White Smoke: Chapters 12–18

by Tiffany D. Jackson
After moving to a small town in the Midwest, high school track star Marigold discovers that she's living in a haunted house in a new town full of dark secrets.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Preface–Chapter 5, Chapters 6–11, Chapters 12–18, Chapters 19–26
35 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dilapidated
    in a state of decay, ruin, or deterioration
    With his Beats headphones, laptop, and a lit-up turntable, he flawlessly blends hit after hit, the party loving him, the vibes chill, and for a moment, I forget that I’m in a dilapidated house and lean against a nearby windowsill.
  2. ordeal
    a severe or trying experience
    Or it could be the whole “house being vandalized, strange noises, neighboring house set on fire, lack of sleep, and some random girl playing pranks on my now-smashed computer” ordeal that has me feeling so...off.
  3. stifle
    smother or suppress
    Not that I eat chicken. Thinking of chickens...I stifle a giggle.
  4. eviscerate
    take away a vital or essential part of
    I don’t want him to look at me because one look will eviscerate this numbness and I’ll scream.
  5. apparition
    a ghostly appearing figure
    Doing everything I can to control my breathing, I calmly walk out of the room, as if I don’t see him, as if he’s invisible, because that’s exactly what he is. A hallucination, an apparition.
  6. lurch
    move abruptly
    My stomach lurches and I hold both hands over my mouth to keep from screaming.
  7. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    But one look at Sammy, I unfurl from the towels I used as blankets and scramble out of the tub.
  8. nonchalantly
    in a composed and unconcerned manner
    Piper nonchalantly glances at the note, then back at me, mouth forming a sly half grin.
  9. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
    Piper’s face remains stoic.
  10. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    “I don’t know,” Tamara says, flustered.
  11. involuntarily
    against your will
    I involuntarily touch my trembling lip.
  12. sacrilegious
    grossly irreverent toward what is considered holy
    “Bruh, I can't believe you don’t eat meat,” Erika says, slurping an extra-large Coke in the passenger seat of Yusef’s truck. “That’s, like, sacrificial.”
    “You mean sacrilegious,” I laugh, throwing a fry at her from the back seat.
  13. commission
    place an order for
    The Sterling Foundation did this massive cleanup of the river and parks a few years ago. Commissioned this new sandbank.
  14. profound
    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    I twist a finger around a strand of hair, wishing I had something profound or comforting to say.
  15. recession
    a situation in which the state of the economy declines
    Back, like, thirty-something years ago, after the riots and the recession, all the abandoned houses used to be filled with squatters.
  16. inconspicuous
    not prominent or readily noticeable
    “Oh, uh, thought I saw a shooting star,” I say with a nervous laugh, taking an inconspicuous step away.
  17. generic
    having no special or distinctive characteristics; unoriginal
    —Eden Kruger, philanthropist
    Generic title. She must be a trust fund baby or a rich man’s wife.
  18. bigwig
    the most important person in a group or undertaking
    —Ian Petrov, CEO of Key Stone Group Real Estate
    Hm. Why would some random Russian real estate bigwig be interested in Cedarville?
  19. pique
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    Curiosity piqued, I type “Maplewood Devil’s Night” into the search bar.
  20. nix
    command against
    I should have nixed the alarm last night. After all the research and chatting with Yusef, I’ll be operating on two hours of sleep today.
  21. chastise
    scold or criticize severely
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” I chastise myself.
  22. askew
    turned or twisted to one side
    I peer over at the unmade bed. The sheets and comforter askew, the bed skirt...unmoving.
  23. sternum
    the breastbone
    I gasp for air, scrambling to find my inhaler. With two puffs, I slump in front of the fan, tugging at the bra digging into my sternum, waiting for my heart to ease.
  24. yoke
    become joined or linked together
    “Oh my God,” he shouts, yoking Piper. “GET OFF HER!”
    But my grip is firm, leaving Piper caught in a brutal game of tug-of-war.
  25. measly
    contemptibly small in amount
    Unless she snuck in here like some super ninja while I was sleeping for those measly two hours, I can’t see how she pulled it off.
  26. indifference
    the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care
    His head snaps up and he looks neither surprised nor happy to see me. Just a chronic state of indifference.
  27. impassive
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
    How did he know about that?
    “No,” I say impassively. “I've learned my lesson.”
  28. bale
    a large bundle bound for storage or transport
    “All right,” he says, stopping at an archway made of hay bales. “Ready to pick your pumpkin?”
  29. veranda
    a porch along the outside of a building
    Mom gathers the blanket and gently leads me out to the back veranda.
  30. distraught
    deeply agitated especially from emotion
    A shell-shocked Yusef rubs his head, distraught. “What do I do, E? Tell me what to do!”
  31. pillage
    steal goods; take as spoils
    It was a strange déjà vu feeling, watching security comb through her locker, pillage through her things, tossing them in the trash like they didn't expect her to come back. Reminded me of the way they rummaged through my locker.
  32. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    Still stunned, I linger in the hall before meandering into the family room.
  33. orthopedic
    of or relating to the treatment of bones or joints
    A twin hospital bed sits in the middle of the room and I trip over a pair of orthopedic loafers, colliding into a walker.
  34. quaint
    strange in an interesting or pleasing way
    Yusef points to a photo, a wide shot of a quaint street with beautiful antique mansion-style houses on either side.
  35. telltale
    disclosing unintentionally
    First article: “6 Telltale Signs Your House Might Be Haunted.”
Created on Mon Apr 04 09:57:19 EDT 2022 (updated Mon Apr 11 08:41:14 EDT 2022)

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