by Sophia Smith
(Lights up to Sophia, Mom, and Dad in the living room.)
DAD: You’re better than this Sophia.
(Dad gets out of the recliner and walks out of the living room.)
MOM: I’m sorry honey.
(Mom gives Sophia a quick hug before leaving too. Sophia is alone in the living room. She picks up her phone to call Pop-Pop … he answers after a few rings.)
SOPHIA: Hey Pop-Pop, Mom and Dad are mad again. Being 16 is so complicated. Like, Friday, I ran into something in the backyard and I have to pay for the damage with my own money. Saturday, I came home with a few friends after my newly set curfew. And the boy I told you about, the one I just started dating, the only boy I’ve ever dated, is going to college in August … in Cedarville, Ohio. It’s just all so crazy, and I feel like I keep messing things up when all I really want to do is make Mom and Dad trust that I can be independent and responsible. I wish they knew that I appreciated their constant reprimands, it’s just too hard for me to admit. (Pause.) I guess what I’m trying to say is: is any of this normal?
POP-POP: (He chuckles.) Oh sweetie, I can’t even begin to describe the trouble I caused when I was 16. Yes, all of that is completely normal. Your mom and dad are just looking out for you, so try and humor them, okay? And remember, they’ve been 16 too. We all have.