Popcorn: Chapters 17–21

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,
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. vaguely
    in an unclear way
    Vaguely, I know that Mr. Kellerman is trying to chill me out—but reality seems really really far away.
    It feels like there’s a skyscraper pushing into my chest and my heart is going to burst out of me and seven death metal bands are screeching at the same time inside my head.
  2. gallows
    an instrument from which a person is executed by hanging
    “You’re doing great, Andrew. Now: Tell me three things you can hear.”
    I close my eyes again. I hear a bird chirping off by the trees. “Bird.” A truck goes by, rattling. “Truck…Music from the apartments.”
    “Yep. I think it’s Led Zeppelin.” He listens. “ ‘Gallows Pole,’ pretty sure....”
  3. vicinity
    a surrounding or nearby region
    I look around. I still feel panicked, but it did take a bit of the edge off. I feel like I’m back in the general vicinity of reality, at least.
    “Maybe? Like ten percent?”
    “Well, that’s a good start. I’ve had panic attacks where I’d kill for ten percent.”
    I look back over, surprised. “You get them?”
    He nods. “I do.”
  4. easygoing
    not burdensome or demanding
    Mr. Kellerman seems like the most laid-back easygoing person who ever was. He’s the human version of a big St. Bernard sprawled out in a sunbeam.
  5. convulse
    contract involuntarily, as in a spasm
    “You really have anxiety?” I still can’t believe it.
    He sighs. “Yeah. Anxiety. Panic attacks. The works. I’m an old pro.”
    A random shiver goes through my body, making me convulse for a second; then it’s gone. “That’s…Somehow that doesn’t make me feel much better.”
  6. blubber
    cry or whine with snuffling
    Jonesy sits down on the bottom step and pats my shoe. It’s only then that I see she’s shaking as well. She looks up at me with tears in her eyes and a quivering lip....She reaches for my hand.
    I take it and squeeze. Hard. I have a lump in my throat or else I’d thank her. I want to thank them all, from the bottom of my freak show heart. But who needs more blubbering.
  7. supplement
    an additional component that improves capability
    Kellerman says he doesn’t eat green things.
    This concerns Jonesy. “Nothing green? Broccoli? Salad?”
    Kellerman shakes his head and shrugs. “I know, I know. I just…can’t. But I take all kinds of supplements, so…”
    I’m not convinced. “What about green apple Laffy Taffy?”
    He laughs. “Doesn’t count. I loooove green candy.”
  8. appalled
    struck with dread, shock, or dismay
    Jonesy looks appalled. “You’re like a big kid!”
    Mr. Kellerman laughs and shrugs again, and we all sit in comfortable silence for a bit before he speaks again.
    “Now all I can think about is Laffy Taffy.”
    Even Jonesy agrees. “It does sound really good.”
  9. sympathetic
    expressing compassion or friendly fellow feelings
    “Sorry, man. My mom gets those.” It’s Brady—one of the last kids I expected to be sympathetic.
    “So does my older brother.”
    “That was wicked intense.”
    “I thought you were gonna die.”
    There are a lot of responses, all at once, so I don’t catch all of them. Surprisingly, most of my classmates seem pretty understanding.
  10. legendary
    so celebrated as to having taken on the nature of a myth
    Kellerman spends the last five minutes of the class talking with us about our upcoming art project, and I’m relieved to just zone out and listen. We’ll each make a flying craft/object/thing out of clay, and then we’ll have a contest to see whose flings the farthest across the room off of a big metal T square mounted to his desk. (He does this each year with the seventh grade and it’s legendary. It’s so Mr. Kellerman.)
  11. reel
    be dizzy, disoriented, or bewildered
    “Coca-Cola?” Nurse F asks, and when I open my eyes, she’s reaching into a mini-fridge in the corner. “It’s my private stash.”
    “Yes. Thank you.” It sounds amazing. “But I thought the Cheetos were your private stash.”
    Kellerman reels like he’s taken a blow. “Wait. The kid knows about the Cheetos too? We’re done for!”
  12. sincere
    open and genuine; not deceitful
    I laugh, and just then Principal Espinosa half slides into the room. He sees me on the couch, being handed the Coke.
    “Andrew! I was so hoping you had found your way here! I heard you had an unfortunate attack, dear boy.” He actually said “dear boy,” like we were in the 1800s or something. But the look of concern on his face is sincere.
  13. outrage
    a feeling of righteous anger
    Finally, he looks up at Nurse Finnegan. “Do you happen to have any more of those Flamin’ Hot Cheetos?”
    Mr. Kellerman’s hands shoot up in mock outrage. “ESPINOSA KNOWS ABOUT THE CHEETOS?? This thing goes all the way to the top!”
    Cheetos are distributed to all.
  14. barge
    push one's way
    “Was that my grandma?”
    “Where??” For some reason, he looks down into his little bag.
    “IN THE HALL!”
    I fly off of the couch. It takes everyone a second to react, so I’m barging past Mr. Espinosa as he turns. I clear him and look down the hall and there she is.
  15. flurry
    a sudden and overwhelming outpouring or amount
    She hasn’t said much since we got in here—she’s mostly been staring out the window, sipping from a cold bottle of water that Mrs. Dithers (nervously) brought her, and not answering our flurry of questions.
  16. sneer
    smile contemptuously
    “Hey, Gene.”
    Gene looks surprised that I’m approaching him—and calmly too.
    He puts on his official Gene the Mean smirk. “Green Shoes.”
    I rub the back of my neck. “Can we talk? Like, just talk for a second?”
    He sneers. “Get bent, Garage Sale.”
    I continue. “No, I’m serious.”
  17. delirious
    experiencing hallucinations
    “I’m not sure I really have a point, Gene, I’m just…”
    “Yeager. Stop. Or I promise you will eat your teeth.”
    I turn around and see Jonesy and several other students watching. I must be delirious, because it urges me to go on.
    “Can’t we be more mature than this?”
  18. reflective
    capable of physically throwing back light or sound
    “YOU SHARK BOPPED HIM!” Jonesy sounds overcome with joy. “He was coming for you and you SHARK BOPPED HIM!”
    “Everything okay back there?” It’s the photographer. He can’t see us around the reflective shade thing. “Somebody bopped what?”
    Jonesy calls back to him, “Everything’s fine!”
  19. silhouette
    represent by a drawing of the outline of an object
    Gene walks away then, but just as he’s framed in the door—silhouetted by the light of the hall—the intercom squawks, and out comes Mrs. Dithers’s voice.
    “Gene Phillips, please report to the office. Thank you.”
    Gene comes to a stop for a split second before his head drops and he turns the corner.
  20. inspire
    serve as the inciting cause of
    Jonesy leans in. “That was pretty amazing with Gene back there. Andrew Yaeger: Gene Whisperer. It actually kind of inspired me.”
    “How so?”
    She grins super wide. “Eh. I’m gonna talk to my dad myself. I appreciate your offer to do it, but…it should be me...."
Created on Mon Apr 07 08:45:50 EDT 2025 (updated Mon Apr 14 15:20:49 EDT 2025)

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