Free Every Breath by Tasha Ivey

they’ll adore you.”
    One corner of his mouth pulls up. “I hope so.”
    The rumbling sound of a herd of little footsteps is my indicator that we’ll find out sooner rather than later. “I’m going to turn you away from them, so they can’t see you. And stay quiet until I introduce you, okay?”
    He nods and salutes with a wink, and I want to melt into puddle right there on the floor.
    My class begins to trickle in, one-by-one, pulling their jackets off and taking their seats. Their cheeks are flushed from the cool wind, and the fresh air clearly gave them a renewed energy. The room is practically buzzing with it.
    As the last one takes their seat, I peer down at my computer screen to see Sawyer watching me intently, pretending to zip his lips when he catches me looking.
    “Okay, class, I have a little surprise for you.”
    Before I could go on, a petite hand shoots up in the air. “Yes, Kristin?”
    Her wide eyes almost match the “o” shape of her mouth. “Cupcakes?” Of course, the prospect of sugar coma-inducing baked goods sends the entire room into mass hysteria.
    Clapping my hands in a special pattern, I get their attention again. “As much as I love a good cupcake, Kristin, that’s not what the surprise is today. Raise your hand if you remember the cards that we made several weeks ago for our new soldier friend.”
    Every single hand in the room goes up, except for Riley, who lost interest when cupcakes were no longer involved. “Okay, good. Now, I want you to meet a friend of mine, and then I’ll give you the surprise.”
    I flash a smile down to Sawyer before I spin my laptop around to face the class. A collective intake of breaths is all I hear when they see his face. “Boys and girls, this is my friend Sawyer Harris. He is the soldier that got your cards, and right here in my hand is the letter he sent back to you.”
    I knew the kids would come through for me. And for Sawyer. Their sweet faces immediately split into wide partially-toothless grins, and the room erupts with chatter, applause, and cheering. And when Sawyer greets them, they all look at him like he’s a rock star.
    After I read the letter and pass it around the class, they all take turns asking him questions, and he answers them perfectly, steering their minds away from the brutality of war and giving them a brief glimpse into the pros of being an American soldier and some funny stories about the men in his unit. There is also, of course, a mini lesson on the reptiles he’s encountered in Afghanistan, question courtesy of Jase Mitchell.
    Thirty minutes pass in a blur, and the kids remain engaged with him until I force them out of the room just in time to make it to art class. I plop into my chair, spinning the screen to face me once again, and Sawyer leans back in his chair and stretches his arms over his head, stifling a yawn. “Did they wear you out?”
    “Not at all. I loved it.” He leans back up, his face seeming so close that I could reach out and touch it. “I really appreciate you doing that for me, Makenna. You have no idea what that meant to me.” His voice cracks almost inaudibly at the end, his eyes fighting unshed tears.
    Seeing his raw emotion, I have to swallow the lump forming in my throat. “Anytime. I mean it. We can schedule chats with the class again, and you can also talk to me whenever you get the chance. You don’t have much longer, and we’re going to be here for you until you come home.”
    “Thanks,” he says softly, quickly swiping away a solitary tear trailing down his left cheek. “I’m going to take you up on that.”
    I go straight home after school to find that my parents already left, and my mom had cleaned my house from top to bottom. Callie stops by on her way home to find out how the video chat went, and I tell her all about it, including how wrong she was about his looks. And by the time I get rid of her, it’s nearly dark and Darcy is furious that I haven’t fed her yet.
    Placing