Popcorn: Chapters 5–6

by Rob Harrell
Anxious, lanky, middle schooler Andrew Yeager experiences his worst nightmare, a full-blown panic attack in front of his classmates, after encountering many misfortunes on the same school day. Friendship, humility, and humor help Andrew cope with his very difficult day, which ultimately results in freedom from a longtime bully, and receives the compassion of his peers.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–4, Chapters 5–6, Chapters 7–8, Chapters 9–10, Chapters 11–12, Chapters 13–14, Chapters 15–16,
15 words 44 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. beeline
    the most direct route
    When the bell rings to end first period, I throw my backpack over my shoulder and make a beeline for the door. I don’t think I actually push anyone out of the way, but I knock into Ashley Swindle pretty hard on the way through the door. I’ll apologize later.
  2. surge
    a sudden or abrupt strong increase
    I feel a surge of hope as I pass into the cool air of the hallway.
  3. intensity
    high level or degree
    It’s weird having a bully who’s a number of inches shorter than you. It doesn’t seem right. He literally has to look up at me. But what he’s missing in size he more than makes up for in strength, intensity, and untamed anger....He also has these cold gray eyes that somehow make him more intimidating.
  4. intimidating
    discouraging through fear
    It’s weird having a bully who’s a number of inches shorter than you. It doesn’t seem right. He literally has to look up at me. But what he’s missing in size he more than makes up for in strength, intensity, and untamed anger....He also has these cold gray eyes that somehow make him more intimidating.
  5. avert
    turn away or aside
    My eyes are darting around the hallway looking for anyone to help, but they’re all averting their eyes.
  6. wince
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    The top of my head connects hard with the solid piece of wood, making a big hollow THONK!
    I grab my head, wincing—that really hurt—and turn to see Ms. Wilson grabbing Gene by the arm. He’s staring back at me with the creepiest grin ever on his face.
  7. miserable
    very unhappy
    I turn away, gently feeling the top of my head to see if there’s a lump, thinking this day is off to a miserable start.
  8. ecosystem
    organisms interacting with their physical environment
    Looking in the filthy locker room mirror, I see that my shirt is toast. Or at least the collar is. It’s all stretched out and torn away from the body part. I close my eyes and let out a long “give me strength” sigh and silently thank my mom for having me bring a spare. (Even if it threw off my entire backpack ecosystem.)
  9. chaos
    a state of extreme confusion and disorder
    We’re playing basketball today, so the gym is super loud and echoey. It’s chaos, with a battalion of balls bouncing and flying around as people warm up and Coach Shephard stands under the basket rebounding and blowing his whistle.
  10. battalion
    a large indefinite number
    We’re playing basketball today, so the gym is super loud and echoey. It’s chaos, with a battalion of balls bouncing and flying around as people warm up and Coach Shephard stands under the basket rebounding and blowing his whistle.
  11. apply
    commit oneself to
    There’s another thing: Coach Shephard will not let up on me about basketball. He tells me daily that if I applied myself, I could be “one heck of an asset to the team.” It’s 100 percent because of my height.
  12. scuffle
    disorderly fighting
    He looks over. “Hey, Andrew. Sorry about that.”
    I think he’s talking about the scuffle with Gene—he must have seen it go down.
  13. grimace
    contort the face to indicate a certain mental state
    “Yeah, sorry.” Tyler grimaces. “I burped right as you walked up. You walked right into my Burp Cloud.”
    “WOW! That is awful—what did you eat?”
    “Leftover stew.” Tyler shrugs.
  14. stagger
    walk as if unable to control one's movements
    I’m stunned more than anything at first—it takes a few seconds for the pain to register. But I hear a loud crack and sense my glasses falling away as I stagger backward. Then another of the eight million basketballs free-ranging around the gym gets in between my feet and I realize I’m going to fall. I go down on my back and elbows. Hard.
  15. flush
    turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
    The whole class is standing around me now and all the dribbling noises have stopped. All eyes are on me. I feel my face flushing. Behind me, I hear someone whisper to someone else, “I’d have just caught the ball.”
Created on Sun Apr 06 12:40:58 EDT 2025 (updated Mon Apr 14 13:52:29 EDT 2025)

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