The 47 People You'll Meet in Middle School: Chapters 20–30

by Kristin Mahoney
To help her little sister prepare for middle school, Augusta recounts the many friendly, snobby, hilarious, and strange people she's encountered since starting sixth grade.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–19, Chapters 20–30, Chapters 31–48
30 words 26 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bellow
    shout loudly and without restraint
    “The winner of what?” he bellowed. “Just what is going on here?! Mr. Zambrano, what is that in your hand?”
  2. grisly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    He explained the situation as though he were describing a grisly crime scene (using phrases like “egregious breach of decency” and “time to unmask the perpetrators”).
  3. egregious
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
    He explained the situation as though he were describing a grisly crime scene (using phrases like “egregious breach of decency” and “time to unmask the perpetrators”).
  4. decency
    the quality of conforming to rules of propriety and morality
    He explained the situation as though he were describing a grisly crime scene (using phrases like “egregious breach of decency” and “time to unmask the perpetrators”).
  5. perpetrator
    someone who commits wrongdoing
    He explained the situation as though he were describing a grisly crime scene (using phrases like “egregious breach of decency” and “time to unmask the perpetrators”).
  6. quizzical
    perplexed
    “It’s not illegal when adults do it,” Dad said. Then he looked at Mom and made a quizzical face, like he was silently asking, Wait—is it illegal?
  7. initiative
    a new strategy or plan to solve a problem or improve a situation
    “Okay,” Dad said. “I admire your initiative.” Mom shot him a look, and he gave her a little hand raise that meant Hear me out.
  8. perpetually
    without interruption
    That wasn’t the best start because, well, you know how Mr. Perkins has always made us nervous because he’s so quiet and also perpetually grouchy?
  9. ghoulish
    suggesting the horror of death and decay
    “YOU MAY ENTER,” Layla said in this ghoulish voice we use sometimes when we’re goofing around.
  10. captivity
    the state of being imprisoned
    Mr. Smeed’s homeroom class, male
    and female. In captivity because of a
    gambling ring started by one of the
    females, Augusta Reynolds.
  11. delinquent
    a young offender
    I wondered if she was thinking, She probably became a delinquent because her parents got divorced.
  12. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    The four of them wore matching smug smiles as they sat in the row beside ours.
  13. precede
    come before
    And other times their conversation was clearly about me. I could tell because it would be preceded by one of them making a not-so-subtle glance my way.
  14. unison
    the act of occurring together or simultaneously
    Marcy, Heidi, and Amber in unison: “Yes, totally.”
  15. unbeknownst
    occurring or existing without the knowledge of
    Unbeknownst to me, Mom was already on the case.
  16. kingpin
    the most important person in a group or undertaking
    “I can have my phone back?” I asked.
    “No. You still have three days until that punishment is over. But I’ve been thinking of what you said about wanting to buy contacts. And I might have another way you can make money. You know, apart from being a gambling kingpin.”
  17. gig
    a job, especially a temporary job
    So when Mom hooked me up with the mother’s helper gig with Dr. Chen and I found out her family lived on a secret road, I was pretty excited.
  18. foyer
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    Thankfully Mom clammed up when we got out of the car. And she left as soon as she’d said hi to Dr. Chen, so she didn’t get past their foyer.
  19. preoccupied
    having excessive or compulsive concern with something
    Mom didn’t push further, either because she could tell I didn’t want to talk about it or because she was suddenly preoccupied with the rock-solid bag of frozen spaghetti sauce on the kitchen counter.
  20. salvage
    save from ruin, destruction, or harm
    “What are you doing to that poor spaghetti sauce?” Mom asked.
    “I’m stirring it.”
    “Looks more like you’re murdering it. Let’s just see what we can salvage for now,” she said.
  21. intimidated
    made scared or fearful as by threats
    Maybe it was just because we were further into the school year, or maybe it was because I had better and speedier lock skills these days, but I wasn’t feeling intimidated by Davis Davis anymore just because he was a year older than me.
  22. deliberately
    with intention; in an intentional manner
    He rearranged the things in his locker—two more cans of paint, brushes, and something that looked like an old sheet—then slowly and deliberately closed the door.
  23. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    Sarah seemed almost as flustered as I was when I first got here, although I assumed her evening hadn’t also included the news that her mom was dating her fifth-grade teacher.
  24. prairie
    a treeless grassy plain
    “Looks great,” she said. “So are we going to be like Laura and Mary tonight?”
    “Who?”
    “You know, Laura and Mary, in the Little House on the Prairie books.”
  25. assumption
    a statement that is held to be true
    “What’s with the assumption that people who live in the country don’t know how to spell?” she said.
  26. chime in
    break into a conversation
    Heidi chimed in. “Yeah, a lot of people worked really hard on this dance, you know.”
  27. livid
    furiously angry
    “Wait—she actually said ‘broken home’?” I asked.
    Sarah laughed. “Yeah. Isn’t that crazy? My mom was livid.”
  28. ballad
    a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
    DJ Dave put on Spoiler Alert’s cheesiest ballad, and the dance floor cleared in seconds.
  29. interrogation
    formal systematic questioning
    Smeed sniffed. He clearly was disappointed that there wasn’t really anywhere to go from there with his interrogation.
  30. sappy
    very sentimental or emotional
    “Right—that’s why I brought headphones,” Quincy said, holding them up to show us. “When the DJ plays a sappy slow song, I put these on and dance to whatever I want. Mekhai was doing it too. It’s hilarious. And the dance-committee weirdos hate it.”
Created on Tue Dec 21 21:22:59 EST 2021 (updated Mon Jan 03 16:50:53 EST 2022)

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