Eleven: Chapters 9–14

by Tom Rogers
Alex loves planes and dreams of getting a dog for his birthday. But September 11th, 2001—Alex's 11th birthday—becomes a day when he will experience both tragedy and hope.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–8, Chapters 9–14, Chapters 15–30, Chapters 31–40
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sulky
    sullen or moody
    He looked away and tried to shake off his sulky mood.
  2. rosary
    a series of prayers counted using a string of beads
    An old lady in the row behind him had her eyes closed while she counted her rosary, her lips moving silently as her trembling fingers pushed through the beads.
  3. frantic
    marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion
    He closed his eyes tightly and made a frantic deal with the universe.
  4. slump
    assume a drooping posture or carriage
    Alex slumped. For a brief moment, he had believed, really believed. Now he just felt stupid.
  5. muzzle
    forward projecting part of the head of certain animals
    There was a dark patch above his muzzle that made him look like he had a black eye.
  6. haunch
    the upper part of the leg of an animal, often used for food
    And he was missing a bit of fur from his left haunch, where a patch of skin showed through, the same shade as the wad of bubble gum stuck to his tail.
  7. pounce
    move down on as if in an attack
    The dog pounced, knocking him flat on his back.
  8. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    The dog crouched, poised, as Alex turned toward an empty lot and hurled the stick as far as he could throw it.
  9. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    As Alex watched his dog chase the stick again, a fleeting thought briefly darkened his mood, like a cloud passing over the sun.
  10. teeter
    move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
    Alex and Nunu whirled themselves dizzy, then staggered off, teetering in wobbly circles until they both fell over laughing as the dog ran back and forth between them, like he wanted back in the game.
  11. scowl
    a facial expression of dislike or displeasure
    Alex’s scowl only goaded Nunu on. She loved it when she could get under her big brother’s skin.
  12. utter
    complete
    He turned toward the sound and stared in utter disbelief as the South Tower began to collapse, all one hundred ten stories, crumpling down on itself in an explosion of glass and smoke and steel.
  13. skitter
    move or skip quickly across a surface
    He didn’t feel his cell phone shoot out of his shirt pocket, didn’t hear it smash on the concrete and skitter in pieces into the gutter.
  14. tsunami
    a cataclysm resulting from a destructive sea wave
    It roared up the street like a tsunami, a boiling swirl of dust and smoke blown out by the falling building.
  15. chime in
    break into a conversation
    “My mom was acting all weird, too,” Alex chimed in.
  16. lope
    run easily
    The dog, on the other hand, didn’t even look like he was trying. He loped across the grass, easily outraced them all, and gobbled the ball up, sweeping it into his jaws with that huge tongue.
  17. dugout
    a shelter beside a baseball field for players and coaches
    Nunu watched from the dugout, sitting on Alex’s backpack so she could see the field.
  18. disoriented
    having lost your bearings
    He spun around, disoriented. His eyes stung. He was surrounded by smoke. He couldn’t see five feet ahead. He had no idea which way to run.
  19. refugee
    an exile who flees for safety
    A policeman on the next corner guided the trucks through the crowd, then continued directing the refugees uptown, away from the disaster, to safety.
  20. heave
    rise and move up and down, as in waves
    Coughing, chest heaving, he looked back at the devastation he’d just escaped: one tower continued to burn; smoke and flames still roared from the upper floors.
  21. devastation
    the state of being decayed or destroyed
    Coughing, chest heaving, he looked back at the devastation he’d just escaped: one tower continued to burn; smoke and flames still roared from the upper floors.
  22. casual
    natural and unstudied
    Alex casually knocked the dust off his pants, just like the pros did on TV.
  23. vouch
    give personal assurance; guarantee
    He glanced at the dugout to see if Nunu had witnessed his triumph, so she could vouch for his story at dinner; but she’d found his Gameboy and wasn’t paying him any attention.
  24. snicker
    laugh quietly
    Jordan snickered. “Did he just call you a dog?”
    “A-Dawg. It’s my call sign on Screaming Eagles IV.”
  25. lurch
    move suddenly or as if unable to control one's movements
    Deemer looked like his limbs were made of springs that sent him lurching ahead in a series of herky-jerky leaps and bounds.
  26. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    He veered across an asphalt playground, vaulted over a seesaw, and dodged through a swing set.
  27. asphalt
    mixed substance used for paving and roofing
    He veered across an asphalt playground, vaulted over a seesaw, and dodged through a swing set.
  28. adrenaline
    hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress
    But Alex felt a burst of adrenaline and sprang free, jumping onto the stairway rail and grinding down the pipe on his Heelys, leaving Deemer swinging at empty air.
  29. rigid
    fixed and unmoving
    He turned his head slowly, just enough to see Rex crouching behind him, back straight, ears swept forward, tail rigid and taut.
  30. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    He turned his head slowly, just enough to see Rex crouching behind him, back straight, ears swept forward, tail rigid and taut.
Created on Sun Sep 08 20:13:57 EDT 2019 (updated Fri Sep 20 15:35:34 EDT 2019)

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