There Goes the Neighborhood: Prologue–Chapter 5

by Jade Adia
When her Los Angeles neighborhood starts developing and reducing the amount of affordable housing, fifteen-year-old Rhea leads her friends in creating fake news about gang activity in order to scare away invasive investors.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 5, Chapters 6–14, Chapters 15–23, Chapters 24–30, Chapter 31–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. stooge
    an obedient follower who works for someone else's advantage
    The global spice mart was the first to go. Some corporate stooges bought it last year and turned it into a boutique Pilates studio.
  2. futile
    producing no result or effect
    The hood of the train stop structure casts a thin strip of futile shade covering only half of the metal bench, which by now has already absorbed hours’ worth of summer heat, so it’s way too hot to sit on.
  3. obscurity
    an unimportant and not well known standing
    Let alone erasing the entire hood into obscurity along with me.
  4. impromptu
    with little or no preparation or forethought
    Eventually, the three of us became accustomed to impromptu playdates on the patch of grass at the street corner while our moms kept raising their gelled nails at us, telling us to chill out for “five more minutes.”
  5. relinquish
    release, as from one's grip
    "Ma?" Zeke asks softly, relinquishing the tiny bowl of curtido that he had been threatening to withhold if we didn’t share with him.
  6. uninhibited
    not restrained
    Lupe has one of those wild, uninhibited laughs that makes it easy to forget that she’s often in pain.
  7. cretin
    a person of subnormal intelligence
    “Hahaha laugh all you want, cretins. In thirty days, I’ll be the one laughing.”
  8. haphazardly
    without care; in a slapdash manner
    He haphazardly waves a scroll of paper at our faces like a fire extinguisher.
  9. devious
    characterized by insincerity or deceit
    “I’ll never have to see you three spilling Arizonas and stomping all over my units ever again.”
    “’Cause you’re gunna kill us?” I chime in with a devious grin.
  10. ordinance
    a statute enacted by a city government
    News flash: the rent control ordinance expired, kiddo.
  11. wiry
    lean but strong
    At first glance, they’re opposites: Malachi’s this tall, wiry Black kid who’s ten months into what we all assume is gonna be a massive growth spurt (his dad is six foot six).
  12. acquired
    gotten through environmental forces
    Zeke has always been the most captive audience for every single one of Malachi’s drawings, even the ones that are an “acquired taste.”
  13. cliche
    an unoriginal or predictable theme, situation, or person
    I want to say that if Zeke really does have to move at the end of the month, we might as well spend our time going out and making new cliché memories, but I can’t bring myself to say it out loud.
  14. gentrify
    renovate so as to make it conform to middle-class aspirations
    If we move, there’s no chance we’d get to stay in the city, let alone the neighborhood, now that everything’s gentrifying. Landlords all over are doing the same thing as Vic—kicking people out and raising rents like crazy. It’s happening to shop owners too.
  15. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    I kick my Converse up onto the dingy seat in front of me.
  16. abstinence
    the trait of refraining from something, especially alcohol
    Prior to this moment, Malachi and I rarely touched. I can count on one hand the amount of times that we have, and they were always by accident. Such abstinence can be traced back to the dawn of our relationship: schoolyards and handball courts. Boys over here, girls over there.
  17. preemptive
    designed to prevent an anticipated situation or occurrence
    Maybe Malachi and I will still get to grow up here, even without Zeke, but either way: the feeling of knowing that we all may disappear from this place, slowly and silently, produces a certain type of preemptive loneliness.
  18. devolve
    grow worse
    I inhale sharply to prevent the glossy film forming over my eyes from devolving into a full-blown cry.
  19. sheer
    complete and without restriction
    “Oh, I need one of those!” Zeke says, jumping to his feet from the sheer excitement of the prospect of dessert.
  20. grungy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    We pass by a group of smart-looking, vaguely grungy twentysomethings waving flyers and looking distinctly out of place.
  21. facilitate
    make easier
    “We can coordinate the meetings with your landlords, lead the discussion, and facilitate it all. We can get you justice.”
  22. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    “What if that’s our best option? We can take the middle road. Set a meeting with Vic or whatever.”
    God, they can be so naive. “As if Vic will listen to us out of the kindness of his heart? Please.”
  23. quirky
    strikingly unconventional
    The early 2000s Usher jams that have been playing for the past ten minutes give way to quirky chillwave beats.
  24. proponent
    a person who argues for a cause or puts forward an idea
    I’ve always been a low-key proponent of #NoNewFriends, but now more than ever, I’m 1,000 percent not tryna get close with these randos.
  25. pretentious
    creating an appearance of importance or distinction
    “Haha, yeah, I get that it’s known for being pretentious, but there’s more diversity around there than you’d think.”
  26. funky
    stylish and modern in an unconventional way
    He’s wearing those funky hiking sandals that usually make everyone look nerdy, but he can pull them off.
  27. iteration
    the act or process of doing or saying again
    And me, well, I don’t think I have a style at all. Whatever you’d call a fifteen-year-old girl caught between various iterations of androgynous, bland clothes that don’t draw too much attention to her body is where I stay.
  28. androgynous
    having both male and female characteristics
    And me, well, I don’t think I have a style at all. Whatever you’d call a fifteen-year-old girl caught between various iterations of androgynous, bland clothes that don’t draw too much attention to her body is where I stay.
  29. exude
    make apparent by one's mood or behavior
    A long, awkward silence settles between us, but it feels like Zeke, Malachi, and I are the only ones who notice how cringey it is. Marley and Lou exude zen energy, seemingly unbothered by the overly long lapse in conversation.
  30. lapse
    a break or intermission in the occurrence of something
    A long, awkward silence settles between us, but it feels like Zeke, Malachi, and I are the only ones who notice how cringey it is. Marley and Lou exude zen energy, seemingly unbothered by the overly long lapse in conversation.
  31. correspondent
    a journalist who supplies stories for news media
    The siblings wave politely at Lupe, and she continues grinning like one of those excessively chipper weather correspondents on the morning news.
  32. prissy
    exaggeratedly proper
    There’s something so satisfying about seeing the prissy new girl mess up her hair while dropping to the grass.
  33. succulent
    plant adapted to arid conditions with water-storing tissues
    They pack up their collection of succulents and stockpiled boxes of LaCroix faster than you can say “home-brew kombucha.”
  34. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    “Okay…and how do you expect us to do that?” Malachi asks warily.
  35. meticulous
    marked by extreme care in treatment of details
    It’s all just harmless mind games—we’re playing chess, not Call of Duty. Plus, whatever we do, we’ll be careful. More than careful, we’ll be meticulous.
  36. visceral
    coming from deep inward feelings rather than from reasoning
    A visceral flashback of the sensation of his arm against mine flushes through my body. I brush aside those feelings and meet his eyes.
  37. compensate
    make payment to
    At least now I’m being properly compensated for my time by men who see my value.
  38. profess
    confess one's faith in, or allegiance to
    “Okay, butterflies aside from you professing your obvious undying love for me,” Zeke begins.
  39. tinge
    a slight but appreciable amount
    I shrug off the little tinge of embarrassment and try to head back to the car, but I don’t get far.
  40. casual
    not showing effort or strain
    His words are casual, but he avoids my glare like he’s bracing for my reaction.
Created on Mon Apr 08 16:27:39 EDT 2024 (updated Tue Apr 09 14:40:21 EDT 2024)

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