Leslie grabbed his arm. “Are you crazy?” she hissed. “You can’t do this!”
“I really can, trust me.” He turned back to the kids. “C’mon, c’mon, do you want to get out of here or not?”
They shuffled back in, not sure if he was serious, and formed a rough semicircle facing the flag. A few hands tentatively came up and over the heart. Most of them had not done this since elementary school.
Leslie was looking up at him strangely now.
“You too, Miss Adams,” he said soberly. “Hand over your heart.”
She turned, her hand coming up slowly, still staring at him.
“If you don’t mind,” Bryce said to the class, “I’d like to say it first, then we’ll all do it together. Okay?”
He turned back and faced the red, white, and blue banner hanging limply in the corner. Then he put his hand over his heart, took a deep breath, and began.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America…”
There were a few nervous giggles, some feet shuffling, but Bryce heard none of it. His mind was in another time and and another place.
“…and to the republic for which it stands…”
His breath caught, and he blinked quickly, eyes burning. “And to the republic for which it stands,” he said again, “one nation under God, indivisible—” The image of a red slash marked “demilitarized zone” running down the middle of the map of the North American Continent flashed into his mind, and he had to stop.
Leslie stepped up beside him. “…one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The class was totally silent now, watching the two adults standing shoulder to shoulder in front of them. Leslie turned her head. “All right, all together now.”
They spoke in unison, these bright-faced, coddled kids, born of the permissive generation, suckled in the land of the free and barely aware of what they had. But at that moment something in the face of the handsome young man who had swept into their classroom and kissed their teacher touched their hearts, just as his heart was touched. And as they went through the words again, they spoke them with feeling and with commitment, many of them in that way for the first time.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
For fully ten seconds no one moved, then Bryce turned slowly. “Thank you,” he said. Then he smiled. “Now get outta here!”
And in fifteen seconds he and Leslie were left standing in the classroom alone.
About the Author
Gerald N. Lund’s numerous books include The Work and the Glory series; One in Thine Hand; The Alliance; Jesus Christ, Key to the Plan of Salvation; Leverage Point; and The Coming of the Lord. He received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in sociology from Brigham Young University and has been a seminary teacher, an institute of religion teacher and director, and director of college curriculum for the Church Educational System of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Lynn, have seven children; they reside in Bountiful, Utah.
Gerald N. Lund 4-In-1 Fiction eBook Bundle Page 114
