Dylan raced up the apartment stairs to the box waiting by the front door.

“What is it？” asked his friend Max.

“My birthday gift from Dad，” replied Dylan as he tore at the cardboard. “I dont see holes in it for air. Its not the puppy that I wanted.”

“Wow！” Max cried. “A Wilson basketball！ You lucky dog！”

Dylan wasnt as thrilled as Max. He slumped down on the concrete steps.

Max left for home， and Dylan picked up the ball and scraps of cardboard. Holding his homework under his chin， he pulled the door open and stepped into the empty apartment.

Dylan had been alone a lot since his parents got divorced. He and his mom had moved to the city， and she was working two jobs. His only contact with his dad was on the telephone.

Dylan s new school was large. Being shy， he hadnt made any friends besides Max. Why had Dad sent the basketball？ Although Dylan played basketball at this last school， he didnt plan on playing here. There were too many kids. He would never make the team.

If Dad had gotten him a dog， Dylan wouldnt be so lonely. He would always have a friend to play with.

Dylan sulked through dinner and the rest of the evening. His mother thought the ball was a great gift and reminded him to call his dad to thank him.

The next morning， Dylan waited until after Dad would have left for work to call him.

“Hi Dad，” Dylan said to his dads machine. “Thanks for the ball.” Then he hung up and went outside to meet Max.

“Hey， Dylan，” said Max. “How are you and that ball getting along？ Can you dunk it yet？” Max laughed at his own joke.

Dylan glared at Max. “I didnt want a dumb ball！” he shouted. “Dont you see？ I dont have a brother or sister like you to play with. I just wanted a dog.”

“Wow，” said Max. “You must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today. You can have my brother and sister. Id gladly take your basketball any day.”

Afraid of what he might say， Dylan stuffed his hands in his pockets and didnt speak the rest of the way to school.

Dylans mood wasnt any better after school， but he was relieved to see Max waiting for him. He was afraid he might have offended him. At home， there was a message on the telephone. Dylan pushed the button to listen to it.

“Hi Sport，” said his dad， “you didnt sound very thrilled with the basketball. You and I used to watch the Bulls on TV all the time. Theres concrete all over the city to bounce the ball on and a court in every park. Give it a try. Love you！”

Dylan felt worse than before. That night he tried to watch a ball game， but it wasnt the same without Dad. He shut off the TV and went to bed.

The next day， Dylan stopped at the park on the way home from school to watch a basketball game. Some of the players were from his school. Soon， one of the players had to go home. The three players left on the court headed for the sidelines to gather their belongings.

“I can take his place，” Dylan called out.

The other players stopped and turned to him. Dylan had no idea where his sudden confidence came from. Before anyone could reply， he dropped his books， shed his jacket， and was on the court. They played until the sun started to set.

Joey， one of Dylans teammates， tossed him the ball. “Youre new here， right？” she asked Dylan. “You play a good game. You should try out for the boys basketball team at school.”

“Thanks. Maybe I will，” replied Dylan.

They all made plans the next night， and then Dylan started home. He was going to bring his basketball to school with him from now on. First， hed have to call his father again and thank him properly.

迪倫沖上公寓的樓梯，來(lái)到早已放在門口的盒子邊。

“是什么東西？”他的朋友馬克斯問(wèn)。

“我爸送我的生日禮物，”迪倫一邊回答一邊撕扯著那個(gè)硬紙盒。“我沒(méi)有看到透氣孔，這里面肯定不是我想要的小狗?！?/p>

“哇！”馬克斯大叫，“一只威爾遜籃球！你真走運(yùn)！”

迪倫卻不像馬克斯那么激動(dòng)。他一屁股坐在了水泥臺(tái)階上。

馬克斯回家了，迪倫撿起籃球和硬紙盒的碎片。他用下巴夾住家庭作業(yè)，打開門，走進(jìn)了空無(wú)一人的公寓。

自從父母離婚后，迪倫就總是一個(gè)人。他和媽媽搬到了城里，媽媽現(xiàn)在一個(gè)人要打兩份工。他和爸爸只能通過(guò)電話聯(lián)系。

迪倫的新學(xué)校很大。他很靦腆，除了馬克斯之外，還沒(méi)交到什么朋友。為什么爸爸要送個(gè)籃球給他呢？盡管迪倫在上一個(gè)學(xué)校打過(guò)籃球，可他并沒(méi)有打算在這個(gè)學(xué)校也打。這里的學(xué)生太多了，他不可能進(jìn)球隊(duì)的。

如果爸爸送給他一條狗，迪倫就不會(huì)這么孤單了。他就有個(gè)朋友可以經(jīng)常陪他玩了。

從吃晚飯開始，整個(gè)晚上迪倫都悶悶不樂(lè)。他的媽媽覺(jué)得籃球是份很好的禮物，還提醒他打電話給爸爸道謝。

第二天早晨，迪倫等到爸爸應(yīng)該已經(jīng)離開家去上班后才撥通了爸爸的電話。

“嗨，爸爸，”迪倫對(duì)著答錄機(jī)說(shuō)，“謝謝你的籃球。”然后就掛了電話，出門去找馬克斯了。

“嘿，迪倫，”馬克斯說(shuō)，“你和那個(gè)籃球相處得怎么樣了？現(xiàn)在能用它灌籃了嗎？”馬克斯說(shuō)完就被自己的玩笑逗樂(lè)了。

迪倫瞪了他一眼?！拔也挪幌胍粋€(gè)不會(huì)說(shuō)話的球呢！”他喊道，“你不明白嗎？我不像你，我沒(méi)有兄弟姐妹能和我玩。我只想要一條狗。”

“哇，”馬克斯說(shuō)，“看來(lái)你今天心情不好啊。我用我的兄弟姐妹換你的球好了。哪天都行，我很樂(lè)意的?！?/p>

迪倫怕自己說(shuō)出什么不好聽(tīng)的話，就把兩手插進(jìn)口袋，一直到學(xué)校都沒(méi)再說(shuō)一句話。

放學(xué)后，迪倫的心情一點(diǎn)兒也沒(méi)有好轉(zhuǎn)，但看到馬克斯在等他，他感到很寬慰，因?yàn)樗具€擔(dān)心自己早上惹馬克斯生氣了?；丶液螅娫捓镉幸粭l留言。迪倫按下播放鍵聽(tīng)。

“嗨，運(yùn)動(dòng)家，”爸爸說(shuō)，“你聽(tīng)起來(lái)對(duì)那個(gè)籃球不太感興趣啊。我們以前還總是一起看公牛隊(duì)的比賽呢。城市里到處都是水泥地，球在上面可以彈起來(lái)，每座公園里也都有球場(chǎng)。試試吧。愛(ài)你！”

迪倫的心情更糟了。那天晚上他試著看了一場(chǎng)籃球賽，但沒(méi)有爸爸陪著，感覺(jué)和以前不一樣了。他關(guān)掉電視，上床睡覺(jué)了。

第二天放學(xué)后，迪倫回家途經(jīng)一個(gè)公園看了一場(chǎng)籃球賽。一些球員都和他一個(gè)學(xué)校。很快，其中一個(gè)不得不回家了。場(chǎng)上剩下的三人只能走向場(chǎng)邊，收拾行裝。

“我可以頂替他的位置?！钡蟼惡暗馈?/p>

那三人停下腳步，轉(zhuǎn)身看著他。迪倫也不知道這突然的自信從何而來(lái)。不等他們回答，他就丟下課本，脫掉外套，站在了球場(chǎng)上。他們一直玩到夕陽(yáng)西下。

迪倫的隊(duì)友喬伊把球丟給他?！澳闶切聛?lái)的，對(duì)吧？”她問(wèn)迪倫，“你打得很好。你應(yīng)該報(bào)名參加學(xué)校男子籃球隊(duì)?！?/p>

“謝謝。也許我會(huì)去試試?！钡蟼惔鸬馈?/p>

他們約好了第二天晚上繼續(xù)打球，然后迪倫才回家。他準(zhǔn)備以后天天帶著籃球上學(xué)。不過(guò)，他得先給爸爸打個(gè)電話，好好謝謝他。