The Kid Who Became President Read Online Free PDF Page B

balls that night. Basically, they were fancy dinner parties where rich and powerful people get to dress up and hang out with other rich and powerful people. Chelsea and I would enter the ball arm in arm, say hello to everybody for five minutes, and then get back into the limo and go to the next ball. By the second ball, I was sick of it.
    Chelsea loved every second, though. She looked great. Lane told me Chelsea had spent $10,000 on her gown. That was hard to believe. Chelsea hadn’t given me the bill yet, so I couldn’t say for sure. I didn’t even know you could find a dress that cost so much money.
    When I finally got back to the White House, I was so tired I didn’t even put my pajamas on. I just lay on my bed in my suit and fell asleep.

Chief of Staff Lane Brainard made it a point to stay out of the way during the inauguration and tour of the White House. He told me he didn’t want to be seen with me all the time, because people would get the impression that he was really running everything.
    Of course, we both knew that Lane really would be running everything. What did I know about being president?
    Lane told me to enjoy my first weekend as president, because starting Monday morning, we would have to get to work running the country.
    I thought about it and decided the best way to really enjoy the weekend would be to invite my seventh-grade class to the White House. No parents, just kids. Chief Usher Honeywell called all twenty-four kids personally, and every one of them accepted the invitation. I sent my parents off on a tour of Washington to keep them out of the way. Chelsea Daniels decided she’d rather go shopping with her parents than hang out with us kids.
    Â 
    At first, my classmates were a little shy about being in the White House for the first time. They were afraid to touch anything or sit on the chairs. With Secret Service Agent Doe always nearby and Honeywell hovering around, I could understand the kids being a little nervous.
    I explained that the White House was my home, at least for four years, and they could treat it just like they were going over to anybody else’s house.
    Everybody loosened up when I showed them all the cool stuff around the White House. On the South Lawn is a tennis court that’s surrounded by trees so people on the street can’t gawk. Jenna Peeples and Sean Donaldson love tennis, so even though it was cold they grabbed rackets and began to play.
    I took the rest of the class to the White House bowling alley, which is under the driveway. President Nixon bowled a 233 there once, Honeywell told us. Richard Fries and Joshua Hertz are in a bowling league back home, so they decided to roll a game.
    The rest of us went to the White House game room, where there’s a pool table, a Ping-Pong table, and some video games. Kids started peeling off from the group to play whatever they wanted. Video games are my passion, but I wanted to show everyone around, so I didn’t get a chance to play.
    There are television sets all over the White House, and some of the rooms have five or six TVs lined up together so the president can watch the news on all the major networks at the same time. Kira Ferrie turned on a roomful of TVs, putting one on MTV, one on the Cartoon Network, one on Nickelodeon, one on ESPN, and one on Bravo. A bunch of us gathered to watch all the TVs at once, with the sound turned all the way up. After a half hour, our heads felt like they were splitting open, but it was great fun.
    Maybe the coolest thing about living in the White House is that it’s got its own movie theater. There are sixty-five seats, and cushy reclining chairs line the front row. “What movies do you have?” I asked Honeywell.
    â€œI can get any movie you want, sir. Even movies that haven’t been released yet.”
    â€œHow about Gore, Guts, and Guns, Part II ?” I asked.
    â€œI don’t believe I’ve heard of that one,” Honeywell