Leo recognized Luke Harris immediately. The crutches. The folded flag under his arm. The same cap.
“Mom,” Leo said. “I think I need to get out of the car.”
She parked on the grass. He got out. The crowd near the entrance noticed him first – a few kids from his class, then a teacher, Mrs. Garza, who put her hand over her mouth when she saw him coming.
Word moved faster than he did.
By the time he reached the edge of the gathered students, the whole school seemed to know he was there. Kids turned. Some of the SEALs turned. Luke Harris turned.
Leo stopped walking about fifteen feet away. He didn’t know what the protocol was for something like this. He was just a kid in a wrinkled hoodie with a backpack covered in patches.
Luke Harris started toward him on the crutches. Slow, steady. The kind of walk that made it clear he’d been told not to rush things but was doing it anyway.
