The Strictest Parents In The Whole Wide World

This is a play where two siblings get sick of their strict parents and their rules. What happens when they decide to take action, and will they be successful?

Scene 1: Day 1 - After School

Setting: In the school hallways, at the lockers

Characters: Verona, background students.

Verona: (Slams locker and sighs) Just why did the teacher have to give us 5 pages of Pre-algebra? 5 pages! You’re kidding…. And the Biology report, plus the extra Literacy essay?!

Student 1: (Closes locker door and nods to Verona) I feel you, BUT. My parents let me go out on Saturday with the other girls…as long as I finish my work!

Student 2: Girl, me too! I’m so excited! (Both girls squeal in excitement, hugging each other and jumping up and down)

Student 1: So, Verona. Are you free to come with us to the roller rink on Saturday night? We’ll have dinner right after. Do your parents have a curfew for you? Don’t worry, we’ll be home by 9 pm.

Verona: Oh, I would love to… But there’s no way I can.

Student 2: Why not?!

Verona: My parents don’t let me go out by myself on weekends, for starters. And they threw some extra STEM classes plus another 9 pages of History revision on me! Don’t even get me started on my violin practice. I have 3 hours of that to top it off.

Student 2: Oh, don’t worry. You could always go out for boba tea with us right now after school if you want. It’s only across the road from here!

(Students clamor excitedly, saying goodbye to one another)

Verona: (Sighs again sadly) Okay… Well… I guess. My parents won’t notice if I was late by a few minutes anyway.

(Verona smiles at the girls, but when they turn their heads she sighs and pats her skirt to fluff it out. Her face says “what will they think of me?”)

Scene 2: Day 1 - Evening

Setting: A family meeting at dinner.

Characters: Verona, Lacie (Verona’s sister), Parents

Everybody takes their seats at the dining table, Verona taking longer than everyone else.

Parents: *Looking at each other and whispering* We should really talk to her about it… That’s not really acceptable.

Verona sighs, staring down at her fried noodles and steamed egg, which is beginning to get cold. She grimaces, poking the egg with her fork. She worries that they will have found out, and that there will be some form of punishment.

Parents: Verona, do you know the reason why we’re all eating together today? Why we came home early just to have dinner as a family?

Verona: What- why??

Parents: We’re here to discuss the fact that we heard from Lacie… that you’ve broken a house rule.

Verona gasps, but covers her mouth trying to hide it, caught in shock and trying not to yell at her sister.

Mom: We heard from her that you’ve been sneaking out after school to get drinks with these two girls you claim you’re best friends with. Is that true?

Verona: N- no… I- Mom, it was only this once! Please!

Mom: You know clearly that the house rules state that you have to be home by 3:30pm. Right after school. And you know what time you came home today? 3:45 pm!!!

Verona: So you’re saying that I can’t even buy a drink, let alone catch up with what my friends are doing, for 15 minutes only?

Mom is now on the verge of raging. She stands up, slamming the table.

Mom: (Yelling) Verona! To your room now! You and I will have a little talk about this in a second!

Scene 3: Day 1 - Night

Setting: Verona’s bedroom

Characters: Verona, Daydream Verona, Parents (Mom and Dad)

Verona sits on her bed, a panicking look on her face. She kicks her legs back and forth in anxiety.

Verona: I hope Mom and Dad aren’t too harsh on me about this…

Daydream Verona appears beside Verona’s bed with her parents. Lights slowly fade to a soft blush pink.

Daydream Verona: Mom, Dad, can I have a phone? Can I go clothes shopping?

Can I have a cat? Can I- (she is cut off by Dad)

Dad: Sweetheart, your wish is our command.

Mom: I don’t see any reason why that should be a no.

Daydream Verona: Thanks Mom, thanks Dad, you’re the best parents ever!

Real Verona sticks her finger out, making a popping motion with her hands, as if to pop a bubble that wasn't there. A puff of smoke appears and Daydream Verona and her parents disappear.

Verona: Too bad it was all just a daydream… But it was also kinda too much, huh?

Scene 4: Day 1 - Night

Setting: Verona’s room

Characters: Verona, Mom

Mom: You clearly know that I told you not to be friends with rulebreakers, right?!

Verona: Just ‘cause she hangs out with me that doesn’t mean she’s a rule breaker too! She doesn’t live in our house! She doesn’t have a curfew at 3:45.

Mom: Well, if you like the way her parents are raising her so much, then why don’t you move to her family?! House rules are house rules and you should stay true to your family, putting them first BEFORE your friends! These rules are here to keep you safe, happy, and healthy!

Verona: Okay, fine. I’ll follow your stupid rules that you made for this stupid family.

Mom: Who told you to speak like that, young lady?! Reflect on your behavior and come out in five minutes to apologize to me!

Mom slams the door, heavy footsteps echoing down the flights of stairs. Verona sighs, but she isn’t surprised that she isn’t shedding any tears. After all, she’s used to this.

Verona: (In rage, punching the cushions on her bed) Augh! Stupid Mom and Dad! Stupid Lacie!

Verona flops down onto her bed. She’s tired after all the yelling.

Verona: I knew this would happen…

Scene 5: Day 2 - The Next Morning

Setting: Verona’s room

Characters: Verona, Mom, Lacie

Mom: *Knocks on door*

(Voiceover) Verona, come out now! You have to get changed or you’ll be late for breakfast!

Verona: (groggily) I’m not. I won’t.

Mom: (Irritated) What do you mean, “you’re not, you won’t”? You’ve slept in for an extra hour now, Verona!

Verona: (Determined) No, I’m locking myself in here.

Mom: (Confused) What?!

Verona: Yes, I’m staying in. Definitely! I’m not coming out until you give us more freedom.

Mom: Stay in there then. That’ll be a good opportunity to finish that 50 pages of revision on all subjects, either way.

Verona: *Groans* Okay, whatever…

Mom: You don’t dare protest against me like that, Verona. I’m your mother and I make the rules. Plus, I’m still waiting for that apology you owe me.

Verona: *Sighs* Okaaay.

Verona gets up from her bed and begins to straighten the covers of her duvet.

Lacie: *Knocks on door* Hey, sis! I brought you breakfast!

Verona: Huh- Oh, what is it? *opens door for Lacie*

Lacie: Thanks. *Proceeds to sit down on Verona’s bed and gives Verona her breakfast*

So, I have an idea….

Scene 6: Day 2 - Later that afternoon

Setting: Verona’s room

Characters: Verona, Lacie, Mom

Verona: (in the middle of a conversation with Lacie) Oh yeah?! You must be kidding me.

Lacie: *Stops* Hang on, I’ll go get us lunch.

Verona: Wait, you’re willing to break the rules with me?!

Lacie: Uh-huh. See you in a sec! Do you want sandwiches or salad?

Verona: Sandwiches. Bye! Don’t get caught…

*Set changes as Lacie walks to the kitchen*

Lacie: Let’s see…. Two bags of chips, two boxes of apple juice, two sandwiches…

*Lacie walks back to Verona’s room carrying the food*

*Set changes to Verona’s room again*

Versona: You’re back!

(takes a sandwich from Lacie and starts to eat, but stops when Mom comes in)

Mom: (in anger and surprise) …Girls?! Who told you to eat in your rooms? Crumbs and packaging everywhere!!! Get to the dining table now and grab some plates for yourselves!!

*Lacie and Verona groan, rolling their eyes and trudging out of Verona’s room*

Scene 7: Day 2 - Evening

Setting: In Lacie’s room

Characters: Lacie, Verona, Mom and Dad

Lacie: *Holds up camera to face Verona* 3, 2, 1… And…. action!

Verona: (Confidently) No video games. No going out after 5. No junk food in the house. I mean, does that sound familiar? Do your parents do this to you too?? If so, then your parents are toxic. Sign this petition now if you agree with our stance!

Lacie: A little too short, but it should do the trick. Let’s post it!

*Lacie presses upload (her phone’s screen is shown on the screen in the background of the stage) and likes immediately come flying in*

Verona: Whoa… I didn’t think it would work this fast! I guess there are more people out there like us, then!!

Dad: (from outside) Are you done with that homework assignment, dear?

Verona: Almost…!

Scene 8: Day 3 - Morning

Setting: In Verona’s room

Characters: Verona, Lacie, Mom and Dad

Mom: (From outside, scrolling on her phone) Wait, what is this? My daughter?! On social media? I thought I deleted her account!

Verona: Uh-oh.

*Mom and Dad rush into Verona’s room*

Verona: Mom…! Dad! Let me explain…!

Mom: Verona, this is the last straw. We expect more of you, you know?

Dad: Verona, your mother is right. We don’t expect you to ruin our reputation- and yours- on the internet.

Verona: *Shouts* Hear me out! I have something to say. Why don’t you ever listen to me?? What I want to say is something that could possibly make life easier for me and you!

Lacie: The reason why we did this, and why we’re always rebelling against you guys and your rules is because we’re older now.

Dad: What does that have to do with our rules?

Verona: Well, we’re older now. We need more independence and freedom than we did when we were five.

Mom: You already get a lot of freedom. We let you and your sister sleep together, we let you have junk food in the afternoon… Why should I give you more independence if you two aren’t being good?

Verona: But we don’t get the independence we want! We want to be able to hang out with our friends after school and have a social life! We want to be able to have more decisions and choices over what we do, such as after school classes and sports!

Lacie: Yeah, I want to try piano instead of violin. And maybe have some bigger birthday parties…

Mom: Give me three reasons why, and I’ll consider loosening the rules.

Lacie: Well one thing is that we’re growing up. We need time to spend with our friends and have more of a social life in order to make memories and learn how to be part of a society and be a good friend.

Verona: Another reason is that we need to learn about independence and responsibility as we mature. Allowing us to have more independence means we can make more decisions ourselves, meaning that we can learn how to make good choices and ask ourselves whether we’re doing the right thing or not!

Dad: It’s not like we don’t let you do any of these things. What about school? Being part of school is being part of a society. What’s more, you guys already have plenty of time with your friends at school!

Verona: Our last reason is that you guys were kids too, you also understand how we want to have fun and spend time outside with our friends.

Mom: We’ll consider it, but remember that we’re still upset with you over the video situation.

Lacie: We’re sorry about the video thing!

*the girls high-five each other, silent screaming as they run out of the living room*

Scene 9: - Day 3 - Evening

Setting: In the dining room

Characters: Mom, Dad, Verona, Lacie

Mom: You heard what they said, right? I think they have a point.

Dad: But we can’t just let them run off on their own and all that…. Listen, I’ve gotten an idea. To start, we should probably let them hang out with their friends more… Let’s say… until 5:30?

Mom: We could also let them start choosing their own after school classes. What did Verona say, she wanted to stop doing violin?

Dad: We should also give them extra homework only when they need help in certain topics so that they have more freetime.

Mom: Giving them an allowance would also teach them responsibility…

Dad: And about the video… We could ground them for a week, take them off the devices.

Dad: So is that it? Let’s call the children out…

Mom: Verona! Lacie! You can come out now! We need to talk to you!

*Verona and Lacie excitedly skip out*

Verona: Yes, Mom and Dad?

Dad: We’ve decided to loosen the rules in a few ways. For starters, we decided that you two need more downtime with your friends, so we extended your curfew to 5:30 pm.

Mom: We also decided that you two can each choose two extracurricular classes of your own, and we’ll see whether we can sign up for you.

Dad: Lastly, we’ve decided to lower the amount of extra homework we give you, because me and your mom have thought it over and realized the amount we give you now is a bit of an unrealistic one.

Dad: But… about the video… There is a consequence for that. We will ground you from going out and you will lose your electronics for a week.

*Verona and Lacie nod and look at each other*

Verona: Thanks Mom, thanks Dad!

*The entire family come together for a group hug and the play ends*