Things Not Seen: Chapters 22–28

by Andrew Clements
What would you do if you woke up one morning and discovered you were invisible? That's the question fifteen-year-old Bobby Phillips has to answer in this thought-provoking novel.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–14, Chapters 15–21, Chapters 22–28

Here are links to our lists for other works by Andrew Clements: The Landry News, Frindle
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. crumple
    become wrinkled or creased
    And for two and a half hours before dinner and two and a half hours after dinner, I'm in my room going through the names from my crumpled stolen list.
  2. survey
    a detailed critical inspection
    "Sorry to bother you at home, but I'm doing a survey about your experience with a Sears electric blanket."
  3. coincidence
    the property of two things happening at the same time
    Maybe this is nothing, just a coincidence.
  4. tragedy
    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
    This next part has to be just right, or I'm blacklisted by the mother and hated by the daughter. The first would be an inconvenience; the second would be a tragedy.
  5. defective
    not working properly
    "I mean, I can't just call up and say, 'I know you had this defective pink blanket, and that you left home very suddenly—so tell me, Sheila, are you invisible?'
  6. awkward
    socially uncomfortable; unsure and constrained in manner
    Then things feel awkward, and for a second I'm afraid I might have said that stuff I was thinking right out loud, or else maybe Alicia used her real eyes, and she saw what I was feeling.
  7. weariness
    temporary loss of strength and energy from hard work
    There's a deep tiredness in her voice, a weariness. "You can't just call someone up and say, 'I turned invisible one day,' can you?"
  8. nasty
    offensive or even (of persons) malicious
    I'm about to start shouting when she says, "Sorry. I don't mean to sound nasty about this, but I've had to move twice in the last three years because I thought I could trust some people.
  9. temporary
    not permanent; not lasting
    She's been gone for three years. So this is not a temporary condition.
  10. specific
    distinguishing something particular or unique
    This condition did have a specific cause, and the blanket is part of it.
  11. density
    the amount per unit size
    Aha! So, it's a woman! See, that could be important! Because men and women have different chemical makeups, different muscle densities.
  12. interrogation
    formal systematic questioning
    Dad's giving me the third degree, major interrogation, and it really ticks me off.
  13. precise
    sharply exact or accurate or delimited
    Condensing fifteen minutes of Dad talking as fast as he can into about four sentences, this kind of data-hunting is basically like using an Internet search engine, except it's more precise and it uses monster computer power—like Cray supercomputers, the real deal.
  14. accelerate
    cause to move faster
    January twelfth and February twenty-third, three years apart, and on both dates the upper latitudes of the U.S. from the Rockies to the Great Lakes were strafed by a major burst of accelerated solar particles and radiation—the kind that knock out power grids and send the big jets diving for lower altitudes!
  15. distort
    twist and press out of shape
    Not true solar maxima or anything, but the bombardment on both dates was way, way up on the scale, and the earth's magnetic field was significantly distorted.
  16. exaggerated
    enlarged to an abnormal degree
    "So this blast of high-energy particles cuts through the exaggerated electrical field caused by the faulty blanket controller, and bingo! No more Bobby!"
  17. particle
    a body having finite mass but negligible dimensions
    We've got a strong electrical current field, magnetic disturbances, and an extreme particle flow.
  18. factor
    anything that contributes causally to a result
    Hundreds of variables to isolate and test—Not to mention questions about body chemistry and environmental factors.
  19. reverse
    turned around in order or nature or effect
    Even if you've found the cause, really figuring it out and reversing it could take forever.
  20. froth
    exude or expel foam
    I want to froth at the mouth and swear and stomp my feet and break up some chairs and throw chicken soup all over the place.
  21. furious
    marked by extreme anger
    Four hours of not being furious with my parents and Alicia's dad for trying to tell me how they've planned out the rest of my life.
  22. artifact
    a man-made object
    He's got my blanket carefully folded into a suit box with the controller all reassembled, set to take to the lab in the morning. Because my blanket is a scientific artifact now.
  23. bombard
    direct high energy particles or radiation against
    The Earth's environment is currently bombarded by high-energy particles accelerated by a powerful solar eruption last night.
  24. shimmer
    shine with a weak or fitful light
    And I'm under my blanket, and it's warm and toasty, and my heart is thumping and my mind is racing, and I'm watching to see if the room starts to shimmer or glow.
  25. event
    a phenomenon located at a single point in space-time
    I'm trying to recreate something that was probably a one-in-a-billion event.
  26. oddity
    something unusual, maybe worthy of collecting
    And if I go public, instantly I'm a scientific oddity, front-page news.
  27. daze
    overcome as with astonishment or disbelief
    And I'm dazed, and I must look like an idiot because I can't stop grinning.
  28. summary
    a brief statement that presents the main points
    Here's the summary of what happens next: hugs, kisses, some tears, some hot chocolate, more hugs, and a lot of talk.
  29. assessment
    the act of judging a person or situation or event
    The physicist is angry about me taking this step with "such an incomplete assessment of the variables and the risk factors."
  30. bold
    fearless and daring
    But the father is proud about me being so bold.
  31. disappear
    become invisible or unnoticeable
    And what I figured out is, I started disappearing a long time before this happened to me. If it hadn't been this, I would have disappeared some other way. Booze or drugs maybe, maybe three more bad boyfriends--that would have done it. I was already disappearing, a little bit at a time. It was better happening all at once. And now I don't want to go back.
  32. expectation
    belief about the future
    A week ago it was all about living, just living, minute by minute. No tomorrow, no future. No tracks. No expectations. Not really here. Mostly gone. And there's a kind of freedom in that.
  33. intuition
    instinctive knowing, without the use of rational processes
    I guess I thought maybe she'd be able to recognize me, like maybe some weird sort of intuition would kick in and she'd give me this big smile and say, "Wait—you must be Bobby!"
  34. lecture
    a long speech that scolds or reprimands
    In my head I'm getting ready to launch into a lecture about appearance versus reality, but I hear Alicia call, "Who is it, Mom?"
  35. neutral
    lacking distinguishing quality or characteristics
    Using a neutral tone of voice, I say, "Hi, Alicia."
  36. trace
    make one's course or travel along a path
    An involuntary shiver runs down my spine as her fingers trace across my forehead to touch my hair, and then back down across my brow.
  37. image
    a mental representation
    I watch her and try to imagine her seeing me, watch her try to match up this new physical image with what she already knows.
  38. convinced
    having a strong belief or conviction
    And when she can't believe something, I have to tell it again and add more and more details until she's convinced it happened.
  39. reflection
    the image of something as it appears in a mirror
    i was almost gone bobby, i was almost all the way disappeared, i couldnt remember if i was real, i couldnt see who could love me. i couldnt see anything there to love, i couldnt find a reflection, anywhere, i needed a mirror so bad. and that was you bobby, invisible mirror, i see me. i see you.
  40. startle
    surprise greatly
    As I open the front door, something moves. I turn, startled. It's me, in the big hall mirror. But I don't stop to look.
Created on Thu May 19 15:26:01 EDT 2016 (updated Wed Aug 15 16:11:12 EDT 2018)

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