[scene 3. gillian’s bedroom. the sun has set, and the room is lit by a lamp on gillian’s desk. a phone sits next to the lamp.]

gillian: [she appears frightened.] i really don’t want to go downstairs. who knows what i’m going to find down there? i really wish that mom would get home. she said that she’d be home by six o’clock, but she must be running late. [she hears a loud bang coming from downstairs and is visibly startled.] there it is again! it can’t be piper. she’s hiding under the bed. o, why do these things always happen to me when i’m alone? maybe i should call the police. okay, that’s what i’ll do. i’ll call the police. better safe than sorry. then again, what if it turns out to be nothing? i’ll feel ridiculous if the police come here and don’t find anything. they’ll think i’m paranoid. [she hears something move across the hardwood floor below and the sound of glass breaking.] that’s it! i’ve got to do something; i can’t just stand here shaking. i’m calling the police right now. i can’t take such chances. what if there’s a burglar down there . . or worse? [she rushes to the phone on her desk and picks up the receiver.]

at which point in the plot does scene 3 take place?

a: the end

b: the exposition

c: the climax

d: the rising action