Watched: Chapters 10–12

by Marina Budhos
After a minor run-in with the police, eighteen-year-old Naeem is offered a terrible choice: go to court or spy on members of his community.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–9, Chapters 10–12, Chapters 13–17, Chapters 18–32
30 words 10 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. fretful
    nervous and unable to relax
    I wake to a dark room, drawing fretful breaths.
  2. spurned
    rebuffed (by a lover) without warning
    This is getting to be our little dance. Taylor on me. Sanchez like a spurned girl, always within earshot.
  3. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    The guy who smiled when I swished into the hoop in the playground, who coaxed me into the car a few weeks ago, has vanished.
  4. initiative
    readiness to embark on bold new ventures
    Finally he talks. “Look. A job like this, you have to show initiative. We’re depending on you. You’re our eyes and ears. You understand?”
  5. concoction
    the act of creating something by compounding or mixing
    We pull up beside a low-slung building. Nothing special: Laundromat, discount store, brooms bristling out of rubber garbage containers. A Chinese shop where they sell funky-smelling herbs and concoctions in brown jars.
  6. launder
    transfer funds to hide the source of money gotten illegally
    “You know how much money laundering went on there?”
  7. decal
    a design that can be transferred from paper to some surface
    But through Taylor’s eyes, it’s as if everything is turning paper thin, decals blowing off to reveal something murky, not right, on the inside.
  8. belligerently
    in the manner of someone eager to fight
    The next thing I know the man from the counter is looking belligerently at my screen.
  9. venture
    proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
    After a while, I’m feeling so smooth I venture to my other account, CaptnA.
  10. regime
    the governing authority of a political unit
    I hang on the edges, take notes on who’s saying what. It’s nothing new. The usual mouthing off about crappy dictators and crappier regimes.
  11. radical
    far beyond the norm
    “We need you to focus on some campus groups. Pay attention to political arguments. What speakers are invited. We’re looking for names. Especially those who seem to be outliers. Expressing stronger views. Radical ideas.”
  12. rile
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    Don’t engage too much, get riled up. Just observe.
  13. samosa
    fried Indian turnover filled with vegetables or meat
    “Want us all like their mothers,” she scoffed. “We’re supposed to bring the samosas and stay quiet.”
  14. inroad
    an encroachment or intrusion
    “You show us you’re making inroads and we’ll talk about your compensation, okay?”
  15. terra cotta
    clay fired for pottery and building material, or the finished object
    I’m excited, seeing some of the pretty sand-colored buildings with their terra-cotta roofs, a green lawn, and sloping paths.
  16. aloof
    distant, cold, or detached in manner
    Then I remember: It’s a job. A role. Don’t act too eager—that will draw out her suspicions. Play it goofy and aloof.
  17. haggard
    showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
    There’s a haggard, sad look drawing down in her eyes.
  18. sheaf
    a package of several things tied together
    I’m about to give up when Taslima is standing over me, a sheaf of flyers in her hand.
  19. placard
    a sign posted in a public place
    Now she barricades herself behind her meetings and placards and tables.
  20. feint
    any distracting or deceptive maneuver
    I’ve got all the moves, the feints and angles.
  21. brittle
    not annealed and consequently easily cracked or fractured
    She does not hold it against Abba, all he could not be or do for her: The failing store. His bad back. But me—the young one, the brittle one, the one who can snap like a stalk and hurt others—it’s me she holds responsible.
  22. melancholy
    a feeling of thoughtful sadness
    Her eyes are kind, but they glimmer with a trace of melancholy.
  23. panache
    distinctive and stylish elegance
    Half the stuff he boasts about is bull. But he has imagination. Panache, as Mrs. D would say, one of her favorite words.
  24. placid
    not easily irritated
    There are four of us—a serious dude called Mahmoud, who I saw at the conference; Rashid, tattoos twisting up his thick arms, a crocheted skullcap floating on his curls; and Suman, a chubby, placid guy.
  25. elated
    exultantly proud and joyful; in high spirits
    I’m so elated, my fingers auto-dial Ibrahim—the one friend who’d be amazed at all I’ve pulled off.
  26. spoof
    a humorous imitation of another work or style of work
    Oh, man. That is sick! he’d say. No one hurt. Just a little spoof.
  27. matrix
    an array of quantities set out by rows and columns
    There are offices and more offices, growing mazelike behind him. A regular matrix of power—and I’m nothing, just a little bug of information.
  28. iridescent
    varying in color when seen in different lights
    I want to shift like a lizard in the branches, iridescent, camouflage brown.
  29. scrutinize
    look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail
    I feel his eyes on me, scrutinizing.
  30. prod
    urge on; cause to act
    “Hey. Pretty boy. Stop lookin’ at yourself.”
    It’s Sanchez, prodding from the backseat.
Created on Fri Sep 06 08:34:27 EDT 2019 (updated Fri Sep 06 08:43:08 EDT 2019)

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