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“Like what?” asked Nick.
“Anything,” said Mrs. North. Then she looked at Nick and said, “Well, not anything. There must be something you’re curious about, Nick. What’s it like to live in the White House? What does he have for breakfast? Does he ever just sit around and watch TV? Think, Nick.” She tapped on the side of her head with her finger. “Use your brain.”
Marvin tried to think, too.
He remembered that he was going shopping for new shoes right after school, along with his brother and sister.
He wondered if the president bought his own clothes. It would be pretty strange, he thought, for the president just to walk into a store and try on a pair of shoes. But if someone else bought them for him, they might not fit. Or he might not like the color.
He wrote down his question.
Do you buy your own shoes?
No, that’s stupid, he decided. He thought he should ask the president something more important. He should ask about war or pollution.
He tried to erase what he wrote.
He looked over at Casey. She had her finger in her mouth. Then she took it out, picked up her pencil, and wrote very fast. She laughed, then wrote some more.
It was a long question. Her ponytail bounced up and down.
“What will you ask him?” Marvin asked.
“I’m not telling you,” said Casey.
Marvin wrote down a new question:
Are we going to get into a war anytime soon?
He hadn’t done a very good job erasing the old question. His paper was messy and hard to read. He hoped the president wouldn’t see it.
“Does spelling count?” asked Judy.
“You’re not being graded on this,” said Mrs. North. “It’s not a test. It’s an opportunity. Try to make the most of it.”
Clarence raised his hand and asked, “Does the president have a dog?”
“Um, I don’t know,” said Mrs. North. “But that might be—”
“I want to ask him his dog’s name,” said Clarence. “But first I have to know if he has a dog, don’t I?”
“Well, why don’t you ask him if he has any pets?” suggested Mrs. North.
“Oh, yeah,” said Clarence. “Thanks.”
Marvin wrote down his second question: What are you doing about pollution?
He was still trying to think of a third question when the classroom door opened.
Marvin dropped his pencil.
4
A tall man stepped into the classroom.
Marvin stared at him in awe. He was pretty sure it was the president. He was certain he’d seen the man’s face on the news.
Marvin’s father watched the news every evening before dinner.
