Cold Cereal: Chapters 7–13

by Adam Rex
In this first book of the Cold Cereal Saga, eleven-year-old gifted students Scott Doe and Emily and Erno Utz discover that the Goode and Harmliss Toasted Cereal Company is not as sweet as its products.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 6, Chapters 7–13, Chapters 14–22, Chapters 23–29, Chapters 30–40
40 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. anomaly
    deviation from the normal or common order, form, or rule
    Goodco was sending Mom on a scientific expedition. To Antarctica. Something to do with optical anomalies and strange waveforms—Scott didn't really catch most of it, nor understand what, if anything, it had to do with breakfast cereal.
  2. vie
    compete for something
    Then the half-funny, half-serious shuffling of ladies' feet, the just-kidding-but-not-really contact of elbows against ribs as each woman vied to catch the bundle and therefore maybe—who knows?—be the next to marry.
  3. buffet
    strike against forcefully
    But as Mom turned to watch the flowers fall, a gust of wind howled through the courtyard like the ghost of weddings future and buffeted the bouquet back into her open hands.
  4. fanciful
    not based on fact; unreal
    He glanced away and looked back, blinked a few times, gave the animal every opportunity to resume being an ordinary housecat; but it remained stubbornly fanciful.
  5. reflexive
    without volition or conscious control
    He'd heard the man fine but often said “What” reflexively when people asked unexpected questions.
  6. blunt
    characterized by directness in manner or speech
    “Yeah," admitted Erno, “except that we're supposed to be more sneaky than that, when we're working on the puzzles. We're not supposed to be so blunt."
  7. involuntarily
    against your will
    “Stop TALKING about it!" Emily shouted, spitting just a little involuntarily.
  8. staunch
    firm and dependable especially in loyalty
    His migraine vanished shortly after leaving the bus terminal, but on the way to the theater Denton staunchly denied having seen anything unusual in the men's room apart from the new kid hiding from imaginary elves.
  9. patently
    unmistakably
    A crowd had formed, and three uniformed officers attempted to push back these people with outstretched arms and patently false claims that there was nothing to see.
  10. apprehend
    take into police custody
    “We’ll go back to the station when you admit I've apprehended a suspect!” he said, pointing to the backseat of one of the cop cars.
  11. marquee
    a structure, often with a signboard, over an entrance
    An electronic red news crawl on an adjoining building declared the DOW DOWN and REGGIE DWIGHT PUNCHES QUEEN and then POLICE DISRUPTION AT PORT AUTHORITY BUS TERMINAL. It flashed like a marquee for the weird bit of drama playing out in front of them.
  12. inconspicuous
    not prominent or readily noticeable
    When not actually calling attention to himself in bus station bathrooms or by defending his indefensible given name, he was one of those kids who could practically disappear in a crowded room. Inconspicuous. Unremarkable.
  13. transfixed
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    Even Erno and Emily didn't notice, transfixed as they were by the police and the strobing lights.
  14. fester
    decay with an offensive smell
    “Why can I see you? Am I crazy?” Scott asked, worried suddenly that his headaches were the sign of something else, something festering in his brain.
  15. mince
    walk daintily
    Scott goggled—at the flashing squad cars, the Keystone cops, the plain brown horse mincing about.
  16. solder
    join or fuse with an alloy
    “Take your time. I have some soldering to finish first, anyway.”
    Erno rolled his eyes. “My sister thinks she's in one of those movies where the smart kid invents things and all her friends call her Gadget.''
  17. furtively
    in a secretive manner
    Scott heard him protest furtively: “I'm your friend. You know, sort of.”
  18. confines
    a bounded scope
    He cast about for something—anything—that could conceivably be a sign, a divine message within the confines of the St. Mary's Hospital waiting room.
  19. afghan
    a blanket knitted or crocheted in strips or squares
    But Scott's headaches tended to wear him out, and he fell asleep during the big finale with the pirate ship, pretended not to wake when his mother covered him with an afghan, and trudged up the stairs to his bedroom when his official bedtime compelled him to his official bed.
  20. amends
    something done or paid to make up for a wrong
    “Didn't thank yeh properly before. In the city. Come to make... amends.” His tone suggested that “amends” was a dish he could be persuaded to serve but didn't care much for himself.
  21. muse
    reflect deeply on a subject
    He was drumming his fingertips together and musing at the ceiling.
  22. obliquely
    to, toward or at one side
    It didn't face much of anything apart from the alley, but if you stood at the edge and looked through it obliquely, as Mick was doing now, you could see just a sliver of the town at large: its crosshatched trees and factory on the hill.
  23. falter
    speak haltingly
    “I have...,” Reggie began, but faltered.
  24. excommunicate
    formally oust or exclude from a group
    Everyone will be reminded that you're still a Knight of the Realm and the queen hasn't disqualified or excommunicated you or whatever despite you punching her in the face, so if you're good enough for Her Majesty, you should be good enough for them.
  25. wholesome
    characteristic of physical or moral well-being
    That talking police dog comedy you just wrapped is a family film, and you want to seem family friendly. And it doesn't get more wholesome than children's breakfast cereal.
  26. prim
    exaggeratedly proper
    He was enjoying box seats with two London cousins when a prim man appeared at his elbow.
  27. plumb
    examine thoroughly and in great depth
    She'd scarcely moved, and now the fly was plumbing the soft flesh of her nostril with its tiny teeth.
  28. eldritch
    suggesting the operation of supernatural influences
    But then the woman turned, and he saw the darkly glinting ancient eldritch maleficence in her eyes and did what any loyal knight would when faced with the sudden certainty that his queen had been replaced by an impostor.
  29. distinguished
    standing above others in character or attainment
    My distinguished actin' days. Back when I still had enough glamour to appear on camera.
  30. banshee
    a female spirit who wails to warn of impending death
    Sure an' your great-great-granddaddy was a changeling or your grandmom a banshee or something similar.
  31. tarnish
    place under suspicion; make less respected
    “Yeh may have a tarnished glamour about yeh, sure. Like a celebrity's daughter," he said, and Scott bristled.
  32. constable
    a law officer with limited authority
    That young constable put on the cuffs an’ read me my rights, an' they were like a spell coming out of his mouth.
  33. pavilion
    a large and often sumptuous tent
    They had been walking for three hours, crisscrossing the park through its trails and abandoned pavilions.
  34. resent
    feel bitter or indignant about
    Scott sort of resented Mick's tone: lecturing him as if about the four food groups.
  35. manipulation
    exerting shrewd or devious influence for one's own advantage
    Scott had never seen this kind of manipulation work on an adult before.
  36. regal
    belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
    Scott watched helplessly through the van's windshield as the last gas station and bus stop of Goodborough passed behind him and Walnut Crescent lay beyond like the curled body of some huge, regal animal.
  37. tasteful
    in keeping with what is considered appropriate and stylish
    Each estate sat past a vast lawn of deep pile and tasteful flower beds.
  38. plait
    make by braiding or interlacing
    It was more like some cross between a horse and a fawn: white as cream, with a long, plaited horn of pearl.
  39. intone
    speak carefully, as with rising and falling pitch
    “You asked about cold iron,'' Haskoll intoned. “Look over here.''
  40. patter
    a quick succession of light rapid sounds
    He'd only counted to two before hearing the sound of a door, and the patter of feet running past, and then silence.
Created on Wed Dec 14 11:44:51 EST 2022 (updated Fri Oct 06 13:21:02 EDT 2023)

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