Taken for a ride
by t. herlinger
laurel and her best friend, paula, had boarded the seattle ferry at 9: 00 that morning—the first day of spring break—stowing their backpacks in a locker and climbing to the top of the ship. they had watched from the stern as the space needle and other seattle landmarks faded away and the san juan islands gradually appeared. it would be another few hours before they reached canada, which left them plenty of time to explore the boat.
in no time, laurel befriended one of the ship's stewards, ronald, who oriented the girls a bit, pointing out the snack bar and naming the various geographical sights they were passing. laurel was fast developing a crush on the boy, and he was flirting right back, telling jokes and spending more time with her and paula than with other passengers. the trip was shaping up just fine—that is, until laurel went to buy some chips and discovered her wallet was missing!
"paula, it's just disappeared," she desperately told her friend, "my passport, all my money, my mom's credit card, everything! "
paula tried to remain calm and to offer some comfort. "could you have left it in your backpack, in the locker? "
laurel shook her head, nearly in tears now, but they raced down to the lockers anyway and emptied out the contents of both their packs—no luck. laurel started pacing the floor, in a panic. there was no way customs in canada would ever let her in without any identification, which meant her vacation was ruined.
just then, ronald appeared out of nowhere—a welcome sight to the distraught girls. paula related the predicament they were in, and ronald offered to announce the lost wallet on the pa system, but laurel begged him not to. she felt humiliated enough as it was without the whole ship knowing about it.
"you probably just dropped it or misplaced it," he suggested. "let's split up and search the ship's decks. laurel, you and i can search the upper level, and paula, you search the lower, okay? "
paula was amenable to the plan and quickly began scouring the area around the lockers. laura and ronald headed upstairs to the upper deck. five minutes into their searching, laurel slumped down on a bench and wept in frustration. then, to her amazement, ronald sat beside her and promptly produced her wallet from the inside pocket of his vest!
"oh, goodness! " laurel cried. "but where on earth did you find it? "
"i had your wallet all along," the steward confessed. "i knew you and your friend were inexperienced travelers, and i wanted to show you what an easy target you could be for pickpocketers. always carry your wallet in an inside pocket, or deep in your backpack, okay? "
nodding solemnly as she wiped away her tears, laurel promised that she would. it was a tough lesson, but not one this young traveler would soon forget.
it was a tough lesson, but not one this young traveler would soon forget.
who is being referred to in this sentence?
a. paula
b. the narrator
c. ronald
d. laurel