Kevin Durant crawled back into a white van and was driven just a few blocks, to Briarwood Elementary, where children were in school when Monday’s powerful tornado came barreling toward them. After getting out, Durant walked along the curb of the school, taking in exposed beams, torn apart walls and water sitting in the hallway.
He grew silent.
Durant made a sharp turn back toward the van. But a lady stopped him.
Sheri Neal needed to talk to somebody. Her son, Logan, a fifth-grader, was inside that school on Monday. Without warning, she began sharing her story, seemingly desperate for a shoulder to cry on.
She remembers warning Logan that the weather would be inclement.
“I said we’re going to have some bad weather today,” she recalled. “You need to take care of the little kids and your teachers.”
Logan did, and when Sheri made it back to her son she was told as much.
“His teacher came over and said that she was really scared and that he helped her not be so scared,” Sheri said, tearing up. “So I was really proud of him.”
Durant, meanwhile, was speechless. For the first time in the day, he struggled to find the right words.
“I just want to say thank you to the foundation and everybody’s support,” Sheri told Durant. “It’s going to take a lot to rebuild, but I think we can do it.”
“You can,” Durant said. “No doubt. You can.