chirruping
A waterfall of bird chatter in the hour before dawn.
creeds
Tracing threads in the development of a religion. A move towards greater compassion here, an intensifying disgust of women there. Scholars scrambling to tie together the disparate threads.
fuzz
He's straining to grow a beard, so he can look like a worthy substitute for a respected older teacher. As he lectures, he scratches his cheeks.
letdown
After struggling over whether or not to call him, I reach for the phone, only to have it ring as soon as I touch it. Our conversation doesn't go well.
malfunctioning
If only my laptop could talk back. It would freeze halfway through its request for me to stop cursing at it.
misdeed
I show up five minutes late to find the stage set for a courtroom scene. I'm the accused.
perfidious
We watch Chamber of Secrets together, and the part that upsets him most isn't the basilisk, but the teacher betraying the students and threatening to wipe out their minds with a spell.
