Homesick
This is a draft of a student's narrative essay.
Her roommate had asked her if she wanted to go ice skating with a few other girls from their floor, but she wasn't sure she wanted to go. Picking up Caroline's hesitation, her roommate pointed out that they had been living in the dorms for over four months and said it was time for Caroline to make some college friends.
Caroline didn't see it that way; from her perspective, it had only been a handful of weeks since she had left home to attend college. It had been fun at first when the days were hot and staying in the dorms felt like being away at summer camp, but then the weather cooled, the leaves fell, and the days got shorter. The illusion of being at camp faded, and Caroline started to miss home. At first, she told herself she didn't want to go ice skating in town square with strangers. She wanted to drink hot chocolate and do puzzles at home with her family because that was what she did in December; however, she couldn't go home—not for a couple more weeks—so she let her roommate convince her to go.
The cold air was invigorating. Caroline found that she enjoyed spending time with these new girls. They all bought ice cream cones from a food truck next to the skate rental booth, and then they laughed at themselves for eating ice cream in the snow. They talked about their classes and professors and commiserated about their upcoming final exams. None of them were going to be Olympic skaters, but they managed to make it more than a few times around the rink before they decided to call it a day. On the way back to the dormitory, they stopped to drink hot apple cider and warm up.
When they got back to their room, Caroline thanked her roommate for dragging her out into the cold. Her roommate promised to "drag her out" again another time. Then her roommate got quiet for a second before confessing to Caroline that she was suddenly feeling a bit homesick. She wanted to know if Caroline wanted to work on a puzzle and maybe drink some hot chocolate with her because that's what she'd be doing if she were home.
Which statement best concludes the experiences in the narrative?
A.
Caroline couldn't believe that her roommate had the energy to do anything after all the skating they had done that day.
B.
Caroline said that she would love to do a puzzle but could not handle anymore sugar after the ice cream and cider.
C.
Caroline, realizing she was not the only one still adjusting to college, happily agreed to puzzles and hot chocolate.
D.
Caroline, recalling her rigorous study schedule, had to take a rain check because she had to prepare for her finals.