Good morning!” I yawned as I floated into the room. My big sister Rita gave me an annoyed look before turning her back and continuing to cook.
“It’s almost lunch, and you are just now getting up.” She sighed and brought me a cup of milk. “Our brother Rick had already finished his homework before breakfast, and you are five years older. You’re fifteen now, Ralphie; even little children put more effort into their daily romping than you put into waking up at a decent hour.”
“Oh, chill out, Rita. I’m not going to have to worry about grades with the football scholarship that’s bound to come my way.” I held back a smirk as I watched her go back to cooking lunch. She was Valedictorian of her class, but it did not come easy to her like sports did for me. She often spent the entire weekend studying for a test or working on only a handful of math problems, even though all of her friends were out at the mall. Kicking my feet up on the table, I stretched and enjoyed the sunlight streaming in the windows.
“You won’t get a scholarship if you can’t graduate,” Rita grumbled as she kicked my feet off the table. Her cheeks were red with anger, and her eyes glared a hole into my skull. It was quite an amusing picture, and I found myself wanting to put my feet back on the table to see what she would do next. Instead, I stroked my chin and let my eyes drop to one of the many newspaper clips Dad carefully cut out that littered the fridge with my football team’s victories. This one was of last year’s state championship game that had overlapped with one of her debate team competitions. Our parents always tried to split their time evenly between our activities, but since this was a huge game and her debate was only a practice competition, our parents chose to go to my game. When I looked back to Rita, I saw her gaze had followed mine and her nostrils were now flared.
“A bunch of jocks running around with a ball is not newsworthy!” She fumed as suddenly the door swung open, and our dad sauntered in to the kitchen. He froze when he caught the wild expression on Rita’s face. She too was in shock, her face flushed, and her eyes focused timidly on the floor. He looked at my hair still a mess from sleep and then to Rita’s angry but hesitant expression, realizing that yet again, his children were arguing. Rita always spoke of how brain trumped brawn, but our dad supported us on a coach’s salary.
“That was a great debate yesterday, Rita. I have very talented kids,” Dad smiled politely. He greeted her with a sweet kiss on the cheek and then sat down with me to discuss weight training. As he mapped out a plan to help me bulk up, I laughed to myself, wondering what I could say during lunch to get another rise out of Rita.

Select all the correct answers.
What are two ways that the point of view in the story helps create humor?
The reader feels a part of the playful tension between the siblings.
The narrator explains why Rita must work so hard to succeed.
The reader understands the relationship Ralphie has with his father.
The reader can appreciate Ralphie's mischievous nature.
The narrator reveals the level of confidence he has in his abilities.