Commander in Cheese #1 Page 3

  “Dump out the box. Get rid of it,” Banks said. “Mice are dirty.”

  Even though Dean was scared and stuck in a dark box, he was offended. He’d taken a bath just that morning. In an actual bathtub! He wasn’t some gross c-a-t that licked itself clean.

  “Hurry and tape the box shut,” Macey said. “Then I can go get a cage for the mouse.”

  A cage? Ava didn’t want her brother trapped in a cage! So she did the only thing she could think to do. She pushed a box into the boy.

  “Ow!” Banks whirled around. “Hey! There’s another mouse. Did it…did it just push a BOX on me?”

  “Mice aren’t strong enough to push a box! Don’t be silly,” Macey said. “Now, where is that tape?”

  Ava climbed up the side of the box while Macey was looking for the tape. Banks rubbed his leg.

  “Dean! Psst. Come here,” Ava whispered.

  Dean was still searching the box. “I know it’s in here somewhere.”

  “We already found the Legos,” Ava hissed.

  “I’m not looking for a Lego.”

  Ava turned. “Come on. Grab my tail and let’s go.”

  Dean reached for his sister. Ava reached back. She reached too far. She fell in!

  “Here’s the tape!” Macey said.

  “Look at this,” Dean said. He held up a small, round circle. He’d found his sister a battery for the remote! “Just in case we ever get back to that airplane. I know you’ve always wanted to fly.”

  Ava almost hugged her brother. “Thank you. Now come on. We have to get out of here.”

  Ava and Dean burst out of the box. Packing peanuts scattered across the floor. Macey tried to grab Dean and almost got his tail, but he somersaulted away from her. Ava picked up a blue Lego. She couldn’t fly, but she would make sure her brother got his treasure.

  “That mouse is trying to steal my Lego!” Banks shouted.

  The boy knew exactly how many Legos he owned. He wasn’t going to leave them lying around on the floor. He would be very careful now that he knew mice were trying to get his toy. This was Ava and Dean’s only chance.

  Ava and Dean made it to the door at the same time. Dean was carrying the battery. Ava clutched her Lego. They scampered down the corridor and into the oval-shaped Yellow Room. The Yellow Room is the living room for the presidential family.

  A secret service agent holding a large cage spotted the mice. He dropped the cage when he saw them. “Mice! Mice! There are mice in the White House?”

  Ava and Dean hid behind a potted plant. They needed to get to the stairway, the tunnels, their family, and safety.

  Another agent in a suit came around the corner. “Did you say something about mice? The children were saying something about mice too.” She whispered into her walkie-talkie, “Code Brown. We have a Code Brown.”

  This was bad. Really, really bad. Ava and Dean had no idea what a Code Brown was, but it did NOT sound good.

  “Code Brown! Vermin spotted. I repeat, Code Brown!”

  Macey turned the corner. She did not seem concerned about the Code Brown. “Clover! There you are.” She rushed over to the cage and opened it.

  Guess what was inside. Just guess. I will give you a hint. It rhymes with bat.

  “Meow,” Clover said.

  “Seriously?” Ava said. “We’re never going to get out of this mess.”

  Dean took Ava’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

  Here’s the good news:

  • Ava had a blue Lego in her mousepack. The first Lego any Squeakerton had ever held. Probably.

  • Dean had a battery. Sure, they didn’t have the airplane that USED the battery and could never go back to the boy’s room in a million years, but…

  • They had each other.

  • They were hidden behind a plant.

  • They were healthy.

  • They were still alive.

  • For now.

  The not-so-good-news:

  • Clover.

  • Code Brown, whatever that meant.

  • They had been called vermin, a very rude thing to call a mouse.

  • The president’s daughter wanted to make them into pets.

  • The staircase was far.

  • Pretty much everything else was looking NOT SO GOOD.

  Clover licked her lips.

  “I think it’s time we ask ourselves something,” Dean said.

  “I hope this isn’t some speech about being a mouse or a man,” Ava said.

  “Of course not. We are mice. Mice who have lived in the White House with smart leaders for a very long time.” Dean stood taller. Ava knew he was about to go into speech mode. They didn’t really have time for speech mode. “Our forefathers came to this country for freedom! Liberty!”

  “Dean. There is a cat in the same room as us. It isn’t time to deliver another inaugural address!” Ava exclaimed.

  “Okay. Then let’s ask ourselves, what would Thomas Jefferson do?”

  “He would write the mouse Declaration of Independence or some peace treaty.” Ava rolled her eyes. “We don’t have time for that either.”

  “No! Thomas Jefferson also knew that sometimes you have to give up something good for something better.”

  “Okay,” Ava said. “I understand. We’ll give them the battery.”

  But Dean knew the boy didn’t care about the battery. He cared about the Lego.

  More agents rushed into the room. “I heard we have a Code Brown?”

  Macey held up her hands. “What is everyone talking about? There aren’t any MICE here. That was a mouse TOY. Clover’s favorite mouse toy. And look!” Macey held up a mouse squeaky toy that sort of looked like Dean. “I already found it.”

  “But I saw it move and go over there.” An agent pointed near the potted plant.

  Macey shook her head. “I promise. It was my toy. If there was a mouse, Clover would have eaten it already.”

  Dean almost stopped breathing.

  “Who cares if there was a mouse? I think my mom and dad are much more worried about getting to the inaugural balls,” Banks said.

  The agents talked into their walkie-talkies some more. The one who looked like he was in charge motioned to the Abbey children. “We need to go.”

  Macey looked annoyed. “Okay, Graham. We’re coming.”

  Graham was in charge of the kids. He was their Gregory!

  Macey swooped Clover into her arms. The cat was looking at the plant like it was her next meal. “No food here, Clover.”

  Dean didn’t know why the Abbey children had saved them. Maybe they were nice human kids? Did such a thing exist?

  Dean made a decision to do something kind for the kids because they had saved his life. It wasn’t an easy choice. His stomach actually hurt.

  Dean pushed Ava’s Lego across the floor. Banks hurried and picked it up.

  “Thanks,” Banks whispered. “The blue ones are my favorite.”

  Dean didn’t answer. Mice can understand human languages, but humans don’t speak any animal languages. Even if Dean could talk, he didn’t know what to say. There weren’t words for what he was feeling.

  “Was that mouse wearing a dress?” Banks whispered to his sister.

  The men in suits, the kids, and the c-a-t left the room. Ava and Dean stared at each other.

  “Did we just lose a Lego?” Ava asked.

  “Those kids saved our lives.” Dean let out a heavy sigh. “Come on. Maybe there’s an old mousehole in the Treaty Room.”

  There wasn’t a mousehole. But there was a Gregory. And he didn’t look happy.

  “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” Gregory asked. Clearly, he was yelling. “YOU LEFT THE TUNNELS AND RAN AROUND THE WHITE HOUSE!”

  Ava rubbed her ears. When Gregory was mad, he didn’t so much squeak as roar.

  “I left the roof to get my scarf,” Dean said. “And then we got distracted.”

  “There was a CODE BROWN!” Gregory said. “That’s more than distracted.”

 
“Well, we got a Lego. But then we ungot it,” Ava said. “And there was this airplane.”

  “And a c-a-t,” Dean added. “And a battery. But the kids are nice! Most-of-the-time nice. I don’t think they want us to be their pet anymore.”

  Gregory’s eyes lit up. “Wait. Did you say a battery?”

  Dean held out the battery. “I got it for the airplane.”

  Ava sighed. “That airplane was so beautiful.”

  Gregory grinned. He’d been so mad a second ago, and now he looked happier than a hamster on a wheel. “Come with me. The family is going to be excited.”

  Gregory tapped on a wall. A hole slid open. This hole was not on the maps. Ava and Dean had never seen this hole.

  “What is this?” gasped Ava.

  “It’s a hidden passage, of course.” Gregory slipped into the tunnel. “The White House is full of secret passages.”

  Ava opened her mouth wide. “But why haven’t we ever heard about this one?”

  “Because then it wouldn’t be a secret.” Gregory smiled.

  This tunnel wasn’t fancy. There was dust and spiderwebs. Mice can live in some dingy places, but this was dirty for any mouse. They didn’t have to go very far. Soon Gregory knocked on another wall. A door magically appeared again. To…the Treasure Rooms!

  “Found them in the Treaty Room,” Gregory said.

  Ava and Dean blinked. Half of the family was in the room. The kids ran over and gave their dad a hug.

  “What did you find?” Mr. Squeakerton asked.

  “How did you know we were looking for something?” Ava asked. She thought her dad might be mad that they were gone so long.

  Mr. Squeakerton brushed some dust off Dean’s fur. “Gregory was following you in the secret tunnels the whole time.”

  “Not the whole time,” Gregory mumbled. “Just the second half. And you weren’t supposed to run into a c-a-t, you know.”

  “Don’t worry about missing the inauguration. You can watch the video later.” Mr. Squeakerton smiled at his children. “I could tell that you were up to some exploring, and today was the perfect day to do it. Especially if you found a good treasure.”

  Ava and Dean stared at each other. Gregory had been there all along. They were safe. Too bad they didn’t get that Lego. Too, too bad.

  “We had a Lego,” Ava said. “But Dean gave it to the kids because they saved our lives.”

  “Very smart.” Mrs. Squeakerton nodded.

  “So all we got was this.” Dean held up the battery.

  All the mice in the room gasped.

  Mr. Squeakerton took the battery. “I can’t believe it. We can use this for the White House after-party tonight.”

  “You don’t want to put it in the Treasure Rooms?” Ava asked.

  “A Lego would have been a great treasure,” Mr. Squeakerton said. “But this is priceless.”

  A few mice scrambled out of the room and returned with something rectangular.

  “Is that the—”

  “Mini camera! Yes!” Mr. Squeakerton patted the white electronic, which was about the size of a strawberry. “Cousin Vanessa found it during a quest. The camera used to be Sasha Obama’s. Aunt Agnes has been working on it for a while now.”

  Aunt Agnes stepped forward. “There was a problem with the circuit board. I fixed that. But the battery is only used in cameras and other small electronics.”

  “Like the remote for an electronic plane?” Ava asked.

  “Exactly. Now that we have the video camera, we can strap it on to anyone or anything and watch what’s happening in different rooms! I have it all set up to the TV.”

  “So…did we sort of go on a quest?” Dean asked.

  “You did!” Mr. Squeakerton gave his son a hug. “There are many, many more adventures waiting for you and Ava. I’m excited to see what my little mice end up learning and exploring.”

  “Now let’s go watch the inaugural balls on our mini TV!” Aunt Agnes exclaimed. The other mice cheered.

  There were inaugural balls all over the city that night. The president herself attended at least ten. President Abbey looked regal in her purple gown. Her husband wore a tuxedo. Banks looked smart in his great-grandpa’s hat. Macey wore a big gold skirt. They waved and smiled and danced. They seemed like nice kids, even if Macey wanted to turn the Squeakertons into pets.

  Afterward, the president had a private party in the White House, her new home. The party gave the mice a chance to put their camera to good use.

  “Gregory’s hands are shaky,” one of the mice complained as they watched the TV screen.

  The mice had set up the camera so the image appeared on their screen. Now they could set the camera anywhere in the White House and find out what was happening. They had waited years for a chance like this!

  “Of course my hands are shaky,” Gregory said into his walkie-talkie. “I’m a mouse holding a tiny camera.”

  “Ooh, look at the lace on that dress.” Ava sighed.

  The new president made a joke. Her party guests laughed.

  Dean yawned. It was after midnight. “Can I go to bed?”

  “Do you want me to tuck you in?” Mr. Squeakerton asked.

  “I’m tired too,” Ava said. “You watch the party. Come on, Dean.”

  Two very tired mice scurried down the tunnel. They had been on a quest. They had escaped from their first c-a-t. They had seen history happen. It had been a big day. A good day.

  “Someday we will have to figure out where all the hidden doors and secret passages are.” Ava yawned.

  “Yes.” Dean stopped in front of his bedroom. “Someday. Good night, Ava.”

  Ava wasn’t looking at her brother. She was looking past him. Into his room. She pointed her finger. “Dean. Look!”

  A Lego! There was a yellow Lego in Dean’s room! Underneath it was a note.

  Underneath Gregory’s mouse scratches was human handwriting in orange marker. The note simply said:

  Ava and Dean smiled at each other. They didn’t know why Banks had given away his treasure. They didn’t know what other fun things they would find now that there were kids living nearby. They didn’t know if the kids would tell anyone about the mice. It was exciting, but also dangerous.

  One thing was for certain. The Abbey kids and the Squeakerton mice were ready for some adventures in their home—the beautiful White House.

  1. William Howard Taft was a large man and often had a difficult time finding a bathtub to fit his size. In fact, this bathtub was specially made for the portly president.

  2. The longest inaugural address was given by William Henry Harrison. The speech took almost two hours and was delivered during a snowstorm! Harrison died from pneumonia just one month later. His term was shorter than any other American president’s.

  3. Amelia Earhart visited Calvin Coolidge in the White House in 1928 after becoming the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean as a passenger. In 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo. Amelia Earhart was quite a celebrity in her time and was even asked to endorse many products, including chewing gum.

  President Barack Obama being sworn into office on January 21, 2013, with his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia and Sasha, watching.

  ★ Inauguration Day is January 20. (Unless it falls on a Sunday. Then it’s January 21.)

  ★ The chief justice of the Supreme Court reads the oath of office.

  ★ The swearing-in ceremony starts at 11:30 sharp.

  ★ Speeches are given outside the Capitol Building.

  ★ The president gives a speech called the inaugural address.

  ★ Music, poetry, and prayers are also a part of the ceremony.

  ★ The president walks in a parade or rides back to the White House in a limousine.

  ★ The night ends with dozens of inaugural balls throughout Washington, D.C.

  A print of George Washington giving his inaugural address in April 1789.

  ★ The first inauguration was George Washington’s in 1789. It to
ok place in New York City on April 30. After that, Inauguration Day took place in March until 1937, when it moved to January 20.

  ★ In 1801, Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration was the first one to be held in Washington, D.C.

  ★ Warren G. Harding was the first president to ride to the inauguration in a car, in 1921.

  ★ The first inaugural address to be televised was given by Harry S. Truman in 1949.

  ★ The coldest Inauguration Day was Ronald Reagan’s in 1985. It was only seven degrees!

  ★ And John Quincy Adams was the first president to wear long trousers (pants) instead of knee breeches.

  Presidential moving day is very busy! The presidential staff (close to one hundred people) have about five to seven hours to move out the old president’s belongings and move the new president in. The day is planned out months before, and every person has a job. By the time the new president comes home, all boxes are unpacked.

  The good news is, lots of the furniture stays. The new president can also pick different furniture from a White House collection of antiques kept in storage.

  The departing president and his family are often very sad to leave the staff who have served them for four to eight years. The new president has to adjust to living in the country’s most famous house.

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  The Situation Room is a real room on the ground floor of the West Wing. This is where the president meets other important people to make very important decisions about the country. There is a large table and cushy office chairs. TV screens are everywhere.