The School for Invisible Boys: Chapters 23–37

by Shaun David Hutchinson
This first book of The Kairos Files series introduces Hector Myles Griggs, a sixth grader whose sudden ability to turn invisible protects him from human threats at Florida's St. Lawrence's Catholic School for Boys, yet lands him in another dimension with a monster that feeds on fear.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–10, Chapters 11–22, Chapters 23–37, Chapters 38–48
40 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. taunt
    harass with persistent criticism or carping
    I slowed to let him pass me, but he matched my speed. I ran faster; he sped up. Blake didn’t talk the rest of PE, but he paced me the entire time, taunting me with his smile.
  2. survey
    look over carefully or inspect
    Coach Barbary marched in, surveyed the scene, and then turned on the boys who’d gathered around to watch.
  3. salvage
    save from ruin, destruction, or harm
    “Salvage what you can, Hector,” Coach said. “You can wear your PE clothes the rest of the day.”
  4. culprit
    someone or something responsible for harm or wrongdoing
    “Someone shoved my stuff in a toilet,” I mumbled.
    “How rude.” Miss DeVore continued folding letters and handing them to me to stuff in envelopes. “Do you know who the culprit is?”
  5. latter
    the second of two or the second mentioned of two
    “The names and faces of the boys at this school may change, but one thing that never does is that some boys are bullies and some are victims. I wouldn’t have expected you to fall into the latter category.”
  6. trifle
    act frivolously
    “A smart boy like you could surely find a way to send a message to your tormentors that you aren’t to be trifled with.”
  7. distinctive
    of a feature that helps to identify a person or thing
    “Do you remember a student named Orson Wellington?”
    “What an unusual name. He was a student here?”
    I nodded.
    “I’m not certain how I’d have forgotten such a distinctive name, but it doesn’t sound familiar.”
  8. perception
    the process of becoming aware through the senses
    “But that doesn’t mean they aren’t real. Sometimes children, especially sensitive children, are capable of seeing and hearing things beyond the perception of adults.”
  9. retainer
    an appliance that holds teeth in position after treatment
    I found countless lost socks, Jason’s watch, two of Lee’s retainers, and a card Grandma had given me for my tenth birthday with twenty dollars in it.
  10. arachnid
    an arthropod with simple eyes and four pairs of legs
    She said that the best way to not be afraid of something was to understand it and took me to the library to find books about arachnids. I learned the names of different types of spiders, how they were responsible for eating bugs that got into the house, how some people even thought they were lucky.
  11. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    I stood and motioned toward the music room. “Piano” was all I could muster the energy to say.
  12. impression
    an imitative portrayal of a person
    I turned to Jackson for his answer, and he returned a scary-good impression of Musser’s disappointed eyebrow raise.
  13. diversion
    an attack that draws an enemy's attention away
    Sam would be along soon to cause her diversion, but we didn’t have much time.
  14. elude
    escape, either physically or mentally
    He’d eluded the gelim for years.
  15. solitary
    single and isolated from others
    “The short version is that light has the properties of both particles and waves. The double-slit experiment proved that light still acts like a wave even when it’s a solitary particle. They did this by firing light, one photon at a time, through a barrier with two slits on it for the photon to pass through.”
  16. determine
    find out or learn with certainty, as by making an inquiry
    “The really strange part is that when scientists attempted to determine which slit the individual photons passed through, they stopped acting like waves.”
  17. photon
    a tiny bundle of matter that transmits light
    “People are like those photons sometimes, Hector. They may act one way when they’re alone and a different way when others are watching.”
  18. policy
    a plan of action adopted by an individual or social group
    “Has someone been calling you one of those names? Because we have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying.”
  19. insecurity
    the anxiety experienced when feeling vulnerable
    “Don’t think that, Hector. Don’t ever let someone else’s insecurities stop you from following your heart.”
  20. meticulous
    marked by precise accordance with details
    Miss DeVore is a meticulous record keeper, but there are files—at least one boy every five years—that just stop. No transfer, no reason listed for them leaving school.
  21. revelation
    an enlightening or astonishing disclosure
    I’d been circling a possibility all weekend, afraid to admit it to anyone else, but Sam’s revelation gave me the courage to say it out loud.
  22. speculate
    believe, especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
    Before, we’d only speculated that Orson wasn’t the first to go missing, but now we had proof.
  23. confront
    oppose, as in hostility or a competition
    Even though Sam liked my idea, I suspected she’d still want to confirm Conrad was definitely the gelim before we confronted him, so I proposed a plan.
  24. jeer
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    On Tuesday, Coach forced us to run, climb, and crawl our way through an obstacle course he’d designed. We ran it one at a time while the rest of the class watched and cheered—or in some cases jeered.
  25. falter
    move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
    My strength began to falter. Why should I keep running when Blake was going to win either way? For that matter, why should I bother talking to Conrad Eldridge when Blake didn’t want to be helped?
  26. amends
    something done or paid to make up for a wrong
    Everyone deserves a chance to make amends. And if Blake is the person you believe he is, then you have to trust that he’ll do the right thing.
  27. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    Conrad folded his arms over his chest. Even though he didn’t know why we’d summoned him, he wore a smug grin.
  28. devoid
    completely wanting or lacking
    Conrad tipped back his head and laughed, but the sound was hollow, soulless, devoid of joy.
  29. predecessor
    one who goes before you in time
    “I’ve had many names, but much like the refuse that spills from your world to mine, my true name has been lost.” Conrad turned to Orson. “One of your predecessors named me gelim. It’s incorrect but not inaccurate.”
  30. gorge
    overeat or eat immodestly
    “Are humans monsters for gorging on all the plants and animals of this world? Devouring everything in your path until there’s nothing left?”
  31. cultivate
    foster the growth of
    Should I leave my home? Travel to another school, maybe? Build a new nest? Cultivate a new crop of children willing to torment their peers? Tip the most vulnerable among them over the edge into my sticky web from which there is no escape and feed on them until nothing but a husk remains?
  32. resort
    have recourse to
    “So we’ve come to violence at last. You humans always resort to bloodshed. It’s your way. You are as imprisoned by your nature as I am. Unlike you, however, I eat what I hunt.”
  33. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    Conrad’s head whipped around, and he sauntered toward Sam, hands in his pockets.
  34. cower
    show submission or fear
    You both travel places you don’t belong, but he cowers among the lost while you walk brazenly among wolves.
  35. writhing
    moving in a twisting or snake-like or wormlike fashion
    In his place was a mass of writhing tendrils, grasping vines that were growing, thickening into tentacles and snapping teeth.
  36. tendril
    slender structure by which some plants attach to an object
    Tendrils reached for me, attempted to slither around my ankle.
  37. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    Sam, oblivious to what was happening, was calling my name, but I couldn’t answer her because I was too busy fighting for my life.
  38. decisive
    characterized by resoluteness and firmness
    Moving with decisive speed, the tentacles and tendrils wrapped Orson in a cocoon and dragged him into the stairwell.
  39. inhumane
    reflecting a lack of pity or compassion
    I kept trying to turn visible, but it was no use. It was like I was caught on one of those inhumane glue traps awful people use to catch rats, and I was going to be stuck, suffering, until I died.
  40. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    “No, but there are, perhaps, other ways to sort this monster. I can assure you, though, that you won’t discover them moping in here playing the drums.”
    Sam scoffed. “Easy for you to say.”
Created on Sat Aug 03 17:38:00 EDT 2024 (updated Sun Aug 04 15:15:19 EDT 2024)

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