Patrick lived in Emoryville, but every Saturday morning he rode two city buses to his uncle's bookstore in Northview, where he worked. He didn't mind the commute because he loved his job. He loved spending time with his uncle, but he also loved going to work because he had become friends with Andrew, one of his co-workers. The boys would talk about everything from baseball scores to movies to favorite pizza toppings.

Question

So this Saturday, when Patrick got to work, he and Andrew got to talking as they always did.
"Hey, Pat," Andrew said casually.
"Hey," said Patrick. "Did you have a good week?"
"Yeah," he said. "Great week. My basketball team made it into the semifinals. The game is tonight. We're playing Emoryville, our nemesis."
Before Patrick could say another word, Andrew continued. "I don't like Emoryville. I don't think I could ever be friends with someone from that town. Our schools are such rivals.*
Patrick was speechless.
"Where are you from, Pat? I can't believe I've never asked you that before!"
Patrick fumbled over his words. "Not too far from here," he said before he quickly changed the subject to the new shipment of graphic novels.
In 3-5 sentences, identify the two different points of view in the story, and describe the humor and suspense created by the differences in point of view.

Answer 1

The two different points of view in the story are Andrew's negative opinion of people from Emoryville due to the rivalry between their schools, and Patrick's silence and discomfort with Andrew's comments as he himself is from Emoryville. The humor in the situation comes from the irony of Andrew unknowingly insulting Patrick's hometown while Patrick tries to deflect the conversation away from his own identity. The suspense is created by the tension of whether or not Patrick will reveal where he is from and how Andrew will react when he finds out.