How does the alliteration in the phrase “clacking away at the computer on the counter” affect the passage?

It implies that the video library could be a disruptive place in which to work.

It reinforces the cold, emptiness of the video library.

It calls attention to the fact that there is a lot of work to be done.

It reminds readers that the video library is a busy place.

Numbers

A little red circle with the number 1 appeared over the e-mail icon on Zoë’s phone. Her heart raced and her breath tightened, like there was a big, yeasty mound of dough rising in her chest. Maybe this was it—maybe this was the acceptance letter she’d been waiting for. She tapped the icon and saw the subject line, “Make Fluffier Pancakes This Weekend!” It was just junk mail. She felt both a pang of disappointment and a rush of relief.

No acceptance, but no rejection. Okay. Time to focus on something else. It was her first day as a data-entry intern at the video library at Tall Pines Film Studios, and she needed to be there by 8:30. She had wanted an internship because she knew it would look good to an admissions committee—and she was hoping that this one, which at least was in the realm of what she wanted to study in college, would make her stand out among other applicants. She rushed downstairs to grab her bag and say goodbye to her mom.

“Good luck today, sweet pea,” her mom said. “I’m so proud of you. Don’t forget—you have that stochastic probability final on Monday. You should probably study when you get home this afternoon.”

“Got it, Mom. Thanks,” Zoë said. As she pulled her bike from the garage, she started thinking about stochastic probability. She started pedaling down the street and began pondering a conditional statement: Given that a person is granted early admission to college, what is the probability that she had completed a related internship beforehand? Then, even though she knew it would tempt fate, she flipped the conditional statement and considered the converse: Given that a high school student had worked in a related internship, what is the probability that a college would grant that student early admission? She told herself that the odds were in her favor, but she knew she’d just have to wait it out.

The Tall Pines receptionist guided Zoë through the labyrinthine corridors to the video library, which had a long counter at the front and a glass panel blocking stacks of video cassettes, discs, and reels at the back. Everything was a bright antiseptic white, making the place look more like a clean room than a library. Even the man clacking away at a computer on the counter seemed robotic and no-frills; he wore a barely blue shirt and a deadpan expression, and the receptionist introduced him as Todd Guzman, the library manager.