Question

best kept secrets
by b. mcswain

i don’t like keeping secrets. i would never betray a
friend’s confidence, but keeping secrets—even noble ones
—seems to maneuver me to disaster every time. and this
week’s secret keeping resulted in no small catastrophe that
i’m certain my friends will still be rehearsing even at
graduation three years from now. it all started when
garrison and ty had the bright idea to throw a surprise
retirement party for our english teacher, who has been
teaching english since “judgment” was spelled
“judgement,” i’m pretty sure. i told them not to drag me into
the secret, but they needed me to keep mr. grayson out of
the room long enough to set everything up. on the
appointed day, i ventured into the hallway outside the
teachers’ lounge so i could ambush mr. grayson with
questions the guys provided me. mr. grayson looks a lot
like einstein with white hair that sticks out everywhere like
a cartoon character after he incurs an electrical shock. i
can depend on him having a stack of hardback “classics”
under his arm, which serendipitously came in handy when
i accidentally bumped into him as he exited the lounge.
suddenly, the floor was tiled in a mosaic of classics, and
t his was a good thing because i couldn’t remember one
question i was supposed to ask him. as i helped him pick
up the books, it occurred to me to ask about his favorite
reads

4
read the sentence from the passage.

he began to hand me one book after another as we walked to class.

how does this sentence help build tension in the story?

a. by handing cayden the books one at a time, mr. grayson prevents cayden from getting to class
b. mr. grayson is trying to instruct cayden, but cayden’s need to get to class is preventing him from
listening.
c. cayden is trying to distract mr. grayson, but mr. grayson’s actions are distracting cayden.
d. by discussing the books, cayden can more easily prevent mr. grayson from entering the class

Explanation:

To determine how the sentence builds tension, we analyze the context. Cayden's goal is to distract Mr. Grayson to set up the surprise party. But Mr. Grayson handing books one after another while walking to class distracts Cayden from his task of keeping Mr. Grayson out, creating a conflict (Cayden's distraction vs. his need to succeed in the secret mission), which builds tension. Option A is incorrect as it's about preventing Cayden from class (not the case). Option B is wrong as it's about Cayden not listening (not the focus). Option D is incorrect as discussing books doesn't help prevent entry; instead, it distracts Cayden.

Answer:

C. Cayden is trying to distract Mr. Grayson, but Mr. Grayson’s actions are distracting Cayden.