1. Flush Voc. #2

2. erratic
(adj.) deviating from the usual or proper course in conduct or opinion; eccentric
P. 44 “Well, Noah, you’ve got to admit,” Miles Umlatt said, “his behavior has been erratic.”

3. slander (noun) a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report
P. 46 “He threatened to sue your father for slander,” Miles Umlatt said.

4. volatile (adj) changeable; mercurial; flighty
P Miles Umlatt described my father as “passionate about the environment” but also “volatile and impulsive.”

5. bureaucrat
(noun) an official who works by fixed routine without exercising intelligent judgment.
P. 96 “And here I was, rotting in jail, deprived of my freedom to speak out by some small-minded, small-town bureaucrat with a badge.”

6. exasperated
(adj) irritated or provoked to a high  degree; extremely annoyed
P. 99 My mother was thoroughly exasperated.

7. anomaly
(noun) an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc.
P. 102 “Don’t worry, son, it was a freak deal – what they call an atmospheric anomaly.”

8. gouges (noun) grooves or holes made by digging out or turning the soil
P. 145 All around the Keys you can see their propeller trenches – long, ugly gouges, like giant fingernail scrapes across the tidal banks.

9. craggy (adj) rugged; harsh; rough
P. 153 His craggy face looked like a mahogany stump, and on one tanned cheek was a scar in the shape of an M.

10. fuchsia (noun) a bright, purplish-red color
P. 159 There was only one container of fuchsia on the shelf, so we asked a stock boy to go find more.

11. deluded (verb) being misled in mind or judgment, deceived
P. 63 “Abbey, don’t talk that way about your father,” Mom said, ”and the word is ‘deluded,’ not dense.”