Here to Stay: Chapters 19–24

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 75 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. finesse
    subtly skillful handling of a situation
    “Kids today. They just don’t understand the finesse of trash talking, Kevin.”
  2. beeline
    the most direct route
    Eric’s grip on me loosened. I tore away and made a beeline for the room while Eric and Will laughed.
  3. self-righteous
    excessively or hypocritically pious
    “If Will sent that email, he didn’t tell me,” Drew said, his face reddening. “Someone probably sent it because you annoyed them with your self-righteous petition. Elle and Stephanie can be involved in that kind of stuff because they’ve got the money to say what they like. You and I can’t afford to. Don’t you get that?”
  4. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    “Yeah,” I shot back, my voice dripping with disdain.
  5. rhetoric
    using language effectively to please or persuade
    “You know what those guys out there think? They think people like you aren’t apologetic enough. With everything on the news, they’re not buying that ‘peaceful religion’ rhetoric. They don’t feel like they have to be politically correct when the facts are staring them in the face.”
  6. amble
    walk leisurely
    “Breakfast buffet! Wish I had more of an appetite,” I said as Drew and I ambled into the Holiday Inn dining area dressed in our Granger warm-up suits.
  7. wry
    humorously sarcastic or mocking
    “It’s in my sports bag,” he said with a wry smile.
  8. waffle
    pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
    “Young is waffling on more than whether or not he wants to eat his Danish, Reggie. Waffling. See what I did there?”
  9. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    “Two shots!” the ref shouted. He blew his whistle. I got up and gingerly approached the free-throw line.
  10. flagrant
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
    Eric boxed me out by pushing me down with his arms, another flagrant foul.
  11. crony
    a close friend or associate
    I looked up at Will’s cronies. They didn’t seem to be letting up.
  12. cog
    a subordinate who performs an important but routine function
    “You haven’t said my name since I’ve started playing for you. I don’t know if you’re embarrassed that you won’t pronounce it right or if I’m another anonymous cog in your basketball machine, but I’d like you to say my name before I go out there.”
  13. infamous
    known widely and usually unfavorably
    Will kept shooting his infamous jump shot that never fell.
  14. subside
    wear off or die down
    When the tears subsided, Sean stayed next to me. “Sorry,” I said, wiping my eyes with the end of my sleeve.
  15. brooding
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    “Says you! I’m about to go home and have a good old-fashioned weep myself,” Sean said. “Girls love that stuff. Sensitive, brooding types are in now.”
  16. aback
    by surprise
    “I’m okay,” Stephanie said as my mom let her go, a little taken aback by her show of affection.
  17. exploit
    work excessively hard
    At the table, Stephanie didn’t ask if the salad was organic like she would at the cafeteria or if the juice came from a major food corporation that exploited migrant laborers.
  18. objectify
    treat or regard as a thing, rather than as a person
    I hoped she didn’t think I objectified women.
  19. precarious
    not secure; beset with difficulties
    But we...well, I found myself in the precarious position of falling in love.
  20. entail
    impose, involve, or imply as a necessary result
    I really did everything to avoid it. Love, I mean. That avoidance stems from many things: my parents’ divorce; how society values couples and coupledom over single people, which I find distressing; how much work it entails to foster a relationship.
  21. enigmatic
    not clear to the understanding
    “I don’t know much about romance,” I said. “I guess, it’s just women are so, um...well, you guys—not guys, your people, girls—are very enigmatic.”
  22. incompetence
    lack of physical or intellectual ability or qualifications
    I was glad my incompetence in the romance department gave her a little break from her heartache.
  23. chortle
    a soft partly suppressed laugh
    “Women! Women people! I know I’m bad at this,” I said. I let out a small, awkward chortle.
  24. modest
    humble in spirit or manner
    “Modest too. Don’t forget modest,” I said.
  25. docket
    a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to
    She was tasked with running assembly instead of Headmaster Clarkson, who was busy in his office with the materials Elle and I had sent. “We have a lot on the docket today, so let’s begin.”
  26. slate
    designate or schedule
    After the finance club told everyone they’d be discussing early retirement planning at their next meeting, Ms. McCrea looked down at her sheet to see who else was slated to speak.
  27. heinous
    extremely wicked or deeply criminal
    I didn’t explain to them that terrorists who commit heinous acts in the name of religion don’t understand their faith at all, including the white Christian terrorists within our own country.
  28. hokey
    very sentimental or emotional
    “That was quite the speech,” Jessica said without looking at me. “A little hokey, but not bad.”
  29. bigoted
    blindly and obstinately attached to some creed or opinion
    Maybe by the end of the day, we’d all be singing folk songs and playing Frisbee. Get a good game of Frolf going with your secretly bigoted classmate!
  30. outlook
    an attitude that determines how you respond to situations
    “There are going to be changes at Granger. We can assure you of that,” Ms. McCrea promised. As usual, she had an optimistic outlook, with no concrete evidence to back up her vision.
  31. implement
    pursue to a conclusion or bring to a successful issue
    By the time they got around to implementing that, I would probably be in graduate school—or a retirement home.
  32. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    “We’ll discuss it when we get home,” Mom said, looking from him to me a little warily.
  33. condescending
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    She didn’t smile at me condescendingly or anything like that, which was good.
  34. discreet
    marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint
    “Yes. It’s very discreet. As are the conversations in my office.”
  35. elusive
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    “Shhh! I think they’re bonding. In their own macho, elusive way.”
Created on Tue May 28 13:10:28 EDT 2019 (updated Tue May 28 16:20:27 EDT 2019)

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