Doing Time Online: Thursday, September 23–Friday, October 1

by Jan Siebold
When Mitchell is caught playing a mean-spirited prank on an elderly neighbor, his punishment is to chat online with a resident of a nursing home.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: September 14–September 21, September 23–October 1, October 5–October 12
25 words 19 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. original
    being or productive of something fresh and unusual
    I mean, the cat did have fluffy fur and everything, but she could have come up with something more original.
  2. desperate
    showing extreme urgency or intensity because of great need
    She seemed desperate to get her back.
  3. pathetic
    deserving or inciting pity
    She sounded really pathetic.
  4. paramedic
    a person trained to give emergency medical treatment
    The paramedics were working on Mrs. Wheeler, so she heard the whole thing, too.
  5. furious
    marked by extreme anger
    He was furious with me.
  6. version
    an interpretation of a matter from a particular viewpoint
    He also went to Trotter's house to get his version of the story.
  7. apology
    an expression of regret at having caused trouble for someone
    Dad made me write an apology note to her.
  8. judge
    form a critical opinion of
    Why should I care what Wootie thought of me? I had never even met the woman. I certainly didn’t need her judging me.
  9. shiver
    shake, as from cold
    I was shivering by the time I unlocked the door to our house.
  10. situation
    a condition or position in which you find yourself
    She believed in facing up to a bad situation and then moving on.
  11. realize
    be fully aware or cognizant of
    I realized that I had never seen this view of our place before.
  12. responsible
    being the agent or cause
    I can’t help feeling that by not being here, I’m a little responsible for what happened to Mrs. Wheeler.
  13. protest
    utter words of objection
    “That’s not true, Dad,” I protested.
  14. refuse
    show unwillingness towards
    I just never should have listened to Trotter. I could have refused to go along with him, but...
  15. relieved
    made easier to bear
    For some strange reason I felt relieved when I thought about what I had to do.
  16. lope
    run easily
    “Hey, it’s Really Riley,” he panted, loping up from the side of our garage.
  17. encyclopedia
    a reference work containing articles on various topics
    I went to the encyclopedia to look up the answer to Dad’s question.
  18. suspicious
    arousing distrust
    Even more suspicious was the fact that he had been in a hurry to do his homework.
  19. stammer
    speak haltingly
    “Uh. I just wanted a chance to explain what happened,” I stammered.
  20. transparent
    able to be seen through with clarity
    Her skin, crisscrossed with wrinkles, seemed almost transparent.
  21. plunge
    begin with vigor
    She sat there, not saying anything, so I finally took a deep breath and plunged in. I told her the whole story.
  22. dismiss
    end an encounter with someone by causing the person to leave
    I figured by her silence that I was dismissed, so I started to get up from the swing.
  23. prim
    exaggeratedly proper
    “He was a frisky one. Fluffy was much more prim and proper.”
  24. recognize
    perceive to be something or something you can identify
    I recognized Mrs. Wheeler’s voice.
  25. chuckle
    laugh quietly or with restraint
    “Next time, why don’t you cut through the backyard instead of going all the way around the block?” she asked, chuckling.
Created on Mon Mar 30 20:40:37 EDT 2015 (updated Wed Sep 05 16:53:02 EDT 2018)

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