Todd and Shari's age: Early 30s
Genevieve's age: 11

You ever have those times where you struggle to stay awake in class?

That was the problem that was troubling Genevieve, the daughter of Todd and Shari (not imaginative enough to come up with last names).

Genevieve was an odd child among her middle school, but her parents were almost equally odd, her mother most of all.

Both her parents were former students of Wayside School, the strangest elementary school this side of the hemisphere. Her father was a transfer student from a "normal" school while her mother was there from the start.

Genevieve inherited her father's orange hair, but aside from that, she very much took after her mother. Her mother had an unusual sleeping schedule all throughout her time at Wayside; she slept during class, but was awake during after-school hours. This was first noticeable at preschool, and being a "normal" preschool, this proved to be an issue to the staff.

So Todd and Shari decided to pull their daughter out of the preschool and homeschool her for the duration of her preschool years. They were gonna make sure she got into Wayside starting in kindergarten, where she could be in a place that accepted her inherited way of learning. While Todd worked his hours as a dental hygienist, Shari taught Genevieve the preschool basics while maintaining her bed store business, sometimes even taking her daughter with her on her work days.

It worked wonderfully, and Todd and Shari were able to enroll Genevieve at Wayside, where her sleep patterns were accepted as a way of learning. It was in this environment that she was able to flourish as a student, receiving great grades throughout her time as Wayside.

Did Mrs. Jewls still teach at Wayside? She did, and Genevieve got her as her 5th grade teacher. From the hoodie she wore (it was Shari's old hoodie that she wore when she was in Mrs. Jewls' class, many years ago, for which she kept for keepsake purposes), Mrs. Jewls correctly guessed she was Shari's daughter, and judging by her orange hair, she assumed Todd may be the father (she was right).

Unfortunately, troubles started arising again when Genevieve moved on to middle school in her 6th grade year. The middle school she attended was a "normal" school (just like the middle school Todd and Shari attended) and Todd and Shari knew this school would not accept her sleeping habits. They were hoping by some miracle Genevieve would eventually clue in to this and try to figure out a way to adjust.

But within the first week, on Friday, they were called in for a meeting. Unfortunately, it wasn't a surprise to learn it was about Genevieve's sleeping habits. The principal explained the problem; he explained it was lucky they caught on to her sleeping habits in the first week.

Never mind the fact this was interrupting Shari's odd sleeping schedule. She had to postpone a visit to one of the bed stores in her chain, where she would test some beds. But she had a solution.

Todd headed off to his work, while Shari pulled Genevieve out of school and took her to the bed store she planned on visiting. This gave them both the opportunity to sleep and recharge their energy. Then when they felt awake enough, they sat down and had a talk. Genevieve had her head down.

"So..." Shari started. "You having trouble with your sleep schedule and school, sweetie?"

Genevieve didn't want to admit it, but still, she nodded her head.

"You're not alone in your struggles, sweetie. When I was your age, I went through the exact same problems as you. You take a lot after your mother."

Genevieve lifted her head a little. "You did?"

"Yep." said her mother. Up until this point, Genevieve was never told her mother went was an in-school sleeper up until middle school. She somewhat knew she got her sleeping habits from her mother, and knew sleeping and beds were her passion, but she didn't know her mother was like her when she was her age.

Shari further explained to her daughter. "At Wayside, I slept all throughout class; it was how I did my best learning, just like you. I was awake during after-school hours including at night. It was an odd sleeping schedule I inherited by my own mother. But in the end I'm glad I had it, because it allowed me to get to know your father better."

"Really?" asked Genevieve.

"Indeed." Shari said. "Luckily you never got sent home on it, but do you remember Mrs. Jewls' most severe method of discipline back at Wayside? Being sent home early on the kindergarten bus?"

"Oh gosh yes!" Genevieve spoke up. "Jeffrey got sent home on that bus so much for being such a troublemaker! I'm glad I never got sent home on it!"

"Well, your father, too, got sent on that bus a lot when he was your age."

"WHAT!? No way!" Genevieve yelled. Neither her parents ever told her that her father got sent home on the dreaded kindergarten bus.

"By a lot, I mean almost all the time."

"Was he a troublemaker like Jeffrey?"

"Actually, not really." Shari explained. "He was the most "normal" kid at Wayside, a school that was anything but "normal." Being a "normal" kid in weird school like Wayside meant having trouble adjusting to the weirdness and unintentionally breaking rules, enough that he got sent home early on that bus almost every day."

"So how did that affect you?" asked Genevieve.

"Remember how I used the word "almost?" There was one one-in-a-million day he managed to stay until the end of the day, and rode the normal bus instead. But the bus driver didn't know where he lived because he pretty much never rode the bus that took him home. (BRIEF AUTHOR'S NOTE: I should mention the bus driver that takes the kids to school and the bus driver that takes them home are different) I was the last student to be dropped off and that's when he woke up as he was taking a nap waiting to be dropped off. So he exited the bus thinking it was his stop, then saw me."

"What happened after that?"

"I invited him into my house until your grandma and grandpa - his parents - picked him up, and we got to know each other better. He learned about my full sleeping habits. His time on the kindergarten bus unfortunately didn't end after that, but at the end of our time at Wayside, I learnt he had developed a crush on me."

"Did you accept!?" Genevieve asked excitedly.

"Of course I did. Well, in time. We let things progress at a steady pace. But if I hadn't, you wouldn't exist, sweetie. And I'm eternally grateful for him being there for me when we entered middle school, because once middle school came, they wouldn't allow my sleeping habits, unlike at Wayside. But he helped me through that."

"How so?" Genevieve asked.

"He devised a new sleep strategy for me: sleep immediately after getting home from school, then be awake up at night."

"Did it work?"

"It did, and I couldn't be more thankful for him for introducing me to it. It took some time, but I managed to get right in the groove. And I believe it can work for you, too."

Shari nodded. "Some might find it extremely odd, but I know it'll work for you, sweetheart."

Mother and daughter shared a hug, and after another hour headed for home. With the help and support of both her parents, Genevieve was able to adjust her sleep schedule over time to exactly as Shari had mentioned. Her problems adjusting to a "normal" school had ended and she was once more able to flourish with her grades.

But regardless of what was to come, Shari knew her daughter was a chip off the old block.