"Everyone knows who the first president of the United States, but can anyone tell me who was the Second President?"
Zoey Diaz raised her hand.
"John Adams?"
"Yes, Zoey. John Adams was the First Vice-President. When President Washington decided not to run for a second term, John Adams won the next election. Back in those times, the man who was second in the Presidential vote became Vice President. Anyone know who was the second Vice President?"
Zoey raised her hand.
"Does anyone but Zoey know the answer?"
"Abraham Lincoln?" guessed a student.
"No. He was the sixteenth president."
"Benjamin Franklin?" guessed another.
"No. He was a French diplomat. He made sure that the French and Americans got along."
Zoey looked at Miss Choi.
"Aliright, Zoey, who was the second Vice-President?"
"Thomas Jefferson."
"And?" said Miss Choi.
"He was also the third American President."
"Correct, as usual."
As Miss Choi continued the lesson, Zoey Diaz glanced out the window. The winds of mid-April blew the Sugar Maple back and forth. Rainclouds sat in the distane.
C-r-r-r-a-c-k!
All the children in Miss Choi's fifth grade class sat up straight in their seats as a bolt of lightning struck the tiny tree.
"My that was close!" said Miss Choi. Miss Choi taught
