Mrs. Peal's Roof As soon as Mrs. Peal asked the question, Jack felt the knot in his stomach. He felt that knot because he knew he had been caught. He had gotten onto her roof from the elm tree in his backyard and had broken one of her roof tiles when he had landed. Mrs. Peal wasn't home at the time, but the damage was obvious when she pulled into the driveway.
Jack had already gotten in trouble for climbing on his own roof. Mrs. Peal knew that because she had called his mother when she'd seen him playing on the roof one day.
Jack liked the adventure of being up high where he could get a bird's-eye view of the world. He felt invisible. He knew he wasn't supposed to, but he was always careful, and the trees in the yard gave him such an easy way to get to the roof.
But here was Mrs. Peal: "Jack, did you get on my roof?"
"No, ma'am, I didn't get near your roof," he lied.
"Then tell me how you think that roof tile up there got broken," she said, pointing to the spot. "It's right under the branch of your favorite elm tree."
"I don't know, Mrs. Peal, maybe a squirrel fell or maybe something fell out of an airplane," he said. His stomach was really churning, and all he could think of was getting away from his neighbor.
Mrs. Peal laughed and shook her head. "When was the last time you saw an airplane flying over my house?"
"Sometimes airplanes fly so high you can't see them," Jack said.
"Don't make it worse for yourself by lying to me, Jack," she said. "You look me right in the eyes and tell me you didn't break the tile when you jumped out of the tree." She took his shoulders in both hands and looked Jack right in his eyes.
Jack knew he'd been caught and exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Peal. I didn't mean to break your tile. I can just see so much farther from your roof than my roof."
"Jack, you're not supposed to be on the roof, period," Mrs. Peal said. "You know your parents have told you to stay off the roof."
"Are you going to tell my parents?" Jack asked.
"Yes, because they've asked you not to climb on it, but I'll also tell them how much fun you have, how careful you are, and that it isn't very far from the ground." Mrs. Peal replied. "You should talk to them about it, too."
Jack felt the knot in his stomach loosen, knowing that Mrs. Peal might help him change his parents' thoughts about climbing.
7
What is the main conflict of this passage
A.
Jack fears that Mrs. Peal will tell his parents.
B.
Mrs. Peal doesn't want to repair the tile.
C.
Jack lies about getting on the roof.
D.
Jack thinks airplanes fly too high.