Question

15 at me, daring
me
to answer incorrectly.
i will like kofi offin
to answer the question, please, he says.
20 dunwötwe, i proudly answer,
standing among
my classmates, smiling
like i just bit into
the sweetest mango.
25 i do not see
the lightning
almost slice
the skin
from my palm,
30 but i do feel the scorch
of the rod
across my hand
and in my bones.
i even taste its sting
35 in my mouth,

queen’s english, please, mr. phillip says,
as calm as rain, like
he did not just attack me
with his jagged cane.
what can be inferred about the relationship
between the speaker and his cousin?
○ it is distant and uninvolved.
○ it is competitive, with underlying tension.
○ it is supportive and collaborative.
○ it is based on mutual admiration and respect.
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Explanation:

The text shows the speaker feels scorch/sting from a rod (implied to be linked to pressure from the cousin, Kofi Offin, who the speaker is being compared to). The speaker's forced smile and the painful, tense reaction indicate an underlying competitive, strained dynamic rather than support, respect, or distance.

Answer:

B. It is competitive, with underlying tension.