Vocabulary Study Short Story Example
Something I created as an example for a vocabulary study assignment for 9th graders. I think it's pretty good considering how contrived it is. The vocabulary words are in bold. 🏀☸
Ten minutes before the opening
tip-off, Lawrence, the Aztecs’ star point guard and a veritable five-star
recruit, is the only person in the locker room. His teammates and coaches are
out on the court, engaged in their usual pre-game drills. Lawrence can hear
Coach Timmons hollering invectives at their backup center, Albert, who often
flounders when catching bounce passes. He has the most unsteady hands on the
team. Lawrence puts in his earbuds and begins to drift into a meditative state.
Ohm...ohm...ohm.
Lawrence is exempt from team
warm-ups not because of his star status, but out of respect for his right to
foster mental wellness as he sees fit. After all, his hermetic pre-game
tradition has brought the team great success. The decision was equal parts
altruism and pragmatism. Coach Timmons was clear about the reasons behind the
exemption. He didn’t want to insinuate that Lawrence deserves special status
due to individual accolades.
Ohm. In the depths of meditation, Lawrence is immune to harm and distraction. The trauma of his childhood, during which he moved from one relative’s house to another on a weekly basis, like a worthless waif, fades away. When images of the imprudence of his middle school years, including a conflagration he set off by discarding a lit cigarette in a dry forest, threaten to disrupt his inner peace, he doesn’t combat them. He embraces them. He addresses his mistakes and moves forward. Some of his past decisions are untenable, but forgiveness is never out of reach. Ohm.
Ohm. In the depths of meditation, Lawrence is immune to harm and distraction. The trauma of his childhood, during which he moved from one relative’s house to another on a weekly basis, like a worthless waif, fades away. When images of the imprudence of his middle school years, including a conflagration he set off by discarding a lit cigarette in a dry forest, threaten to disrupt his inner peace, he doesn’t combat them. He embraces them. He addresses his mistakes and moves forward. Some of his past decisions are untenable, but forgiveness is never out of reach. Ohm.
Two minutes until tip-off. The
Aztecs are in the tunnel, halfway between the locker room and the court.
Lawrence can hear the inflection in their voices as they hype themselves up.
“What time is it?”
“Game time!”
“What time is it?”
“Game time! Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!”
Lawrence ties the laces of his tattered Converse All-Stars, which his father bought at a charity auction for seven-hundred dollars. They were allegedly worn by Bill Walton, the sage NBA legend known for his free spirit and poignant musings. He reaches into his gym bag and retrieves an obsidian arrowhead, a relic passed down from his great-great grandfather, a Lenape chief. He rubs it on the plastic toe cap of both shoes, sanctifying his feet. Now in “flight mode,” he removes his earbuds, places the arrowhead back in his gym bag, and jogs to join his teammates. They are signaling him. The collective chant echoes off the tunnel walls.
“Ohm! Ohm! Ohm!”
“What time is it?”
“Game time!”
“What time is it?”
“Game time! Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!”
Lawrence ties the laces of his tattered Converse All-Stars, which his father bought at a charity auction for seven-hundred dollars. They were allegedly worn by Bill Walton, the sage NBA legend known for his free spirit and poignant musings. He reaches into his gym bag and retrieves an obsidian arrowhead, a relic passed down from his great-great grandfather, a Lenape chief. He rubs it on the plastic toe cap of both shoes, sanctifying his feet. Now in “flight mode,” he removes his earbuds, places the arrowhead back in his gym bag, and jogs to join his teammates. They are signaling him. The collective chant echoes off the tunnel walls.
“Ohm! Ohm! Ohm!”
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