A Good Place for Maggie by Ofelia Dumas Lachtman (excerpt)
For the last hour she had been so intent on the changing countryside that she forgot to buy gas. The gauge said empty. She drove on, dreading the
moment when the motor would draw on the last drop of gasoline and give up. She was driving on a narrow country road lined with tall eucalyptus
trees and nothing else. Then in a clearing on the left side of the road, she saw a battered old sign with faded red letters: G-A-S. No, it wasn't a mirage;
it was more like a miracle. With a grateful sigh she turned into the run-down station, bumping over broken concrete and coming to a stop by one of
two pumps.
A weary-looking old man grease-spotted overalls appeared beside her. "Fill 'er up?"
"Is it cheaper if I pump it myself" it didn't look as if he'd take a credit card and she was low on cash.
"All the same here, missy," the man called, rounding the car. "Fill 'er up?"
Maggie said yes, please go ahead, and climbed out of the blue WW. Good thing I didn't splurge on lunch, she thought, staring at the pumps. Gas is
almost twice as high up here as it is in Los Angeles. But I'm not complaining. When she had driven mile after mile without finding a gas station, she
had begun to think that maybe being sixteen and a half didn't make her that smart, maybe a trip like this was a little much for her. Now she felt
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Select the correct answer
Which statement best expresses why the author most likely includes the last paragraph in this excerpt?
OA to create a sense of tension regarding Maggie's need for gas
OB
to create a sense of tension about Maggie's decision to leave home
Ос.
to create conflict between the gas station attendant and Maggie
OD
to create conflict between Maggie and her friends at home