Read the passage. which stage of plot is this?
alex got to the tryout game an hour earlier than his coach said to be there. maria was already at the field, too, stretching and getting ready for the girls' tryouts. alex and maria were longtime rivals; they had played soccer against each other for years in the park in their neighborhood. seeing maria made alex even more determined to succeed in his tryouts. he was feeling even more nervous as he started doing his warm-ups.

a. exposition
b. rising action
c. climax
d. falling action