“Please, please, don’t put me in jail!” Danny called out.
The other children in the classroom turned and looked at Danny.
“Who’s putting you in jail?” Cam Jansen asked.
Danny stood by his desk. He spread out his arms and shouted, “I tell you, I didn’t do it!”
“What didn’t you do?” Eric Shelton wanted to know.
“They’ve come to get me! This is terrible! They’ve come to get me!”
“What are you shouting about?” their teacher, Ms. Benson, asked. “What didn’t you do? Who has come to get you?”
Danny pointed out the window.
Four police motorcycles, two long black cars, and a news truck had stopped by the front of the school.
“It’s the governor and the Pearls,” Ms. Benson said. “They haven’t come to arrest anyone. They’ve come to dedicate the school’s new library.”
Danny fell back on his chair. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “I thought I was a goner.”
The other children in Ms. Benson’s class rushed to the windows. They watched as the police officers got off their motorcycles and opened the door of the first black car. Two men and two women, each wearing a black jacket and black pants, and each holding a walkie-talkie, got out.
“They’re Secret Service agents,” Ms. Benson said.
The two men were tall. One was bald. The other had short dark hair and a mustache. The women were tall, too. One had long blonde hair. The other woman had dark hair.
The agents looked around.
The blonde woman tapped her hand on the roof of the car, and a man in a blue suit got out. He smiled at the police officers and the people dressed in black.
“That’s Governor Zellner,” Ms. Benson said.
The governor went to the second car. He opened the back door, and an elderly couple got out.
“Those are the Pearls,” Ms. Benson told the class.
Eric looked at his watch and said, “They’re early. It’s only nine forty and the program starts at eleven.”
“I don’t think so,” Cam said. She closed her eyes and said, “Click!
“The program starts in the new library at ten,” she said with her eyes still closed. “The fourth- and fifth-grade classes will be there. At eleven Governor Zellner will visit the first, second, and third grades. Then he’ll read stories to the children in kindergarten.”
The program was posted on a large sign in the front hall. Cam had seen it when she came to school. Now, with her eyes closed, she was looking at a mental picture she had of the sign.
Cam Jansen has what people call a photographic memory. It’s as if she has pictures in her head of whatever she sees. When she wants to remember something, she closes her eyes and says, “Click!” She says it’s the sound her mental camera makes.
Cam’s real name is Jennifer, but when people found out about her amazing memory, they called her “The Camera.” Soon “The Camera” became just “Cam.”
“Please,” Ms. Benson said, “return to your seats.”
When the children were seated, Ms. Benson told them, “It’s a great honor for us to meet the governor.” Then she looked at Danny and said, “I expect everyone to be on his best behavior.”
“Hey! What did I do?” Danny asked.
“I’m serious,” Ms. Benson told him.
Beth raised her hand and asked, “Why did the Secret Service people come here?”
“They’ve traveled with Governor Zellner ever since he said he was running for president.”
“Of the United States?” Danny asked.
“Yes,” Ms. Benson answered.
“Wow!” Eric said. “I might meet the next president. I’m taking my notebook along. Maybe he’ll give me his autograph.”
Ms. Benson looked at the clock in the back of the room.
“It’s almost ten. Let’s get in line,” she told the class.
The children stood by twos in the hall.
Ms. Benson looked at Danny and said, “Let’s walk quietly to the new library, and when we’re there, please, make me proud of our class.”
“I will,” Danny said.
Beth was next to Danny in line.
“And don’t tell any of your riddles,” Beth said.
“Not even this one? Why don’t ducks tell jokes when they’re flying in the air?”
“No!”
The library was at the far end of the front hall, just beyond the gym. The children quietly followed Ms. Benson.
Danny whispered to Beth, “Don’t you want to know about the ducks?”
“No!”
The four police officers whom the children had seen arrive on motorcycles were now standing in the hall near the entrance to the library. Their hands were on their hips, and they watched as Ms. Benson’s class walked past.
“They would quack up,” Danny whispered. “That’s why flying ducks don’t tell jokes.”
“And it’s not funny,” Beth told him.
The children entered the library. Several rows of chairs were set up in the center of the room. In the back were several reporters and photographers. In front was a large desk and a microphone. Behind the desk was the librarian’s office.
Ms. Benson and her class sat in the first few rows of seats. Ms. Benson sat on an end seat. Next were Danny, Beth, Cam, and Eric.
Eric turned and looked all around. Then he bent his head back and looked up.
“Wow!” he whispered to Cam. “There are windows in the ceiling.”
“Those are called skylights,” Cam said.
Two Secret Service agents stood by the front desk. They watched the teachers and children enter the library.
“They give me the jitters,” Danny said to Ms. Benson.
“Shh.”
When everyone was seated, Dr. Prell, the principal, stepped up to the microphone.
“This is a great day for our school,” she said. “We have a beautiful new library. We have Governor Zellner here. The Pearls are also here. This library is their generous gift to our school.”
The library office door opened. Two Secret Service agents came out, followed by Governor Zellner and the Pearls. The governor wore a large red, white, and blue “Zellner for President” button on his jacket. Mrs. Pearl had long, curly white hair and wore a red dress and a large dangling pearl necklace. Mr. Pearl was dressed in a white suit, white shirt and tie, and white shoes.
When they walked out, lightbulbs flashed as news photographers took their pictures.
“It’s my great honor,” Dr. Prell announced, “to introduce our beloved governor, Elliot Zellner.”
Governor Zellner stood by the microphone. He raised his hands and waved. “Thank you. Thank you,” he said.
Bang!
Governor Zellner dropped to the floor.
