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Cordova had been working on a Mexican American project, but he ached to create a story that specifically reflected his Ecuadorean background.

When his hands ached from punching the glass, he started using his feet.

Another exam taker, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, said he was exhausted and his head ached after experiencing multiple glitches Wednesday.

"My heart ached, and I could only pray: 'God, please don't let that happen.'"

But my green thumb ached as workers sawed down the tree, took away everything — trunk, twigs, leaves, fruit, roots — in biohazard bags and tagged the remaining trees with a bill of clean health.