Maybe He Just Likes You: List 1

by Barbara Dee
When Mila receives unwanted attention from boys in her class, she takes a self-defense class to learn how to stand up for herself.

This list covers “Pebbles” to “Dogs.”

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
25 words 411 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. generic
    relating to or applicable to an entire class or group
    It wouldn’t be some generic babyish birthday celebration, with cupcakes for the whole class, like you did in elementary school.
  2. premiere
    perform a work for the first time
    Often during lunch my friends and I hung out here and just talked. Or sang (mostly that was Zara, who world-premiered her own compositions).
  3. literal
    reflecting the essential or genuine character of something
    “Look, Omi, we made you an O! For your initial, and also a literal Circle of Friendship! Which was Mila’s idea,” she added, catching my eye.
  4. flinch
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    Zara flinched. It was a quick-enough flinch that maybe I was the only one who noticed.
  5. ambitious
    requiring full use of your abilities or resources
    “We have a very ambitious program this year, and I’m going to need leaders I can count on. We all do.”
  6. ado
    a great deal of fuss, concern, or commotion
    All right, then, without further ado: here are our seventh grade band leaders.
  7. vain
    having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
    Omi wasn’t vain or stuck-up or anything like that, but she really cared how she looked.
  8. decree
    decide with authority
    “Although chairs may change over the course of the year,” Ms. Fender had told us, “depending on your commitment to rehearsing, and your focus during class.” Also on whether I decree that you're my pet, I mentally added as I inched my music stand away from Callum’s.
  9. medley
    a musical composition consisting of a series of songs
    Ms. Fender had also handed out some new music—“Pirate Medley”—which we were supposed to start practicing at home.
  10. comeback
    a quick reply to a question or remark
    The whole thing had felt strange and creepy, so why hadn’t I just walked out of the room? Or even thought of a lame comeback (No hug, but I’ll play you “Happy Birthday" on my trumpet)?
  11. jostle
    make one's way by pushing or shoving
    The halls were crowded, and there was always jostling and shoving by the staircase, so I wasn’t positive he could have avoided it.
  12. synthetic
    not of natural origin; prepared or made artificially
    Of course I knew it wasn’t mohair. It was something synthetic that you could throw in the washing machine. But that probably meant it was cheap, so I didn’t say it.
  13. paranoid
    suffering from delusions of persecution or grandeur
    Right away I thought: Okay, Mila, now you’re being paranoid. The seat isn’t wide enough; he can’t help it if he smooshes into you.
  14. practically
    almost; nearly
    And here was the strangest part: even though the way he was playing made me feel practically shoved out of the room, it was hard to think of him right then as a rude basketball boy, or one of the jerks on the bus.
  15. indignant
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    “Okay, but I just...don't know if they’d play with a girl," I said.
    Zara looked indignant. “Why wouldn’t they?”
  16. plaque
    a tablet that commemorates a person or achievement
    I read her name plaque: MS. J. KURTZBURGER.
  17. hypnotize
    induce a state that resembles sleep in
    By this time, I was getting annoyed with how often he said the word Mila. Like maybe he thought if he repeated my name enough times, he’d hypnotize me into trusting him better.
  18. frayed
    worn away or tattered along the edges
    They’re so dirty and frayed. I really need to ask Mom to buy me new laces.
  19. stoop
    small porch or set of steps at the front entrance of a house
    When I got home, Hadley was sitting on our front stoop with Cherish Ames, a kindergartner on our block who still sucked her thumb, and Cherish’s mom, who had dyed-blond hair that reached down to her waist.
  20. strain
    exert much effort or energy
    “Delilah’s all excited. She wants to go in!”
    Our dog was on her hind legs, straining toward the dog run, whimpering.
  21. reflex
    an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus
    It was like a stupid reflex:
    Other person: Ooh, nice dog. Can I pet her?
    Me (proud dog owner): Sure!
  22. croon
    sing softly
    Which made Tobias start crooning stuff like “good girl” and “nice doggie” while his little sister squealed with delight.
  23. backfire
    return with an undesired effect
    And anyhow, I thought, tattling to his mom would probably backfire.
  24. rickety
    inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
    Hadley and I sat on a rickety old bench in the dog run, watching Delilah zoom through the leaves with three other dogs.
  25. specifically
    in distinction from others
    “But which kid are you referring to, specifically? This park is full of kids.”
Created on Thu Aug 27 11:20:21 EDT 2020 (updated Fri Aug 28 09:12:36 EDT 2020)

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