One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. Star counted the change three times, but each time came up with the same amount. One dollar and eighty-seven cents.

There was nothing that she could do but sit down on her bed solemnly and sigh. Christmas was the next day, and Star wanted to get a present for Marco. But considering the small amount of money she had, it wasn't going to be easy.

Star had been living with Marco and his family since the start of the school year, when she arrived on Earth. Marco and the inter-dimensional princess had gone to school together, had been on numerous adventures together, and had fought an uncountable number of monsters. They also had bested Ludo's numerous—albeit silly—plans of universal domination. Marco was Star's best Earth friend.

Ever since Marco had told Star about Christmas and present giving, she had wanted to get Marco a present. Specifically, Star wanted to get Marco a special present because he had helped her in many ways. He cheered her up when she felt down, celebrated foreign holidays with her, and even danced with her at the Blood Moon Ball in disguise to prevent her heart from being broken again. They had a close and very special connection that was beyond comprehension. It was so strong that Star was asking herself about whether it was truly a friendship, or something stronger.

"I've liked Oskar ever since I saw him for the first time, but I'm not sure how he feels," thought Star. "I mean, he says 'Hi' and all but he really doesn't chat with me... And Marco likes Jackie, he always has. But they don't talk much either... right now, I'm not sure what to think."

Star smiled a little, knowing deep down inside that no matter what she would get Marco, he would probably like it. After all, Marco and his family were the first people on Earth that became used to her personality and magical abilities, and accepted her for who she was. Marco also understood that getting money was not easy, particularly for teenagers, including himself, who were neither experts in mowing lawns nor bagging groceries.

Star felt a little warmth enter her heart as she began to come up with a plan for how she was going to buy and wrap the gift herself. That was where the problems started. Star didn't have a job, so most of the change she had collected were random coins she had found on the floor at Echo Creek Academy. And most of it was in pennies. Simply carrying the copper coins themselves was more difficult to Star than surviving the average gym class. As difficult as it was to find money on Earth, Star knew that it was literally worth every penny.

Star grabbed her wand and put on her spiky, purple backpack. She had a long day ahead of her; the last day at school before winter break, an afternoon of homework, and an evening hanging out with Marco and eating triangle foods. Star put on her red headband as she bounded down the stairs to breakfast.

Marco's POV

I was sitting at the table when Star came running down the stairs two steps at a time. Her long, blonde hair flew all over the place as she landed at the bottom of the stairs. Star looked so carefree and ready to take on the day that I wondered if she even realized there was school.

Star shouted, "Good morning, Marco!"

"Good morning, Star!" I yelled back while reaching for my glass of water.

After hanging her backpack on the back of her chair, she took a seat next to me at the table, looking intently at what everyone was eating. Her eyes were soon fixed on the plate in front of her, which had a stack of three pancakes sitting on it, which had already been cut into pieces.

"So who cut my pancakes this morning?" asked Star intently.

"I did," my mom responded. "You were the one who told me that the best part about eating pancakes was about pouring the syrup on them, not cutting them."

As true as Star's advice to my mom had been, the real reason she wanted her pancakes cut in advance was because of her complete inability to use a knife properly. On Mewni, only adults were trusted with the art of carving food up for serving, as in the past knives were used as instruments of violence. This standard was a firmly upheld tradition within the Butterfly family. A week after Star arrived on Earth, my parents and I attempted to teach her how to use a knife to cut pork chops, but upon Star accidentally mispronouncing the spell in the Magic Instruction Book for knife use, the knife she was holding became a flying metal missile. The knife just barely missed stabbing me in the face before breaking a nearby window. Since then, Star preferred to have her meals cut for her.

Star grinned and began to use her wand to manipulate the syrup container, and pour on the syrup. Not too much, but just enough to lightly coat every piece. Which happened to be the same way I liked to eat my pancakes. It was somewhat entertaining to watch Star eat her pancakes because she moved her utensils using magic. My parents were also entertained by it, to the point of where they would stop eating so they could concentrate on watching Star.

"Is there anything special going on today?" my dad asked.

"I don't think so," Star replied, momentarily setting her wand down and finishing off the last piece of pancake. "Just the usual boring classes and then we get to come home."

"Except for all that studying we're gonna have to do before we come back from break," I groaned. "I liked it better when we got the week before and after Christmas off, rather than the two weeks after, just because we got those pesky finals done with before the new year."

Star looked at me with a confused look on her face.

"Semester finals? Shouldn't that be a time for celebration?" she asked.

"It would be except you have to take large tests that week. One for each course." I explained.

"That's awful. I'm hoping I'll be able to get at least a B on all of them." Star said.

"Well Star, that's why you study." I suggested. "It helps you be prepared."

"I won't forget this time, Marco." Star protested.

I took a brief glance at the clock hanging on a nearby wall. It was now 7:51. The bus would be at the house any minute now.

"I hope you two have a fantastic day today," my mom said as Star and I got up from our chairs.

I replied, "I hope so."

I walked to the door, and waited for Star to put on her backpack. The bus arrived about a minute later. I opened the door, and we walked side-by-side to the bus and took our seats for the fifteen minute ride to Echo Creek Academy.

Marco and Star took their seats in the classroom and waited in agony for yet another lecture on Algebra. Star especially hated the unit they were on at the moment, since it involved learning all sorts of complicated formulas that she didn't understand. Math was not a strong suit for any Mewman, since most schools on Mewni only taught basic arithmetic. Star tapped her foot as she waited for the inevitable.

"Apparently there are places on Earth where we have to know how to solve equations that don't have numbers in them," Star grumbled impatiently.

"Yes, and then you'll have to deal with quadratics and imaginary numbers. And worse still, the square root of three-fourths." said Marco.

"Well, I don't plan on becoming a high school math teacher," Star explained while rolling her eyes sardonically. "Why would I need to know this stuff?"

Suddenly, a bell rang. It sounded almost like a kitchen timer, but was slightly higher pitched. It was coming from a student's pocket. The student removed his phone from his pocket and looked up at the clock. It read: 12:45 P.M.

"Well folks, you know what that means," he said. "It's been fifteen minutes and Skullnick is still missing in action."

Half of the students in class got up from their seats and pushed in their chairs. Collecting their belongings, they hastily walked out of the door, scattering faster than mice once they entered the hallway.

Star inquired, "What's going on?"

"There's this myth out there that if a teacher doesn't show up for fifteen minutes, you can leave the class." Alfonzo replied.

"The whole irony of that 'rule'," Marco added, "is that there really isn't anywhere you could go besides somewhere else in the building."

The intercom abruptly switched on, interrupting their brief conversation.

"Please stand by for a message from Principal Skeeves."

"Oh no." Marco sighed nervously. "Maybe he just saw those students walk out. This could be bad."

A few more seconds of silence followed, and after that the sound of Principal Skeeve's voice.

"Good afternoon, fellow students. Today I have an important announcement. Today is December 23. The day before Christmas Eve. Most of us aren't exactly fans of having to come to school the day before a major holiday. After a two-day-long debate between myself, the faculty, and the administrator, we have come up with a reward for those students who have exhibited good behavior throughout the year."

Marco's face of nervousness faded and was replaced gradually by a face of relief.

"Today, school will be dismissing two hours earlier than scheduled. This means that all of the next periods will be shortened, and school will dismiss today at 1:30."

Everyone in the classroom raised their hands and shouted joyfully. Throughout the school, yells and cheers of celebration rang through the halls.

"But instead of homework, we have some activities for you. Every Christmas, there is always that one gift that you need to find for someone at the last minute, and you're not sure where to turn. Fortunately, that situation hopefully will not repeat itself today! After school dismisses, the buses will line up outside the building to take everyone who qualifies on a trip to the Echo Creek Mall."

Star's mouth dropped wide open. This was just what she needed. Perhaps the present giving problem had just been solved, all thanks to Principal Skeeves. Maybe at the mall she would be able to find the perfect gift for Marco. Even if she only had $1.87, there would likely be something out there.

"At the mall, you will be able to buy gifts for others, eat food, or just hang out with your friends and have a good time! That is all for now. Have a Merry Christmas, and see you next year!"

Marco's POV

I walked through the school with Ferguson and Alfonzo, with Star trailing not too far behind. We were near the back door in less than two minutes. I looked outside through a nearby window and saw at least 10 buses, all parked in their usual drop-off areas. All of us were highly excited to be spending the next two hours having a good time at the mall.

"I can't believe that this happened!" Star yelled as she jumped up and down in happiness.

"Me neither," I said.

The doors opened and everyone around me stormed off towards the nearest bus they could find. In my case, Star, Alfonzo, and Ferguson all followed me towards the bus Star and I normally took to school in the morning. Even though we were almost sprinting in excitement, it felt like an eternity before we actually got there.

I looked up as I stepped inside the bus. We made our way to about the back, where there were two empty seats. Two people could sit in each one. I sat on the left side, next to Star. Alfonzo and Ferguson sat in the seat across from me. Within a minute after we took our seats, the bus started up and began heading towards its destination.

Star's POV

As soon as we arrived at the mall, everyone, including me, got up from their seats. Marco entered the aisle first, and I followed. In the front of the bus, Principal Skeeves stood up in the front of the aisle, blocking anyone from getting out immediately.

"Students, before you leave," he proclaimed, "I'd like to remind you that there are three basic rules you have to follow."

"Because someone stupid is going to break them," Marco whispered.

"Number one: remember that you are representing Echo Creek Academy, so don't do anything stupid. Number two: Don't hurt yourself or other people. Number three: Don't damage anything. Also remember that the bus will leave here at 3:30. Right now, it's 1:45, so you have just under two hours to hang out. Now go out there and have fun!"

Everyone seemingly flew out of the bus doors as they opened. What had started in the bus as a line had quickly turned into a fan shaped clump of teenagers heading towards the mall entrance. It was difficult for me to understand just how large the mall was. The only issue was that I would have to find a gift in one of the potentially hundreds of stores inside.

"Marco, where should we go first?" I asked as we entered the mall.

"Well, is there anywhere that you want to go?" he questioned.

"Uh, I was just thinking about walking around and seeing what stores there are." I answered.

"I was thinking about going to GameStop." said Ferguson intently.

"I was going to go wherever everyone else was going to go." Alfonzo added.

"I have an idea," Marco suggested. "Let's start out by going where we want to go separately, then we'll meet up here in 30 minutes and hang out wherever we want for the rest of the time."

"Sounds great!" I exclaimed.

We all went our separate ways. Alfonzo and Ferguson headed right, where they took an escalator to the second floor. Marco went with them. I simply stood where I was, looking around intently and trying to figure out where I would be able to find a gift for Marco. Not sure where to go first, I went to the right, but I didn't take the escalator up to the second floor. Wandering through large clumps of people, I looked into shops, trying to see if any of them were selling something Marco would like.

After what felt like a thousand years, I looked inside the glass of a clothing store. One of the plastic figures was wearing a hooded red jacket. I knew that I had just found the perfect gift for Marco.

"Marco wears his jacket everywhere he goes. I can't think of many times I've seen him without it. It would be cool if he could have more than one jacket though. Even though this jacket is rather similar to his current jacket, I think that it would help him out if he needs a slight style change. Or if the weather gets cooler."

There was only one problem. Just by looking at the jacket I could tell that it probably cost more than $1.87. I sighed sadly and kept walking.

"Maybe I could use a spell to make more money. I've never tried it before, but magic can do pretty much anything," I thought.

Since the dress I was wearing didn't have pockets, I was forced to put all of my money in my backpack. This made it very heavy. I struggled just to remove it so I could take out a few pennies and drop them on the floor.

I raised my wand and yelled, "Relasio Pecunius Libero!"

A gold-colored blast traveled from my wand and hit the pennies at high speed. Some people covered their faces with their hands. After a few seconds, I looked down curiously at the coins before picking them up.

"Nothing happened," I groaned as I held the now slightly-warm pennies.

The small crowd that had gathered stared at me as I put the pennies back inside my backpack and I continued walking.

"So magic doesn't work on Earth money. What do I do?" I wondered nervously.

I occasionally looked at store windows, some of which had signs boasting sales or offers. After passing by a few more stores, I saw one sign that caught my attention.

It read: We buy hair! Contribute to those in need this holiday season!

"If I sold my hair, I could get the jacket." I considered. "But me with short hair?" I asked myself.

I hadn't had my hair cut in at least three years. Since then, it had grown so long that it could almost touch the floor. I loved my hair. It was silky and made me feel proud. I didn't feel like parting with it anytime soon. Especially if certain people—like Oskar—would find me less attractive if it was cut short.

"But... it's for Marco," I sighed. "Marco's different. He won't judge me, even if I cut my hair short. He'll understand."

I took a deep breath and walked into the shop. Near the entrance was a woman in her mid-40s with brown hair, brown eyes, and very pale skin. She wore a name tag that read: Marie Sofronie.

"Um, you buy hair, don't you?" I asked as I looked down at the floor.

"As a matter of fact, we do." she replied. "Before we put the scissors to your scalp, let me take a look at what you've got."

Sofronie took small strands of my hair and ran it through her fingers, trying to determine its quality. With a magnifying glass in hand, she checked for split ends or other problems, all the while mumbling to herself. After examining me for a few more minutes, she looked up at me.

"Well, one thing's for sure. Your hair is some of the healthiest looking hair I've ever seen."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed with a smile.

"Just one question. Why are you selling such beautiful hair?" Sofronie asked.

"Long story short, I need money to get my best friend a gift for Christmas. So I'll be selling most of my hair," I explained shamefully as I took off my headband.

"Oh." Sofronie responded. "That's unfortunate."

"Yeah," I sighed. "How much is my hair worth?"

"Your hair is legendary. It's easily worth fifty dollars." said Sofronie.

"That's great!" I yelled. "Can we get started?"

"Of course."

Ms. Sofronie sat me down in a the nearest salon chair. She took a pair of large scissors in one hand, and a comb in the other. With lightning speed, she evenly and precisely cut my hair, and worked with what remained so the resulting style looked far more natural. After 15 minutes, the job was done.

"How does it look?" Sofronie asked as she handed me a mirror.

I gazed at myself in amazement. My hair was now almost as short as Marco's hair. But she had done a wonderful job. I still had my bangs, which seemed as long as ever now with my much shorter haircut. I still felt good about myself, even though my hair was not the same as it used to be. I put my headband back on.

"Thank you for everything," I said as she handed me two twenty dollar bills and a ten dollar bill. I quickly shoved the money into my backpack.

"You're welcome!" Sofronie replied as I walked out of the shop.

As I walked back to the store where I saw the jacket, a thought came to me.

"If there are spells that can fix a broken arm, and spells that can change my hairstyle, is there a spell that could make my hair grow back?"

Luckily, I was prepared. I had placed the Magic Instruction Book in my backpack for safekeeping. I got the book out and flipped through the pages. Having bookmarked my place from the last time I used it, I ended up on the page for arm healing and flipped forward from there. It didn't take long to find a page with spells about hair. I hoped the spell I was going to use wouldn't make my hair want to destroy the human race.

I raised my wand in my left hand and pointed it at my now much shorter hair.

"I hope this works..." I whispered to the book as I closed it and put it back in its proper place in my backpack.

"Returnio Pelius Normalrino!" I yelled.

After feeling an initial jolt as the spell hit me, I felt my hair grow longer bit by bit. After ten seconds, I looked at my reflection in the store window.

"It's as good as new!" I said happily.

I then went into the store and purchased the jacket. After the purchase, I only had a few dollars to spare. Luckily, carrying bills in my backpack was a lot easier than carrying hundreds of pennies in my backpack. With the purchase now complete, I headed back to the entrance. It wasn't long before Alfonzo and Ferguson returned, with Marco not too far behind. All of them were carrying bags similar to the one I was holding.

"Hey Marco!" I shouted. "I see that you're carrying a bag. Did you find anything?"

"Just a video game or two." he answered.

"Same here." Ferguson added.

"I saw a lot, but I didn't get anything. Everything was far too expensive." Alfonzo sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.

I wondered, "But why are you holding—"

"This is actually Marco's other bag." Alfonzo muttered while scowling back at Marco.

After Marco came close enough for me to see him better, I realized that he wasn't wearing his jacket. That was very odd. Almost everywhere, Marco wore his jacket. Why not now?

"So Marco, where's your jacket?" I asked.

"He got rather warm and toasty inside of GameStop," explained Ferguson.

"Uh, yeah!" stammered Marco. "So what's next?"

"Not sure. I think we should just wander around, actually." I suggested.

"Let's do it!" we all shouted enthusiastically.

Around 4:00 that afternoon, Star and Marco returned home. As soon as Marco opened the door, the laser puppies ran out to greet them.

"Hi, laser puppies!" Star giggled as she bent down to pet each of them. Marco simply smiled as they walked inside.

"Star! Marco! How was your day?" Mr. Diaz asked.

"It was really good!" Star answered as she set down her backpack.

"Say, where did you get the bags from?" Mrs. Diaz implored.

"Long story short, Skeeves was tired of dealing with his responsibilities and sent us to the mall for two hours," Marco explained.

"That's... unusual of Mr. Skeeves." Mr. Diaz admitted. "At least to me he seemed like a—"

"And we had a lot of fun!" Star interjected.

"I can only imagine. You two seem to be having fun all the time." Mrs. Diaz said.

Marco took his bags in his hand and started to walk up the stairs to his room.

"Hey Star, I'll be back in fifteen minutes. I'm going to find a movie for us to watch tomorrow night before we open presents. And then I'll make Super Awesome Nachos!"

"Sounds great! I'm rather hungry." Star noted.

As Marco made his way up the stairs, Star took a seat at the dining room table.

"Star?" Mrs. Diaz asked curiously.

"Yeah?"

"You seem nervous. Is there something wrong?"

"I sorta am. Truth is, I need your help with something."

Star opened the shopping bag, took out the jacket, and placed it on the table.

"A jacket?" Mr. Diaz inquired as he inspected it.

"It's a Christmas present. A present for Marco," Star elaborated. "I'm trying to keep it a secret."

"Star, don't worry. Your secret is safe with us," Mrs. Diaz assured. "We'll help you wrap the present too. Before we do that..."

She handed Star a tag and a permanent marker.

"What's this?" she asked curiously.

"It's a present tag. It shows who the present is for, and who got the present for them." Mr. Diaz advised.

"This won't be too hard, I think." Star said as she wrote in very large and elegant print:

To Marco, From Star.

Marco's parents then went out of the dining room in order to wrap the gift. No sooner had they left the room, Marco came back down the stairs with a DVD case in his hands.

"I found it!" he exclaimed with joy.

"What did you find?" Star wondered.

"The Polar Express. It's a fantastic Christmas movie that we watch every year," Marco declared. "You won't be disappointed when you see it tomorrow. Now who wants nachos?"

"Me!" shouted Star as she jumped up and down in excitement.

Star's POV

It felt like an eternity before Christmas Eve came. It came on a clear evening, with the temperature dropping to around 50 degrees. It was around 8:00 when Marco and I had just finished watching The Polar Express.

"I never knew that Tom Hanks could sing!" I exclaimed.

"He was a closet singer for years before this movie," Marco replied while laughing.

We got up from the couch and went from there to the living room. Marco's parents were already there, playing with the laser puppies as we sat down on the floor next to the Christmas tree.

"So how does Christmas work, again?" I asked intently.

"The presents you are about to open tonight come from friends or family," Mr. Diaz explained, "and then tomorrow morning you get to open more presents. Presents from Santa himself. But remember, he only comes when you're sleeping."

"That's cool!"

"So, does anyone have a special present that they want to open first?" Marco's mom asked.

Next to me on the floor, there was a present wrapped in blue wrapping paper with snowmen designs on it. The tag attached to the present was the same one that I had written on the day before. It was the jacket I had bought for Marco.

"Well, there's this present I think Marco should open." I admitted.

I picked up the present and walked over towards him.

Marco's POV

Star placed the present down right in front of me. Instinctively, I picked it up and asked, "Who is the present from?"

"I bought it for you myself, Marco." said Star. "I hope you like it..."

I looked down at the present. I then unwrapped the present, starting from the ends before pulling off the rest of the paper. I untaped the box and slowly opened it. Inside the box was a jacket; it looked almost like the one I wore every day, but with a slightly different design. I pulled the jacket upwards, unzipped it, and placed my arms through the holes before zipping up the jacket.

"It's fantastic!" I yelled. "Where did you get this? It's very comfortable and... it looks rather expensive."

Star looked at me and sighed solemnly.

"Marco, I wanted to get you a Christmas present ever since you told me about Christmas presents. The problem was that I didn't have much money."

"Then how did you get enough money?" I wondered.

"To get the money to buy you the jacket, I sold my hair. I then used a spell to make my hair grow back to normal. I was afraid that if I had short hair, people at school wouldn't like me anymore. Especially Oskar."

Those words took the breath out of me. I couldn't believe that Star would do something like that in order to get me a gift for Christmas.

"Star," I said softly.

"Yeah?" she murmured back to me, unsure of what to say next.

"There's a gift under that tree that I think you should open first."

Marco pointed to a small, square present wrapped in silver wrapping paper. Star quickly walked over to it and picked it up. The tag read: To Star, From Marco. She sat down next to him as she quickly unwrapped the present. When she had removed all of the paper from the box, she discovered that it had a lid on top, which was attached by a small hinge. She slowly and gently moved the lid upwards to discover the gift inside.

It was a gold necklace with a star-shaped pendant. It shined in the dim light of the nearby fireplace, like a star in the heavens. Star breathed slowly and heavily as she stared at the necklace. Almost in a trance, she pulled the necklace over her head and put it on.

"M-Marco!" squealed Star excitedly. "It's so cute! How did you get it?"

"Star, I wanted to get you something special for Christmas. When I told Mom and Dad about my plan, they gave me an old necklace that I could personalize for you. In order to cover the cost, I sold my jacket."

Star looked at Marco in awe. Her cerulean eyes gazed deep into his deep brown ones.

"Marco, why did you sell your jacket in order to get me a present?" Star asked.

"The same reason you sold your hair. You're more to me than just a friend, Star. I first realized that when I danced with you at the Blood Moon Ball. I wasn't just trying to keep Tom from breaking your heart. I wanted to make sure you would be safe."

"Sorta like how I sacrificed my wand in order to save you," Star recounted. "It made me realize how much you mean to me. I wanted to save you because there isn't anyone like you in the whole multiverse. I wouldn't be the same if you weren't here."

Marco took a deep breath and waited a second before continuing.

"Tons of people at school think you're 'cool' and stuff but to me, you're much more than that." said Marco. "You're one of a kind. I've been wanting to tell you something for a few weeks now, but I didn't know how to say it..."

"What is it, Marco?" Star inquired.

Marco blushed.

"You're amazing, Star, and I... I like you."

Star's cheeks turned bright pink. She certainly hadn't expected her best friend to ask her out in front of the Christmas tree, but Star knew that Marco's feelings were sincere and true. She knew it from all the adventures they had gone on, all of the homework they had done together, and all of the triangle foods they had eaten together. Star clasped her hands together in excitement and smiled wider than she ever had before.

"Aww..." cooed Star lovingly. "You're so sweet, Marco!"

Marco was smiling in a way she had never seen him smile before. It was a relieved, happy smile. To Star, it had never looked so good to see Marco Diaz smiling. His face was the same color as a tomato, and he looked so... cute.

"W-Will you go out with me?" said Marco softly, as if he was hoping to avoid anyone overhearing him.

"Yes." assured Star. "I'd love to!"

Marco's parents clapped and cheered for their son. They hadn't expected that he was going to confess his feelings for a girl in front of them, and they certainly hadn't expected he was going to ask out Star. But regardless, they were very impressed and excited.

"That was so cute, Marco!" yelled Mrs. Diaz. "I just need to take a picture of you and Star together!"

Marco blushed even harder and chuckled a little. "So, uh, Star... you wouldn't mind, would you?"

Star flipped her hair. "Pfft! Of course not!"

Star and Marco stood right next to each other in front of the fireplace. Marco placed his right arm around Star, and she placed her left arm around Marco. Both teenagers looked at Mrs. Diaz and smiled as she took numerous pictures with her cell phone. After the picture taking session ended, Marco began to walk away from the fireplace, but Star reached out her hand towards him, causing him to stop and look over at her again.

"Marco, we're forgetting a little something." insisted the inter-dimensional princess.

"What's that?" inquired Marco.

Star extended her arms out towards Marco and yelled. "Hugs!"

Star wrapped her arms around Marco and squeezed him tightly. A second or so later, Marco wrapped his arms around Star, squeezing her just as tightly. Both of them were filled to the brim with happiness and excitement. Some of it was because they had gotten each other gifts, but most of it was from the fact that now, they were a couple.

After several seconds, they broke the hug and raised their hands in the air, yelling in unison, "Best! Christmas! Ever!"

It was almost midnight by the time that Star and Marco were ready for bed. Star had changed into her lavender nightgown and fuzzy teal and lavender striped socks. Marco was wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts. Both of them talked as they sat on the living room couch in front of the TV.

"Well, I guess this means we're a couple now." Star said.

"It does, I think." Marco clarified.

"Up until now, I thought you liked Oskar." Marco asserted.

"He was cute, but we didn't talk much," Star replied. "I thought you liked Jackie."

"Same as you and Oskar," Marco explained. "I felt dejected, but then I met someone a bit more magical." Marco teased.

"Hey!" Star exclaimed.

"So Marco, what was the favorite present you received?"

"I liked all the Christmas presents we opened tonight, but the best one of all was probably the first present." he admitted. "What was yours?"

"The necklace you gave me." Star answered.

"Thanks for everything. You know, we may want to sleep," Marco yawned. "After all, Santa only comes when you're asleep!"

"Yeah, sounds good to me." Star replied.

"Merry Christmas, Star." Marco said as he laid down on the couch and closed his eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Wild Man," Star whispered as she laid down and fell asleep with her arms wrapped tightly around Marco.

"The Magi, as you know, were wise men—wonderfully wise men—who brought gifts to the newborn Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts, these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the Magi."

—O. Henry, "The Gift of the Magi" (1905)