Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Roseanne really thought she could turn back the clock, huh?

Years out of college and she's dreaming of hitting the books again?

In her dreams!

Wait till the scores are out. She'll be eating humble pie!

Raven said, "Hearing Lauretta put it that way, now I'm kinda curious too."

Alva smirked. "Yeah, we're all dying to know, Annie. Just check it, will you? Let's have a look. No biggie, whether you aced it or bombed it, it's all good."

Madge glanced at her daughter, instinctively wanting to object.

But Roseanne simply smiled: "Sure."

The group huddled around the computer. Roseanne had already entered her candidate number and password; now, all it took was a gentle tap on the enter key to reveal her scores. "Dad, you do it."

Norris was surprised. "Me?"

"Yeah, didn't you check my SAT scores for me back in the day?"

"Alright." Norris rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath, and pressed enter.

The page hesitated, loading.

Everyone held their breath.

One second, two seconds...

"It's up! It's up!"

Total score: 412..

Abbey nudged a stunned Lauretta, whispering, "What's the total score? Four hundred something doesn't sound too high..."

Lauretta's lips moved, but no sound came out.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Raven quickly masked her surprise, offering a slight smile. "Abbey, out of a possible 500. With this score, Annie's probably in the top three? First place isn't out of the question." Abbey, catching up, widened her eyes: "Does that mean... she got into Kingswell University for grad school?!"

Alva, poker faced, said, "Technically, grad school admissions involve both written tests and interviews. Just going by the written score, there's still a lot of uncertainty."

Abbey breathed a sigh of relief.

That's what she thought. How could Roseanne easily get into Kingswell University, and in the top three no less...

Raven, all smiles, continued: "But the written part makes up a significant chunk of the score. They won't weed out too many at the interview stage. Annie's practically got one foot through Kingswell University's door. Congrats, Norris, Madge."

Norris was still in shock. His daughter, who hadn't been home in six years, not only came back but also brought them a villa and now got into grad school?!

The rift between father and daughter

had started right there; Norris

believed she shouldn't waste her

talent, and pursuing a Master's and

Ph.D. was the planned path.

But Roseanne had given up the chance for a man, a crushing blow to a father who had painstakingly raised his daughter for over two decades. Now, everything had come full circle...

"Thanks, Raven."

Raven said, "Now Annie's the highest-educated youngster in the Cole family. That's awesome."

Lauretta's face darkened. Abbey's lips tightened.

Alva sneered, "Maybe save that talk till the admission letter's in hand, Raven"

Dinner was more silent than ever.

Everyone had their own thoughts, finishing quickly, eager to leave.

Madge's birthday, the twentieth of January.

Days of rain and snow had passed, dots of new growth sprouted on the lawn, breathing life into the yard.

Madge wasn't fond of sweets, so no cake was ordered.

Roseanne bought flour from the market and made her a bowl of longevity noodles by hand.

The gift was a set of out-of-print original edition books, chosen long ago.

She had searched far and wide, finally finding them on an obscure foreign books website. Just shipping them took half a month.