Definition
This word means:
To fail to care for properly.
What is:
Neglect
"The runner had a clear, steady ______." (pg 40).
What is:
Gaze
Pudgy means...
What is:
(Of a person or part of their body) rather fat.
"Yet there he was, ________ away, just like Fairbanks only without the talent." (pg. 44)
What is:
Grinding
Which character is described as a pudgy, frizzy-headed kid?
What is:
Peter.
This word means:
"Dare to do something or go somewhere that may be dangerous or unpleasant."
What is:
Ventured.
"But he was also the biggest ________ in the school."
What is:
Drone
Metronome
What is:
A device used by musicians that marks time at a selected rate by giving a regular tick.
"But the previous afternoon, as he'd watched the second hand on the parlour clock ticking away the final seconds of his ________, two, three, four, Peter had decided to go back out on the porch." (pg. 39).
What is:
Captivity
What was Peter's special plan?
What is:
To meet with Kevin on the oval, so he can run with him and find out his secret to being a winner.
This word means...
"A sudden powerful forward or upward movement, especially by a crowd or by a natural force such as the tide. "
What is:
Surge
"Intimidated by his mother's intelligence network, Peter had not ventured back onto the porch for three weeks, content to watch from his bench as the older boy ________ up the hill and off to the oval behind Peter's junior high school." (pg. 39)
What is:
Churned
Pedagogue means...
What is:
"A teacher, especially a strict or pedantic one."
"Peter," his mother said, "you are a _______ runner-up."
What is:
Perpetual.
What did Peter's mother say was okay for Peter to join so he could meet new people?
What is:
Choir.
This word means:
"Of only average quality; not very good."
What is:
Mediocre.
What is:
Satchel.
Hindrance is..
What is:
"A thing that provides resistance, delay, or obstruction to something or someone."
"As he began the seventh of his eight laps, Kevin noticed that the chubby kid was still running - puffing and panting and __________ from one foot to another."
What is:
Lurching.
What is the name of Peter's first piano teacher?
What is:
Mickey Ray.
This word means:
"Lean and haggard, especially because of suffering, hunger, or age."
What is:
Gaunt.
"He was gazing in Kevin's direction, disappointment _________ on his face."
What is:
Etched.
Quizzically means...
What is:
"Indicating mild or amused puzzlement."
"At the crack of the starter's pistol they would all surge forward onto the manicured ________ of the fairway."
What is:
Expanse.
In which place did Kevin come in the race?
What is:
Eleventh.