Growing Up
by Alicia Skelton
Cheyenne disliked bedtime more and more every day. She was not a little kid anymore who needed a bedtime. She was in the fourth grade now and did not think that her mom and dad needed to tell her what time she should go to bed. Cheyenne tried to persuade her parents for weeks to let her stay up as late as she wanted. She told them that she would not stay up all night. Cheyenne also reminded her parents that they could trust her because she was a very responsible girl.
Finally, Cheyenne’s mom and dad decided to let her get her wish. However, there was a catch. Cheyenne’s parents knew that their daughter was responsible, but they wanted to set some rules. The rules were needed to make sure that Cheyenne took good care of herself. The first rule was that she had to wake herself up for school every morning. The next rule was that she had to make the bus on time. Also, her homework needed to be done every night. Finally, if her grades dropped at report card time, then Cheyenne would have to go to sleep at her old bedtime. Cheyenne and her parents agreed to these rules because they were fair. Cheyenne understood that school was important. She was excited to prove to her parents that she could be responsible.
Cheyenne was so excited on Sunday night because this was the first school night she could decide when to go to bed. Cheyenne’s homework was already finished, and she was lying on the couch watching television. After her favorite show was over she got up and started walking to her room. All of a sudden, she remembered that she did not have to go to bed yet. Cheyenne turned back around and went to the television. She put in her favorite movie and got a bowl of ice cream. Cheyenne’s parents came in and told her that they were going to bed. Cheyenne kissed them goodnight and turned back to her movie. Cheyenne was so happy because her parents trusted her to be responsible. She was not going to let them down.