He was asking how things were at the Khushal School for Girls, which he founded and I attended, but I always took the _________________ to answer the question literally.

All this _____________________ nearly made me late, and I raced out the door, my half-eaten breakfast still on the table.

My youngest brother, Atal, was in an especially ________________ mood that morning.

I think Bella from Twilight is too ______________, and I don’t understand why she would choose that boring Edward.

I’m named for the great young Pashtun heroine Malalai, who ______________ her countrymen with her courage.

So I guess you could say that when Khushal fights with me, I _____________ him.

Swat was known for its beauty, and tourists came from all over to see its tall mountains, _____________ green hills, and crystal-clear rivers.

These brothers of mine are quite __________________ sometimes, I told God.

Instead, he _________________ me by telling me about the mistakes great heroes had made when they were children.

Heroes like Mahatma Gandhi, the great ______________________, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

I vowed then that I would never _________________ in badal.

That’s because one of the most important parts of the Pashtunwali code is ____________. As a Pashtun, you always open your door to a visitor.

My mother and the women would gather on our __________________ at the back of the house and cook and laugh and talk about new clothes, jewelry, and other ladies in the neighborhood.

Tinkling laughter sometimes. Raucous, ________________________ laughter sometimes.

But most _________________ of all: The women’s headscarves and veils were gone. Their long dark hair and pretty faces—made up with lipstick and henna—were lovely to see.

But to see these women chatting casually—their faces _______________________ with freedom—was to see a whole new world.

Our relatives thought I was very _________________________. (Some said rude.)

It was an exciting game, full of _____________________ escapes and plunges.

It was beautiful, and also a bit _______________________ for me to see the pretty kites sputter to the ground.

Even when I was only seven or eight, I was considered a ______________________ city girl, and sometimes my cousins teased me because I didn’t like to go barefoot and I wore clothes bought at the bazaar, not homemade like theirs.