Freshman for President

  Paige pretended to faint with desire.

  “We don’t know who it was,” said Eden.

  “We like you,” Jack said. “We loooove you. We like you so much we give up all our free time to sit here and plot your ascent to power.”

  Milo looked around at the table and started to grin. That was true. They all had other things they could do, but when they’d agreed to help, they’d meant it. “Thanks, guys,” he said, feeling kind of like a jerk for taking his friends for granted.

  “Just don’t forget us when you’re sitting in the White House,” Jack said. “I’ll be needing a few things. We can start with a riding lawn mower. And a new car.”

  * * *

  Later that night, after everyone had gone home, Milo climbed to the top of the ancient metal slide in his backyard. The ladder rungs creaked under his weight. He remembered when Maura taught him to go hand-over-hand across the metal bars that connected one side of the swing set to the other. He had been five, and she had been nine. He’d been afraid he would fall, so she had walked underneath him as he swung from bar to bar. One time he had fallen, and she’d been so surprised that she didn’t catch him. He’d crashed on top of her and they’d both fallen down. “You didn’t catch me!” he complained.

  “At least I broke your fall,” she told him, rubbing her elbow. “Now get up there and try again. You almost had it.”

  Something had happened to Maura, and he hadn’t been there to break her fall. He had arrived too late on the scene to even know how she’d been hurt. All he knew was that she had been hurt.

  He was so tall now that he could simply walk along the grass as he changed his hands from bar to bar to bar. He did a few fast pull-ups on one of the bars. On the last one, he looked down at his dangling feet and the ground below them.

  It had seemed like such a long way to fall, all those years ago.

  Chapter 14

  September

  Memo sent to Michael Harmon, producer of Good Morning USA

  Michael:

  Take a look at this video clip I’m sending you from our affiliate in Arizona. It’s a little piece they ran on the Fourth of July about a fifteen-year-old kid who is running for President of the USA as a write-in candidate. The kid has been generating a lot of buzz in his home state and you can see why. This has human interest story written all over it. Politics, small-town atmosphere, good-looking teenagers fighting the odds—it’s got everything.

  Amelia

  * * *

  The dining alcove of Milo’s house was looking less and less like a place to eat and more and more like a campaign headquarters. At least that’s what Milo thought. He’d never actually been in anyone’s campaign headquarters except his own.

  “You sure have marked your territory,” Milo’s mom told him, walking through the room to get some placemats to set the kitchen counter for dinner.

  “You’re making me sound like a dog,” Milo complained.

  But it was true. They had taken over the room.

  They had a huge map of the United States of America across one wall. Red pushpins marked the location of all the high schools that had committed to the teenage vote and had confirmed receipt of their voting packets. Blue pushpins marked those areas where they still needed to send packets to schools that had requested them. White pushpins marked schools they were hoping to hear back from one way or the other.

  The map was getting crowded. The system wouldn’t work much longer.

  There were also full color pictures of Milo’s opponents on the wall. Eden was making him learn everything there was to know about each of them. Milo was worried he was going to start dreaming about Senator Ryan and Governor Hernandez.

  There were also packets all over the table to assemble and mail out, cell phones scattered across the table (Eden’s cell phone number was the official campaign number), laptops (Spencer ran most of the website from his house, but they still needed their own), pencils, pens, envelopes, stamps, signs, banners, phone lists, newspapers . . . Milo had to admit his mom might have a point about overrunning the house.

  While he was taking up more and more physical space, Maura was taking up less and less. She sat on a corner of the couch watching TV, or in the home office playing Solitaire on the computer, or at the end of the kitchen counter where they now ate their meals. He didn’t mean for the craziness of his life to make it easier for her to disappear and fade into the background. It was so different from their younger years, when they would jockey for position, when they fought for their fair share of attention. Milo was uncomfortable with how much easier it was to ignore Maura and her silence. What had seemed like it could never be normal was now starting to seem . . . normal. When he thought of Maura, he thought of the new Maura instead of the old one. That bothered him.

  “The post office is definitely behind your campaign, Milo,” Paige told him, walking into the room. She had just returned from mailing the latest round of packets. “That cost almost a hundred dollars.”

  Milo cringed. Even though they had had generous donations from Mr. Walsh and others, he was worried. They were going through money quickly. “Are we still okay?”

  “Yeah. For now, anyway.”

  “We need to budget for the debate,” Eden reminded her.

  “I know, I know. I’ve got it covered.”

  Eden’s latest, greatest idea had been to try to get Milo into the presidential debate being held in Phoenix in October. Although it was unlikely Milo would actually be able attend the debate, even to observe, they thought it was too good a chance to pass up. Phoenix was just a few hours away, there would be reporters there, and it would be a perfect opportunity to generate some press.

  Eden turned to face Milo. “Did I tell you that Mr. Satteson talked to me today after school? He thinks we should turn the debate into a Sage High field trip.”

  “Really?”

  Eden nodded. “He thinks it’s a great opportunity. We can tour the Capitol building first, and then go to the debate. Even though they won’t let teenagers in, maybe we can catch a glimpse of the candidates and see the reporters and everything that’s going on. It will be politics in action. Mr. Satteson is crazy about the idea.”

  “That would be awesome,” Milo said. “Do you think enough people would want to go to fill up a bus?”

  Jack looked up. “They’d be missing a day of school, right, Eden?”

  “Right.”

  “Then they’ll definitely come. We’ll have plenty of buses. I might even come if we can miss school.”

  “This will be a big deal if we can pull it off. It’s going to take a ton of planning.” Eden looked as though she relished the thought.

  Just then, her cell phone rang. She looked at the number on the display and frowned. “I don’t know who this is,” she said, lifting it up to answer it. “Hello?” As the person on the other end responded, she suddenly stood up and went into the kitchen.

  “What’s up with that?” Milo asked Jack. “Suddenly she needs her privacy?”

  “Maybe she has a boyfriend,” Jack said.

  “Really?” Milo asked. “Who would it be?”

  Jack rolled his eyes. “I was just making it up. I don’t know. Logan Nash?”

  “Eden has better taste than that. Plus, Logan has a girlfriend.”

  “Not anymore,” Jack said. “I heard at practice he and Emily broke up. I’m thinking I should make a move. Emily’s hot.”

  Jack looked over at Paige to see if she had noticed. She was doodling on a notepad. When she noticed the silence, she looked up at him. “What?”

  “Nothing. Nothing at all,” Jack said, sounding exasperated.

  Milo’s mom appeared in the doorway. “Why is Eden sitting in the pantry talking on her cell phone?”

  “We think she has an important call,” Milo e
xplained.

  “And why is the dining room still a disaster? How long is it going to be completely unusable?”

  “For the duration,” Milo said. It was his new favorite way to answer a question, and he was dangerously close to overusing it. He’d even tried telling his mom he wouldn’t be doing homework for the duration of the campaign, but that hadn’t worked, of course.

  “I’m getting a little sick of the duration,” his mom said, but she smiled at him to let him know she wasn’t seriously mad. “But I do look forward to using the dining room again.” Family dinners were rather crowded as they all sat in a row along the kitchen counter. They’d had to get two new barstools so that everyone could fit. Milo’s mom had threatened to make him pay for them out of his campaign fund, but so far she hadn’t followed through with her threat.

  “Only two more months,” he reminded her.

  “I know.” She ruffled his hair affectionately. She looked up at the wall at their map. “Good heavens,” she said in surprise. “That thing has . . . blossomed.”

  “We’re going to need a new map,” Milo said, looking at the wall. “It’s getting too full, especially in the big cities. Look at those red pins in New York City. They’ve taken over the whole state.”

  A sound in the doorway made them all turn around to look. Eden stood there, holding her cell phone loosely in her hand, her eyes huge. She didn’t say anything.

  “So what was that all about?” Milo asked her.

  She still didn’t say anything. It was unprecedented.

  “Aren’t you going to tell us?” Jack asked.

  Eden shook her head, overcome for a moment. Then she found her voice. “This. Is. It,” she said, in a voice of deepest meaning.

  “Okay . . .” Jack shifted impatiently. Milo started to feel excitement bubble up inside of him, somewhere around his stomach. This had to be good.

  Eden pulled herself together. “Okay. Okay.” Deep breath. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but Milo, that was the producer for Good Morning USA. They want you to be on the show next Wednesday. Live.”

  For a moment, they were all silent—but only for a moment. Then Milo started laughing hysterically. He was going to be on national television? Live? Jack whooped loudly. Paige hugged Eden. Milo’s mother shrieked and gave Milo a hug. Even Maura turned around and said, “National television? Milo?”

  “If Logan Nash could see us now!” Eden gloated. “National television!”

  “He is going to see him,” Jack pointed out. “Everyone is going to see him. Everyone in the whole freaking country.”

  When you put it like that, Milo realized, it sounded kind of scary. But still very, very cool. He put his arm around Eden. “Good job, Eden. You’re the best campaign manager in the history of the world.”

  “That’s right,” she said. “Keep talking.”

  “You’re amazing. You’re a genius—not the evil kind, the good kind. You—”

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Eden said, but she was smiling.

  “Did they mention anything about . . . financing the trip?” Milo’s mom asked, trying to be tactful.

  “Oh, yeah. They’re paying for everything. Plane tickets, hotel reservations, everything. They’ll be sending you the itinerary at your campaign e-mail address later today. They want you to actually be on the show, rather than hooking up a satellite feed. They have a studio in L.A. as well as one in New York, and we’re lucky. One of their anchors is in Los Angeles right now, so you don’t have to go too far for the interview.”

  “Wow,” said Milo’s mom.

  “This is going to be so awesome,” Milo said to Eden. “Are they going to interview you first, or me? Or did they even get that far talking to you about it yet?”

  “Oh, I’m not going. They just asked for you and your parents.”

  Milo was surprised. “Oh, man, that stinks.” It wouldn’t be the same if Eden wasn’t there too. “You have to be there!”

  “I’ll be honest. I was pretty ticked for a minute. But that didn’t last long. This is awesome, and there’s no way around it.”

  “It should still be you,” Milo said, and he wasn’t trying to be unselfish. He was starting to get scared. National television? Alone? “You’d be great at this. You should do it.”

  “Nah,” said Eden. “You’ll do fine. The only thing is, they didn’t say anything about providing a wardrobe or anything like that. We’re going to have to find you something to wear.”

  Chapter 15

  September

  Profiles of Presidential candidates Compiled by Eden James with assistance from Paige Fontes

  Governor Hernandez

  Personal: Female. Hispanic. Fifty-seven years old. Married for twenty-two years. One daughter, in college at Brown. Although Governor Hernandez was born in the United States, her parents were not.

  Professional: First female Hispanic governor of the state of New Mexico. Has served for six years. Prior to being governor, she was a Congresswoman from her state. Before that she was a respected prosecutor. Best known for immigration and education reform that worked well in New Mexico.

  General impression: Very popular in her home state and seems to be picking up momentum across the nation. Has a great American story (family comes to America, works hard, succeeds). Might be the candidate to beat, although her recent stance on the economy has made her slightly less popular than before.

  Senator Ryan

  Personal: Male. Caucasian. Sixty-three years old. Married for thirty-six years. Three children—two sons and one daughter. Father was also involved in politics as a senator from Pennsylvania. Would be the first of his religion to assume office.

  Professional: Serving his third term as senator from Pennsylvania. Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Graduated from Yale.

  General impression: Very popular in the Midwest as well as in his home state. Has much more experience with foreign policy than his opponents (no offense, Milo).

  Milo J. Wright

  Personal: Male. Caucasian. Fifteen years old. Single.

  Professional: Launched the first-ever teenage campaign and a website to go along with it. Will be running the first-ever under-eighteen vote via that website. Successfully completed his freshman year at Sage High School. Plays on the soccer team (but not this year). Youth soccer coach. Lawn mower extraordinaire.

  General impression: Young and inexperienced, but gathering momentum due to hard work and dedication and surrounding himself with able advisors. :)

  List of important staff members for the Write in Wright campaign

  Compiled by Paige Fontes with minimal assistance from Jack Darling

  Paige Fontes

  Title: Official Campaign Treasurer. Also serves as security/Secret Service when necessary. Also in charge of helping Milo manage his Facebook and MySpace pages and keeping them current.

  Jack Darling

  Title: Chief of Campaign Security. Also Commander-in-Chief of Food and of Making Sure Milo’s Ego Doesn’t Get Too Big.

  Spencer Grafton

  Title: Head of Web Development. Runs and designs www.writein wright.com. Also heading up logistics of the online vote.

  Maura Wright

  Title: Official Chauffeur of the Campaign.

  McCall Jenkins

  Title: Chief of Community Outreach. Will head up the community/service parts of the campaign once we’ve solidified our platform. (Probably something to do with recycling? charity?)

  Dane Mizukawa

  Title: Chief of Volunteer Efforts. In charge of recruiting volunteers and assigning them to different projects.

  Halle Bulloch

  Title: Campaign Historian/Photographer.

  Jason Hepworth, Lea Wainwright, Samar
a Kurtzman, and Timothy Davis

  Title: Blog Contributors at www.writeinwright.com. Also in charge of promoting the online election in their home states (Oregon, Ohio, New York, and California, respectively).

  Leaders of Satellite Groups

  We are shooting for all fifty states to have a satellite group and an official campaign leader for each state. So far we only have fifteen. Paige is working on this by recruiting through MySpace and Facebook and www.writeinwright.com. Must make sure the head of campaigns are legit and are teenagers under eighteen.

  * * *

  On Saturday, Maura came into the mall with them instead of waiting in the car. “I’ll be in the bookstore,” she told them. “Come get me when you’re done.” Milo watched her walk off down the long, mostly deserted hall. Her flip-flops snapped against the linoleum.

  He wished she would care enough to come along and give him some feedback about what to wear. The old Maura would have had definite opinions about what clothes wouldn’t disgrace him on national television. This Maura couldn’t care less what he did or what he wore.

  As if she’d read his thoughts, Eden said quietly, “She does drive you everywhere, Milo.”

  Milo looked back. Jack and Paige were far enough behind that he didn’t think they could hear. “Yeah, but who knows why she does that. It’s not like she has fun or anything.”

  “I don’t think she likes to be alone,” Eden said.

  “She’s always alone, Eden. Even when she’s with people, she doesn’t talk to them.”

  “That’s not the same. Even if she’s not talking, she’s still around us. That’s a good sign, I think. I think she must feel better when she’s around us or something.”

  “How do you know about all of this?”

  “From when my mom died. You know. I didn’t talk much for a while, either, but I remember that it felt good to be around people.”

  “You think something bad has happened to Maura?”

  “Yeah. Don’t you?”

  “Yeah.” He didn’t like to think about it, but he knew something had changed. It was like there had been an earthquake, and somehow he’d missed it, but now the aftershocks kept making him and his parents lose their footing.