**********
"This is the North Entrance."
"I kinda figured that, Sam."
I smile at her as she continues.
"Especially considering that the lawn on the opposite side is the most famous side, and that's the South side."
I shake my head at her.
"Maybe I really DO need to see a Geography teacher."
She laughs right out loud.
"I think you'll be ok."
I hold the door open for her, and I check her in at the security desk, where Mike hands me a visitor's pass.
"Here you go, Sam."
"Thanks."
I place it around her neck.
"There. You're officially a visitor at the White House. How do you feel?"
"A little nervous, in all honesty. I mean, what if I say something stupid?"
"I'll laugh at you."
"Sam!"
"Seriously, don't worry about it. Ainsley, she's the Associate White House Council by the way, when she first met the President, she was drunk and dancing to `Blame It On The Bossa Nova' in her office in a bathrobe. Then the next time she met him, she went into Leo's closet to pee."
"And the fact that she had to go to the washroom was a bad thing because?"
"There's no toilet in Leo's closet."
"Ahhh."
She smiles, and I place my hand on her back, guiding her through the halls of the West Wing.
"This is the Press Secretary's office."
Just at that moment, C.J. comes bounding out of her office and we jump out of the way.
"CAROL!"
"Ya."
"I need that report from the OEOB like, yesterday!"
"It's on the way, C.J."
She mumbles something about the lack of respect for her position, then heads back to her office.
"And this is Josh's office."
She looks up at me with a curious face.
"He's the one that…"
I nod my head.
"Yeah."
I knock on his office door, which is closed.
"Yeah."
I open the door and we walk in.
"Hey, buddy. I just wanted to introduce you to Jennifer Brighton."
He stands up from his chair, and walks towards us; his hand extended.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss Brighton."
"When I'm among adults, please call me Jennifer."
Donna must have heard that.
"Well, I guess you'll be hearing Miss Brighton a lot around here."
"You're so fired."
"Oh, get over yourself, Josh. Hi, I'm Donna. You must be Jennifer."
"Hi. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise. Listen, Sam. After the thing, I need you to look this over. It's a speech that dip-wad wanted to write himself for the convention, and it really sucks. Would you mind?"
I smile.
"Not at all. I'll let you know when we're done."
She smiles at me.
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
"That's what I'm here for. See ya."
"Take it easy, Sam."
"DONNA!"
We exit the Operations Bullpen, and head towards the Communications Bullpen.
"To your left is my boss' office, Toby Ziegler."
I peek inside.
"He's not there, he must be in his meeting with Andy."
I open the door to my office.
"This is my office."
She looks around at the art and the diplomas that are hanging on the walls.
"It's a lovely office, Sam. You're very lucky."
"Thanks. Let me take your coat."
I take her coat and hang it on the back of the door.
"Sam, I'm getting nervous."
I walk towards her and take a gentle hold of her hand.
"Nothing is going to go wrong. Just be yourself, ok?"
She takes a deep breath.
"Ok."
I check my watch and smile.
"It's about time. Let's go."

"He's ready for you, Sam."
"Thanks, Charlie."
"Good luck, Miss."
"Thanks, and it's Jennifer."
He smiles at her, and we enter the Oval Office.
"Sam! It's about time. I was beginning to think that you were going to bail on me."
"I wouldn't do that, Sir. Please allow me to introduce Miss Jennifer Brighton, from P.S. 34 in Baltimore. Jennifer, President Bartlet."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. May I call you Jennifer, or would you prefer Miss Brighton?"
"Whichever you prefer, Mr. President. And believe me; the pleasure's all mine."
They exchange smiles and handshakes.
"Thank you. Please, have a seat."
"Thank you, Sir."
We sit on the couch, and the President sits in his chair.
"Now, Jennifer. I've been reading the file that Sam gave me about your career."
"Yes, Sir."
"Is it true that you went to Notre Dame?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Well, that does it."
She looks at me, mortified. I smile back.
"Did you think it was a bad thing that you went there?"
She answers with uncertainty.
"Well, I'm not quite sure how to respond to that, Sir."
He smiles at her and lets out a little chuckle.
"I'm a Notre Dame man, myself. I was thinking about becoming a Priest, did you know that?"
She smiles.
"I can assure you I did not, Sir. If I may, what made you change your mind?"
"Abbey."
We all smile, and I can sense that the tension in the room has been lifted dramatically.
"Yes, Sir. I went to Notre Dame for my undergrad, then I was accepted into Stanford for my Masters in English Literature. I went from there to teachers college, and in retrospect, I guess I don't really even know why I went for my Masters. I guess so I could have initials after my name."
He smiles.
"I understand. How long have you been teaching?"
"At the end of this year, I will have been teaching for 9 years, Mr. President."
"Any shining moments?"
"Could you be a little more specific, because there are many."
"The moment that you were the most proud."
She tilts her head to the side, thinks for a moment, then smiles.
"That would definitely have to be Jeremy."
"Tell us about that."
She begins to speak, and we are both listening intently to what she has to say.
"Jeremy was, and in some respects is still, a very shy young man. He's had a lot of problems at home, his parents split when he was quite young, and sadly, his mother doesn't have anything to do with him. She's missed out on spending time with a fantastic kid."
She sighs, and I can't help but get the sense that she truly does love her students.
"Anyway, I had a suspicion that there was a special reason why Jeremy would never raise his hand in class, volunteer to do work at the blackboard, things of that nature. Well, about three short months ago, Jeremy came up to me after school one day…"

"Miss Brighton?"
"Yes, Jeremy. What can I do for you?"
"I… I… I… I can't read too good."

"Well, of course I had known this, but I couldn't very well approach him with it. I needed for him to come to me; that's the first step."

"Well, Jeremy. I'm very glad that you trust me enough to tell me that. Would you like me to teach you how?"
"For real? Oh thank you, Miss. I've wanted to learn how for so long."
"Well, I'd be happy to teach you. We can start tomorrow; after school?"
"Would lunchtime be ok, `cause I have to go straight home after school and do my chores for my Dad."
I smile.
"I think that would be just fine. We'll have our lunches, then meet here for a bit. Then you can go and play with your friends for a while before class starts up again, ok?"
"Thanks, Miss B."

"Then he came over and gave me a big hug, then realized what he had just done and got all shy."

"It's ok, sweetie. I hug people when I'm really happy and excited,
too."

"We met every day at lunchtime, working on very basic books. You know, "See Spot Run", those kinds of books. Well, two weeks ago, in Social Studies class, we were, and still are for that matter, learning about the Constitution. Well, I had typed out a few things, a couple of the different passages, as well as the Preamble. I asked for a volunteer to read one of the sheets I had handed out, and I can't tell you the pride I felt when Jeremy raised his hand to volunteer to read. This boy, that had really just learned how to read properly, stumbling a little bit, read the reamble to the Constitution. I was so excited that I started to cry. He thought he had done a bad job, but, of course, it was because I was so proud of him. That, to date, has to be my proudest moment as a teacher. To be able to give kids the tools they need to succeed in life is worth more than all the gold at Fort Knox."
So THAT was the thing she was talking about that day, the thing she had to do at lunch was helping him with his reading.
"I'm amazed. It's a wonderful thing that you're doing, and I hope you continue doing it."
"I wouldn't be anywhere else, Sir. It's the best job anyone could have."
He looks over at her, and then she smiles.
"The exception would be, of course, working for you."
He smiles and laughs.
"I have no need of brown nosing, Jennifer. I agree with you anyway. Education is something that is so vital to the upkeep and betterment of our society. Don't you agree?"
"I certainly do, Mr. President. That's why I became a teacher. To be able to, in some small way, shape and mold the minds of perhaps a future President. To be able to get them to learn that education IS important. I mean, they may not yet see the importance of learning their times tables, or where they're ever going to use long division. But it teaches them that sometimes you just need to do what you have to do, in order to get the job done. It's more a matter of discipline than anything else. An athlete doesn't go headfirst into a marathon. They train, they condition, they prepare themselves. I see life as a never-ending race. You have to train when you're young, you run the race as long and hard as you can, then you celebrate the journey at the finish line."
"That was beautiful."
She turns to look at me.
"Thanks, Sam."
The President looks at her with a glimmer in his eye.
"Are you sure you don't want to come and work for me? I'll give you Sam's job."
She laughs.
"As much as I would relish the opportunity, my first priority is to my kids, Sir."
"Well, I've heard just about all I need to hear."
He stands up and extends his hand to her, which she grasps with strength.
"Congratulations, Miss Brighton. I know you'll represent your State well."
She's beaming.
"Thank you, Mr. President. I hope I'll be able to live up to your expectations of me."
"If Sam has anything to do with it, I'm sure you will. Now, I have my afternoon Security briefing. If you'll both excuse me."
"Certainly, Sir."
"Thank you, Mr. President."
"Thank you very much, Mr. President."
"Congratulations again. We'll see you in two weeks."
With that, I shut the door behind us, and we head towards my office. I turn towards her and grin.
"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
She smiles.
"You see him every day, Sam. I was so nervous I could've peed my pants."
I point down the hall and smile.
"The ladies room is just down that hall, first door on the left."
She gets a devious grin on her face.
"Can't I just go in Leo's closet?"
"Well, Leo's office is just around the corner. Knock yourself out."
"I think I'll just use the Ladies room, if it's ok with you."

"I can't remember when I've had a more wonderful day, Sam. Thank you so much for all of this."
"Well it's my pleasure. I just wish I could have been able to spend more time with you. It's just that, you know, with the thing going on and all…"
She nods her head in a gentle manner.
"Sam, don't worry. I completely understand. When I'm at work, that takes over my life, and I understand why yours does the same, except on a much larger scale."
I smile, then look at my watch.
"What time is it anyway, Sam?"
"It's about 7:00. Are you about ready to head home?"
"Don't worry about it. I'll just get a bus or something. I'm sure there's a bus that'll get me to the station in Baltimore, and I can cab it from there."
"I won't hear of it. I brought you here, and I can drive you home. Don't worry."
"Sam…"
"Jennifer…"
She shakes her head and laughs.
"You know that the National Weather Service said there were severe thunderstorm watches for Baltimore and the surrounding area, right?"
I brush that comment off.
"Yeah, but the NWS is never accurate. Besides, I'm sure that if they actually DO happen, they'll be much later at night. Any other obstacles you wish to throw in my path of common courtesy?"
"Smart ass."
"Jennifer! Would you talk to your students like that?"
"People close to my age and that stand relatively close to my height; yes. My students; no."
"Alright. Get your coat, Miss Sarcasm."

TBC...