Merci Suárez Plays It Cool: Chapters 13–24

by Meg Medina
In this final book of the trilogy, eighth-grader Merci tries to prove that she is a cool soccer-playing teenager while juggling the responsibilities of school and home, which include assisting the guidance office and taking care of her sick grandfather and almost-seven-year-old twin cousins.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–12, Chapters 13–24, Chapters 25–41
40 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. crane
    stretch, so as to see better
    I go to the window again and crane my neck to see if I can watch any of the action at Tía’s house from here.
  2. appeal
    be attractive to
    He and Axel still like to give themselves blinding ice cream headaches on purpose to see who’s tougher. That’s why they’re taking big bites of their strawberry paletas, aptly called vampirito. The name appeals to their bloodlust, I guess.
  3. lurch
    move suddenly or as if unable to control one's movements
    Still, my stomach lurches a bit. Some of my friends at school have divorced parents.
  4. spar
    fight verbally
    “All right, all right. We’re off track.” Ms. Tibbetts has to hold her hand up and use an outside voice to get our attention again after a few minutes of sparring.
  5. diligent
    characterized by care and perseverance in carrying out tasks
    “We’re almost at the bell. You have only a few minutes, so please be diligent as you work independently on the last section. Drag and drop the completed assignment into the classwork folder when you’re done.”
  6. decree
    a legally binding command or decision
    At first, I was worried I might not be able to go because of the silly no-sleepover decree at our house.
  7. kin
    a person related to another or others
    “We could easily be distant kin,” she says, wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin at lunch. “He was the first governor of Florida. Leadership qualities run in families, you know.”
  8. terrarium
    transparent container in which plants and animals are kept
    I can hear squeals and yelling going on inside, but I can barely see through the glass to see inside. The air-conditioning inside has created enough condensation to make it look like a rain forest terrarium in there.
  9. flushed
    reddened as if with blood from emotion or exertion
    Her hair is in a long braid down her back, and she’s flushed and sweaty from the class she just dismissed.
  10. queasy
    feeling nausea
    She drums her fingers against the steering wheel, looking a little queasy, like that time she ate the bad clams from the supermarket and threw up for three days.
  11. intact
    lacking nothing essential, not damaged
    Around Las Casitas we keep the “labor” part of the holiday intact since it’s a workday like any other.
  12. silver lining
    a positive aspect of a difficult situation
    Today, Papi and Simón are painting the party rooms at Greenacres Bowling Alley, where Simón’s brother, Vicente, works. There is a silver lining, though. Part of the deal Papi worked out is that he gets a coupon for a complimentary lane along with his pay.
  13. hypothesis
    a tentative insight that is not yet verified or tested
    I asked Roli what he thought of my theory. He looked up from the textbook he was outlining. “A strong hypothesis, Merci,” he said finally, which is heaping praise from him.
  14. adhere
    be compatible or in accordance with
    In fact, I’m grooming them to take my place on this chore as soon as possible. It’s not like we adhere to child labor regulations around here anyway.
  15. ottoman
    a low seat or a stool to rest the feet of a seated person
    He’s peering under the ottoman and pulls out a big plastic bag from underneath.
  16. bauble
    cheap showy jewelry or ornament
    It’s where she kept a collection of fake jewelry. When she still sewed for people, she’d use the baubles to help customers see the finished look as they admired their new outfits in her mirror.
  17. bangle
    jewelry worn around the wrist for decoration
    I drape long plastic beads over Axel’s head, and I push a few brass bangles on Tomás’s wrist.
  18. notwithstanding
    despite anything to the contrary
    It’s not that I’m afraid of the dark, zombies and other night lurkers notwithstanding.
  19. engage
    carry out or participate in an activity
    She believes 100 percent that the trip is supposed to teach us “how to engage in responsible independent behavior” without our parents, a skill she says we’ll need in high school next year.
  20. drawback
    a feature that makes something less convenient or acceptable
    I’ll have to meet with the new seventh-grade managers and get them up to speed. This is one drawback to making the school store a seventh-grade work assignment: no chance to build institutional knowledge.
  21. malodorous
    having an unpleasant smell
    I happen to know that Miss McDaniels is particularly sensitive to “malodorous environments.” I saw it in a memo she circulated to the teachers reminding them to open windows in our classrooms every once in a while. Apparently, we are walking stink bombs.
  22. imperious
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    “So, is that it?” I ask.
    She gives me one of her imperious looks. “No. I need to talk to Mrs. Wilkinson,” she says.
  23. essentially
    at bottom or by something's very nature
    He can clone himself in emergency situations, making him essentially immortal.
  24. cadence
    a recurrent rhythmical series
    Off in the distance we can hear the football team doing their warm-up cadence. Mr. Patchett claps a rhythm and calls out the words. Then the players echo it, like they’re in a chorus or something.
  25. complimentary
    costing nothing
    He unzips the front pocket of his backpack and pulls out two red tickets. They say COMPLIMENTARY PASS.
  26. disclosure
    the act of making something evident
    “Full disclosure,” he says. “The upper-school kids take the good bleacher spots at the fifty-yard line. Middle school sits at the twenty, near the marching band.”
  27. concession
    refreshments purchased at a small stand in a larger business
    “The trumpets blast your eardrums, but at least it’s a faster walk to the concession stand at halftime.”
  28. straggler
    someone who strays or falls behind
    When I get to the gym, there are still stragglers milling around, and Mr. Patchett is trying to boot them out so he can get to football practice with the upper school.
  29. despondent
    without or almost without hope
    Wilson gives me a despondent wave as he hurries into the office to do as he’s told. He’s learned to “embrace the suck” like a soldier.
  30. informal
    not officially recognized or controlled
    I fish inside my packet of fruit snacks for a red one and take an informal assessment of the talent pool that’s gathered among the team hopefuls.
  31. prospect
    someone who is considered for something
    Officially, girls’ soccer tryouts don’t happen until the start of October, but Coach Cameron doesn’t like to leave anything until the last minute. That’s why we have to attend this meeting of former players and prospects to go over the season schedule and clinic dates.
  32. overview
    a general summary of a subject
    It’s mostly welcome blah-blah, but we do get the season overview and parental permission slips.
  33. relentless
    never-ceasing
    “One last thing,” Robin says.
    Relentless. I like it.
  34. grubby
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt
    Sure enough, when I walk out into the living room, I see they’ve got it in their grubby hands.
  35. allure
    the power to entice or attract
    And beyond the coquitos, I notice natilla simmering on the stove, which is the twins’ favorite pudding. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Abuela was trying to cancel Marco’s allure through culinary means.
  36. strew
    spread by scattering
    He turns back to the socks and underwear that are strewn on the bed.
  37. ransack
    search thoroughly
    Even Abuela’s old mint tin—the one where she keeps our baby teeth and locks from our first haircuts—has been opened and spilled on the bedspread. What will she do when she sees her orderly drawers have been ransacked?
  38. giddy
    exultantly proud and joyful; in high spirits
    I start to feel giddy, like I’ve already eaten a whole box of Milk Duds even though I haven’t even had one.
  39. tinny
    thin, metallic, and displeasing in sound
    The manager’s voice sounds tinny over the store PA system.
  40. neutral
    lacking distinguishing quality or characteristics
    Then I fix my face into neutral the way I practiced earlier and say, “The first football game is tomorrow night, remember? My friends and I want to go. Roli said he can give me a ride. He’ll pick me up and drop me off at the gate.”
Created on Tue Jun 18 12:07:14 EDT 2024 (updated Tue Jun 25 13:42:46 EDT 2024)

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