real ones come in.”

“YOFI!” Menschy said. “The old misdirection trick!”

Benjy’s face went as red as Abi’s ponytail. Which she was twisting hard in both hands.

“But,” Abi said, “there are only seven of us on this boat, and it’s too small to look like an immigrant ship.”

“MESHUGENAH!” Menschy boomed.

“Look!” Benjy cried.

Everyone looked. The Magical Meshugenahmobile, that had been a jalopy, then a streetcar, and then a sailboat, was now a steamship! The friends were standing on the top deck.

“But there’s still only seven of—” Zara started to say.

“Look!” everyone else cried. And, yet again, their mouths dropped open.

Kids were coming out onto the deck from below. But not just any kids: they looked exactly like Asher, Ezra, Benjy, Sadi, Zara, and Abi. In fact, they were Asher, Ezra, Benjy, Sadi, Zara, and Abi! And there wasn’t just one new version of each of them—there were dozens! The kids watched, amazed, as the deck filled up with copies of themselves.

Meanwhile, Menschy started up the engine and aimed the Magical Meshugenahsteamship toward the dock at Ellis Island.

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