Here to Stay: Chapters 7–8

by Sara Farizan
When Bijan Majidi sinks the winning basket at a varsity basketball game, he unexpectedly finds himself enjoying the perks of popularity. But his success also sparks rivalry — and makes Bijan the target of an anonymous cyberbully.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–6, Chapters 7–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–18, Chapters 19–24
35 words 131 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ordeal
    a severe or trying experience
    “I’m so glad I found you. I was hoping to speak with you about your ordeal. Now, I was thinking the best course of action would be to have some sort of rally to mobilize the student body and show that Islamophobia and xenophobia are unacceptable—”
  2. xenophobia
    a fear of foreigners or strangers
    “I’m so glad I found you. I was hoping to speak with you about your ordeal. Now, I was thinking the best course of action would be to have some sort of rally to mobilize the student body and show that Islamophobia and xenophobia are unacceptable—”
  3. dejected
    affected or marked by low spirits
    “I’m sorry. I don’t really...I sometimes say too much. Or want to say too much. I didn’t mean to be insensitive.” She looked dejected, her shoulders slumped and her cheeks red.
  4. cordial
    politely warm and friendly
    “I’m going to be in the library,” she replied. Stephanie’s tone was cordial, but she took one step back from him.
  5. blowout
    an easy victory
    This exchange was as painful as watching the Celtics lose in blowouts to the Cavs during playoffs.
  6. curt
    brief and to the point
    “I am helping someone with their studies.” This time, she was curt.
  7. taut
    subjected to great tension; stretched tight
    When he smiled at her again, it was taut and forced.
  8. flush
    turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
    Stephanie cleared her throat and looked a little flushed. “He has a tendency to be overprotective. He’s keenly aware of what people say about me.”
  9. affluent
    having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value
    Both were affluent suburbs, only Dover was farmlike and quiet, and Brookline, which was technically part of the city, was a bustling metropolis.
  10. quad
    a rectangular area surrounded on all sides by buildings
    We made our way outside to the quad.
  11. subdued
    quieted and brought under control
    The conversation around the varsity lockers was subdued. Guys were talking one at a time, not over each other.
  12. radicalize
    make more extreme in social or political outlook
    “You never know, man. I mean, people get radicalized, right? Maybe somebody knows something about that dude that we don’t. You should have seen him yesterday when he got into it with Drew.”
  13. eloquent
    expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
    I knew what he was getting at. He hadn’t asked it as eloquently as others had, but I’d gotten versions of this question plenty of times before, and this wouldn’t be the last.
  14. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    Will wasn’t as naive as Drew. He wouldn’t try anything on school grounds.
  15. ashen
    pale from illness or emotion
    From the look on Drew’s ashen face and the way he carefully avoided making eye contact with me, I guessed Coach had already made his speeches for the day.
  16. condemnation
    an expression of strong disapproval
    “I bet. It’s a shame what kids can do these days with computers. I thought we gave you all too much homework. I mean, what jerk would find the time, you know?" It wasn’t exactly a condemnation.
  17. honcho
    a manager or person who is in charge
    “We get it, Coach. You’re the head honcho.”
  18. disparaging
    expressive of low opinion
    “You’ve got to wonder about a coach who speaks so disparagingly about his player, Reggie. Not exactly the kind of guy you want to mentor kids.”
  19. transpire
    come about, happen, or occur
    “He also works at some pizza restaurant most nights after practice. He said he was working last night. But again, I don’t really know what transpired between you two after you left here.”
  20. reprieve
    a relief from harm or discomfort
    I entered the warm library, grateful for some reprieve from the unrelenting winter.
  21. unrelenting
    harsh
    I entered the warm library, grateful for some reprieve from the unrelenting winter.
  22. nostalgia
    a longing for something past
    The musty smell of old books struck me with a wave of nostalgia for the reading room at the Somerville public library.
  23. peal
    a deep prolonged sound
    A peal of laughter came from one of the study rooms.
  24. uninhibited
    not restrained
    I’d never seen her so at ease and uninhibited before.
  25. doleful
    filled with or evoking sadness
    “How are you doing, Bijan?” Sean’s mom asked, taking my hand and staring up at me. I knew she cared, but it had been less than a day and I was already sick of people looking at me with doleful eyes.
  26. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    “Hana and Jane were kind enough to help me organize this evening,” Mom said, oblivious to how uncomfortable the whole thing was making me.
  27. explicit
    precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable
    “Hana explained to me that because there wasn’t an explicit threat of violence against you, what was sent can’t technically be categorized as a hate crime, but it is a bias-motivated incident. We can notify the Massachusetts attorney general’s office or file a civil rights complaint.”
  28. strew
    spread by scattering
    “Your room is such a mess,” my mom said, looking at the clothes, both clean and dirty, strewn across my floor.
  29. quirk
    twist or curve abruptly
    “I see,” she said, quirking one eyebrow and putting her hands on her hips like she was Wonder Woman.
  30. idle
    not in action or at work
    “If this happened to one of your friends, if it happened to Sean, would you sit idly by? Would you be comfortable with your own complacency while your friend was being dehumanized?”
  31. complacency
    the feeling you have when you are satisfied with yourself
    “If this happened to one of your friends, if it happened to Sean, would you sit idly by? Would you be comfortable with your own complacency while your friend was being dehumanized?”
  32. dehumanize
    deprive of the positive qualities of a person
    “If this happened to one of your friends, if it happened to Sean, would you sit idly by? Would you be comfortable with your own complacency while your friend was being dehumanized?”
  33. eradicate
    destroy completely, as if down to the roots
    I didn’t want to be a symbol for the Justice League of Parents to use in their crusade to eradicate campus intolerance.
  34. intolerance
    unwillingness to respect differences in opinions or beliefs
    I didn’t want to be a symbol for the Justice League of Parents to use in their crusade to eradicate campus intolerance.
  35. procession
    the action of a group moving ahead in regular formation
    For their reception, they had a zaffa, an Arabic wedding procession.
Created on Tue May 28 13:08:54 EDT 2019 (updated Tue May 28 13:28:38 EDT 2019)

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