Free Period: Chapters 3–4

by Ali Terese
In this novel, best friends Helen and Gracie fight to stay out of trouble, maintain their friendship, and help secure free access to menstrual hygiene products for students at their middle school.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1-2, Chapters 3-4, Chapters 5-6, Chapters 7-9, Chapters 10-11, Chapters 12-14, Chapters 15-18, Chapters 19-21, Chapters 22-25, Chapters 26-29.

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cohesion
    the state of sticking together
    Coach launched into a soliloquy on class disruption, our responsibility to use the toilet in the thirty-four seconds we have between classes, and the need for team cohesion.
  2. relent
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    “All right,” he relented, “but get back here quick to circle up. Somewhere between sleeping on the field and sucker-punching your classmates, I think one of you will score.”
  3. apparatus
    equipment designed to serve a specific function
    I’d been up most of the night putting the finishing touches on my carefully calibrated contribution to the prank: a stink-diffusion apparatus with chambers on each end to hold the stinks before they mixed in the middle, where a tiny fan would release them into the world.
  4. incognito
    with your identity concealed
    “It isn’t exactly incognito. We never discussed outfits.”
  5. telepathy
    extrasensory communication from one mind to another
    I gave her the universal sign for zip it and wondered why we bothered spending all of winter break working on our telepathy if she refused to use it.
  6. unison
    the state of corresponding exactly
    “Hey idiots,” they said in unison.
  7. chime in
    break into a conversation
    “More importantly,” Mary chimed in, “you’re coming over this weekend, right? It’s quiz night, and you missed the last one.”
  8. cavernous
    being or suggesting a large dark enclosed space
    The room felt cavernous.
  9. scurry
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    “Just stick it anywhere,” Gracie said as we scurried underneath the seats.
  10. commission
    the act of granting authority to undertake certain functions
    “The other is artificial skunk essence. No Heloises were harmed in the commission of this prank.”
  11. matte
    not reflecting light; not glossy
    “Zombie baker making zombie skunk cupcakes. I’ve got a green matte base for my whole face, the dirt splotches are cocoa powder, and I’m hoping I can get the leftover gummy worms to stick to my cheeks like they’re crawling out of my skin.”
  12. aura
    distinctive but intangible quality around a person or thing
    She picked up the fondant diagrams I’d drawn to change the strawberry shortcake cupcakes we made earlier in the week into something more in line with my current aura.
  13. hollow
    remove the interior of
    “I know, right? You’re asking yourself when do we bake the gummy worms inside the cupcake? Never! We hollow out the already baked cupcakes and put the worms and jam in the middle.”
  14. flinch
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    It almost looked like she flinched when I said it.
  15. marzipan
    confection made of sugar, almond paste, and egg whites
    “That’s a little too schmaltzy even for me, and I am a girl in this world molding marzipan into tiny demonic skunk zombies.”
  16. fancy
    imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind
    “Fancy meeting you here, Michael F.,”
  17. vile
    exceptionally bad or unpleasant
    “Sweet and vile,” he said, still chewing.
  18. preposition
    a word before a noun or pronoun connecting to another word
    I didn’t understand any of the words coming out of his mouth except maybe the prepositions.
  19. grovel
    show submission or fear
    “I’m not sure if I should be doing a victory dance or groveling for forgiveness. No one’s reactions to things are making sense to me today.”
  20. creep
    move slowly
    I crept over to Helen’s first-floor bedroom window and sat under it, waiting for her as dusk settled on the neighborhood.
  21. loom
    hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
    That night it didn’t help that she loomed over me with one fist of fury dug into her hip, the other shining a flashlight right into my eyes.
  22. ransack
    search thoroughly
    “I know you’ll ransack my room as soon as I leave because you’ll know I can’t say anything because I was supposed to be in here the whole time.”
  23. cloying
    overly sweet
    But once I got through it, the cake was perfectly moist and spongy, the buttercream holding it together was not at all cloying, and the center was really sweet and disgusting.
  24. complexion
    texture and appearance of the skin of the face
    “No, she’s just an herbalist who sometimes argues with dead people. Anyway, she used to tell me revenge never works and it is awful for the complexion. Like, even if it hurts the other person, you’ll end up in more pain. And scaly.”
  25. furious
    marked by extreme anger
    And one furious custodian.
Created on Wed Mar 05 07:38:05 EST 2025 (updated Thu Mar 06 06:23:58 EST 2025)

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