Question

select the quotation from the story that most strongly suggests that the theme is rules should be applied fairly.
it was against the rules to eat something before you bought it, but everyone wanted to.
for the most part, cody enforced the mitchells rules. when someone asked for a discount or a sample, cody said no.
how was cody going to explain that he had given a deal to those he knew while he made everyone else pay full price?

Explanation:

The third quotation "How was Cody going to explain that he had given a deal to those he knew while he made everyone else pay full price?" directly addresses the unfair application of rules. It shows a situation where rules (presumably about pricing) are not being applied evenly. The first quotation just states a rule about eating before buying but doesn't touch on fairness. The second one shows Cody enforcing rules in a general sense but doesn't highlight unfairness. The third one is the only one that focuses on the issue of rules not being applied fairly (giving deals to some - those he knew - and not to others - everyone else).

Answer:

"How was Cody going to explain that he had given a deal to those he knew while he made everyone else pay full price?"