"Upstairs," she half-smiled and climbed up, returning with three plasticy things.

"Wow…wow, this is going to save the world," Marco took a deep breath. "Anybody want to play?"

"I do!" Jordan exclaimed. "I always win. And it's not because people let me, either. You can't cheat at this game."

"Oh, can't I?"

She raised an eyebrow. "How many coins d'you want to start with?"

"All of them, of course."

"Ten or fifteen?"

"Fifteen."

"I get fifteen too…have you ever played this game before?"

"No."

She smirked, a smirk I was familiar with. Let's face it, a smirk that had shone from my own face. "Anybody else want to play?"

"I will." Tom slid off the couch.

I whirled to face him. "How long have you been down here?"

"Dunno. Hey, Jordan, have you ever hit a piñata?"

"Sure!" Her mind leaped into memory. "At a birthday party. That was so fun…"

"Sorry," I narrowed my eyes, "but how is that relevant?"

The question should have been obvious, but Tom was taken aback by it. "It…uh…well…just was curious."

"Why?"

"Because, what does it matter?"

"It just has nothing to do with anything."

"So what? I'm curious."

"So it's none of your business."

"Everything is Rachel's business," Jake commented from his sprawl on the floor.

"I'll keep that in mind." Tom picked up the pile of coins Jordan had dealt. "Okay cuz, give'er a spin."

"…thirteen…Hey! I only have fourteen coins!" Marco pretended to get mad at Jordan. "Are you cheating?"

She dubiously backed off. "Are you joking?"

"Yes, he is." Tom pointed to a clump of three coins between the middle of the players. "You have to put one of your chips in the pot to start. But then again, you don't know that."

"I do now," he replied.

"But you didn't before. Unlike Jordan, who knew not only how to play this but also what to do with piñatas."

I could not follow his logic. "What is it with you and this piñata thing?"

"Oh…come on. Even you aren't that dumb." Marco looked disappointed as he turned his head, peering up at Tom.

"Dumb?" Tom looked dumbfounded.

"Yeah. Just because my name is Marco doesn't mean I'm a big piñata guy. Do you see me in a sombrero? No. No, you don't. And you've got your luvverly traditions and I've got mine and I-and I-" He ran out of deep stuff to say at that point and collapsed on his rear end.

Jake's dad looked over at us, concerned. "Maybe you guys should take a break."

"A break? This is our break. Christmas break, peace goodwill and all that happy stuff, and we're at each other's throats."

"Hmm, why would that be?" Tom put a hand to his chin. "Maybe because…we don't all celebrate Christmas?"

"Winter break." Cassie's mom got up. "No problems with that, I hope?"

"No, except…It's Christmas break. Everyone knows that." Marco's dad seemed to belch rather than speak the words.

This astonished Ax. "Every one? Two? Three?"

Cassie shook her head. "Is it inherent in all males to need to compete with each other?"

"Yes, Cassie, it is," Jake shook his head.

Sara quietly tapped Marco on his shoulder. "Are you gonna save the world now?"

He looked down at the flimsy plastic dreidel. "Let's save our own little world first."

"How d'we do that?"

"We don't."

"Oh…what?"

"We can't."

"Oh. Okay then."

She picked up the dreidel and twirled it between her fingers.