Hollow Fires: Parts VI–VII

by Samira Ahmed
Seventeen-year-old aspiring journalist Safiya Mirza comes across a dead body in a Chicago park. Because it belonged to another Muslim teenager, the haunting sight guides her to uncover the truths behind the murder of Jawad Ali.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Parts I–II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Parts VI–VII
40 words 12 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. canvass
    get opinions by asking specific questions
    Police arrived at the scene early this morning and began canvassing the neighborhood for eyewitnesses.
  2. blase
    very sophisticated and versed in the ways of the world
    Was he so blasé that London didn’t qualify as interesting?
  3. harbinger
    something indicating the approach of something or someone
    My heart already had enough reasons to pound in my chest, and I didn’t need rumors of a red-eyed harbinger of death to add to it.
  4. buffet
    strike against forcefully
    That’s when I caught a glint of blue and silver as the EMTs lofted a gray blanket, air buffeting it before it came to settle on his body.
  5. inclement
    severe, of weather
    There was inclement weather, and we had to take necessary precautions to protect both our officers and citizens who were aiding in the search.
  6. awry
    away from the correct or expected course
    “We have to be careful. No information connecting us to it. And we can’t tell anyone else. Even Usman or Rachel, okay? In case...anything goes awry.”
  7. corrugated
    shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
    If he was still alive when he was dumped and abandoned, the last thing he would’ve felt was the cold corrugated steel of the inside of a culvert in Jackson Park.
  8. ingenuity
    the property of showing inventiveness and skill
    Jawad asked his teacher’s permission, sketched it out, gathered recyclables, imagined new uses for trash. He was sure the kids in his after-school makerspace club were going to love it, that his teachers would be impressed by his ingenuity.
  9. epithet
    a defamatory or abusive word or phrase
    His parents’ dry cleaning business got prank called. People drove by hurling epithets at them.
  10. callous
    emotionally hardened
    Saying she didn't understand how the school could be so callous. How the other kids could be so cruel.
  11. precarious
    not secure; beset with difficulties
    My whole life felt like the most precarious Jenga tower, ready to topple if I even breathed wrong.
  12. unbecoming
    not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper
    Fact: Women are socialized not to show their anger.
    Lie: Anger is unbecoming in a woman.
    Truth: Don’t underestimate the power of your rage to get things done.
  13. presumptuous
    going beyond what is appropriate, permitted, or courteous
    I’d broken all the journalist rules: research, prepare, don’t make it personal. This whole thing was a mistake, and I’d been presumptuous on top of it all.
  14. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    Richard had played me. He’d been in on it with Nate the whole time. Had they planned it all? The murder? Everything at school? Had all of it been a ruse?
  15. decry
    express strong disapproval of
    The group implored the public to reach out with any clues that might lead to apprehending the murderer, while decrying what they claim is insufficient action by Chicago PD.
  16. listless
    lacking zest or vivacity
    One of the kiddie swings moved back and forth listlessly, pushed by an invisible hand.
  17. reverberate
    be reflected as heat, sound, or light or shock waves
    He didn’t see it coming, and when I connected with his nose, bone hitting bone, there was a horrifying crunch as an electric shock reverberated through my arm.
  18. asinine
    devoid of intelligence
    But you obviously know that or you wouldn’t be asking me these asinine questions.
  19. insidious
    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
    That’s the whole ghost skin philosophy, right? Hide who you are, blend in, be insidious, spread your toxicity, but be charming, be perfect.
  20. culpability
    a state of guilt
    The media doesn’t want to investigate its own bias, its own culpability.
  21. contend
    maintain or assert
    Further, he contends that he was merely driving the vehicle and that you, Richard, were the one who killed Jawad Ali with a blow to the back of the head and then proceeded to suffocate him with a scarf while Nate drove.
  22. scion
    a descendent or heir
    Chase, the son of alderman Ted Chase, and Reynolds, the scion of one of Chicago’s wealthiest families, are described as “fine young men” by teachers and neighbors.
  23. arraign
    call before a court to answer an indictment
    Defendants are expected to be arraigned next month.
  24. contusion
    an injury in which the skin is not broken
    Hairline rib fracture that hurt anytime I took a deep breath. Contusions all over my body. A sprained wrist.
  25. rhetoric
    loud and confused and empty talk
    They find tiny wedge issues, focus on conflict and exploiting the algorithm, and then fling the door wide open. Soon those young men are using far-right rhetoric in everyday speech. The thinking goes, if we can get the normies talking the talk, soon they will walk the walk.
  26. corroborate
    support with evidence or authority or make more certain
    I heard that one of the detectives who questioned them—Detective Diaz—was alone in the room with these boys for a period of time and has a questionable history of deleted social media posts. So who was corroborating the story?
  27. duress
    compulsory force or threat
    Has the State’s Attorney's office even looked into whether Chase and Reynolds were under duress?
  28. subjugate
    make subservient; force to submit or subdue
    They subjugate their women.
  29. supersede
    take the place or move into the position of
    Defendants had been Mirandized but according to the Defense’s affluenza argument, the two were not able to understand the magnitude of their actions as they were raised to believe their wealth and privilege superseded the law.
  30. mitigate
    lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
    It should be noted that “affluenza” is not listed in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—the leading guidebook for mental health professionals. Nor is it designated as a medical condition. However, it has been successfully used in prior cases as a mitigating factor.
  31. balk
    refuse to proceed or comply
    Lawyers from the State’s Attorney’s office balked at the affluenza argument and urged the jury to return with a plea of guilt for 1st degree murder charges in the killing they painted as a hate crime.
  32. culminate
    end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage
    She and other witnesses described a series of school violations and offenses that prosecutors painted into a timeline of escalating crimes that culminated in the murder of Jawad Ali.
  33. pursuant
    in conformance to or agreement with
    Throughout the United States, the overwhelming majority of criminal cases do not go to trial as defendants often plead guilty and most cases end pursuant to a plea bargain; according to some estimates that includes 94% of all state cases.
  34. indictment
    a formal document charging a person with some offense
    In the case of the People of the State of Illinois v. Nathaniel Chase Jr. and Richard Reynolds, in the first count, we the jury find the defendants Nathaniel Chase Jr. and Richard Reynolds guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in the indictment.
  35. statute
    an act passed by a legislative body
    We further find the defendants Nathaniel Chase Jr. and Richard Reynolds guilty of a hate crime in accordance with Illinois Statute 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1.
  36. patriarchy
    a form of social organization in which men hold power
    Here’s what else you counted on: institutionalized racism, Islamophobia, patriarchy, misogyny. You counted on your word being believed.
  37. tenacity
    persistent determination
    You didn’t count on the strength and tenacity of Jawad’s parents. You didn’t count on a community that refused to give up.
  38. testament
    strong evidence for something
    Your whole life is a testament to what it means to always be told yes.
  39. upstart
    an arrogant or presumptuous person
    You hate me because I’m Muslim. And brown. A child of immigrants. An upstart with too many opinions, right?
  40. recuse
    disqualify oneself as a judge in a particular case
    They were hinting that the judge should maybe have recused herself, that there was bias in the case.
Created on Thu Oct 13 09:24:51 EDT 2022 (updated Wed Mar 08 15:51:10 EST 2023)

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