Down and Across: Chapter 23–Epilogue

by Arvin Ahmadi
Rising high school senior Scott Ferdowsi is having difficulty coping with the pressure to make decisions about his future — so he runs off to Washington, DC and embarks on an adventure that will change his life.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 6, Chapters 7–16, Chapters 17–22, Chapter 23–Epilogue
40 words 9 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. reconvene
    meet or cause to meet again
    It was Monday evening, and Fiora and I had reconvened on a bench in Dupont Circle.
  2. ostentatious
    intended to attract notice and impress others
    She wiggled her fingers at the ostentatious sunset—a flashy spectacle of grapefruit pink and sweet-nectar orange that dyed the entire skyline, one-upping the previous night’s color show.
  3. escapade
    a wild and exciting undertaking
    Trent got a kick out of my escapades with Jack and Kevin, like the time I tricked them into showing up at a real party, complete with loud music and alcohol, by pretending it was a Star Trek viewing.
  4. callous
    emotionally hardened
    I’d have to entertain Jeanette’s right-wing chatter until I could segue into those callous words: We need to talk.
  5. segue
    proceed without interruption, in music or talk
    My plan to segue into the flaws of our intersecting grids had failed. I lost track of time.
  6. bigotry
    intolerance and prejudice
    The Crusaders had gotten up during Jeanette’s hyper-rationalized bigotry and moseyed over to a distant bench.
  7. deadpan
    deliberately impassive in manner
    “Trent is a handsome, conservative Southerner. I’m sure my parents would approve.”
    "Trent is gay,” Fiora said, totally deadpan.
  8. consequential
    having important effects or results
    In a perfect world, I would have hailed a cab. But for some sad, consequential reason having to do with the day’s events, I wasn’t convinced I had earned that luxury.
  9. inoperable
    not able to perform its normal function
    I collapsed onto a bar stool, sliding my elbows down the bar top until my chin was resting on it. My stomach grumbled. I felt wholly inoperable, drained by anxiety and hunger.
  10. explicitly
    in a clearly expressed manner
    I stared at Fiora, scanning her face in an effort to understand what she was doing at Tonic without asking explicitly.
  11. livid
    furiously angry
    I stared at Fiora with a livid expression—the kind of gaze you fire off at a stranger who spills on your laptop, or a friend who knocks over your house of cards.
  12. grudgingly
    in a reluctant manner
    "Okay, okay,” Fiora said grudgingly.
  13. unwieldy
    difficult to work with or manipulate
    She ran her fingers through her wet, unwieldy locks of blonde hair.
  14. crevasse
    a deep fissure
    The pit in my stomach grew heavier. It slipped into the crevasses of guilt.
  15. resilient
    recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
    She stood there resilient to the pouring rain, and I felt myself coming undone in its spitter-spatter.
  16. dejected
    affected or marked by low spirits
    I imagined a puppeteer in the rain clouds, tugging the strings of this sad, dejected person. His body lagged like a wet towel being dragged across the bathroom floor. His steps lacked motivation. His head hung low.
  17. immaculate
    without error or flaw
    A few days ago, I felt good about this journey I had embarked on. But now that my immaculate house of cards had collapsed, I had to wonder what did it.
  18. soiree
    a party of people assembled in the evening
    “There’s a super-exclusive soiree tonight at the French ambassador’s residence.”
  19. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    It felt strange to be reunited with Fiora so soon after our fight. Fortunately, there wasn’t much time to mull over the strangeness, because I needed a tuxedo for the soiree.
  20. buoyant
    characterized by liveliness and lightheartedness
    Fiora moved so buoyantly that you could tell she got a kick out of high-risk escapades like this one.
  21. modest
    low or inferior in station or quality
    The apartment was modest in decor but abundant in mess.
  22. gravitate
    move toward
    Fiora'd had every reason to keep gravitating back to Benji.
  23. respective
    considered individually
    For the rest of the ride, Fiora and I gazed out of our respective cab windows.
  24. facade
    the front of a building
    I scanned the lush, green lawn—each blade of grass cut with razor-thin precision—and let my eyes wander up the house’s faded brick facade.
  25. extravagant
    recklessly wasteful
    We stood motionless before an extravagant chamber. A crystal chandelier hung from the sky-high ceiling, balancing what seemed like thousands of glowing candles.
  26. predominantly
    much greater in number or influence
    I gasped, but the sound was swallowed by the hum of high-society chatter. The partygoers were predominantly old, important-looking.
  27. lavish
    characterized by extravagance and profusion
    Fiora picked a crab cake off one of their trays. I went for the mini hot dogs. Our snacks felt out of place at such a lavish event. Like us.
  28. dapper
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
    "Not to mention we look dapper as hell.”
  29. idle
    not in action or at work
    We stood around idly, scanning the room for signs of Renault Cohen.
  30. dignitary
    an important or influential person
    Professor Mallard gave us the lowdown on every dignitary, ambassador, CEO, and deputy secretary of Fine Wine and Cheese in attendance.
  31. socialite
    one who is well known or prominent in fashionable circles
    I weaved through clumps of socialites—schmoozing and boozing—to find Fiora and Professor Mallard standing together, engaged in a heated debate.
  32. schmooze
    talk in a friendly way, especially to gain an advantage
    I weaved through clumps of socialites—schmoozing and boozing—to find Fiora and Professor Mallard standing together, engaged in a heated debate.
  33. ensemble
    a group of musicians playing or singing together
    The amount of collision and crashing—whack! thud!—all that cacophony led me to believe that the string quartet must have been replaced by a percussion ensemble.
  34. foyer
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    Or maybe it was really us making all that noise, because then we stumbled down the spiral stairs, and I slipped on the marble floor in the foyer like a doofus and his banana peel.
  35. whim
    an odd or fanciful or capricious idea
    I felt like I cheated the systemless system of teenage rebellion—running away on a bogus whim and coming out of it with real experiences.
  36. absolve
    excuse or free from blame
    I glanced over my shoulder and caught one last look at Dupont Circle. The fountain peeked out from behind the tall trees, gushing pristinely over the crowd of people—real people—with different wants and desires who had found themselves blissfully in the same place. Suddenly I felt absolved.
  37. rubric
    an authoritative rule of conduct or procedure
    We both knew I had messed up, but it felt different from all the other times I had messed up with mediocre grades or abandoned extracurriculars. There was no rubric for this one.
  38. prerequisite
    something that is needed or obligatory in advance
    But adventures like this one stay with you; they’re never really done. It’s like the universe. I can’t guarantee humankind will go on forever, but it’s going somewhere. Baby steps, growth. Because completion isn’t a prerequisite for growth. Momentum is.
  39. conceivable
    capable of being imagined
    I wrote at least a hundred new reports on entrepreneurs, athletes, artists, scientists—important figures from every conceivable field.
  40. anecdote
    short account of an incident
    Professor Mallard published her book in the spring: True Grit. It became an instant bestseller. She didn’t use any of my research, but there was a familiar anecdote among the pages about a “teenage boy who barged into my office one summer, desperate to get gritty.”
Created on Thu Jan 23 16:34:36 EST 2020 (updated Mon Jan 27 13:09:00 EST 2020)

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