SAT Vocabulary Stories

SAT Vocabulary #10  Story

I never gave steel enough credit. In fact, I never stopped to consider just how strong it was until I was shaking the steel bars of our cell indignantly. The unfairness of the situation was infuriating, and I could not help feeling a bit bitter towards the travesty we had gotten ourselves into. If I juxtaposed our current predicament to what the propaganda promised as we joined the war, it was clear that things had just fallen short. I turned dejectedly away from the tarnished steel bars and saw that Drew was still writhing in pain in the corner, holding his bandaged leg close to his chest. I wished there was something I could do to help him, but the poignant pains were really in his mind, and coddling him had only gotten him so far. The loss of our other crew members had shaken him to the core, whereas it had only left me with the thought of revenge. Succumbing to the will of our captors was out of the question to me, but whether Drew could hold firm was questionable. He had his moments when he appeared strong and able, but then the crashing waves would pull him under again and he would relapse into the pain. The amount of time until he was permanently pulled under was clearly finite, and then his spirit would dissipate completely. I would have to get us out of here soon, but the thick steel bars certainly offered themselves as an obstacle. I did a 360 visual around the room and my eye suddenly caught on a very thin slice of silver over the window. A grin covered my face mischeiviously, and with that I started to plot towards freedom.

SAT Vocabulary #9  Story

Words. Emotions. Questions. Her mind was a whirlwind of it all, everything the same but simultaneously dissimilar. Every thought made clamorous demands for attention, catching her in a storm of things yet to transpire and that already in effect. The past, present and future met like waves crashing on the shore and the vociferous uproar shook the world with tremendous magnitude. A myriad of ideas and doubts, some overwhelming and others inconsequential, were tied in each of these dimensions. Miraculously and without justification her mind remained intact despite the storm. Abruptly a calm settled over her and with it came indescribable feelings, with a pious aura, leaving her completely awestruck. Rejuvenation filled her entire being, but more importantly she experienced a sense of enlightenment and direction. And with that she turned to face the storm she had forever held her back to in fear.

SAT Vocabulary #8  Story

The numbers were dropping everyday as if some pervasive infection had spread. In the beginning most townspeople had remained oblivious, but slowly the truth dawned on them. Within a few short weeks the usual scintillation of the town had been preceded by a black hole of terror and soberness. Linnette and her family received a mixture of dark and fearful looks, but eventually they confined themselves to their homes like everyone else and the looks were gone. Monday, when the sun rose, Linnette slowly opened the wooden door to their classic townhouse. The vacant, dusty streets gave Linnette an eerie chill. She took a deep breath and stepped cautiously outside of the safety of her home. She wanted nothing more than to remain within her small haven, yet the vitalities could not be ignored. Her mother was incompetent at the moment with a baby on the way, but even if she was fit Linnette would not allow her on the streets with the case at hand. Linnette scanned the dull roads and crept along the outer rim of town until she reached the small store a few blocks away. Mr. and Mrs. Fulsom, the shopkeepers, lived above the shop and Linnette saw their curtains closed on the second floor. With a sigh of relief Linnette knocked softly on their front door and looked over her shoulder at the empty town as she waited. The adversity faced by the community in the past few weeks was evident, and it hurt Linnette to see it so lifeless, especially as she felt partially responsible. Just as she turned back around the door opened. Her eyes widened as she saw a man who was most definitely not Mr. Fulsom. The transparent expression of surprise generated a triumphant chuckle from the large bearded man located not a foot from Linnette. Without waiting a second longer Linnette turned and bounded down the steps to the store. Just as she hit the ground and made to sprint she felt something heavy hit her in the head and she went unconscious.

When Linnette awoke her head was humming and several sets of wide eyes peered down on her. Confused and afraid she glanced around and realized they were in some subterranean den. She immediately began to recognize the faces of her disappeared neighbors and friends and felts an overwhelming sense of relief and fear. Questions poured out of Linnette’s mouth which were answered in urgent whispers about their plan of mutiny, although many appeared fickle on whether it would work. More words engulfed Linnette - some accusatory and more terrified. The murmurs and waves of words were suddenly silenced by one judicious, powerful voice. And there, standing beside the man who had captured Linnette, was her father.

SAT Vocabulary #7 Story

The fluorescent moon shined its pale light through Brenna's window left slightly ajar, allowing her to locate the door next to Marie's bed, on the opposite side of the room. Brenna inched her way out, keeping her eyes trained on her roommate, who could wake at any moment. With the door finally sealed behind her, Brenna let out a small sigh of relief, but then quickly returned her attention to her new surroundings. She could just make out the sound of footsteps coming from the floor above her, but other than that the academy was quiet. That was no surprise to Brenna, as anyone out of bed past hours would be severely castigated. With that in mind, Brenna made her way down the wooden staircase, remaining alert and silent as possible. At the bottom floor she spotted the guard, fast asleep beside the great oak doors to the school. Brenna slipped past him and into the cold, biting air. Within a moment her concentrated, alert face, was replaced by a jovial expression as Liam's tan arms wrapped around her waist. He had to be just as cunning as her to make it onto the school grounds to see her, and it was apparent that Liam was already tired from the night's journey. Yet any thoughts about their journeys were superfluous now, as they were together. Brenna gazed into the breathtaking visage of her lover, as he took in her translucent expression of adoration. How pliable her heart was, resting in the hands of the one she was forbidden to love. The academy's fastidious professors demanded that everything was purely scholastic with the girls, leaving no room for sports, art, and certainly not boys. Brenna had clearly deviated from these standards, and with Liam in her arms, she knew that she could never subside to her old ways. Too soon she was forced to make her way back, climbing the staircases with a contented smile on her face. She was so scatterbrained from her midnight meeting, that she hardly noticed the large lady standing at her door, wearing a furious expression and thick, black belt. 

SAT Vocabulary #6 Story

Some say space exploration is a waste of the scarcity of money our government has. That is what I thought until I was incited to join NASA. It was definitely the last thing I had ever expected myself to do, but that was until I heard. That was until I discovered the very last thing that any human ever wants to discover. The world is about to die. I am telling you this candidly because you have a right to know, and you also have the right to know that we have a plan to perpetuate our human race. You would not understand all our jargon and space-talk, but basically a black hole is developing within an alarming distance to our planet, and our only choice is to relocate. I pray dearly that someone, some lifesaving person, can refute the conclusions we have come to regarding the Earth's death, but until then I must go. I know you will abominate me for leaving you, and I hate myself as well for having to go. I would choose you over myself any day, which is exactly why I must go. This will undoubtedly be dangerous - travelling through millions of galaxies at a speed even faster than light is not something done every day by us fallible life forms. But no deterrent, no man, no force can stop me from finding a new home for our people. We are but transients now, yet a new generation will raise up. Because regardless of whether or not we are on Earth, we will live on. And even if we are trillions of miles apart, the love I have for you will too live on.

SAT Vocabulary #5 Story

The children at Edith's school frequently pestered her with questions about the thirteen years of her life, being that they were far more interesting than theirs. Callow as they were, the questions contained so much more than words...they wanted to know about life different from what was served to them. Edith's mind was already so much more developed than theirs and she wielded knowledge that others might hope to achieve decades into their life. Nonetheless, she refused to give in to their begging, saying her past was irrelevant to the present. In reality, she could not bring herself to thrust anything she had seen upon the innocent children. Through her journeys she had seen events that subsequently changed the way she perceived the world. Sharing these things with young minds would be a crime that she could not hope to vindicate. Edith knew a fair amount about crimes, since her father had nearly been jailed from his falsely-accused transgressions. The two had to vacate the country, and were forced into a morose way of life for several years. Homeless and destitute, Edith and her father roamed the streets with the other abject and hopeless people. It was during this period that she began to value what once appeared inconsequential, and had a greater respect towards life. It troubled Edith to see the lack of life sentenced to those in her identical position, but her ascension back to ordinary life gave her hope. Since then Edith had been able to recuperate physically, once again being well fed and having a head over her shoulders. However, she would always have the images of starvation and hopelessness within her mind. Not because she could not shake the memory, but because she would not let herself forget. Because she planned on changing things.


SAT Vocabulary #4 Story

It was almost impossible for me to succumb to his adulthood. How could I just watch as he traveled through his life when it had always been my job to protect him? As a mother it had always been my job to act vigilantly and to keep my child from harm, yet now he felt that I was the harm. He spoke tersely when he commanded I allow him to "live". His indignant behavior struck me hard, and I searched for some ambiguous meaning...surely my child was not meaning to reject me. Had I really been that patronizing? Had I not always wanted the best for him? I searched my morality for an answer that I already knew. I sighed in resignation and tried to transcend beyond what I wanted. Perhaps the best thing for my child, and the only way to rectify the situation, would be to satiate his desires Saying the words....the words of letting him go, left me despondent. And as he walked away with a smile I walked away with a broken heart.

SAT Vocabulary #3 Story

Something about Lou was different. Perhaps it was the way she held herself. Or rather the capricious way she lived. She was always ready for an adventure, and was so full of life that magic seemed to radiate off of her. Ben, Lou's neighbor, considered himself the opposite; adapted to a monotonous way of life. It is quite probable that Ben would have remained in such sorts had Lou not abducted him one day, forcing him to go experience the world with her. Ben had recoiled and protested significantly, content with lounging around all summer, but anything he said only exacerbated the situation. On the third day of summer the sun sat high in the sky and the world appeared silent and tranquil; almost as if the day was awaiting something grand. The two piled into Lou's old minivan and pulled slowly out of her long driveway. Within minutes they were winding down curvy roads out looking pastoral landscapes, with Lou's soft music playing in their ears. For a while Ben continued to object to Lou's spontaneous road-trip, but she refused to let his complaints hamper her good spirit. Soon Ben had enough sense to give up, for whatever objections he conjured appeared fallacies to Lou. As the minivan continued down roads Ben had never seen before, he loosened up and examined the talismans hanging from the center mirror, falling deep in thought. Ben considered the seemingly inconceivable situation and what it meant. He had admittedly been one to live somewhat vicariously, claiming experiences he witnessed on television for his own. Perhaps Lou was more sagacious than he had given her credit for, and with that Ben tried to embrace her carefree spirit. That summer Ben's world shifted. The car ride proved itself more than a car ride: a journey. When Ben stepped into that minivan the world was all that existed within his house, school, and town. Upon returning from his countless adventures, his stories could have filled his home a thousand times over, and they were only beginning.

SAT Vocabulary #2 Story

When the bombs came the eldest child was only 14, on her way to adulthood but far from maturity. She had yet to revel in the wantonness of her teenage years, and experience invaluable moments of youth. It was at this young age that the responsibilities of raising a family was thrust upon her. The vast explosions had stolen the sole provider of the already financially-stretched family: her father, and created a recluse of her mother. For the first few weeks the whole family wept together, yet eventually the child was forced to face the now seemingly achromatic world. The loss had evoked depression in her mother, and she was now incompetent in performing even the simplest tasks. Acting as a faithful child, the girl worked to provide and help her mother through the passive state, but the broken woman had adapted a delusion that her world was at end. Subconsciously she abdicated her will to such thoughts, for she felt that her heart was as surely gone as her husband. Her child refused to let her fall away, and every conversation contained propaganda of sorts, with feeble attempts to pull her mother out of the pit. Boorish comments were made, and monologues replaced conversations - each coming to no avail. That is, until the daughter came to an epiphany that love and devotion would be the only savior.  The bombs tried to turn her family to ashes, but in the end the fight in the girl was stronger, and she would rekindle her mother's heart.