Here to Stay: Chapters 14–18

by Sara Farizan
When Bijan Majidi sinks the winning basket at a varsity basketball game, he unexpectedly finds himself enjoying the perks of popularity. But his success also sparks rivalry — and makes Bijan the target of an anonymous cyberbully.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–6, Chapters 7–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–18, Chapters 19–24
35 words 63 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. incriminating
    charging or suggestive of guilt or blame
    “No phones, no incriminating photographs of underage drinking. Makes for a more relaxed evening. Good game, by the way. Elle got lots of great shots for the yearbook.”
  2. homestead
    the house and adjacent grounds occupied by a family
    Plus, Mom would be happy that I was socializing and not moping around the homestead.
  3. skulk
    move stealthily
    He put his hands on the top of his head the way he did when he was called for a foul. We briefly made eye contact, but he looked away. He skulked out of the living room.
  4. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    I meandered down the stairs to check out the basement.
  5. jut
    extend out or project in space
    The basement rec room was a throwback to the sixties: shag carpeting, modern furniture, a small bar jutting out from the wall, and a Ping-Pong table.
  6. disposition
    your usual mood
    Drew sat by himself on a brown leather couch under a framed vintage travel poster of Tahiti. His not-so-sunny disposition really didn’t go with the decor.
  7. trite
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
    I didn’t know which clichéd phrase about love I could use to comfort him. “Plenty of fish in the sea” was too trite.
  8. crude
    conspicuously and tastelessly indecent
    “...It’s kind of crude, but he has a point.”
  9. demean
    reduce in worth or character, usually verbally
    “I’m not going to demean myself and, what...make myself over to appease your insecurities,” she hissed, her voice rising to a yell before she regained her composure.
  10. appease
    overcome or allay
    “I’m not going to demean myself and, what...make myself over to appease your insecurities,” she hissed, her voice rising to a yell before she regained her composure.
  11. verbose
    using or containing too many words
    “I pay attention to everything you say. Which is not always easy, considering how verbose you are,” Erin said.
  12. forage
    wander and feed
    Meanwhile, the skunk was foraging through the snow.
  13. profusely
    in very large amounts or quantities; extremely
    I had never met Will’s mom, but if I ever did, I would apologize to her profusely.
  14. rapt
    feeling great delight and interest
    I wandered into the kitchen to find Elle at the table with a group of seniors hanging on every word she said. Popular guys with nice cars who had no viral iconography casting a shadow over them and would never bring up Chuck E. Cheese’s in her presence sat there rapt.
  15. lieu
    the post or function properly occupied or served by another
    She sat at the table with us, sticking with her cup of coffee and banana in lieu of our heartier fare.
  16. vanquish
    defeat in a competition, race, or conflict
    When Bijan traveled to enemy territory to vanquish the boars, he fell in love with a princess, Manijeh, who was the daughter of his country’s greatest enemy.
  17. haphazard
    marked by great carelessness
    The photoshop quality was haphazard.
  18. unkempt
    not neatly combed
    His usually gelled chestnut-brown hair was fuzzy and unkempt.
  19. pristine
    completely free from dirt or contamination
    The right side of the stuffy office was disorganized, with stacks of newspapers and boxes on a table. The left side was pristine and organized, no scattered papers or clutter to be seen.
  20. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    A cynical part of me thought the crowd was larger now because a cyberbully had gone after two white girls this time, but I was a little relieved that I wouldn’t be the sole focus of the meeting.
  21. concoct
    devise or invent
    She could just deny the rumors. Say the email was some sad joke concocted by a jealous person.
  22. nobility
    elevation of mind and exaltation of character
    “It has no nobility,” Sean answered.
  23. indigenous
    originating where it is found
    “It is disappointing that the school I love waited until 1970 to change a mascot that is racist and dehumanizing to Native Americans and indigenous people. It is also a disappointing fact that many high school, college, and professional sports teams have such mascots to this day.”
  24. frivolous
    not serious in content, attitude, or behavior
    In reviewing the campaign from the sixties in the archived issues of the Gazette, we learned that some saw the mascot debate as frivolous or unimportant.
  25. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    I could see Mr. Thompson’s smug face staring out at an unimpressed audience.
  26. reconvene
    meet or cause to meet again
    “I believe that is a conversation better held in private,” Mr. Clarkson said. “Perhaps we should take a short break and reconvene in ten minutes. Ms. Bergner, if you could please meet me in my office.”
  27. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    I wanted to see where Noah was slinking off to.
  28. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
    “I can’t believe this. After everything I’ve done for you.”
    “Done for me?” Stephanie asked, incredulous.
  29. amiable
    diffusing warmth and friendliness
    His usual forgettable, amiable smile was nowhere to be found. He looked at me with an empty stare that gave me a chill.
  30. kudos
    an expression of approval and commendation
    “I didn’t send that email about you. Trust me, I liked it, and kudos to the guy who made it...but I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
  31. spree
    a brief indulgence of your impulses
    If anything, Noah should have talked to her before he decided to go on a psycho GIF-creating spree.
  32. insurmountable
    not capable of being overcome
    I was doing my best to catch up in my other classes, but some days the workload felt insurmountable.
  33. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    “Bird is a legend,” I conceded. “He and Magic saved the NBA. He could shoot from everywhere. A great trash talker too. But the best Celtic of all time has to be Bill Russell.”
  34. backpedal
    reverse or retreat from one's position on an issue
    “Well, yeah. That and shorter shorts,” Todd said, doing his best to backpedal.
  35. savant
    a learned person
    Marcus slapped me on the back and laughed. “You’re a basketball nerd!” he said.
    “Correction: basketball savant,” I protested.
Created on Tue May 28 13:10:00 EDT 2019 (updated Tue May 28 13:57:12 EDT 2019)

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