9

When Mom dropped me off, I figured I might as well try to make the most of it. Maddox was actually TALKING this time, so that was a decent start at least. I asked Maddox if he had any junk food, but he said his mom doesn't let him have any of that kind of stuff. I asked him if he wanted to watch some TV, but he told me they didn't HAVE a television. At first I thought he was joking, but sure enough, in the family room there was a BOOKSHELF where the TV was supposed to go. In fact, there were books EVERYWHERE in this house.

妈妈送我到这儿走后，我想着反正都来了，不如尽量好好玩呗。 这次麦迪克斯居然主动开口说话，至少这开头还算不赖。 我问麦迪克斯有没有垃圾食品，他说他妈妈根本不让他碰这些东西。 我又问他想不想看电视，结果他说他们家根本就没有电视。 一开始我以为他在开玩笑，结果真的是这样：客厅本该放电视的地方，摆了个书架。 实际上，这整栋房子里到处都是书。

I asked Maddox what he does for fun, and he said he either practices his violin or plays with his Legos. I was pretty relieved to hear that he actually had some TOYS, because I was starting to wonder about this kid. But when he showed me what he had in his bedroom, I was totally blown away. He had a whole Lego CITY in there. Maddox said he wants to be an engineer when he grows up, and whenever he asks for a Lego set, his mom buys it for him. All I can say is, she must have spent a FORTUNE.

我问麦迪克斯平时玩什么找乐子，他说要么练小提琴，要么玩乐高。 听到他居然有玩具，我总算松了口气，我刚才都开始琢磨这孩子到底啥情况了。 可等他带我看他卧室里的东西时，我彻底惊呆了。 他居然在卧室里拼了一整座乐高城市。 麦迪克斯说他长大想当工程师，每次他要乐高套装，他妈妈都会买给他。 我只能说，这肯定花了好大一笔钱。

I wanted to play with some of the big sets Maddox had, but he wouldn't let me go anywhere NEAR them. He told me if I wanted to play with his Legos, I could use the pieces from his "leftovers" bin. That was a pretty big letdown, because the leftovers bin was filled with a bunch of random pieces. So while Maddox was putting together a 500-piece Lego spaceship, I did the best with what I had.

我想玩麦迪克斯那些大套装，可他根本不让我靠近半步。 他说我要是想玩乐高，可以用他“剩件箱”里的零件。 这可太让人扫兴了，因为剩件箱里全是乱七八糟的零散零件。 所以麦迪克斯拼他那个五百块的乐高太空船时，我只能凑着手里的零件随便拼拼。

After about an hour and a half, Mom and Mrs. Selsam finally came back. Luckily, my balloon was sitting on the little table next to the front door, so I grabbed it on the way out. But just when I was about to get in the car, Mrs. Selsam came running out with Maddox right behind her. Maddox said I "stole" from him. I tried to explain that the balloon was actually MINE, and I was just taking it BACK.

大概一个半小时后，我妈妈和塞尔萨姆太太终于回来了。 幸运的是，我的气球就放在前门边的小桌子上，我出门的时候顺手拿走了。 可我刚要上车，塞尔萨姆太太就追了出来，麦迪克斯就跟在她身后。 麦迪克斯说我“偷”了他的东西。 我拼命解释说气球本来就是我的，我只是把自己的东西拿回去而已。

But Maddox wasn't talking about the BALLOON. He said I stole one of his LEGOS. Apparently one of the pieces was missing from his leftovers bin. And don't even ask me how he knew THAT. I swore up and down I didn't take any of his Legos, and I even turned my pockets inside out to prove it. But he STILL wasn't satisfied. So I actually let Maddox and Mrs. Selsam pat me down, which was totally humiliating. But I gotta admit it was pretty satisfying when they couldn't find anything on me. After that I thought I was in the clear, and I turned to get in the car.

可麦迪克斯说的根本不是气球。 他说我偷了他一块乐高。 好像是他剩件箱里缺了一块零件。 我也不想说他是怎么这么快就发现的了。 我反复发誓我没拿，还把口袋翻了个底朝天证明清白。 可他还是不相信我。 所以我干脆让麦迪克斯和塞尔萨姆太太搜我身，这可太丢人了。 不过说实话，他们啥也没找到的时候，我还挺解气的。 之后我以为没事了，就转身准备上车。

That's when Maddox spotted a Lego that was stuck to my elbow. What really stinks is that it was one of those tiny square pieces, and I'm sure Maddox had a BILLION of those in his leftovers bin. Anyway, that's how our "playdate" ended. On a positive note, I got what I came for. But on the way home, Mom seemed pretty upset. I thought she was mad about the Lego piece, but she wasn't.

就在这时候，麦迪克斯发现一块乐高粘在了我的胳膊肘上。 可气的是，这只是一块小小的方零件，我敢肯定他剩件箱里有成千上万块这东西。 不管怎么说，我们的“玩伴约会”就这么结束了。 往好的方面说，我来这儿的目的达到了。 可回家路上，妈妈看起来很不高兴。 我以为她是因为乐高那块零件生气，其实并不是。