Christmas Window

     "Okay now, now be good and don't fight. If you guys could pick up and vacuum while we're gone I would appreciate it."
     "Sure, Mom. We can do that." Nick replied as he handed his mother her coat.
     "Listen to Nick and Libby and if you need us call Mom's cell phone." Dad opened the door for Mom and then followed her out.
     "Alright, have fun!" said Libby.
      "Bye!" chimed in Sarah and Alex. All four kids crowded around the door to wave as their parents left. The car pulled out of the driveway and Libby turned to her siblings.
      "Now that Mom and Dad are off to celebrate their anniversary, we are going to clean and decorate the house while they are gone!" she said.
      "But we don't have a Christmas tree yet!" said Alex. He was very concerned about the fact that it was December 12th and the Vogelgesang household did not have a Christmas tree.
      "We'll worry about that later." Libby said.
     "Besides, how could we get one without Dad?" asked Sarah. "We don't have a car and we don't have any money."
     "Yeah, I guess you're right." sighed Alex.
      "So let's get started!" Nick bounced down the hall toward the stairs. "I'll go up and get the boxes out of the attic." 
     "Wait! We have to clean up first." protested Libby. "Everyone needs to pick up and put away their stuff and then we have to vacuum and dust and do the dishes..."
      "Uhoh, here she goes." muttered Sarah to Alex. "Why do you always have to tell us what to do?" she said aloud.
      "Because I know what I'm doing." Libby bossed. "Besides, Mom and Dad put me in charge."
      "They put you and Nick in charge so he doesn't have to listen to you." Sarah argued.
      "Oh, I don't care, as long as I don't have to do the dishes." said Nick.
      "Ugh, fine. I'll wash the dishes." Libby handed Sarah a broom, which Sarah took grumpily. "Let's get to work!"
     After another brief squabble about who got to pick the music, a Christmas CD was agreed upon and the four kids got to work. Floors were swept, rugs were vacuumed, dishes were washed, and various personal belongings were stowed out of sight. Whether or not they were stowed in the correct place was another matter. All of this was cheerfully done as four voices sang out their favorite Christmas tunes.
      "Are we ready to decorate yet?" Sarah was tired of Libby handing her things and saying that she hadn't vacuumed well enough.
      "I think it looks good enough." Nick glanced around the room, which looked considerably tidier.
      "Yeah, I think so too. Let's go get the decorations." Libby tossed a sponge into the sink.
     "To the attic!" cried Nick, bounding up the stairs followed by his three younger siblings. Nick and Libby opened the old attic door and all four created an assembly line to hand down the boxes.
      "Front room decorations, mantel piece decorations, Grandpa's nativity scene, the box with the stockings and the advent calender.. What else do we need?" asked Nick.
     "The Mickey Mouse Christmas Clockshop!" Sarah peered into the musty boxes which were filled with newspaper wrapped items.
      "What about the Christmas tree lights and ornaments?" asked Alex, still worried about getting a tree.
      "We can get those later, but do you know where the snowmen mugs are?" Libby looked up the attic stairs at Nick.
     "Uhmm, let me take a look. Here's the Mickey box though." He said. "That's one of my favorite decorations."
     "Me too." Sarah took the box and looked at the colorful plastic characters inside. It was probably the only decoration still in its original box.
     "Oh! Do we have Dad's jingle bell wreath?" asked Libby.
     "I think it's in the box with the front room decorations." Nick called from above.
     "Here it is!" cried Alex, pulling something noisy out of a tub.
     "It's smaller than I remember." said Sarah, taking the wreath made out of red, green, gold, and silver jingle bells.
     "You could wear it on your head." Libby placed it on Sarah's head. "You're adorable!"
     "And if I shake my head like this I'm loud!" She said, dancing around the room.
     "Hey down there!" cried Nick. "Is anyone going to help me with these mugs? They're kinda heavy!" 
    "Yup. I'm here." Libby stepped up to help Nick. With all the boxes down from the attic, the Vogie kids turned on more Christmas music and began to decorate. Soon the downstairs rooms began to look very festive.
     "Mickey's Clockshop is up!" called Nick.
     "Turn it on!" Alex said. Mickey Mouse's Christmas Clockshop, a favorite decoration of all the kids and their father, was a battery powered decoration with classic Disney characters that sang Christmas songs. Nick had arranged the four characters, Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto on the China cabinet. This spot was reserved for Mickey's Clockshop every year.
     "Here we go!" said Nick, reaching around to switch it on. The two boys waited for the familiar sound of it starting up, but nothing happened. Nick flipped the switch off and then on again but to no avail.
     "The batteries must be dead." He picked it up and turned it around. "Alex, can you get me a screwdriver so I can open the back?"
     "Sure."
     In the other room Libby and Sarah were decorating the mantel. They were debating whether Mom's nativity collection should go on the window sill or above the fireplace.
     "If we put them on the mantel, where will the toyshop snow globe go?" Sarah held up a sizable and rather heavy snow globe.
     "But Grandpa's nativity always goes on the mantel. We can find somewhere else for the snowglobe."
     "Why do all the nativity scenes have to go above the fireplace any way?" asked Sarah.
     "Because I think it will look nice." Libby started organizing the decorations in catagories of Santa related and non-Santa related.
     "Why does everything have to be your way?" Sarah retorted, hugging the giant snowglobe.
     "Because I have good taste." said Libby smugly.
     "Yeah right." said Sarah.
     "Stop arguing." Nick coming into the room with the clockshop. "Where's your Christmas Spirit?"
     "But she's being bossy again!" The snow inside the globe began to swirl as Sarah shook it in frustration.
     "I am not!" said Libby. "I just think that-" Whatever Libby though was drowned out as Nick turned up the music.
     "Grandma got run over by a reindeer!" sang Nick as he took the screwdriver from his brother and sat down to fix the clockshop. The girls grimaced at each other for a few moments before Libby relented.
     "Fine, let's do it this way. We'll take turns putting up one decoration at a time, and where ever stuff winds up is where it stays. Deal?"
     "Deal." They shook hands and dived back into the boxes. The two girls fought a lot, but they always wound up with a compromise. Libby began putting up the Willow Tree nativity while Sarah decked the mantle with green garland.
     "That should do it!" Nick gave one last turn of the screwdriver. He set the clockshop upright and it on. Mikey Mouse and his friends started singing "Jingle Bells" in and array of blahblahblahs, quacks, howls, and bombombomboms.
     "Can we fix it? Yes we can!" Alex did a victory dance to the music.
     "Please don't start singing Bob the Builder." Libby dodged her younger brother's antics. "Nick, we're almost done, can you open the attic again so we can put the boxes back?"
     "Sure!" Nick stuck the screwdriver in his back pocket and grabbed an empty box.
     "You know, you don't have to listen to her." Sarah said to Nick, following him up the stairs. "I would take advantage of that if I were you."
     "She's not that bad. Besides, she right. The boxes do have to go back in the attic."
     "I guess." said Sarah. "But why does she have to be so bossy about it?"
     "She's Libby, that's what she does." said Nick.
     "What do I do?" Libby came up the stairs with the last box.
     "Oh, nothing." said Nick. Soon all the boxes were back in the attic.
     "Great! We're done!" Libby shut the attic door and locked it.
     "Let's go watch a Christmas movie!" said Sarah.
     "Can we watch Frosty?" asked Alex.
     "Happy Birthday!" Nick pulled the screwdriver out of his pocket and began using it as as a baton as he marched around the room singing Frosty the Snowman.
     "Thumpty thump thump. Thumpty thump thump. Look at Frosty Go!" Everyone joined in for the rest of the chorus. Nick began tossing the screwdriver into the air as they sang the next verse.
     "Nick, be careful with that!" Libby ducked as the tool very nearly missed her head.
     "I am." Nick twirled it again with added flair.
     "I don't know, I don't think it's a good idea to throw that around." Libby said warily.
     "It's fine." As the words left his mouth, Nick swung around to face his sister and the screwdriver flew out of his hands. It followed it's trajectory and made contact with the window. The recently replaced window. All four kids froze and stared at the broken glass. It was double paned, so the outside layer was still intact but the inside layer had a tool shaped hole with spider cracks reaching out from it.
     "Uh oh." said Alex, glancing at Nick who had a look of terror on his face. 
    "Uhmm, why don't you two go watch Frosty?" Libby pushed Sarah and Alex towards the stairs. "Nick and I will take care of this."
     "He should have listened to Libby." Sarah said to Alex, scampering down the stairs and away from the scene of the crime.
     "You said Nick doesn't have to listen to Libby." Alex looked at his sister in amazement, wondering how she could be siding with Libby when all day she had been saying the opposite.
    "Yeah, I know, but this time he should have."
     Upstairs Nick and Libby were trying to figure out what to do.
     "I have to call Mom and Dad and tell them." Nick knew he had messed up big time, and he felt so guilty that he had to tell his parents as soon as possible.
     "What? No! They're on a date, just tell them when they get home."
     "I'll call them and tell them something happened but I won't tell them what. That way they won't worry but they'll know." said Nick.
     "That's dumb. Mom's gonna want to know what happened." Libby could not understand why her usually intelligent older brother was making a second stupid mistake.
     "I'll tell her no one is hurt, but that I made a mistake and did something wrong." said Nick.
     "She's just going to make you tell her what happened. Just wait and tell her when they get home." Exasperated, Libby tried to make him see reason.
     "But that could be hours from now."
     "Nick, telling them now makes no sense at all!"
     "Libby, I'm going to call them." He said, walking away to get the phone.
     "Fine. Don't listen to me. Just ruin their anniversary dinner."
     "I've already ruined it. They just don't know it yet." Nick said glumly. 
    "Whatever." Libby left to join Sarah and Alex in the living room. Even a man made out of snow would have more sense than her brother right now.
Unfortunately for Nick, Libby was right. Once Nick mentioned that something had happened, Mom made him tell her everything. Lots of apologies were made for ruining the evening, Christmas, the house, and everything.
     "Now Nicholas, let's not be over dramatic." Mom said over the phone. "We'll figure out what the consequences will be when your father and I get home." 
     "Okay." Nick said. "I'm really, really sorry."
     "I know. We'll be home in an hour or so."
     "Okay. Bye." said Nick, hanging up the phone. He sighed and said to himself, "I should have listened to Libby." ©

Airport Security

                “Alright. Everyone one here?” asked Mom as they checked their bags. “No one forgot anything in the rental car, did they? Because if you did, we can’t get it back.”

                “Alex, you got the snacks, right?” asked Uncle Peter. Alex held up a Disney bag filled with candy, cookies, and popcorn.

                “Yup! I got it!”

                “Good!” said Uncle Peter. “We’re set then. As long as we have food we’ll be fine.”

                “Amen!” said Nick enthusiastically.

                “Okay, the bags are checked!” said Aunt Lorraine, coming back from the desk. “Let’s head over to security.” The Vogie family was one their way back from a vacation in Disney World. They had spent a week in the Happiest Place on Earth with their favorite aunt and uncle. It had been a great vacation, but now they had to face the difficulty of getting through the airport. The parade of eight people started winding its way through the airport. As they joined the line for security, Mom did a quick head count. She noticed they were one short.

                “Where is Alex?” she asked, quickly glancing around. “I don’t see him, where is he?”

                “I don’t know, I thought he was with you.” said for Libby, shuffling into line and holding onto her sister. “I’ve got Sarah though.”

                “Yeah, well, can you maybe hold onto my arm instead of my jacket hood?” Sarah asked. “You almost strangled me.”

                “Oh, sorry.” Libby moved her hand to Sarah’s elbow. “I just don’t want to lose you. People keep pushing in front of us.”

                “And behind us.” said Sarah as a group of girls tried to step between the two sisters and the rest of the family. “Do we keep going without them?”

                “Uhmm, I don’t know. Mom?” Libby called over a bunch of heads. “Mom?”

                “Libby!” Mom cried, spotting Libby and Sarah. “I can’t find Alex, so I going to go look for him. Dad, Uncle Peter, and Nick wound up on a different line, but you two go through here and Aunt Lorraine will meet you on the other side. Don’t lose your sister!” With those instructions, Mom disappeared into the crowd.

                “Alright girls, let’s go this over with.” said Aunt Lorraine. “Put your suitcases on there, take off your shoes, and make sure your pockets are empty.”

                “Aunt Lorraine, don’t forget your Disney bag! It has Uncle Peter’s tea in it.” said Sarah.

                “Oh! Thank you.” said Aunt Lorraine. She ran to get her bag and as she stepped away, several people cut in between her and the girls. They piled their suitcases on the conveyor belt, making it impossible for Aunt Lorraine to join the sisters.

                “Just go through, and I’ll meet you over there. These rude people cut in front of me!” said Aunt Lorraine pointedly, looking directly at the people in front of her.

                “Okay, meet you on the other side!” said Libby following Sarah through the scanner. Meanwhile, Mom was frantically searching through the crowd.

                “Alex? Alex?” she called. She was starting to get really worried when she didn’t find him anywhere in the line. She scanned the area and saw Nick getting ready to go through security and went over to him.

                “Nick, have you seen Alex? I can’t find him!”

                “I thought he was with you guys.” said Nick as he started emptying the pockets of his cargo pants.

                “We have to find him! Where are Dad and Uncle Peter?”

                “They are, uhm,” Nick looked around. “Over there!” he pointed to the other side of the security desk.

                “They can’t come back to help me, can they?”

                “No.” said Nick, pulling his phone, an itouch, a notebook, two pairs of headphones, a small screwdriver, a rubber band ball, and a mechanical pencil out of his pocket. “No, that would be against the regulations for airport security, established…”

                “Nick, I have to find Alex, and then you can tell me all about it.” Mom said. “I’m starting to get really worried.”

                “I’m sure he’s fine,” said Nick, taking a pack of gum and his sunglasses out of his other pocket. “He’s a smart kid.” A crumpled piece of paper, a receipt, an eraser, and a handful of small change came followed the sunglasses. “Try retracing our steps from the baggage checking.”

                “Good idea.” I’ll be back.” Mom disappeared into the crowd again.

                “Text me when you find him!” Nick called after her. He fished around in his pockets to make sure they were empty. “Nothing. Now for the cargo pockets!”

                Back at Sarah and Libby’s end of security, the two girls had both made it through and were putting their shoes back on.

                “Hey, where are our suitcases? Shouldn’t they have come through already?” asked Sarah.

                “They’re coming. Look, they’re scanning them now. See?”

                “Cool, and here comes Aunt Lorraine! Well, once these random people get out of the way.”

                “Hi girls! Finally, those people in front of me are out of the way. Did you bags come through?” asked Aunt Lorraine.

                “Yeah, they are right here.” said Libby, grabbing her suitcase and a Disney bag.

                “Do you need help carrying anything? asked Aunt Lorraine, finishing with her shoes. “I can help carry something.”

                “Sure.” said Sarah. “That Disney bag is ours; I think it has Alex’s snow globe in it.” Aunt Lorraine grabbed her purse and picked up the Disney bag Sarah had pointed to and the one next to it.

                “I’m texting your mm to see if she’s found Alex yet. Let’s find your dad and your uncle.” The girls and Aunt Lorraine gathered all their bags and headed away from security. After a little searching they spotted Dad and Uncle Peter, both of them looking a little lost.

                “Where’s Nick?” asked Libby as the group huddled around the bags. “Wasn’t he with you two?”

                “He was but we got separated. I’m sure he’ll find us. Eventually.” said Dad. “Where are Mom and Alex?”

                “Well, we lost Alex at some point, so Mom went to look for him.” said Sarah.

                “I just texted your mom too see if she found him, but she hasn’t responded yet, which probably isn’t a good sign.” said Aunt Lorraine, checking her phone.

                Meanwhile, Mom was frantically retracing their steps, trying to find Alex. She called his name and searched the face of every young boy she saw. She was just about to contact security when she saw him. Alex was just standing there, chilling against a wall with his hands in his pockets, his suitcase beside him.

                “Alexander!” Mom cried, running over to him. She pulled him into a tight hug. “What happened? Where were you?”

                “Well,” said Alex in a matter of fact tone. “I was with you guys, but then I saw the moving sidewalk and I wanted to try it out.  So I got on it, but you guys walk fast! I lost sight of you but I figured if I stayed here someone would come get me.”

                “I’m glad I found you and that you’re okay. Let’s find the rest of the family.” Mom took Alex by the hand and they started to head back to security. They got back on line and were halfway through the line when Alex spotted Nick.

                “Hey look! There’s Nick!” he said pointing him out to Mom.

                “He’s just getting through now? He’s been there for ages!” Mom said. Nick was just getting through security and was starting to put all his stuff back into his pockets.

                “Don’t worry; we’ll catch up to him. He still has to put his shoes back on. We have plenty of time.” Said Alex.

                “What do you mean?” asked Mom.

                “Everyone knows that it takes Nick like fifteen years to put his shoes on.” Said Alex. Mom considered this statement.

                “That is true.”

                “Yup.” said Alex. “And that’s why I wear Velcro.”

                “Let’s just get this over with.” said Mom, putting her carry-on on the conveyor belt. “Put your bag up here.” Mom and Alex went through the scanner and met up with Nick on the other side.

                “You found him! Awesome.” Nick said, pocketing the last of his belongings. “Everyone is right over there. Just let me put on my shoes and we can join them.”

                “How about you just meet us over there?” asked Alex, eyeing his brother’s shoes.

                “It won’t take me long.” said Nick, sitting down to put on his size 12 sneakers. Alex rolled his eyes and looked up at his mother.

                “Go ahead, go join them. I’ll wait with Nick.” She said. “Don’t get lost!” she cried as he walked toward the rest of the family.

                “Hey guys!” Alex said.

                “Hey! You’re found!” said Dad. “Where are Mom and Nick?”

                “Uh-oh,” said Libby. “Did we lose them now?”

                “Relax.” said Alex. “She’s with Nick.”

                “He’s probably tying his shoes, right? Everyone knows that always takes forever.” commented Sarah as she rifled through a Disney bag. “What is this stuff anyway?” She pulled a plush, pink, Miss Piggy out of the bag along with a giant Mickey Mouse.

                “I don’t know, we definitely didn’t buy these. “ Libby said. “What else is in there?”

                “The real question is where did it come from?” asked Aunt Lorraine pulling out a Goofy tee-shirt and a Tinkerbelle wand.

                “Maybe you accidentally grabbed it when you picked up the other Disney bag?” asked Libby. “Remember how those annoying girls cut between us? It’s probably theirs.”

                “Oh, maybe I did…” said Aunt Lorraine looking shocked. “Did I really rake someone else’s Disney bag?”

                “We have someone else stuff!” giggled Sarah.

                “I can’t I believe it!’ said Aunt Lorraine. “Oh well. If they hadn’t cut in front of us, it wouldn’t have happened.”

                “Yeah, it’s their own fault.” said Libby. “Now let’s get everyone together and get on the plane.”

                “Here comes your mom and your brother now.” said Uncle Peter.

                “Do we have everyone? Yes? Let’s go!” said Mom.

                “Where did Mickey and the pig come from? asked Nick.

                “We kinda picked them up along the way. “ said Sarah, starting to giggle again.

                “When does our plane take off?” asked Dad looking at his watch. “Because it’s 3:13 now.”

                “Oh! Our plane takes off at 3:40. We need to put a move on it!” Mom said. She startled hustling everyone toward the gate.

                “This was a great vacation.” said Libby as they started to walk.

                “Yeah! We even got bonus souvenirs!” said Sarah, holding up the Mickey Mouse.

 

©

Spoons

                “I’m bored.” complained Alex as he squished his nose against the window. It had been raining all day and Alex was getting restless. He turned away from the window and glanced around the room at his siblings. Nick was stretched out on the couch, reading a book about airplanes. Libby was curled up in the armchair, wrapped up in an old novel. Sarah was sitting on the floor, perusing a book of crafts. Alex was not surprised when Libby absentmindedly told him to go get a book to read.

                “I’ve read all my books.”

                “So go get a book from the shelf inside.”

                “Those are boring.” Alex whined.

               “Ask Nick for a book to read. Nick?” said Libby. “Nick? Nick!”

                “Hmmm? What?” he mumbled, without taking his eyes away from his book.

                “Oh, never mind. Sorry, Alex.” she said, going back to her book. The room was quiet for a while until Alex broke the silence again.

                “Guys, can we play a game?” he asked.

                “Sure, I’m game for a game!” said Sarah impishly, closing her book. 

                “Ha Ha Ha.” said Alex. “What do you want to play?”

                “I don’t know, maybe monopoly?”

                “We would need Nick and Libby to play that. Hey, Libby? Wanna play a game with us?” Alex asked.

                “I’ll play with you guys, but only if we don’t play monopoly.” she said, closing her book.

                “But we always play monopoly!”

                “I know that’s why I want to play something else. What about a card game?”

                “Okay! Let’s play Liar!” suggested Sarah enthusiastically.

                “No!” protested Alex. “I’m no good at the lying part.”

                “Alright, Go-Fish.”

                “I’m thinkin’…. No.” said Libby. “I vote for Spoons.”

                “What the heck is that?” said Alex laughing. “Do we get to eat something?”

                “You’ve never played Spoons? Come on, everyone’s heard of Spoons.”

                “Yeah, you eat with them. Stuff life ice cream and soup and pudding and cereal and-“

                “I get it, I get it. Here, I’ll teach you how to play. It’s easy. Alex, go get a pack of cards, and Sarah, go get three spoons. Nick, get up. You’re going to play with us.” Libby said bossily.

                “Fine. What are we playing?” Nick asked.

                “Forks.” said Sarah quickly.

                “No.” said Libby.

                “Whoops. I meant Knives.” said Sarah, pretending to be innocent.

                “What?” said Alex, looking scared. “We’re playing with knives? My cub scout book says we should never play with knives.”

                “No, Alex, we are not playing with knives.” said Libby.

                “Sorry, my mistake. What is it again, Libby? Soup ladles? Chopsticks? Pitchforks?” Sarah teased.

                “Spoons, Sarah, Spoons! We are playing a game called Spoons. Now everyone sit down and put the spoons in the middle. Alex, where are the cards?” asked Libby.

                “Here.”

                “Thanks. Okay!” She said as she shuffled the cards. “Here’s how you play. First, you deal out all the cards.”

                “Lib, you deal cards like you’re playing poker or something.” said Nick.

                “I don’t know how to play poker.” she said as she flicked the cards down.

                “I do!” cried Alex. He jumped up and ran around Nick to his sisters. “Poke! Poke!” he said, jabbing a little finger into both Libby and Sarah.

                “Oww!” said Sarah.

                “Hey!” said Libby. “What are you doing?”

                “Playing poker.” Said Alex.

                “Where did you learn to play poker?” asked Libby, rubbing her arm.

                “Uncle Peter taught me how to play. He said that the way to play poker is to run around the room poking all the girls. That’s why it’s called “poke – HER!”

                “Well, we’re not playing poker. We’re playing Spoons. Now, does everyone have their cards? The goal is to get four of a kind. Everyone passes cards until they get four of a kind and when you do, grab a spoon. Once one person grabs a spoon, everyone tries to grab a spoon. Get it?” explained Libby.

                “So, it’s sorta like musical chairs, but with spoons and a pack of cards?” asked Nick.

                “Pretty much.” said Libby.

                “I’m not sure I get it.” Alex said, looking confused.

                “You will. Eventually. Ready? Go!” Libby said, officially starting the game. Nick, Libby and Sarah quickly began passing cards around while Alex tried to keep up. Soon Nick grabbed a spoon and Libby and Sarah followed suit and took the remaining spoons. They turned to Alex, who was still working through the pile of cards that had accumulated next to him.

                “Alex?” said Nick.

                “Yeah?” said Alex, still trying to play.

                “This round is over.”

                “What? I didn’t get four of a kind yet! I’m still looking for two queens!”

                “I got four of a kind.”

                “Oh.” Alex said. “So I lost?” His three siblings nodded. “Oh.” He looked at them holding the spoons. “Can we try again?”

                “Sure. Sarah, do you want to shuffle this time?” asked Libby, handing the deck of cards to her sister.

                “So, the point of this game isn’t to win, you just don’t want to lose.” said Alex.

                “Yeah, I guess you could put it that way.” said Nick as Sarah dealt the cards. “Everyone ready? Go!” The cards flew for a few seconds before Sarah grabbed a spoon. Nick and Libby quickly grabbed the other two while Alex continued to pass cards.

                “Nick! Come one, keeping passing cards! You’re so slow!” he said.

                “Alex, the round is over.”

                “It is? Already? That was so quick! Who picked up the first spoon?”

                “I did!” said Sarah triumphantly.

                “How did you get four of a kind so fast?”

                “Well, I started out with three sevens.”

                “How did you start out with three sevens?” asked Libby indignantly. “Wait a minute, you’re the one who shuffled and dealt the cards!”

                “You stacked the deck!” Nick cried. “You cheated, you card shark!”

                “I did not! I am not a card shark! Wait, what’s a card shark?” said Sarah.

                “Someone who cheats at cards.”

                “I am not! I just didn’t shuffle the cards very well, that’s all.”

                “Well, guess who’s not going to be shuffling the cards at all anymore?”

                “I didn’t cheat!” cried Sarah.

                “Can we stop arguing and play again?” asked Alex. “I wanna get this.”

                “Alright, but Nick, you shuffle this time.” Said Libby, eyeing her sister suspiciously.  Nick took the cards and began to shuffle them. And shuffle them. And shuffle them.

                “Nick, just deal the cards already!” complained Sarah.

                “I just want to make sure I shuffle them thoroughly.” He said as he finally started to deal the cards. “Everyone ready? Go!” The four kids rapidly started passing cards around.

                “How many tens have you passed me Libby?” asked Sarah as they played. “That must have been the fifth one!”

                “Well, considering there should only be four...” said Libby.

                “It doesn’t matter, Sarah keeps passing them to me and I don’t need them, so stop passing them!” said Nick.

                “You know Libby, if you had kept them all, you could have won by now.” commented Sarah.

                “If you had kept them all, you would have won by now.” said Libby.  

                “Touché.” All was quiet as the cards got passed for a few more moments and then all of a sudden Alex made a mad scramble for the spoons. He grabbed one and then started jumping up and down.

                “I got it! I got one! I won!” he cried.

                “Good for you!’ said Nick. “What did you have four of?”

                “I had four eights!” he said as he danced around the room.

                “Wait, that’s impossible.” Said Libby, abruptly putting an end to Alex’s celebration.

                “Why?” he asked.

                “Because I have an eight.” She said, holding up a card.

“What? I was sure I had…” Alex’s voice trailed off as he checked his cards. “Ohhh!” he wailed. “I only had three eights instead of four!”

                “I’m sorry, Alex. We’ll play again. You’ll win next time, I’m sure.”

                “Nay, I don’t really want to play again.” He said sadly. He put down his cards and started to walk out of the room.

                “Wait! What are we going to do now?” asked Sarah.

                “You guys can keep playing.” said Alex.

                “You can’t play spoons with just three people, it’s not as much fun.” said Libby.

                “Well, then play monopoly.” suggested Alex.

                “I don’t feel like playing monopoly.” said Nick.

                “Well, I don’t know what you should do.” said Alex, getting frustrated with his older siblings. “Go get a book!”

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