4. Jimmy and Eric were huddled by the tire swing. "Why did Scott have to take the kickball? He knows we play kickball at recess." Jimmy whined. "Maybe we could just do something else." Eric suggested.
"No, I'm going to get back our kickball," countered Jimmy. Scott was bouncing the kickball against the
wall by himself when Jimmy approached him. "Give us back our kickball, Scott!" Jimmy shouted. Scott
looked up and down at Jimmy and then continued bouncing the ball against the wall. Jimmy ran up to
Scott and tried to snatch the ball as it passed from the wall back to Scott, but he was too slow. He missed
and fell onto the gravel and cried out, "Ow! See what you did, Scott!" By now Eric had joined the other
two boys and he made a suggestion: "Hey, Scott, maybe we could all play together." Scott looked at him
skeptically, but Eric's warm expression convinced him of his sincerity. "Ok," Scott muttered as he helped
Jimmy back to his feet and asked, "What do you want to play?" The boys agreed on kickball and used the
remaining recess time to play. Jimmy and Eric agreed that it was a lot more fun to play with three people
and Scott became a regular addition to their recess activities.
What is the theme of the story?
What happens in the story that leads you to believe this?