In "Better Wait Till Martin Comes," when the cats repeatedly pick up red hot coals, it proves that the cats are ordinary and will not harm John.
it distracts the reader from worrying about Martin’s arrival.
it builds suspense by showing that the cats are fearless.
it calms the reader by repeating a familiar action.

The answer is C

Hope This Helps :)

since it is asking for her reaction to elnora's trouble at school you can rule out any answers with a positive response (b). then you can rule out (d), this is because it does not show the mother's reaction but the daughter's response. that leaves you with two options (a) and (c), by looking at the options you can rule out (c) because it isn't referring back to elnora's issues at school.