Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

The Byrne Family

Wayne had spent the whole day with his great-grandparents, listening to old operas. By the time night rolled around, he could barely keep his eyes open, and to top it off, he had to sit cross-legged and listen to his mom recite some ancient-sounding essay like it was the most important speech in the world.

Since Wayne kept swaying like he might topple over at any second, Officer Chad got roped in. Molly made him sit behind Wayne and hold him upright, both hands steady on his son's tiny shoulders.

"In the fourth year of the Qingli era, Lord Teng was demoted to Baling County. By the next spring, the people were happy, everything was thriving, and so, the Yueyang Tower was rebuilt..." Molly read aloud, glancing down when she noticed Wayne's eyelids drooping shut again. “Hey, sweetie! Open those big eyes! Your mom never read 'Notes on Yueyang Tower' this seriously, not even for college entrance exams. Listen up. You've got to win from the starting line.”

Officer Chad wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. He shot a look at Molly, then at their sleepy son. "Molly, maybe we can train our future scholar tomorrow? Tonight's 'scholar' looks ready to pass out."

Chad barely loosened his grip before Wayne tipped right back and flopped asleep.

Molly scooped up her boy, who was already dozing off even sitting up. “Chad, you don't get it. Blake's a month older and can already recite poems! Mia's probably cramming all three hundred Tang poems with her son right now. We've got to step it up. Let's just jump to the hardest essay. If Wayne memorizes 'Yueyang Tower,' he can sleep through that lesson in class later."

Officer Chad gave her a look. “...Did you ever memorize this essay yourself?”

"Nope, never could. But my son will! Look at me,

realized, “Wayne? Sweetie, wake up.” Wayne was already dreaming, snuggled into

he's out for the night. Tomorrow's another

way. Mia's kid is a night owl, probably still grinding

finished the book—she started nodding off mid- sentence, and just as her phone was about to smack her in the face,

Molly was fast asleep.

changed. Back in her own school days, she'd always doze off before

The Cedillo Family

the book in his lap, uncharacteristically calm

and mumbled, "The sun sets behind the mountains, and the Yellow River flows into the sea. Say it again,

scratched his little head and looked over at his dad, hoping for

poetry, especially when Henry was still learning his ABCs? "Henry, just repeat

again. “Huh? I forgot,

the line, patient but clearly straining. Henry replied, "Mommy,