True to Miriam’s word,the school set up a visit with the Storm players—though when the day came, only one was able to show up. It wasn’t a surprise to Em that that player was none other than Grant Vaughn.
Em was just finishing a lesson on volcanoes when there was a knock on the door. She was surprised when Frida’s face peaked through the crack when it opened.
“Sorry to interrupt, Ms. O’Brien. You have a visitor.” She cleared her throat, though it sounded an awful lot like a stifled laugh. “Since I happened to be in the office when he arrived, I was happy to walk him to your classroom.”
The visitor was obviously Grant, and even though she wasn’t sure how Miriam and Frida had pulled it off, Em was sure that the timing of his visit during the art teacher’s break was no coincidence.
Em struggled to keep her voice even. “Let him in.”
Frida opened the door wider, and Grant soon entered the classroom hunched over a pair of crutches wearing a small backpack. Even though he’d confirmed his sprain on social media, she’d almost forgotten he’d injured himself at the game. She hated seeing him like that. He was fit and...a guest in her classroom.
This wasn’t the time to ogle him. She smiled at him as he slowly made his way to the front of the classroom. Thankfully, her students were all too young to notice the way her cheeks got redder the closer he got. She fought against the urge to fan her face as he stopped beside her.
“Thanks for coming today.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
My pleasure.There were those pesky words again. They had the same effect on her as the first time he’d spoken them, and now she really wanted to fan her cheeks.
She focused on her students instead. “Class, we have a special visitor today. This is Grant Vaughn. He’s a player for the Storm.”
A hand immediately went up. Em pointed to the boy in the middle of the room. “Yes?”
“What’s the Storm?”
Em turned to Grant. “That’s a great question. Would you like to answer that for him, Mr. Vaughn?”
He gave her a quizzical look. Non-teachers—especially younger adults—who came to her class always seemed put off by formal introductions. But rather than let him dwell on it, she gave him an encouraging nod.
Grant adjusted his weight over the crutches. “The Storm is a professional arena soccer team based here in Waterfront.”
Another student raised their hand. Grant called on him. “You have a question?”
“What’s arena soccer?”
Em stood back as he started describing the sport. It was short, engaging, and completely age-appropriate. Em was pleasantly surprised; not everyone knew how to talk to kids. When he was done with his spiel, he swung the black backpack from his back so that it was in front of him. With some careful maneuvering, he unzipped it and pulled out a stack of tickets. “And if you’re really good while I read, I promise to leave some free tickets with your teacher. Sound good?”
Excited chatter went through the class.
“The games are a lot of fun. And you know what the best part is?” Grant said. The room quieted. “Ms. O’Brien is a big soccer fan, and you’ll probably get to see her if you go.”
Em’s kids were nine and ten. They were at an age where some of them still loved seeing teachers outside of school, while others were getting too cool for things like that. The mix of expressions showed the clear division of the students.
Not missing a beat, he turned to Em and asked, “Did she tell you how I protected her at the last game?”
She wanted to cover her face with her hands, but as their teacher, she needed to have some level of decorum. Em plastered a smile on her face and said through slightly gritted teeth, “As a matter of fact, I didn’t.”
“Then I should tell it.”
The kids all leaned forward as one of the girls asked if that was why he was on crutches.
“That would be really cool, but no. I hurt my foot playing soccer.” Grant let out a good-natured chuckle. “I saved your teacher from a ball that flew into the stands.”
“The balls go into the stands?” another kid asked.
“Sometimes, and people can get really hurt if they get hit. Thankfully, I was there to make sure your teacher didn’t come to school with a giant bruise on her face.”
There was more chatter between the students, though it seemed like the majority of them were impressed.
