"Fallen" - Bluford Series

In the following excerpt, what does the word altercation mean?

"This is the principal at Bluford High School. I have Martin Luna here in my office. He seems to have been involved in an altercation and wishes to speak to you."

• event

• party

• fight

• conversation

In the following excerpt, what does the word glared mean?

"You can yell all you want, but you're not going to see them anymore," [Mom] said. "Yeah, we'll see about that," I mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. She glared at me, and I just looked away. I knew she was serious, but so was I.

• stared angrily

• looked mildly

• looked cheerfully

• looked curiously

The following words were said by...

"You see! This is why people don't come to you. 'Cause when they do, no one believes them and nothin' gets done. I don't know why I even bothered with you."

• Martin

• Vicky

• Frankie

• Officer Ramirez

The following words were said by...

"You had enough guts and sense to try to solve this the right way. Now stick with it. I don't want to find you on the street in a pool of blood, and I don't want you to waste your life in jail."

• Mr. Gates

• Ms. Spencer

• Mrs. Luna

• Officer Ramirez

The following words were said by...

"It's not like that. It's like you're more real than the guys around here."

• Ms. Spencer

• Frankie

• Vicky

• Chago

The main idea of the excerpt below is that....

After months of searching, we found out who shot my brother -- a punk named Hector Maldenado. We'd talked about what we'd do all summer. For a while, I dreamed about it night and day. It was the only thing that pushed the hurt away. The only reason I had to get up in the morning.

• Martin's brother was shot by someone named Hector Maldenado.

• Martin lived to get revege on Huero's killer, Hector Maldenado.

• It took months for Martin and his friends to find out who shot Martin's brother.

The main idea of the excerpt below is that...

Somewhere far away, sirens screamed, and a memory of Huero's ambulance ride to the hospital flashed in my mind. My mother and I followed in a neighbor's car and we could see paramedics pumping Huero's chest through the small ambulance window. My mother screamed like she was being tortured. It was a real-life nightmare, worse than anything I ever dreamed. I shook off the memory, closed our blinds, and headed back to bed.

• The ambulance sirens remind Martin of his brother's nightmarish death.

• Martin and his mother witnessed paramedics working to save Huero.

• Martin closes the blinds and heads back to his room.

The main idea of the excerpt below is that....

That Saturday, we [Vicky and I] spent the whole afternoon together. We walked in the park and grabbed some pizza. It was like one of those corny TV shows. But it was nice. For once, I wasn't the troublemaker who kept getting into fights, the son who almost hit his mom, or the thug about to throw his life away. Instead, I was Martin Luna, the person Vicky liked.

• Martin spent Saturday with Vicky.

• Being around Vicky makes Martin feel good about himself.

• Martin knows that he is often seen as a troublemaker.

You can conclude from the following excerpt that...

Call me soft. I don't care. You're not the one who sits at your brother's grave, listens to your mother crying in the dark, and knows what it's like to lose someone. If you were, you'd understand why I couldn't be like the coward who drove down our street and stole my brother's life with a gunshot.

• Martin is not soft, but hard-hearted.

• Martin is afraid to take revenge on the coward who killed his brother.

• Martin won't kill because he doesn't want others to suffer as he and his mother have.

You can conclude from the following excerpt that ...

"What happened yesterday? You have to tell me," [said Vicky]. "Just an argument that got a little out of hand. We're cool now, though" I said, picking up the textbook and trying to act calm. "It ain't nothin' to worry about."

She stepped back and cocked her head like I just insulted her. I pretended to organize some things in my locker.

• Martin dislikes Vicky because she is nosy.

• Vicky realizes that Martin is trying to shut her out.

• Martin has nothing to worry about and knows it.