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Chicken Soup For The Soul © 2004 Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen/King Features Syndicate ACCENTUATING Daphna Renan©2000 (From "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III") Julia and I met in math class — right before lunch. We soon realized that we both hated word problems, both loved egg-salad sandwiches, and both thought Bobby Bisbee was the only boy we could ever kiss. During recess, we were inseparable. One Friday, Julia had an idea. "Hey, let’s make plans for the weekend," she said. "We could have a sleepover or something." We were both so excited we couldn’t sit still during math, or any other class. But when the bell sounded the end of school, I suddenly got very nervous. "Hi, Talia. How was school today?" my mom asked with a smile. Today, her warm and caring hello did not sound comforting. Instead, all I heard in the loving syllables was her thick foreign accent. I was so embarrassed. Julia and I were no longer the same. The sound of my mom’s voice made me feel like an outsider. What would Julia think? I didn’t have to wait long to find out. From across the schoolyard, I saw Julia pulling her mother toward us. "Hello, I’m Julia’s mother. I hear the girls want to get together this weekend." "Oh, that sounds wonderful," my mom replied. But all I heard was the "v" replacing the "w" and the roll of the "r": vonderrrful. I was mortified. Were they staring? Had Julia changed her mind? Did I dare look into her eyes? I did. She answered my unspoken fears with an excited smile while our moms exchanged phone numbers. That Sunday we went to the movies. Years later, Julia and I sit on my bed talking. Graduation is only days away. Julia has plans of becoming a math and physics major, and I no longer like egg-salad sandwiches. Neither of us has ever kissed Bobby Bisbee. (There are others who have left much more permanent marks on our hearts and our lips.) My mom comes into my room to see what we’re up to. We tell her of our plans to spend the afternoon with friends at the beach, and maybe see a movie after dinner. "That sounds wonderful," she replies. I no longer hear the "v" replacing a "w" in her speech. But I think it still does. Somewhere in the passing of math classes and lunch recesses, I
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