Early Departures: List 4

by Justin A. Reynolds
When a technological miracle allows Jamal's best friend, Q, to be brought back to life for a few weeks, Jamal must decide whether to tell Q the truth about what happened to him.

This list covers Chapters 29–0.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
35 words 73 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bereaved
    sorrowful through loss or deprivation
    I’m not his bereaved mom. Or his grieving family.
  2. purgatory
    a temporary condition of torment or suffering
    “Like this is some sort of purgatory? Or heaven? Or I don’t know. But we’re dead, is that...is that what you’re telling me?”
  3. vacuous
    devoid of intelligence
    “All things considered, but you are right. Vacuous question.”
    “If vacuous means stupid, you have my full agreement.”
  4. render
    cause to become
    “You can’t bring people who died a long time ago back, right?”
    He shakes his head, flicks on the turn signal. “Correct. The level of decomposition renders it impossible.”
  5. proprietor
    someone who owns a business
    “I am the Center’s primary proprietor, yes. There are a few others that sit on a small board with me. No one should decide matters of life and death alone.”
  6. discreet
    not easily noticeable
    He removes his glasses. Discreetly dabs around his eyes.
  7. epitome
    a standard or typical example
    “You are the best mom this world has ever seen. You are the epitome of moms. You are the zenith of momhood. Top-shelf mom-mery only. You are what God intended when he created the first mom. I could not have asked for a better mom. That’s gotta count for like ten, right?”
  8. zenith
    the highest point of something
    “You are the best mom this world has ever seen. You are the epitome of moms. You are the zenith of momhood. Top-shelf mom-mery only. You are what God intended when he created the first mom. I could not have asked for a better mom. That’s gotta count for like ten, right?”
  9. quip
    witty remark
    We abandon Autumn’s car in her driveway, and slip into the front door just in time to hear Judge Keenan deliver his trademark quip: Nuh-uh, you better get outa my courtroom with that buuuulll-ish.
  10. impending
    close in time; about to occur
    Jamal: how to reply to your friend’s uncomfortable jokes about his impending death.
  11. bungle
    make a mess of, destroy, or ruin
    “So, even though I basically bungled this whole thing...”
    Whit interrupts me. “It coulda been way worse!”
  12. exuberance
    joyful enthusiasm
    Jamal, I applaud your exuberance, but I’m not sure this is something you can fix.
  13. atone
    make amends for
    “I just wanna atone for my mistakes. Is that so bad?”
  14. cliffhanger
    an episode or story that ends in suspense
    “Wait, what’s happening? Is this supposed to be some kind of cliffhanger? Because I’m not all that intrigued.”
  15. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    “Wait, what’s happening? Is this supposed to be some kind of cliffhanger? Because I’m not all that intrigued.”
  16. respective
    considered individually
    And then it’s like we’re a basketball team coming out of a time-out, breaking our huddle and then hurrying to our respective positions on the court.
  17. hovel
    small crude shelter used as a dwelling
    Jamal: Well, you’ve seen, now you can crawl back to your hovel.
  18. evoke
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    Our signs should be inspirational, yes—but also should evoke the feelings you might have as you read a ransom note instructing you what to do if you ever want to see your loved one.
  19. whence
    from what place, source, or cause
    I look at the door behind him, the door from whence we came.
  20. bullion
    a mass of precious metal
    What’s this made of? Gold bullion?
  21. humility
    a lack of arrogance or false pride
    It doesn’t matter if all of America falls in love with his charm, with his humility.
  22. hankering
    a yearning for something or to do something
    We hit up this Italian spot for our celebratory dinner because Q’s got a hankering for pasta and Whit says she’ll murder someone for a slice of tiramisu—which, satisfying a craving and preventing homicide, no-brainer.
  23. profound
    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    That feeling when you’ve just had a profound, intimate moment with a group of people and you’re not ready to go your separate ways.
  24. intimate
    marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity
    That feeling when you’ve just had a profound, intimate moment with a group of people and you’re not ready to go your separate ways.
  25. buffer
    a cushion-like device that reduces shock due to an impact
    Like everything is super cold or super hot or super tiring or super frustrating or super funny because we’ve lost all of our filters and barriers and cushions and buffers and we’re just straight feelings, no chaser.
  26. fanatical
    marked by excessive enthusiasm for a cause or idea
    “Yo, you were fanatical about that poster.”
    “I stood in line for seven hours for that poster. And everyone in the band signed it, so the fact that I even let you borrow it showed how much I trusted you.”
  27. deliberate
    think about carefully; weigh
    Q chuckles, strokes his chin like he’s deliberating.
  28. crux
    the most important point
    And man, I don’t want to let go.
    But I guess that’s sorta the crux.
  29. incidentally
    as a subordinate or chance occurrence
    “I’ll make sure my kids know all of the wise and funny things you’ve said. And maybe they won’t go around saying ‘my grandpa said,’ but would you settle for ‘uncle’ or, I don’t know, maybe ‘my dad’s best friend who incidentally was by far the most charming, funny, and awesome person he’s ever known’?”
  30. furtively
    in a secretive manner
    Mr. O and Ms. B off to the side, talking furtively, until finally he pats her softly on her arm and sad-smiles.
  31. garbled
    lacking orderly continuity
    Until suddenly his hand juts through the plastic-sphere surface and we hear a garbled “I’m okay. Don’t call 911...yet.”
  32. subside
    wear off or die down
    We wait for her pain to subside and then carefully get her on her feet.
  33. triage
    sorting and allocating aid on the basis of need
    “Whit, I know it’s hard, baby. But try not to push, okay? We’re almost to triage. Just hold on. You’re doing great, Whit. You and your baby are gonna be just fine.”
  34. testament
    strong evidence for something
    But mainly, I see this as a true testament to your gift.
  35. hiatus
    an interruption in the intensity or amount of something
    Because this guy—not only has he been one of my best friends since diaper days, he was also one half of Jauncy, a comedy duo-ship we had back in the day...then we had a bit of a hiatus—
Created on Mon Mar 01 09:29:09 EST 2021 (updated Thu Mar 04 11:07:26 EST 2021)

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