Awalk in my shoes twin ninth-graders emerson and ennis bentley were identical in every way except one—their approach to life. both boys were brilliant, but emerson was the ultimate introvert who preferred computers and the virtual world to the real world. ennis was the extrovert who loved the companionship of others and found his joy interacting with friends. occasionally, ennis could convince emerson to join him in an activity, though emerson rarely actually participated and seemed content just to sit quietly and watch. frustrated by his brother’s passiveness, ennis eventually gave up trying to lure emerson to participate in the real world and left his brother to his own devices. as usual after school, emerson sat hunched over his computer, furiously typing and creating what he called the ultimate code for his virtual world, the realm of interstellar nebula. he occasionally glanced at his code book as he pushed up his glasses—his unconscious habit when concentrating on complicated work. he jumped as ennis barged in unexpectedly, but glanced up only briefly as his brother dumped his backpack on the bed and began to rummage through the room looking for his basketball shorts, which he discovered crumpled in a corner under the bed. emerson noted ennis’s disheveled appearance, shook his head, and went back to coding. he found it hard to concentrate as ennis seemed to purposely make as much noise as possible while changing out of his school uniform and into his casual clothes. why his brother’s easy-going nature bothered him he couldn’t explain. ennis, on the other hand, was bothered by emerson’s lack of social skills. he couldn’t understand why his brother didn’t even try to be friendly with other kids at school and in the neighborhood. emerson looked up as ennis, now changed, picked up the basketball near his bed and started to exit for a basketball game down the block with his friend bartholomew. “enjoy your quality time in the virtual world,” ennis commented. “have a fun play date,” emerson responded, in a sarcastic manner. angrily, ennis stopped on his way out the door, basketball on his hip. he held onto the doorknob without turning it, and let emerson’s comment slowly sink in. finally, he let the knob go slowly as he turned back to face his brother. ennis tried to think of a clever comeback to emerson’s sarcastic comment as he stared down his brother. instead, ennis sighed, visibly calming down, and shook his head slowly from side to side. arguing with emerson wasn’t working, reasoning didn’t seem to , and it seemed unlikely that they would ever understand each other. unable to think of a clever retort, ennis tried a different approach, “i don’t get you, emerson. why don’t you learn to relax, and maybe you won’t take life so seriously? ” “well, maybe you don’t take life seriously enough,” emerson angrily shot back. suddenly, ennis had an idea that might the brothers understand each other. he threw the basketball to emerson, who dropped the code book and grabbed the ball before it hit his computer. “what if just for today we trade places? ” ennis said. “i sit back and learn about codes, and you go to bartholomew’s house and play basketball.” emerson stared, perplexed, and shook his head as he said, “you’ve got to be kidding, you actually want me to trade places with you? you’re good at almost every sport you try, while everybody knows i’m not coordinated, and you never have trouble talking to people like i do. you know i’m not you.” “i don’t want you to be me, and how do you know how good you are at anything if you’ve never really tried? what i’m saying is, for this afternoon only, i do what you normally do, and you do what i normally do,” ennis explained as he sat on the bed. “let’s walk in each other’s shoes for just one day. i learn about code, and you go out and interact with people and do something different.” ennis saw the doubtful look emerson gave him and explained, “i won’t touch your code or your computer. i’ll just read your code book, work on my own computer, and stay in here, interacting with nobody, like you do.” emerson contemplated his brother’s proposal as he looked at his computer screen, where he was stuck at a complex point. maybe getting away from interstellar nebula for a couple of hours would , but he was lousy at sports, and ennis knew it. still, it might be interesting to see what his brother found so great about the real world. which statement best states the story theme? a. friends are always better when they are real people. b. it’s better to study hard than to play basketball. c. you understand others better when you experience what they do. d. you never know how to do something until you actually try it.