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It’s a school morning, and Henry asks Punky if she finished her history essay. The only thing she wrote down is “Napoleon was a nerd.” The essay is not due until the next day. Henry tells Punky that after school, she is to do the essay right, and clean her room. Margaux has a huge party coming up that weekend, and there will even be a live band. After school that day, it’s 8: 30 pm, and Punky and Cherie are still not home. They come in a few minutes later, explaining that they stopped at the mall on the way home and lost track of time. They had Henry and Betty worried. Punky tells Henry that she put a new outfit for the party on layaway, but Henry had already told her that they can’t afford an outfit. Betty grounds Cherie, which means she’ll miss the party. Henry asks where Punky’s history essay is. Punky hands it to him, and this time, it says “Napoleon was a short nerd.” Henry likewise grounds Punky for two weeks, which means she’ll miss the party. Punky goes to her room, and Cherie goes upstairs to her and Betty’s apartment. Betty and Henry admit to each other that they feel terrible about making the girls miss the party, and they admit that punishing the girls makes them feel awful. Betty mentions that Cherie gets a huge, and costly, appetite whenever she’s grounded. Betty says, “When they’re grounded for two weeks, we’re grounded for two weeks.” That night, thinking that Henry’s not fair, Punky has a dream that she’s an indulgent parent who lets her kids do whatever they want to do. In the dream, Punky and Cherie are the parents, and Henry and Betty are the kids. For Punky, the dream ends up showing her Henry’s side of the situation. After waking up, Punky tells Henry about the dream. Henry tells Punky that there are difficulties in raising a child, and that being a parent sometimes means making an unpopular decision, like grounding your child. Punky apologizes to Henry for her recent behavior.
