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breakfast.
    â€œI think he’s interested,” Tessa said.
    â€œBut not enthusiastic,” said Mrs. Hedges.
    â€œMaybe we should try stale taco chips,” I said. “The zookeeper called them a cockroach favorite.”
    â€œOnly not the spicy ones,” Tessa reminded me. “Those give him a tummyache.”
    We watched James Madison consider his breakfast for a few moments more. Then Tessa and I put on our sneakers and Mrs. Hedges finished with the sheets.
    â€œFeeding the cockroach was probably the highlight of my day,” she said, picking up the laundry basket. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an endless number of beds to change.”
    As soon as she was gone, Tessa turned to me. “Got your notebook, Cammie?”
    â€œUh, not yet,” I said. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
    â€œOka-a-ay . . . ,” said Tessa. “What?”
    Now what? The something was something I couldn’t say in front of James Madison, but Tessa didn’t know that. She frowned, tapped her foot and checked her Barbie watch.
    Then I had an idea. “Tessa, remember how the zookeeper told us that in Madagascar cockroaches always live near waterfalls?”
    â€œNope,” Tessa said unhelpfully.
    â€œWell, dear sister, that is exactly what the zookeeper told us. So now, how about if we put James Madison’s tank in the bathroom where he can listen to the sound of running water and feel at home?”
    I could see from Tessa’s face that she wanted to say I was crazy, but then, all of a sudden, she caught on. “Oh! Why, Cameron,” she said in her most normal possible voice, “what an excellent idea!”
    Together, we picked up the tank, carried it to the bathroom, turned the water on, walked out and closed the door.
    â€œThat was good thinking,” Tessa said. “Only we can’t do it for very long, because it wastes water.”
    â€œI know, but this is an emergency. From now on, we need to keep James Madison with us all the time.”
    Tessa made a face. “All the time?”
    â€œLook what just happened with Mrs. Hedges,” I said. “She talks to herself when she’s cleaning. What if she gives away a secret and endangers the UnitedStates of America? Or what about this? The spy could sneak in again and let James Madison loose to snoop other places—like in one of Mom’s meetings.”
    Tessa looked alarmed. “Uh-oh. But how do we carry him with us?”
    â€œIn that little plastic box the zoo gave us, remember? It’s in my desk drawer.”
    The clear plastic box was a disk about half an inch high and three inches in diameter. After we returned James Madison’s tank to its table, Tessa took him out and packed him inside with a leaf and a strip of banana peel. It was a tight squeeze, but the keeper had said cockroaches in the wild live mostly in holes, so to a cockroach, squished just feels cozy.
    Tessa snapped the box shut and said, “There you are, James Madison. Your own personal mobile home.”
    â€œAnd now we’re going on a field trip,” I said. “You’re really going to like the weather outside. It’s hot, just like your native Madagascar.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
    I changed into cargo shorts so I’d have a pocket for James Madison’s mobile home, then—along with Tessa—went downstairs to meet Mr. Bryant and Hooligan under the awning outside the Diplomatic Reception Room. It’s on the ground floor and our most usual way in and out of the White House.
    â€œWhat’s Mr. Amaro doing out here again?” Tessa asked Mr. Bryant as we walked.
    â€œPicking tomatoes,” Mr. Bryant said. “The idea is to encourage people to grow vegetables as well as eat them. The ladies and gentlemen of the Fourth Estate are going to snap some pictures of him and his harvest.”
    â€œFourth Estate means news guys,” I