Imagine for a moment that your mom or dad gets a new job. It’s in a different city and you have to move, even though the job is temporary, only lasting four or eight years. Your new house, which has been chosen by your parents’ employers (you have no choice in the matter) is unlike any other home you’ve ever lived in. For one thing, it’s larger—much, much larger. (How many houses do
you know that have a bowling alley in the basement?) It’s also furnished with items that look more at home in a museum than in your living room.
Your parents will work from this mansion…and so will their employees. While you do your homework upstairs, there will be hundreds of people downstairs working. That’s not including the more than six thousand people who come to visit your new house every day. And, oh yeah, there are armed guards at every entrance and a SWAT team on the roof.
You no longer have to wash the dishes, vacuum, or take out the trash; however, you can’t just walk out your front door and go for a bike ride. There’s a giant kitchen always stocked with your favorite foods, but you may have to eat alone because your parents are at a fancy dinner downstairs that you aren’t invited to. You get to travel in your own private jet, but more often than not you’ll be stuck at home while your extra-busy parents travel. You’ll instantly become one of the most famous kids in the world, but newspapers, websites, and television shows will write and talk about you—and they may not always have nice things to say. You have your own heated outdoor swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts, and movie theater (where you can request any movie—even if it’s still in the theaters!), but it may be difficult to make friends and be yourself, especially now that you have your own bodyguards, who will follow you as soon as you step foot outside your new house.
Yes, your mom or dad has just been elected to the office of President of the United States, and your family is about to move to the White House. You’re in for the ride of your life.
Copyright © 2015 by Joe Rhatigan (Author); Jay Shin (Illustrator). All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
