ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Time now for "My Unsung Hero," our series from the team at the Hidden Brain podcast. "My Unsung Hero" tells the stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else. Today's story comes from 12-year-old Clara Temple. When Temple was in first grade, she always brought her lunch from home. But one day there was a mix up, which meant she had to get a hot lunch from the school cafeteria. When she got in line, she noticed that the other kids were entering their student ID numbers on a keypad before getting their food.
CLARA TEMPLE: And of course, because it was my first time, I had no clue what the student ID was. Everybody all kind of knew what to do, and the line was going so quickly. And then finally, when it came time to type in my number, I froze. And I felt embarrassed, like everyone was watching me, and all the kids were, like, come on, keep moving. What are you doing? And I just cried. Like, I couldn't move. And everything was so bad, and I was so stressed. And I had just kind of given up trying. I just couldn't stop crying - like, all my emotions came out. And then the lunch lady came in and stopped all her work. She stopped serving the lunches, and she came in and picked me up, put me on my feet, and then helped me recall what my number was. And I just felt so, like, comfortable. And it was almost like she understood truly what I was feeling. And then she guided me through the line and then she walked me to my table, gave me a hug and told me I was going to be all right. And then she sat me down with my friends and then left.
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CLARA: It didn't sound like a big deal to other people, but it was a really, really big deal for me 'cause I just felt so reassured. And I just want her to know how much she made a difference, and I hope she knows how much she helped me that day.
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SHAPIRO: Clara Temple lives in Wisconsin and will finish up seventh grade next year. You can find more stories of unsung heroes at hiddenbrain.org.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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