As the soldier dressed in U.S. Army fatigues briskly walked into the Woodlands Middle School cafeteria Thursday afternoon, most of the 350 students stared at him and the parade of reporters trying to keep up.
Across the room was eighth grader Kaylee Zajicek, sitting at a table with her back toward where the soldier was headed.
“Kaylee, Kaylee. Come to the stage, please,” someone said through a microphone.
The 13-year-old turned around, and froze.
There he was: U.S. Army Specialist Brandon Zalewski, her big brother she hadn’t seen in three years.
Kaylee ran to the stage, one hand over her mouth. For the next 15 minutes or so, the brother and sister hugged, and Zalewski wiped away tears.
“I just missed my brother so much,” Kaylee said. “All the time I was worried about him, thinking about him.”
Zalewski, 23, returned home Tuesday after three years away. He was stationed in Germany, and during his time there was sent to Afghanistan for nine months and Africa for two months. On Oct. 10, he and his wife Christina will go to Fort Campbell, Ky.
Kaylee already knows what she’ll be doing until then: “Spend as much time as possible together.”
The idea to surprise Kaylee came from their mom, Deborah Zalewski.
“She asked me all the time, ‘When is he coming home?’ Deborah Zalewski said. “She was so terrified.”
While away from one another, Kaylee and her brother would stay in contact through FaceTime video calls. She’d write stories for school about war and soldiers. She’d write him letters while he was in Afghanistan.
Zalewski said her son is a mentor to her daughter, and she couldn’t have asked for the surprise to go any better.
“That was perfect,” said Deborah Zalewski, who was at the surprise. “That was the reaction I wanted. That was so cool.”
Woodlands Middle Principal Jeffrey Eassa said he knew about the plan for a couple of weeks. He said he’s seen videos of soldiers surprising their loved ones before. Did he ever expect his school to be the place where one of these reunions happened?
“Absolutely not,” Eassa said. “It’s a feel-good moment for a family and I’m thrilled we were able to be a part of it.”
After the brother and sister hugged for the first time, the crowd of students and teachers cheered and clapped. Some screamed and pointed at the stage. Even a school police officer took out his phone to snap a photo.
Christina said she knows exactly how Kaylee felt.
“I know the feeling of waiting to see him after forever,” she said. “It’s definitely a tear-jerker.”
After the excitement of the reunion, the family left the cafeteria and headed into another room.
Again, the students and teachers erupted into a round of applause and cheers.
The army specialist peeked his head into the cafeteria one more time, and with a big smile on his face, waved to Kaylee’s classmates.