The day started the way every day started in Mei Lin's apartment — with war.
Not the loud, explosive kind, but the sort of sneaky, calculated warfare only siblings could invent before breakfast.
Lian, the self-proclaimed "man of the house," was standing on the couch, holding a single sock hostage.
"This is mine," he declared, pointing at the bright yellow fabric like it was the crown jewel of some ancient kingdom.
"That's my sock!" Jun shouted from the floor, his tiny hands balled into fists. "You don't even like yellow! You said it's the color of banana burps!"
Mei, the quiet middle child, sat cross-legged at the kitchen table, sipping her warm milk like some retired queen watching peasants fight. She didn't care about socks. She cared about her toast which Jun had stolen yesterday.
From the kitchen, Mei Lin, their mother, pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered to herself,
"They say having three kids means triple the joy… they didn't mention triple the migraines."
She plopped three plates onto the table. "Breakfast. Now. Or I'm eating all the dumplings myself."
This worked like magic. In seconds, Lian abandoned his sock victory, Jun forgot about his yellow rage, and Mei gracefully slid her milk aside to make space for her food. Peace or the triplet version of it, reigned for a full thirty seconds.
Then Jun stabbed Lian's dumpling with his fork.
"You didn't say which dumplings were mine," he said, voice dripping with fake innocence.
Lian's eyes narrowed. "That's it. When you're asleep, I'm telling Santa about the time you flushed mom's lipstick."
"Santa's not real," Jun shot back, looking smug.
Mei's eyes widened in horror. "You… you're a monster."
Twenty minutes later, breakfast had been eaten (or in Jun's case, redistributed into his pockets for "later"), faces were washed, and the battlefield shifted to the front door.
"Shoes!" Mei Lin shouted. "We are already late!"
This was not true. They were actually five minutes ahead of schedule, but Mei Lin knew that five minutes in triplet time meant "just enough time for a full-scale mutiny."
Lian insisted on wearing mismatched sneakers "because it's fashion." Mei refused to take off her fuzzy bunny slippers because "the bunnies keep my toes safe." Jun was hiding his shoes entirely, smirking like a mastermind.
"Jun! Where are your shoes?"
"I don't know… maybe they went to visit Grandma."
It took a full five minutes of detective work before Mei Lin found the shoes inside the refrigerator.
"Why—" she started.
"They were hot," Jun said simply.
By the time they finally stepped out into the street, the triplets were buzzing with energy. Lian kicked every pebble he could find, Mei quietly counted every cat they passed "three cats so far", and Jun loudly announced to a passing stranger that their mom "sometimes yells at the TV when no one is winning."
The walk to school was a minefield of distractions. Lian attempted to balance on every curb. Mei stopped to pet every dog. Jun tried to convince a street vendor to trade one of his "pocket dumplings" for a toy car.
Finally, the school gates appeared like a beacon of hope. Mei Lin crouched down, straightening Mei's collar, brushing dirt off Lian's pants, and checking if Jun's dumplings were still in his pocket (they were).
"Be good today," she said.
"We're always good," Lian replied.
Jun snorted. "We're never good."
Inside the school, the triplets split into their little kingdoms — Mei gravitating toward the reading corner, Lian already plotting how to climb the playground fence, and Jun testing how loud he could whisper without getting caught.
Everything was calm… until their teacher made an announcement.
"Class, tomorrow we're taking the bus for our special field trip!"
Three things happened at once:
Lian's eyes lit up like someone had told him he could drive.
Mei immediately worried about where the bus bathroom was.
Jun whispered to Lian, "We could totally convince the driver to stop for ice cream."
The seeds of chaos were planted. Tomorrow's school bus ride would be… legendary.
The morning was filled with excited chatter and tiny footsteps echoing in the hallway as kids ran toward the school bus. Mei Lin stood by the gate, watching the chaos unfold with a sigh. She had hoped for a smooth morning — and for a brief moment, it seemed like her wishes might come true.
That was until the triplets saw the school bus.
Lian's eyes immediately lit up. He had plans, and the wheels in his head were turning. He marched over to the door and announced to no one in particular, "I'm sitting by the window. I get the front seat because I'm the oldest."
Jun, who was already busy chatting up the bus driver about his great-grandmother's adventures in space, shot back, "I'm sitting by the window too! I'm the funniest!"
Mei, for the record, had no intention of fighting over seats. She just wanted to sit quietly and maybe get some peace for five minutes. But as usual, her brothers had other ideas.
Lian leaned toward Mei, his face serious. "You can sit with me if you don't want Jun making weird faces at the driver."
Jun, who was indeed making very weird faces at the bus driver, stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry. "I'm not weird! I'm just practicing for my acting career!"
Mei sighed, resigned. "Fine, I'll sit with you."
As the bus rolled out of the schoolyard, the triplets settled into their seats for approximately two minutes.
Lian, sitting by the window, was suddenly bored. He couldn't understand how someone could sit still on a moving vehicle. So, of course, he started swinging his feet dramatically, knocking his backpack onto Mei's lap.
"Lian!" Mei protested, but he ignored her, engrossed in trying to get a view of the bus driver's mirror.
Jun, meanwhile, had found a much more exciting target: the snack bag. "Hey, I'm hungry," he whined to the bus driver. "Can I have a snack? Do you have cookies? I want chocolate. No raisins. I don't trust raisins. They're like little old grapes. And grapes are suspicious."
The bus driver just looked at him, confused, before quickly turning his head back to the road. "Uh, kid, I don't have any snacks. Just… sit tight, alright?"
Jun sniffed. "Well, I brought my own snacks. But I'm sharing. With you." He offered the driver a bag of gummy worms with a smile that was way too innocent to be trusted.
Lian started to chuckle at the driver's discomfort and elbowed Mei. "You should've seen his face. He was so nervous! I bet he thinks I'm a genius.
Ten minutes later, the bus was in full swing and so were the triplets. Lian, who'd been staring at the bus driver's rearview mirror with increasing intensity, suddenly had an idea. "We should totally make the driver stop. I heard there's a candy store down the street. We could sneak off and get ice cream."
Mei blinked. "We're on a field trip, Lian. We can't just stop for candy."
"You never know until you try," Lian grinned, clearly undeterred by any authority or common sense.
Jun piped up from the back, "I'll talk to him. I'm really good at making people like me. And also, I've got the best persuasive face." He immediately contorted his face into an exaggerated pout that looked more like a confused frog than anything resembling a "persuasive face."
Mei folded her arms and sighed, knowing this was going to get them into trouble. She tried to distract herself by looking out the window, but her thoughts were interrupted when Jun started singing loudly, "Ice cream! Ice cream! We're going to eat ice cream!"
The other kids in the back giggled. Teacher Wang, who had been blissfully unaware of the mini-mutiny brewing, turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Jun, please stop singing. We're almost at the science center."
"But Teacher, you don't understand!" Jun protested. "Ice cream is important! You can't just pass it by and pretend it didn't exist! It's the law!"
The mayhem was starting to spiral out of control. Lian, now convinced he was the leader of a rebellion, started his own chant. "Stop for ice cream! Stop for ice cream!" He tapped on the window like a drum, rallying the other kids.
Meanwhile, Mei was just trying to survive the ride. She tucked her hands into her lap, feeling her cheeks burn from the embarrassment. "Can we just… be good?"
But at that moment, the school bus hit a bump, and Lian's perfectly timed foot swing knocked his juice box onto Jun's lap.
"Lian!" Jun shouted, leaping up and grabbing the juice box like it had just committed a crime. "Now I'm sticky!"
"I'm not sorry," Lian said with a shrug.
This only made Jun retaliate by tipping over his own juice box in the opposite direction. Mei watched helplessly as they continued to pour juice over the floor, giggling wildly.
"Alright, that's enough," Teacher Wang's voice cut through the chaos. She wasn't angry yet, but it was clear she was teetering on the edge. "Both of you, sit still, please. We're almost there."
After what felt like an eternity, the bus finally pulled up to the science center. Teacher Wang exhaled in relief, practically leaping out of the bus door as soon as the wheels stopped.
The triplets, however, had one last mission to accomplish: They had survived the bus ride. And in their eyes, that made them heroes.
"See?" Jun said, grinning wide. "We got so much attention! We're basically famous now!"
Lian nodded, his arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah, we're basically celebrities. They'll put our pictures in the science center soon."
Mei, looking at the science center's giant globe entrance, could only think one thing:
"Please. Let's never take the bus again."
The moment their little sneakers hit the shiny marble floor of the science center, Lian's eyes widened in awe. The lobby was massive , a giant glass ceiling let sunlight pour in, banners of planets and dinosaurs hung overhead, and in the middle of the room was a rotating model of the solar system.
"Ohhh…" Jun's jaw dropped. "That's huge. I bet if I climb on it, I could ride Earth like a cowboy."
Mei gasped. "Jun! You can't climb the planets!"
Lian immediately grinned. "Actually… that's not a bad idea."
While Teacher Wang was busy checking the attendance list with the front desk staff, Lian stealthily pulled Jun toward the massive planet display. They slipped past a "Do Not Touch" sign, eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Okay," Lian whispered like a master strategist. "You take Jupiter. I'll take Mars. Mei will be the lookout."
Jun squinted. "Why do I get the big one? It's harder to hold onto!"
"Because you're the best climber," Lian said, sugar dripping from his voice. "And also, you're the only one who can make funny faces if we get caught."
That sold Jun immediately.
Before Mei could even think about stopping them, they were scaling the rotating planets like professional mountaineers.
The crowd of tourists in the lobby gasped. Someone pulled out a phone.
"Woo-hoo!" Jun shouted from atop Jupiter, flapping his arms like a bird. "I'm the king of space!"
Lian, balanced on Mars, struck a superhero pose. "Fear me, earthlings! I control the galaxy now!"
By the time Teacher Wang turned around, her jaw dropped so fast you could almost hear it hit the floor.
"LIAN! JUN! GET DOWN FROM THERE RIGHT NOW!"
Mei, who had been trying to look invisible, pointed at her brothers. "I told them not to! I'm innocent!"
Lian smirked down at her. "Innocent lookout."
The security guard rushed over, but the rotating system moved just enough that the guard kept missing them with every loop. Lian and Jun treated it like a game of tag.
"Almost gotcha—!"
"Missed me again!"
Once they were finally pulled off the planets and given a strict warning, Teacher Wang decided they'd start with the dinosaur section. She hoped maybe the awe of giant fossils would keep them quiet.
Spoiler: it didn't.
The moment they entered the dimly lit hall, Lian gasped dramatically and clutched Mei's arm. "Mei… the dinosaurs are ALIVE."
Mei rolled her eyes. "No, they're not."
But Jun was already staring at an animatronic T-Rex that roared every twenty seconds. His eyes went wide. "Oh no… oh no, no, no… that's not normal. I'm saving everyone's lives!"
Before anyone could stop him, Jun ran toward the nearest group of strangers and shouted, "Run! It's coming for you! This is NOT a drill!"
People jumped, startled. Lian, catching on to the chaos, joined in: "It's already eaten three people! We're next!"
Children screamed. Parents frowned. The poor guide in the corner was trying to explain the Triassic Period while the triplets single-handedly staged a prehistoric evacuation.
Next stop was the children's interactive lab — a safe space where kids could do small experiments.
The problem? The triplets didn't believe in "small" anything.
They were assigned to make a simple baking soda volcano. Mei was determined to follow the instructions exactly. She measured the baking soda carefully, added just the right amount of vinegar, and watched the foamy eruption with quiet pride.
Lian and Jun? They decided to make the "biggest volcano in history."
"More baking soda," Lian whispered.
"More vinegar," Jun added.
"More everything," Lian finished.
The result was… catastrophic.
The eruption shot foam so high it hit the ceiling light. The entire table was covered in frothy bubbles. The teacher supervising nearly dropped her clipboard.
Jun, delighted, pumped his fists in the air. "SCIENCE!"
Lian turned to Mei with a smug grin. "See? Bigger is better."
Mei just groaned and started cleaning up with paper towels.
As if the day hadn't been chaotic enough, the triplets ended their adventure in the gift shop.
Lian wanted a toy astronaut helmet. Jun wanted a plush dinosaur. Mei wanted… to go home.
They were each given a small budget by Teacher Wang, but Jun had a brilliant idea. "If we borrow the toys and bring them back tomorrow, that's not stealing. That's just… a long test drive."
Lian nodded seriously. "Yeah. Science requires experiments. We're just… experimenting with ownership."
Mei, horrified, snatched the helmet out of Lian's hand and shoved it back onto the shelf. "No! We are NOT doing this!"
Unfortunately, by the time she turned around, Jun was already wearing the plush dinosaur under his jacket like it was a secret mission.
That's when the shop attendant caught them.
"Excuse me, little boy…"
Jun froze, gave a sheepish grin, and said, "It's for science?"
By the time they finally boarded the bus back to school, Teacher Wang looked like she had aged five years. Mei sat quietly, relieved it was over, while Lian and Jun high-fived like they'd just conquered the world.
"That," Jun declared proudly, "was the best field trip ever."
Lian nodded. "Next time, we should try the zoo."
Mei buried her face in her hands. "Please… no."