Clayton Byrd Goes Underground: Chapters 9–15

by Rita Williams-Garcia
Clayton Byrd dreams of playing the blues, just like his grandfather. When his grandfather dies, a distraught Clayton runs away from home in the hopes of joining a blues band.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–5, Chapters 16–29

Here are links to our lists for other books by Rita Williams-Garcia: One Crazy Summer, P.S. Be Eleven, Gone Crazy in Alabama
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. suspend
    bar temporarily
    “Why am I staying home? Am I suspended?”
  2. pulpit
    a platform raised to give prominence to the person on it
    Pastor Early said in his booming pulpit voice, “Who’s making that fine, fine music out there?”
  3. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    “Had one just like it,” Pastor Early said, trying to coax a smile out of Clayton.
  4. hearty
    showing warm and sincere friendliness
    His mother scolded him, but Pastor Early laughed heartily and said, “I’m glad you were listening, son, but—”
  5. sermon
    an address of a religious nature
    But Clayton didn’t listen to the sermons, and he said “amen” only when it was a word in a song.
  6. disobedience
    the trait of being unwilling to follow rules or comply
    As long as he was quiet in his disobedience, he figured he was okay.
  7. lull
    make calm or still
    He felt the words on the page lulling him to go deeper into the adventure.
  8. slacken
    become looser
    His mouth slackened like a wet, boingy rubber band, and before he could do anything about it, his head teetered, tottered.
  9. teeter
    move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
    His mouth slackened like a wet, boingy rubber band, and before he could do anything about it, his head teetered, tottered.
  10. totter
    move without being stable, as if threatening to fall
    His mouth slackened like a wet, boingy rubber band, and before he could do anything about it, his head teetered, tottered.
  11. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    It wasn’t like a fleeting idea that disappeared like waking dreams, but like something that could be real.
  12. disruptive
    characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
    “You’ve been nothing but disruptive in class.”
  13. spare
    save or relieve from an experience or action
    He followed her, running to catch up, all the while chanting “Nomommynomommynomommy” the way kids plead to be spared the belt.
  14. thrash
    move or stir about violently
    He thrashed about, kicking the covers away.
  15. ajar
    slightly open
    He repeated the steps of his plan, his eyes on the window left ajar, as the sheer blue curtains swayed.
  16. sheer
    so thin as to transmit light
    He repeated the steps of his plan, his eyes on the window left ajar, as the sheer blue curtains swayed.
  17. waft
    blow gently
    The cool air wafting into Clayton’s room was a good thing.
  18. lurch
    move haltingly and unsteadily
    Clayton and Omar boarded the bus, and the bus lurched forward.
  19. mob
    a disorderly crowd of people
    Clayton, Omar, and the other kids got off the bus to join the mob of kids waiting to enter the building.
  20. bodega
    small shop selling groceries, especially in a Hispanic area
    “I’ll run fast,” Clayton said, and took off toward the bodega.
  21. smother
    conceal or hide
    He wiped it clean of the silky, girly things it had been smothered by, and then sank it in his mouth to slick it up.
  22. fare
    the sum charged for riding in a public conveyance
    He paid his fare, pushed his slim body against the turnstile bar, and embarked on his adventure.
  23. descent
    a movement downward
    Each level of steps in Clayton’s descent took him farther below street level until Clayton Byrd was truly underground.
  24. brawny
    possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful
    He didn’t notice the grime and dirt, or the long, brawny rats running across the track—he was too elated by the success of his plan.
  25. elated
    exultantly proud and joyful; in high spirits
    He didn’t notice the grime and dirt, or the long, brawny rats running across the track—he was too elated by the success of his plan.
  26. hazy
    indistinct in outline
    The details of what was to follow were hazy at best.
  27. periphery
    the outside boundary or surface of something
    A woman’s figure entered his periphery.
  28. gawk
    look with amazement
    He knew better than to turn and gawk.
  29. feral
    wild and menacing
    They looked wild. Feral.
  30. gig
    a job, especially a temporary job
    He cocked his head and looked sharp so no one would see a boy on the lam, and would instead see a bluesman on the way to his gig.
  31. union
    an employee organization that bargains with an employer
    He had his ax, or what Jack Rabbit Jones had called his “union card.”
  32. clamp
    fasten with or as with a device that holds things tightly
    He hadn’t paid much attention to the part about two mules kicking when he clamped down on his blues harp and played while Cool Papa sang those words, but when the woman’s funk caught him, he knew what it was to be kicked worse than two mules kicked.
  33. fidgety
    nervous and unable to relax
    She was singing. First he thought she was saying something. Talking to no one, the way fidgety, homeless people do.
  34. vacate
    leave behind empty; move out of
    If Cool Papa was talking to Clayton through the homeless woman, his spirit had vacated her now slumped-over body.
  35. linger
    be about
    He wiped his eyes, teary from the coughing fit, and lingered for a few seconds on the narrow outer ledge of the subway car.
  36. graffiti
    unauthorized drawings or writing on walls in public places
    He stared out into the tunnel where graffiti tags passed by.
  37. touchy
    quick to take offense
    He didn’t want to get caught staring at any of the riders, because people were touchy about being stared at.
  38. lanky
    tall and thin and having long slender limbs
    Next, a boy wearing a fuzzy white Kangol cap, who was slightly younger and shorter than Train Ear but definitely older than the twins, squeezed himself past the lanky teen and into the car.
  39. strum
    sound the strings of an instrument
    He could almost feel the vibrations of the grunts that thumped and strummed like a bass.
  40. snare
    a small drum with wires stretched across the lower head
    He followed how the boy clicked his tongue like a snare, and timed his crisp hisses like sticks on brass hi-hats.
Created on Tue Jan 23 15:44:56 EST 2018 (updated Thu Feb 28 15:28:26 EST 2019)

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