Dream, Annie, Dream: Chapters 22–31

by Waka T. Brown
At a summer theater camp in Kansas, twelve-year-old Aoi Inoue decides to change her name to Annie Enoway, hoping that it would be the first step towards star-filled accomplishments.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–13, Chapters 14–21, Chapters 22–31, Chapters 32–41
40 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. abominable
    unequivocally detestable
    Mrs. Olds was like the abominable snowman with all the assignments she piled on us.
  2. splay
    widen or spread apart
    “I don’t knoooow!” I whined as I splayed out flat on the floor, my abs burning from the punishment I had just inflicted on them.
  3. placidly
    in a quiet and tranquil manner
    I looked back and forth between my lyrics and my mom placidly studying the articles.
  4. objectively
    in a manner not influenced by emotion
    “You know, here it says that there’s less discrimination in math and science fields. That you will be judged more objectively...if you go down that path.”
  5. usher
    accompany or escort
    After eight of us had sung, we were ushered into a classroom where Ben’s aunt, Midge Prescott, taught us all a short dance.
  6. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    I assumed lessons were expensive, so I never asked for them, and my mom never offered.
  7. deliberately
    in a careful unhurried manner
    As Natalie and her father walked away, I heard him scold her for not putting her jacket on completely and letting one sleeve trail behind her. I knew this must have been what he was saying because Natalie groaned, stopped, and put the rest of her jacket on quite deliberately.
  8. bleak
    unpleasantly cold and damp
    I gazed out the window as we drove home, white snow drifts covering the dull gray trees against the chilly bleak sky.
  9. underhanded
    with arm brought forward and up from below shoulder level
    “Scooter Barry’s father was a free-throw pro. One of the best ever! But he shot underhanded.”
  10. sensation
    someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field
    Maybe it was because I knew what my mom would think about basketball as my new dream, and maybe I noticed how Dad didn’t compare me to the short but powerful NBA sensation Muggsy Bogues like he had in the past, but instead to the dependable workhorse Scooter Barry.
  11. regimen
    a systematic plan for therapy
    Mrs. Olds’s hard, washed-out eyes glittered as she narrowed them at me, like this little blip of disturbance to her class regimen was my fault.
  12. stimulant
    a drug that temporarily quickens some vital process
    “Stimulant. Mom meant it’s a ‘stimulant,’” Dad jumped in. “And it stunts your growth. You want to grow taller, don’t you?”
    I sighed and put the coffee back.
  13. earnest
    characterized by a firm, sincere belief in one's opinions
    She was maternal, earnest, and openhearted—all the things that Michelle clearly was not.
  14. piercing
    very perceptive
    With a wavy mop of dark brown hair and piercing black eyes, he was the closest person to a movie star any of us had ever seen.
  15. lament
    express grief verbally
    When Tuptim and Lun Tha secretly meet and lament about how they have to kiss in the shadows, Ben whisper-sang to me, “We sing very loudly, so we get caught right away. We knew this was wrong, but...just had to burst into song.”
  16. detest
    dislike intensely
    For one, what she said didn’t make any sense—Natalie was the best student in the class by far! We all detested Mrs. Olds. She said things like that to us all the time.
  17. simper
    smile in an insincere, unnatural, or coy way
    Mrs. Olds simpered and smiled to herself like she was the funniest person in the world.
  18. shenanigan
    reckless or malicious behavior that causes annoyance
    I didn’t have much time to play with Tak, either, so my mom absorbed the bulk of his shenanigans.
  19. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    “Of course I can!” Tak scoffed, like asking him to be quiet and well behaved for half an hour was no challenge at all...even though all of us had yet to see it happen.
  20. dub
    give a nickname to
    The two leads—Kevin, the giant, bald jock-turned-theater-nerd, and Michelle, who we dubbed “Moody Michelle”—were clearly having issues.
  21. dinky
    small and insignificant
    Why do you think she’s bothering with dinky little theater productions in Topeka if she was a big-shot Hollywood director before?
  22. caliber
    a degree or grade of excellence or worth
    I guess I had been so impressed with the caliber of our productions and that so many people wanted to be a part of them that it never occurred to me that Sam might think they were beneath her.
  23. dubious
    fraught with uncertainty or doubt
    “I don’t know...” Ben sounded dubious.
  24. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    “Yeah, but would it kill you to give me some credit? The king ain’t no dummy, and she treats him like he is. She’s real smug about it, too. Like she thinks she’s better than me.”
  25. underlying
    in the nature of something though not readily apparent
    I didn’t see why people had to dig for underlying motives or weird reasons for why the world was the way it was.
  26. balmy
    mild and pleasant
    The beginning of March was usually at the tail end of practically three months of cold, gray, and miserable weather in Topeka, but for the musical, we dressed like we were in warm and balmy Thailand.
  27. billowing
    characterized by great swelling waves or surges
    I wore a short-sleeved silver lamé crop top and billowing, high-waisted maroon-colored pants with slits in the sides.
  28. smattering
    a small number or amount
    Parent volunteers made all our costumes and one of them made sure to sew a smattering of glittering sequins over my pants, too.
  29. complexion
    the coloring of a person's face
    I barely recognized her—gone was her pale complexion and freckles that were perfect for her role as Annie.
  30. snippet
    a small piece of anything
    Even watching in bits and snippets from backstage, as soon as the curtains parted, I could tell we were going to knock everyone’s socks off.
  31. matronly
    befitting or characteristic of a fully mature woman
    “Your singing was lovely, dear,” a nice matronly woman with silver hair and thick glasses complimented her.
  32. waver
    be unsure or weak
    Mrs. Kelly’s smile didn’t waver as she jumped in before Jessica could answer.
  33. bashful
    self-consciously timid
    Even though the spotlight felt like home, I felt bashful about the attention I was getting out here.
  34. lavish
    characterized by extravagance and profusion
    My parents were never lavish with the compliments, but I was in a cheerful mood because I knew we did well.
  35. vigorously
    in an energetic manner
    His eyes widened as he shook Mrs. Olds’s hand more vigorously.
  36. matinee
    a theatrical performance held during the daytime
    We had four more performances of The King and I—one for the middle school and one for the high school, and then two more over the weekend. Each one was better than the next, except for the Sunday matinee.
  37. bask
    derive or receive pleasure from
    After each show, I basked in the compliments that I finally started to feel comfortable with.
  38. mediocre
    poor to middling in quality
    You did good. No, you did great. I’ve been involved with theater, TV, film, you know, all that, for a while and not everything goes well all the time. In fact, most of the time it’s pretty mediocre.
  39. inclined
    having a preference, disposition, or tendency
    “During the next few months, if you’re so inclined, I want those of you who are interested to rewrite these with your take on the story.”
  40. botch
    make a mess of, destroy, or ruin
    I dreamed of being in The King and I and even though I botched my audition, by some miracle I was able to get a bigger part than I did in Annie.
Created on Wed Dec 06 14:06:28 EST 2023 (updated Mon Dec 18 14:04:56 EST 2023)

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