Question

Read the excerpt from "Wherefore Art Thou Romeo?”

But I didn’t sleep. I thought about how utterly miserable it would feel to mess up on stage, plus get a vile grade in English class, plus watch Allison gloat. I got up before my alarm went off, arrived at school early, and slogged through the day like a sleepwalker. Finally the last bell chimed.

"Ready?” Shondra asked, when we were alone again in the spare classroom. We had two hours until we had to meet our teacher backstage.

Which statement best describes how the pacing of events heightens tension?

The slow pace highlights how exhausted the narrator was on her big day.
The slow pace gives the narrator time to carefully plot out her next move.
The fast pace intensifies the conflict between the narrator and Allison.
The fast pace increases the narrator’s urgency in learning her lines.

Answer 1

The slow pace highlights how exhausted the narrator was on her big day.

Explanation: Details like “didn’t sleep,” “arrived at school early,” and “slogged through the day like a sleepwalker” stretch out the day and emphasize the narrator’s fatigue and mounting anxiety, which heightens the tension.