"I'm bored," said Sara, knocking over the board.
"You wanna play?" Tom held out the video controller. Marco's eyes were glazed on the screen.
"You kids are spending too much time in front of that box," groaned Marco's dad.
"Yeah, and what about you watching auto racing?" suggested Marco as Thraukkew fended off a virtual fiend.
"That's different."
"Ew, that's gross," said Sara, looking at the pixels of the virtual fiend dissolving. "C'mon Cassie, play with us."
"I'm busy right now," Cassie smiled, and turned back to my mom. "Law firms in Minnesota have reduced emissions considerably by using only sanctioned..."
"You can go ahead and play with the girls, Cassie," my mom smiled weakly.
"Oh,...oh. Guys, do you want to play...I don't know, Tom? Do you have any more...PEACEFUL...video games?
Tom looked at his box. "Hmm...Cavern of Infinite Despair, Disturbingly Disturbing Abyss part II, and...NFL. Nope."
"Wanna build a snowman?" Marco asked, gesturing to the white expanse outside.
"Yes, but I'm not STUPID enough to." Jordan stuck out her tongue. "Jake, will YOU play Parcheesi with us?"
"Nah, I think I'll give it a pass," he replied.
"C'mon, it's boring. I can't go outside, or play with my friends,"
"...and I don't have any projects from school," Sara continued.
Marco dropped his controller. "Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You're telling me that you LIKE to do projects. From SCHOOL."
"Um, yeah?" she said meekly.
He threw up his hands. "Okay. This really is the end of the world."
"As if this blizzard wasn't enough," his dad said.