Mia the Meek by Eileen Boggess Read Free Book Online Page A

bounce off her pearly white teeth.
    “Now, let’s talk about other presidents,” Mr. Benson continued. “Your assignment this week is to write about who you think was the best president of the United States. Then, you will compose a persuasive essay explaining your choice. Make sure you back up your opinion with facts. Presentations are next Monday, so get busy.”
    I got out a piece of paper and Mike leaned over and asked, “Do you want to look at some books together?”
    I shook my head.
    “No, thanks. It’s easier for me to do research alone.”
    “Um,” he said, “I was talking to Lisa.”
    Lisa broke into a wide grin.
    “Sure,” Lisa said. “That would be great. Just let me gather my stuff.”
    It took Lisa only fifteen minutes to abandon me. I was definitely going to check her garage for my old bike. I grumbled as I got out of my seat to gather some research books in the back of the classroom.
    Tim leaned over my shoulder.
    “How’s your ego this morning? Feeling a little bruised?”
    “Save it. I’m not in the mood.”
    “Man, are you a sore loser, or are you always this cranky in the morning?”
    Blatantly ignoring him, I grabbed a book on presidents. Tim selected the book next to mine.
    “So, who are you going to write about?” he asked.
    Figuring if I answered him, he might leave me alone, I said, “I don’t know, maybe Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, or Bill Clinton.”
    “You’ve got to be joking.”
    “Why, who are you choosing? Richard Nixon?”
    “Exactly.”
    “Now, you’ve got to be joking. He was one of the worst presidents of all time.” My mom, the flaming liberal, had ranted about Nixon for so long I knew her spiel by heart. “He raised illegal money from companies, forged letters on stolen Democratic Party stationery attacking McGovern, and broke into the Democratic National headquarters at Watergate, where he stole files and planted microphones.”
    “Richard Nixon was a great international diplomat who ended the Vietnam War. On the other hand, FDR started a welfare system that has our country paying people who choose not to work, Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer who led the U.S. into a recession, and Bill Clinton never said an honest word in his life. Those guys are great role models.”
    “For your information, all these ‘guys’ listened to working class people and made a difference in their lives. They didn’t use people solely to advance their own interests, like Nixon did. If I ever become president, I’ll be like them and help everyone—not just the rich people!”
    Tim clapped his hands in mock appreciation. “If you’re through making speeches, I think I’ll go back to my seat and read about a truly great leader—Richard M. Nixon.”
    Grabbing a book on presidents, I stormed over to my seat and furiously searched to find the most liberal president I could. Then, I spent the rest of the period studying John F. Kennedy, because he was Catholic and good looking, and because he beat Richard Nixon in the 1960 election.

    I walked into my English classroom and immediately wanted to escape when I saw my mom wearing an aviator’s hat and a huge scarf wrapped around her neck. She greeted us by saying, “Good morning. I was wondering if anyone has seen me or my plane. I ask because there are a lot of stories as to what happened to me. My name is Amelia Earhart, and I disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937. Some people think the Japanese captured me. Some think I crashed in the ocean. And some people think I became a housewife in New Jersey. After I tell you about my life, I’ll let you decide.”
    At the end of her dramatization, my mom concluded, “This is the beginning of our Images of Greatness unit. Your culminating project will be to write a speech from the point of view of a famous person. You will work on this assignment throughout the entire unit and it will be worth fifty percent of your grade. You will need to dress as your hero during your