AP English Literature and Composition Quiz: Character Relationships Short Fiction

In the following excerpt, Mara has come to the back room of her uncle's tailor shop on the morning of her college move-in. Her uncle, Vic, is pressing a jacket that isn't hers.

Vic didn't look up when Mara came in; his eyes stayed on the seam as if the cloth might flinch. The iron hissed once, a reprimand. "You're early," he said, though the clock above the door read eight-fifteen and her ride wouldn't come until ten.

Mara set the cardboard box on the cutting table. "I thought I'd help. Or say goodbye. Whichever you prefer."

He slid the jacket onto a hanger with a care that felt, to Mara, almost like anger. "Goodbyes are for people who don't come back."

"People don't always come back," she said.

Vic's hand paused on the hanger hook. He reached into the breast pocket and pinched out a loose thread, rolling it between his fingers until it disappeared. "You packed the good shoes?"

Mara waited for him to ask about her classes, her roommate, the dorm. "Yes."

He nodded as if that settled something. Then, without turning, he said, "You know I kept your mother's machine oiled. In case you ever—"

"In case I ever what?" Mara asked.

The iron clicked off. Vic finally looked at her, his eyes bright and flat at once. "In case you ever remember where you learned to make a straight line."

Mara felt the comment land between them like a pattern weight. She lifted the lid of her box. Inside were neatly folded sweaters and, on top, a pincushion shaped like a tomato. "I didn't forget," she said.

Vic's gaze flicked to the pincushion and away. "Mm." He reached for the jacket again, smoothing the lapel with two fingers, as if calming it. "Your ride's coming at ten."

Mara swallowed. "You already said that."

He shrugged with one shoulder. "I like to know where things are in time."

Which of the following best describes the complexity of Mara and Vic's relationship as revealed through Vic's line, "You know I kept your mother's machine oiled. In case you ever—" and his subsequent deflection to logistics?

In the following excerpt, two teammates, Cass and Mei, sit in the locker room after a loss. Cass missed the final shot; Mei had passed her the ball.

Cass says, "You shouldn't have given it to me."

Mei says, "You were open."

Cass says, "And I blew it."

Mei ties her shoes and says, "I didn't pass you the ball because you're perfect. I passed it because you're mine to trust."

Which choice best interprets Mei's relationship to Cass as suggested by the bolded line?

In the following excerpt, a couple, Maren and Theo, argue while assembling a crib for their first child. Theo keeps rereading the instructions.

Maren says, "Just screw it in. It's not a spaceship."

Theo says, "If it collapses—"

Maren cuts in, "It won't."

Theo holds the bolt between two fingers and says, "You say 'won't' like you can forbid physics."

Which interpretation best captures the relationship tension in the bolded line?

In the following excerpt, two roommates, Jae and Oliver, are cleaning their apartment before a landlord inspection. Jae has been quietly paying more of the rent.

Oliver holds up a stack of envelopes and says, "These are all addressed to you."

Jae shrugs. "They're nothing."

Oliver taps one with a red stamp and says, "Nothing doesn't come with deadlines."

Jae reaches for the envelopes, but Oliver keeps them just out of reach.

Which interpretation best explains the tension between Jae and Oliver?

In the following excerpt, a graduate student, Mina, meets her former advisor, Dr. Leroux, in a museum café after not speaking for a year. Mina has published a paper without his name on it.

Dr. Leroux says, "So you found your voice."

Mina replies, "It was always there."

He smiles thinly and says, "Of course. I only loaned you the microphone."

Mina stirs her coffee until the spoon clicks the cup and says, "You can keep it."

Which choice best describes the relationship dynamic suggested by the bolded line?

In the following excerpt, a man, August, speaks to his partner, Shiloh, after Shiloh reads August's journal without permission.

August says, "You went through my things."

Shiloh says, "I was worried."

August says, "That's not an excuse."

Shiloh replies, "No. It's a reason. And you used to let my reasons count."

Which choice best captures the relationship tension suggested by the bolded line?

In the following excerpt, a man, Peter, speaks to his younger brother, Luca, after Luca is arrested for shoplifting. Peter arrives at the station with a bag of snacks.

Luca says, "Don't look at me like that."

Peter sets the bag down and says, "Like what?"

Luca says, "Like you're disappointed."

Peter says, "I'm disappointed in the world for being so easy to steal from you."

Which choice best interprets Peter's relationship to Luca in the bolded line?

In the following excerpt, a nurse, Tessa, speaks to her father, Graham, in a hospital cafeteria. Graham has come unannounced during her break.

Graham slid a paper bag across the table. "I brought you lunch," he said, as if offering proof.

Tessa didn't open it. "You didn't have to drive all the way here."

"I was in the area."

"You live forty minutes away."

Graham's eyes moved to the badge clipped to her pocket, then to the smudge of pen ink on her thumb. "You look tired."

Tessa's laugh was thin. "That's the job."

He nodded, then said, too casually, "Your mother called me."

Tessa's gaze dropped to the bag. "Of course she did."

Graham's hand hovered near the bag, not touching it. "She said you haven't been answering."

"I'm busy."

Graham's voice tightened. "You're always busy when it's her."

Tessa finally opened the bag. Inside was a sandwich wrapped in foil, cut neatly in half. She stared at the clean edge. "Did you cut this?" she asked.

Graham looked away. "It was easier to fit."

Which of the following best interprets the relationship between Tessa and Graham as revealed by the sandwich "cut neatly in half" and Graham's evasive explanation?

In the following excerpt, siblings Lena and Oscar are sorting through their late father's kitchen drawers. The house is quiet except for the occasional clink of metal.

Oscar pulled out a bundle of rubber bands, snapped one between his fingers, and let it fall. "He kept everything," he said.

Lena slid the drawer back in with her hip and opened the next. "He kept what he thought we'd need."

Oscar laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Like three can openers."

Lena found a small envelope taped to the underside of the drawer. She didn't say anything, just stared at it as if it might bite.

Oscar noticed her pause. "What?"

"Nothing." She peeled the tape carefully, trying not to tear it.

Oscar leaned over her shoulder. "Is that—"

Lena turned the envelope so he couldn't see the front. "It's probably coupons."

Oscar's voice sharpened. "Lena."

She held his gaze. "We said we weren't going to fight today."

Oscar looked away first. "We said a lot of things."

Lena's fingers tightened on the envelope, then relaxed. "If it's for you," she said, "I'll give it to you."

Oscar's mouth twitched, almost a smile. "If it's for me, you'll read it first."

Lena didn't deny it.

Which of the following best captures the relationship between Lena and Oscar as implied by Oscar's line, "If it's for me, you'll read it first."?

In the following excerpt, a tenant, Priya, is speaking with her landlord, Mr. Dallow, in the building's narrow hallway after a leak in her ceiling. A bucket sits between them.

Mr. Dallow's shoes stopped just short of the bucket, as if it were a line he wouldn't cross. "You called," he said, and glanced at the wet circle spreading in the plaster.

Priya held her phone up, showing the timestamped photos. "I called yesterday. And the day before."

He nodded, the way people do when they're already thinking about something else. "You have documentation. Good."

"It's not a court case," Priya said. "It's my bedroom."

Mr. Dallow's mouth tightened, then smoothed. "Yes. Of course. I'll have someone here."

"When?"

He checked his watch, then didn't say the time. "Soon."

Priya's voice went careful. "I'm not trying to be difficult. I just can't keep moving my bed every time it rains."

He looked at her then, truly, as if he'd been called back into his own body. "You think I like this?" he asked. The question came out sharp, almost personal.

Priya blinked. "I didn't say that."

He exhaled through his nose. "No. You didn't." He reached into his coat and took out a small, folded receipt. He held it out without meeting her eyes. "Here. For the paint you bought. I should've—"

Priya didn't take it immediately. The paper fluttered once between them.

Which of the following best describes the relationship tension suggested by Mr. Dallow's question, "You think I like this?" and his subsequent offer of reimbursement?

In the excerpt below, Talia visits her grandmother, Mrs. Baines, in a nursing home. Talia has recently changed her last name after getting married.

Mrs. Baines held Talia's hand with surprising strength, thumb rubbing the soft place between knuckles as if searching for a seam.

"You look thin," Mrs. Baines said.

"I'm fine, Nana."

Mrs. Baines's eyes slid to the ring on Talia's finger. "That's new."

Talia smiled. "Yeah."

Mrs. Baines nodded slowly. "So you're somebody else now."

Talia's smile stiffened. "I'm still me."

Mrs. Baines hummed, unconvinced, and reached for the mail on the bedside table. There were three envelopes, all addressed in careful block letters.

Talia's stomach sank when she saw her own. The name on it was her new one.

Mrs. Baines held it up. "This came," she said, as if presenting evidence.

Talia swallowed. "I told you. It's just—papers. It's easier."

Mrs. Baines turned the envelope over and over, reading the name like a puzzle. "Easier for who?"

Talia's voice tightened. "For everyone. For forms."

Mrs. Baines's mouth set. "Forms," she repeated, and the word sounded like a door closing.

Talia leaned forward. "Nana, it's not like I'm leaving you."

Mrs. Baines looked past her, toward the window where the afternoon light made the dust visible. "You don't leave," she said. "You get renamed until you forget how to answer."

Talia felt her throat sting. "I didn't forget," she whispered.

Which choice best captures the relationship complexity in "You get renamed until you forget how to answer"?

In the following excerpt, a graduate student, Hyejin, meets her advisor, Dr. Sato, after receiving harsh feedback on a draft. They stand by Dr. Sato's office door; neither sits.

Dr. Sato held Hyejin's pages in one hand, thumb marking a place as if the paper might run away. "You have good instincts," he said, "and you keep hiding them under other people's words."

Hyejin's throat worked. "I cited everything."

"That's not what I said." He tapped the margin with a fingernail. "This paragraph is all scaffolding. Where's the building?"

Hyejin stared at the red ink. "I thought you wanted it more rigorous."

"I want it more yours."

Hyejin let out a breath that sounded like a laugh. "That's a nice thing to say after you wrote 'unclear' twelve times."

Dr. Sato's eyes narrowed slightly, then softened. "I wrote 'unclear' because I was trying to find you."

Hyejin's hands tightened around her notebook. "So I'm a problem to solve."

Dr. Sato's voice went quiet. "You're a person to teach."

Which of the following best captures the relationship between Hyejin and Dr. Sato as revealed by Dr. Sato's statement, "I wrote 'unclear' because I was trying to find you."?

In the following excerpt, Mei returns a borrowed book to her former friend, Harper, at a used bookstore café. They have not spoken in months.

Mei placed the book on the table between their cups. The cover was scuffed at the corners, softened by hands. "I'm returning it," she said.

Harper didn't touch it. "You could've kept it."

Mei traced the title with one finger, not opening the book. "I didn't want to owe you."

Harper's smile was small and sharp. "You always hated owing."

Mei looked up. "You always loved being owed."

For a moment, Harper's expression slipped—something tired underneath. She reached for her cup, then set it down without drinking. "That's not fair," she said.

Mei's voice stayed even. "It's accurate."

Harper's fingers tapped the table once, then stopped. "Did you read the note?"

Mei's stomach tightened. "What note?"

Harper's eyes flicked to the book, then to Mei's face, as if measuring the distance. "The one I left inside. The last time you were here."

Mei's hand lifted, hesitated over the cover, and withdrew. "No," she said. "I didn't."

Harper nodded, too quickly. "Okay." She slid the book toward herself, finally claiming it. "Then it doesn't matter."

Which of the following best describes the relationship between Mei and Harper as suggested by Harper's question, "Did you read the note?" and her immediate retreat into "Then it doesn't matter."?

In the following excerpt, a woman, Celeste, meets her former friend, Nadia, at a baby shower. They stopped speaking after a betrayal that is not named.

Nadia says, "You look good."

Celeste says, "So do you."

Nadia glances at Celeste's ring and says, "I'm glad someone finally chose you."

Celeste's smile holds for a beat too long.

Which choice best interprets Nadia's remark in the bolded line?

In the following excerpt, a man, Dario, visits his childhood friend, Kenji, who now runs a hardware store. Dario needs a loan but is embarrassed.

Dario says, "I just need a few supplies."

Kenji scans the items and says, "That's a lot of 'supplies.'"

Dario forces a laugh. "Big project."

Kenji doesn't smile and says, "You're allowed to ask me for money. You're just not allowed to pretend you're buying nails to build pride."

Which choice best interprets Kenji's relationship to Dario in the bolded line?

In the following excerpt, a daughter, Harper, confronts her father, Glenn, after finding letters he never sent to her mother. The parents divorced years ago.

Harper says, "You wrote these and did nothing."

Glenn says, "I didn't want to make it worse."

Harper says, "For who?"

Glenn taps the stack and says, "For the version of me your mother needed. I couldn't afford to meet him."

Which choice best captures what the bolded line reveals about Glenn's relationship to Harper and her mother?

In the excerpt below, a father (Mr. Alvarez) visits his adult son Nico at Nico's first apartment after Nico has dropped out of college without telling him.

Mr. Alvarez stood in the doorway as if the threshold were a rule. He held a plastic grocery bag with two oranges and a loaf of bread that had gone soft at one end.

"I brought you something," he said.

Nico took the bag, then set it on the floor untouched. "You didn't have to."

Mr. Alvarez looked past him into the apartment: a mattress on the floor, a stack of plates still in cardboard. "You could have told me," he said.

Nico's shoulders rose. "I was going to."

"When?" Mr. Alvarez asked, and the question was so quiet it sounded like it had been practiced.

Nico rubbed his thumb over a paint chip on the wall. "After I figured it out."

Mr. Alvarez nodded once, the way he did at parent-teacher conferences when he was trying not to argue in English. "You always want to hand me the finished thing," he said.

Nico's eyes flashed. "Because when I hand you the unfinished thing, you fix it. Or you break it."

Mr. Alvarez's mouth tightened. He stepped inside at last, careful not to touch anything. "I don't break things," he said.

Nico laughed, a short sound. "No. You just tell me what they're supposed to be."

Mr. Alvarez looked at the mattress. "And what are you supposed to be now?"

Nico's jaw worked. "I'm supposed to be tired," he said.

Mr. Alvarez's gaze lingered on Nico's hands, the bitten nails. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope.

"What's that?" Nico asked.

Mr. Alvarez held it out, not quite offering it. "Your mother asked me to give you this if you needed it."

Nico didn't take it. "Money."

"It's not—" Mr. Alvarez began.

Nico cut in. "It's a leash," he said, and his voice went careful. "You just call it help so you can hold the other end."

Mr. Alvarez's eyes widened, then narrowed, as if he were trying to find the right word and couldn't.

Which choice best interprets the relationship tension in "It's a leash… you can hold the other end"?

In the following excerpt, an employee, Raul, is quitting his job at a small bookstore. The owner, Ms. Ivers, trained him when he was sixteen.

Ms. Ivers says, "You'll be bored in that office."

Raul says, "Maybe bored is the point."

She slides his final paycheck across the counter and says, "I taught you to shelve by the spine, not by the title. Don't start living by the label now."

Raul folds the check without looking at it.

Which choice best describes Ms. Ivers's relationship to Raul as conveyed by the bolded line?

In the following excerpt, a grandmother, Lotte, teaches her grandson, Micah, to bake bread. Micah has been skipping school.

Micah says, "Mom told you?"

Lotte dusts flour on the counter and says, "Mothers talk."

Micah says, "So you're mad."

Lotte presses the dough and says, "I'm not mad. I'm making something that takes time, so you'll remember time exists."

Which choice best interprets Lotte's relationship to Micah as suggested by the bolded line?

In the excerpt below, two coworkers, Simone and Hart, are preparing a presentation after their team's project failed. Simone is the one presenting; Hart built most of the model.

Simone clicked through the slides, each one a clean rectangle of bad news. Hart sat sideways in his chair, tapping a pen against his knee in a steady rhythm.

"We'll say the timeline shifted," Simone said.

Hart's pen stopped. "It didn't shift. It collapsed."

Simone kept her eyes on the screen. "Hart."

"What?" he asked, too quickly.

"You can't say 'collapsed' to the directors."

Hart leaned forward. "Why not? It's accurate."

"Because they don't reward accuracy," Simone said. "They reward confidence."

Hart stared at her as if she'd admitted to something. "So you're going to lie."

Simone's throat tightened. "I'm going to translate."

Hart's laugh was small and bitter. "You always translate. You translated my warnings for weeks."

Simone finally faced him. "I told them what you said."

"You told them what you could say without sounding like me," Hart replied.

Simone's hands hovered over the keyboard. "I'm trying to keep you employed."

Hart's gaze dropped to her blazer, the one she wore when she wanted to look unbreakable. "You don't keep me employed," he said. "You keep me quiet."

Simone's expression flickered—anger, then something like hurt. "If you want to be loud," she said, "be loud in the meeting."

Hart leaned back again, pen tapping resumed. "And watch you flinch?"

What does "You don't keep me employed… You keep me quiet" reveal about Simone and Hart's relationship?