HELP PLEASE “I see one." she yelled, pointing.
"That's great." Ron yelled back. "Wait till you see a lot more than just one. It's not
worth stopping for one."
Alicia continued looking, scanning first one side of the boat then the other. She saw
a stingray dash away, patches of gleaming white sand here and there, and another
few sea urchins. Then suddenly, as if they had passed into a new world, scallops were
everywhere. Every few feet on both sides of the boat she saw them. Waving her
hand at Ron, she turned and got ready to drop the anchor.
"Here," she said. "Right here is perfect."
Ron cut the motor and Alicia dropped the anchor off the bow. She turned. Ron had
already put on his tennis shoes and was putting sunblock on his face. He threw the
sunblock in her direction, and threw a leg over the side of the boat.
"Get your shoes on. There's a mesh bag on the seat for you. Use that to collect your
scallops. We'll put them in the cooler when the bags get futt."
Alicia slipped out of the boat a few minutes after Ron. The ground under her feet
was squishy but solid; the sea grass brushed her legs. Spotting a nearby scallop, she
walked slowly over, reached down-water up to her elbow and touched its shell. Sure
it would squirt away, she was surprised when nothing happened at all. Reaching
behind and underneath it, she lifted the scallop out of the water and up to her face
to look more closely. The top shell was dark green, almost brown with tiny barnacles
here and there. The bottom shell was white and smooth.
"Told ya." Ron yelled at her from the other side of the boat. "It's super easy."
Just then the scallop she was holding opened its shell slightly. Alicia saw a row of
iridescent blue dots among what looked like frilly whiskers. Was it looking at her?
Suddenly she felt the scallop contract in her hand. Its shell clamped shut, and water
squirted out of it. Right into her face.
"Ahhh. she screamed, dropping the scallop and hearing Ron's hoots of laughter
behind her.
"And there, dear sister is the scallop's bite. Do be careful. Ron said, laughing harder.
Alicia had to grin as her brother's laugh grew touder. I take a squirt in the face any
day over a bite." she said bending to retrieve the dropped bivalve. It was going to be
a good day.
The author spends a lot of time describing what Alicia sees. What do you think is the
main purpose of this detail? Be sure to use the text to support your answer. (5
points