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who Robert Snickerbottom is?” Anna sighed. At least the airport had wireless Internet access. She tapped at her keyboard, called up a video of Snickerbottom’s latest campaign ad, and tipped the screen so Henry could see. “Watch.”
    The commercial started with a fuzzy black-and-white photograph of a lady who looked like somebody’s grandmother. Over the image, a man with a deep voice proclaimed, “Betty Frumble’s fine for Vermont. But she doesn’t belong in Washington.” The image changed to a newspaper headline that read THE COMPROMISE QUEEN with a photo of the woman smiling and holding some kind of cake pan, surrounded by a crowd of people in front of the Vermont State House. The man’s voice continued. “America can’t afford compromise. We need a leader … a man of courage and strength. A true American hero.” The image dissolved into a newspaper photo of a way younger Robert Snickerbottom, soaking wet, holding a little boy under one arm and a puppy in the other. Another young man, shorter and skinnier but with the same wavy hair, stood next to him, looking up with awe. HERO SAVES BOY , FAMILY PET FROM ABANDONED WELL , the headline read. And the man’s voice finished. “Vote for Robert Snickerbottom, an American hero, for president.”
    â€œHe’s running for president?” Henry asked as the screen faded to black.
    Anna nodded. Her laptop battery was running low, so she powered down and slid it into her backpack. “Against Betty Frumble. Wait — don’t you live in Vermont? She’s our governor, you know.”
    â€œOh.” Henry’s SuperGamePrism-5000 buzzed again. He flicked the switch to OFF . “So you think that guy’ll win? That’d be wicked. I could say I met the president.”
    Anna shook her head. “Probably not. My dad wants him to win because they’re in the same party. They both want immigration reform and stuff like that. But Dad says Snickerbottom’s falling behind in the polls.”
    â€œBehind that grandma lady from the TV ad?” Henry looked stunned.
    â€œYep. She’s really popular in Vermont. When she was elected governor, she stopped all the political bickering in Montpelier with her ‘secret weapon.’” She used her fingers to make quote marks in the air.
    â€œSecret weapon?” Henry’s face lit up.
    â€œBerry Maple Oat Nut Crumble,” Anna said. “It’s her family recipe. She says food brings people together, so she shows up with the Berry Maple Oat Nut Crumble and says anybody willing to listen to the other side gets a big bowl of it with vanilla ice cream.”
    â€œAnd that works?”
    â€œWell, that and a bunch of other stuff. She’s an incredible speaker; she’s brilliant. But the TV news likes to show the old-lady-with-baked-goods pictures, so whatever. It seems to be working; she’s beating Snickerbottom in the polls by quite a bit.” Anna fought a smile. She was proud of her dad being a United States senator, and she knew he wanted Snickerbottom to win, but secretly, she loved the idea of a smart lady who did things differently being in charge. She’d love to interview Betty Frumble.
    â€œAnna.” Her father walked up briskly. “I need to make more phone calls, so I’m going to head to the business lounge where it’s quieter.”
    â€œDid you talk to Mom?”
    He nodded. “She’s beside herself over the flag, but obviously, she can’t get here with the weather.” Her dad didn’t sound sad; he was never thrilled about her mom’s secret society trips. “Do you want to come with me or stay here?”
    â€œI’ll stay here,” Anna said. “I want to get some writing done. This is Henry, by the way.”
    â€œNice to meet you. Where are your folks?”
    â€œMy dad’s on a cruise with his new wife.” Henry said the word wife the