Chapter Three

Let's get this party started

Miss Shelly was Franny's favorite teacher of all time.

Franny's earlier teachers hadn't really understood her, and it's difficult to learn from somebody that runs screaming from the classroom every time you walk in.

But Miss Shelly was almost never afraid of Franny, and usually had something interesting to teach.

Franny paid close attention as Miss Shelly began writing that day's lesson on the blackboard.

For a moment, Franny was so thrilled that she almost shouted. It looked like Miss Shelly was writing "electricity."

Along with chemistry, nuclear power, and brain removal, electric power was one of Franny's favorite subjects.

But as Miss Shelly finished writing, Franny could see that she had written "election," which, when compared to electricity, sounded pretty darned boring.

"An election is when people vote for a person who will represent them, and organize them, and if necessary, lead them," Miss Shelly explained. "We'll be electing a president of the class."

Franny perked up a little.

"Can this president tell everybody what to do and punish them if they disobey?" Franny asked, while she quickly sketched out a few ideas for a dungeon she could build at the school for just that purpose.

"Well, maybe not punish. But the president can help determine some of the rules in the class, and the president is a person that people usually look up to, and I suppose that the president does tell people what to do," said Miss Shelly.

Franny smiled. Maybe this wasn't so boring.

"So I want you all to decide who you want to be president of the class," Miss Shelly continued. "People who want to be elected are called candidates. If you want to be a candidate for president, you'll need to tell us all why. The class will be sharing these ideas all week long. May the best man win."

Franny smiled to herself. It was more like may the best Fran win.

Copyright © 2008 by Jim Benton

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Excerpted from The Frandidate by Jim Benton
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.