Not an Easy Win: Chapters 1–10

by Chrystal D. Giles
After getting expelled from a North Carolina middle school, twelve-year-old Lawrence McDonald starts helping out at a neighbor's recreation center, where he learns how to play chess and approach his life in more strategic moves.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–10, Chapters 11–23, Chapters 24–45
30 words 102 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. warden
    the chief official in charge of a prison
    Mr. Spacey treated our school like it was some kind of jail. He was the warden instead of the principal, always walking around talking about maintaining law and order.
  2. maintain
    keep in a certain state, position, or activity
    Mr. Spacey treated our school like it was some kind of jail. He was the warden instead of the principal, always walking around talking about maintaining law and order.
  3. frustration
    the feeling of being thwarted in attaining your goals
    I could hear the frustration in Ma’s voice from my spot outside Mr. Spacey’s office. “Please give him one more chance,” she said. “Please.” I hated hearing her beg, especially since it wouldn’t help.
  4. disregard
    willful lack of care and attention
    I sat there listening to him explain to Ma that I was a distraction and he wouldn’t tolerate my disregard for the rules he’d put in place for his school.
  5. wince
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    With each step, I winced. A rib shot was the worst kind of pain—way worse than a shot to the face.
  6. hesitate
    pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
    When we got to the car, I hesitated. Ma was in a fussing mood, and I’d have to listen to this all the way to Granny’s house.
    “Get in!” Ma yelled.
  7. slump
    fall or sink heavily
    I slumped on the bed and tried to take advantage of the quiet before the house filled with running feet and screaming kids.
  8. eviction
    the removal of someone occupying a home or land
    We were so behind on the rent after Pop left that the landlord kicked us out of the only house I’d ever lived in. I came home from school to find an eviction notice tacked to the front door.
  9. charter
    a document creating an institution and specifying its rights
    There were two other middle schools in Larenville, where most of the Black kids went. One was too far from Granny’s house, and the other was the Booker T. Washington Center for Excellence in Education—a charter school for excellent kids, I guessed.
  10. huddle
    crowd or draw together
    When dinner was ready, me and the kids huddled together on a blanket in the middle of the living room floor. It was our dining room table.
  11. hunch
    round one's back by bending forward
    Ma and Granny were hunched over the two-person table in the kitchen.
  12. pallet
    a mattress filled with straw or a pad made of quilts
    Most nights I slept on the living room floor on a pallet made of blankets, but tonight I propped myself up on Granny’s good couch.
  13. blare
    make a loud noise
    Out here in the country, everything was super still at night. I only ever heard singing crickets or sometimes a howling dog. Not like in Charlotte, where you could hear a car horn blaring or some random fireworks at any time.
  14. trek
    make a long and difficult journey
    After trekking through gravel and broken-up road for two miles, I finally reached the main road, Highway 34, which led to Larenville’s downtown area.
  15. propel
    cause to move forward with force
    I leaned back in the swing, kicked my legs up, and propelled myself high into the air.
  16. irritation
    the feeling of being annoyed
    “Where you been all day?” Ma asked. She had enough irritation in her voice to let me know to keep my answer short.
  17. expulsion
    the act of forcing out someone or something
    “I went to the hearing for your expulsion,” Ma said.
    I could tell from her twisted brow it hadn’t gone well.
    “They aren’t letting you go back to school. You’ll be finishing the rest of seventh grade from home.”
  18. alternative
    serving or used in place of another
    “There’s an online system set up for what they call ‘alternative learning.’ A teacher will assign you work, and you’ll turn in everything online,” Ma went on.
  19. complexion
    the coloring of a person's face
    I never minded my complexion much until people back home started saying there was no way Nik and I could be related, with me being as dark as the night sky and her being as light as the sun is yellow.
  20. grits
    coarsely ground corn that is boiled
    He lifted a spoon from a bowl on top of the tray and loaded clumpy grits into his mouth.
  21. etch
    carve or cut a design or letters into
    CARVER RECREATION CENTER was etched on a sign tacked to the front door.
  22. recreation
    an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates
    “It’s a recreation center—didn’t you see the sign?”
  23. flurry
    a sudden and overwhelming outpouring or amount
    A flurry of brown faces that looked from Nik’s age all the way up to my age busted through the front door of the rec center.
  24. portal
    an Internet site positioned as an entrance to other sites
    Oh, and a teacher from your school will be by the rec center today to drop off your laptop and get you set up for the online portal.
  25. temple
    the flat area on either side of the forehead
    The question about checkers must have really irritated him, because he said, “Chess isn’t the same as checkers; chess is all about what’s up here,” and pointed to his temple.
  26. forsake
    turn away from; give up
    Granny had opened her Bible to the chapter and verse, lowered her voice, and read aloud: “‘God’s power and wrath is against all who forsake him.’”
  27. wrath
    intense anger
    A chill ran over my skin—wrath sounded like the kind of word Mr. Spacey would use.
  28. mock
    imitating something; not genuine
    “Mondays we have a mock tournament to practice for the big chess tournament,” Twyla’s friend said.
  29. draw
    the finish of a contest in which the score is tied
    Deuce won again, and the other game ended in a draw, which meant that no one won before Mr. Dennis’s timer beeped.
  30. slight
    small in quantity or degree
    When Deuce’s queen made its way to Twyla’s side of the board, his lips curled into a slight smile.
Created on Tue Aug 13 09:35:42 EDT 2024 (updated Tue Aug 13 13:17:00 EDT 2024)

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