Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.
The small Texas school that I went to had a tradition carried out every year during the eighth- grade graduation: a beautiful gold and
green jacket (the school colours) was awarded to the student who had maintained the grade for eight years.
The scholarship jacket - a beautiful gold and green jacket had a big gold S on the left front side and your name written in gold letters on the pocket.
My oldest sister, Rosie, had won the jacket a few years back, and I fully expected to also. I had been a straight 'A' student since the first grade and in the eighth grade had looked forward very much to owning that jacket.
My father was a farm labourer who couldn't earn enough money to feed eight children, so when I was six I was given to my grandparents to raise. We couldn't participate in sports at school because there were registration fees, uniform costs, and trips out of town; so, even though our family was quite agile and athletic there would never be a school sports jacket for us. This one, the scholarship jacket, was our only chance.
Another hour of sweating in basketball was coming up and I was walking up to the gym. Then I remembered my P.E. shorts and I had to walk all the way back and get them.
I was almost back at my classroom door when I heard voices raised in anger as if in some sort of argument.
I recognised the voices: Mr. Schmidt, my history teacher, and Mr. Boone, my math teacher, seemed to be arguing about me. I heard them say 'Martha' and I couldn't believe it. "Martha has a straight A-plus average and you know it." That was Mr. Schmidt and he sounded very angry. "I refuse to do it! I don't care who Joann's father is, her grades don't even begin to compare to Martha's," he continued. My heart sank.
The narrator says, "I looked forward very much to owning that jacket," because: