The Middle s07e05 Episode Script

Out here in the middle, we run on hope.
We hope for a mild winter.
We hope George Clooney will stop making serious movies and do a nice romantic comedy.
And sometimes we do something so crazy, it can only have been fueled by hope.
I bought name-brand peas.
I know it's a splurge, Mike, but they're not regular peas.
- They're hope peas.
- Hope peas? Yep, it's a sign of my faith in our future.
Ever since you and Rusty went into this diaper thing together, I just feel like things could be turning around for us.
Who knows? If things go well, we could be the King and Queen of novelty baby products.
Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, Your Majesty.
Wait.
Don't tell me things are not going well, 'cause I also got takeout, and I super-sized the fries.
I'm spending like a drunken sailor.
Well, it's going fine.
The store called Rusty this morning, and, uh, the things are selling.
They think they might make a second order.
Okay, this is weird.
Everything you're saying sounds good, but your face doesn't match your words.
How's this? Eh, go back to the old face.
Hello, parentals.
What's the haps? Hi, honey.
Nothing much.
We were just Yeah, sorry, I only have a minute, and I actually just called to talk to Brick.
Are those name-brand peas? Brick, your sister's on the thing.
Okay, yes, I did borrow that book that Mom gave you when you turned 13, but I just had a few questions that needed clarifying.
- You what? - Nothing! How's college? Well, how would you like to find out for yourself? Because you are getting an all-expense-paid trip to East Indiana State! Ahh! It's not actually all-expense-paid.
I'm gonna need money for his food, Mom.
Hmm.
Well, Cindy's parents are making her try out for volleyball this weekend, so I'm free.
Yay! We can go out for pizza.
You can see where my classes are, meet my R.
A.
.
But just so you know, Brick, there are all types of people here at college, so you might hear some music with explicit lyrics.
Uh, hello? I didn't hear the word "library" in there.
Yeah, that's because I was saving the best for last.
They have a library here, Brick, with 52,000 books.
You can request a book, and they will actually send it down to you in an elevator.
It's a book elevator! A book elevator? Hold on.
I need a minute.
I'm a little dizzy.
- Hey.
What you doing? - Nothing.
Why don't you turn something on? It's weird.
Are you okay? You seem like you're in kind of a strange mood.
It'll pass.
Uh, Brick, I don't think you're gonna need your branch of real cotton on your weekend with Sue.
Eh, I've still got a few days to decide.
I'll put it in the "maybe" pile.
Hey, let me ask you something.
Does your Dad seem to be acting a little Odd lately? Never mind.
I'm asking the wrong guy.
Okay, so, you're gonna want to hang tight to your Brick-tinerary.
If we want to see everything, we are gonna have to stick to schedule.
As long as I get to see the book elevator, I'm good.
Now, what kind of line are we looking at for that? - An hour? Two? - Uh, I think we'll be fine.
I have also got a loose verbal commitment from Axl - to meet us for pizza later.
- Mm! But we're keeping it flex.
See, Brick, that's the kind of thing people say at college.
Holy crap! Is that Logan? Who's Logan? Logan! The Abercrombie guy who asked me to prom, and then we had that magical night after I got sprayed with cheese.
Does not ring a bell.
I can't tell if it's him.
Is it him? Brick, go see if it's him.
I've never met him.
How do I know what he looks like? He's dreamy.
He's got washboard abs.
You get lost in his eyes.
Oh, yeah.
That's him.
Ugh, what is he doing here? I mean, yeah, we had a great time at prom, but then he went to Texas for the Summer, and I texted him, but he never texted me back, which could be explained by bad cell service, 'cause I don't know what the service is like in Texas.
Oh, well.
Let's go to the library.
Wait, wait, wait, Brick, Brick.
What am I supposed to say to him? I am drawing a total blank.
Will you please just come with me until you see that it's going well between us? Fine.
Oh! Okay, they're leaving.
Uh, um, how do I get his attention? What's a fun, caszh way to get him to notice me? Every time I practiced this in my mind, we were at a market in Paris, and we both reached for the same baguette.
Maybe they're going to the cafeteria.
I can follow him.
Ah! Sue! Is that you? Logan? Wow, what are you doing here? I, uh I road-tripped down from Purdue 'cause, uh, my buddy's playing in the soccer game.
Oh, big college road trip.
That's exciting.
Yeah.
Uh, wow, I haven't seen you since prom.
Yeah.
- I like your haircut.
- Yeah? Thank you.
Was that 'cause of the cheese? No.
The cheese came out fine.
I burned it off with a garage-sale curling iron.
Ah.
Excuse me, Logan.
Would you say this is going well? Brick! Perhaps you would like to go on ahead to the library, and I will meet you there.
It's going well.
Uh, I remembered you said you were going to East Indy.
I was hoping I'd run into you.
I would have called, but after I gave you my number and didn't hear from you, I thought, you know, "she doesn't want to talk to me.
" What? No.
No.
No, no, no.
I swear I texted you.
I wrote, "howdy, pardner.
How's Texas?" And then didn't hear anything back.
- What? What number did you have? - 812-555-0122.
I think.
- Ah, no, you were one number off.
- So you weren't ignoring me.
I thought it was the "howdy, pardner" that threw you.
I was debating whether to put that or, "hey, y'all," - and I put the h - Logan, let's go.
Uh You know what? Uh, if you're not doing anything later, maybe we could grab dinner or something before Yes! Yeah.
Yeah, I'm Yeah.
I mean, sure.
Cool.
Whatevs.
I'm flex.
All right.
Uh, meet you here, say 5:00? I promise I won't take you anywhere with potatoes.
Lates! Hey.
There's my guy.
I've been waiting for you to get home.
How about taking this biker babe on a little ride? - No, thanks.
- Oh, come on.
I mean, I admit, when you first brought the bike home, I wasn't so sure, but I think it could be a lot of fun.
Besides, you haven't even taken me out once yet.
Eh, it's running a little rough.
Might need a tune-up.
All right.
Hey, how about a little hoop ball instead, huh? Yeah, that's right.
Let's go, shorty.
Loser defrosts dinner, huh? Think you can stop me? You think you can stop me? I don't think so.
Whoo! Seriously, Mike, what is up with you? It'll pass.
Well, I tried.
He said it would pass.
Maybe I just needed to let it pass.
Apparently, ferrets like to eat couches more than they like to eat ants, so Axl and hutch had to improvise.
I am telling you, this hammock thing is awesome.
Couches are so last year.
My Mom sits on a couch.
I'm not a fan.
I had a lady over last night, trying to make the hammock-to-hammock transfer, and I ended up on the floor with a face full of ants, and she bolted.
So what you're saying is you basically had a woman in a net, and you let her get away.
These stupid ants are ruining our lives! Well, it's not our fault.
It's the landlords'.
How many times have we complained to Derek and Andy about this dump, and nothing's been done?! There's gaps in the floors! The back door doesn't close all the way.
That's how the ferret escaped.
I can't even sleep upstairs with that leaky pipe, and the drips don't even happen evenly.
They're like, "bloop Bloop-bloop, bloop-bloop!" There's no rhythm to it.
How am I supposed to sleep to that? Well, it's gonna stop.
We pay rent.
We have rights.
It's time we stopped complaining like a bunch of little boys and start demanding some changes around here! We are not gonna get treated like men until we start acting like men! You're damn right.
I say we man up right now.
What are you doing? I'm writing a letter to our landlords telling them everything that's wrong with this place On my Dad's stationery.
No one likes to get yelled at by a dermatologist.
A letter? What is this, "Downtown Abbey"? That's not being a man.
Being a man is calling.
We're not gonna put some letter in the mail and wait days for a response.
No, we are men! Men demand immediate results.
I like results.
Yeah, and you know we're not getting any from Derek and Andy.
You know what? They had their chance.
Forget them.
We're going over their heads.
We're gonna call the city and report them 'cause that's what men do.
I like being a man.
I feel so powerful! You have reached the city of Gumford housing complaint line.
Please hold.
Your call is important to us.
Oh! Don't lose that anger.
Dance mad, even though we like this song.
So it may not have been baguettes in Paris, but Sue had a date.
That settled, she floated to the designated spot in front of the library to meet Brick.
Brick? Brick? Brick? Bri-i-i-i-i-i-ck! Welcome! Come in.
Come in.
Um, we don't have any more buckets or milk crates, so you might have to walk on some ants.
Are you the guys who registered a complaint with the city? Yes, we are the men who registered said complaint, yes.
Thank you for coming out so expeditiously.
We were very impressed with your response.
Indeed.
We have a lot of complaints.
Hutch, the list.
I'm not with the city.
The city called me because I'm the landlord.
I'm from KHB property management.
We rented this house to Derek and Andy five years ago, and from the look of things, it would seem they've been illegally subletting to you.
Look, I don't know what you're implying here, but we have complete authority to live here.
We've been putting $550 under a rock every month for like Over a year.
First of all, the rent is $400.
Oh! Derek and Andy, not cool! And under the terms of the lease, we have the right to evict any and all tenants effective immediately.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Come on, man.
You can't kick us out.
- We're just little kids.
- Little kids, man.
Take the blocks off.
Show him how little we are.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Look at how little we are.
Check this out.
You're not even gonna believe it.
It'll blow your mind.
Oh! I am so sorry I am late, but you're not gonna believe this.
- Are you ready to go to dinner? - Sure.
No! Oh, wait.
I'm sorry.
I want to, but I can't 'cause I lost my little brother.
You don't understand.
He wanders.
He's a wanderer.
And if he's wandering and reading, then Sue, Sue, look at me.
It's gonna be okay.
You and I will walk this whole campus if we have to, but we are gonna find him.
- Who? - Your brother.
Right, right.
Right, right, right.
You know, actually, let's walk this way 'cause more people will see us.
- Are the Colts not playing? - Yeah, they are.
- You're not watching? - Nah.
I don't feel like it.
All right, when Mike stops watching the Colts, something is seriously wrong.
I needed professional help.
Well, hello, there, Frankie Heck.
Hey, Mike.
Look who's here Reverend Timtom.
Hey, why don't you entertain him while I go look for the stuff to donate to the church rummage sale that he drove all the way here to get? - So, how's it going, Mike? - Ah, it goes.
Well, I'm glad to hear it's going.
Me? I'm going, too.
Been at a charity car wash all weekend Suds for the Savior.
Biggest car wash in the history of Iowa.
Even baptized a couple of kids in a soap bucket.
That's great.
Good for them.
So No problems? Life treating you okay? Yep.
A-okay.
Reverend Timtom? Hey, could I just see you for a second? Oh.
Look, I should have told you this before, but you can't go right at him.
He's like an animal you're trying to catch.
If he senses you coming, he's gone.
You got to go around and sneak up on the problem.
But you understand, as a man of the cloth, if he asks me why I'm really here, I've got to tell him the truth.
- What? Why? - Well, lying is a sin.
Is it though? I don't really think all sins are the same.
I mean, lying certainly isn't as big of a sin as, say I don't know murder.
- Well, I-I guess you're right.
- I know I'm right.
Now, go out there and knock my socks off.
And remember, go around.
Oh, my God.
There's 10 different floors.
Sue, Sue, look in my eyes.
It's okay.
What is? Right.
Brick.
Yeah.
Brick.
Maybe we should split up.
Of course we should.
You're a shirtless God, and I am a lowly potato girl.
I-I meant split up and, you know, look for your brother.
Got it! That's what I meant, too.
No.
Brick? Brick? Brick?! Brick? Brick! Where were you? Well, you said go to the library, but on the campus map you gave me, there were 12 libraries, so I just went and stood in front of each one for a little while.
Also, I got a burrito.
Wait, why were you outside? Well, they wouldn't let me in without a student I.
D.
.
I didn't even get a chance to read a single book.
- Why didn't you call me? - You left your phone at home.
Oh! Right.
I took it out 'cause I needed room for my statue of a cowboy made out of bent forks.
Okay, Brick, do you have any idea what could have happened to you? You scared me and Logan half to death! Logan! Stay! Logan! I found him! Logan! Logan? Logan? Logan? So How about those Colts, huh? Didn't watch them today.
Well, now, that's interesting.
I thought everybody around here watched the Colts.
Someone must have a pretty good reason to not watch the Colts.
- Nothing I want to talk about.
- Got it.
Say, you ever drive down route 42? You know, the one with all the corn and that green barn? I love that drive.
Reverend Timtom, can I get another quick consult over here? Look, I don't know where you're going with this route 42 stuff, but you're dying out there.
I mean, green barn? That is not exactly your best work.
Mike can see it a mile away.
Oh, I'm sorry.
W-what exactly would you like me to say? Well I'm not gonna spoon-feed you the words.
You're the expert.
All I know is I can't afford a real therapist, so I really need you to fix him.
Okay, I don't mean to be a fly in the holy water, but you're kind of getting in my head here.
You know, I'm not used to getting all these notes.
I-I usually operate with one shepherd guiding me, and that's the big guy upstairs.
Yeah, and if that were working, that would be great, but in the meantime, I need you to kick it up a notch.
We're not dealing with some eighth grader who didn't get asked on a date to the roller rink.
We got a seven-foot wall of pain out there.
Now get back in and give me your "A" game! I hope you don't mind.
I haven't picked one of these up since the Lord's luau for leprosy.
I saw it lying there and thought I'd play a little.
Oh, Jesus never got to have no midlife crisis No sports car, hair plugs, young blonde wiveses Never traded his robes for tight jeans one day He never quit his job to go write a screenplay Oh, Jesus never got to have no midlife crisis No tattoos, veneers, Botox around the eyeses He never showed up with his hair and beard dyed Never got the chance 'cause at only 33 Look, I-I-I appreciate the effort, and I get you had to drive over here and everything, but this is not It's just not.
Good luck with the rummage sale.
Look, you were great.
Just a little off tonight.
I mean, Mike's tough.
It was a hard one.
I just think if I had my guitar, I could have done it.
The gravity of the message It doesn't come across on the ukulele.
Can I come back tomorrow and take another crack? Nope, nope, nope, nope.
It's done.
We had a window, and we just didn't hit it.
But, uh, don't worry.
I'll use you again.
Have a good night.
Really, Frankie? The roving rev? Look, I'm sorry.
I didn't know what else to do.
I mean, all you do is walk around here, staring out windows.
You know, a regular-size person radiates about this much mopey.
But you're big, so you make this big mope cloud that just covers everything.
I told you.
I just need a little time.
It'll pass.
Will it, Mike? Will it pass? 'Cause you've been saying it'll pass, and guess what It's still here.
Okay.
You really want to know what's bugging me? Yes! Have I not made myself clear until now? Fine.
You're turning 50.
- Wait, what? - Yeah, I know.
It's just I don't know.
It's just bugging me.
You're bugged that I'm turning 50? Your birthday's coming up, and suddenly, it just hit me I'm gonna be married to a 50-year-old woman.
Oh, my God.
Seriously? You turned 50 over a year ago.
Yeah, it didn't bug me the same way.
Really, Mike? Really? You're stealing my midlife crisis.
So, what, you want to have an affair? Hmm? You want a new wife now? Is that it? No.
You're Fine.
But this isn't about you.
This is about us getting old.
Hell, I read that Fonzie is turning 70.
What kind of world do we live in where the Fonz is 70? Okay, I I guess I'm just kind of surprised 'cause you don't usually have these type of feelings, or any feelings, really.
You think I don't know that? I'm pissed at myself.
I'm a stupid clichã©.
I feel like I'm one of Sue's posters.
Okay, you're kind of scaring me now.
You know, it's like when you get turbulence and the flight attendant sits down and you know it's time to panic.
You're my flight attendant.
So stand up and get the beverage cart moving.
I will.
I told you it'll pass, but you keep prying and sending reverends with ukuleles.
I told him to go around.
Look, this isn't that big a deal.
I-I-I just lately, I've been feeling I don't know.
In my life, I always know what the next thing is, and I just do the next thing and the next thing.
And now with the kids off at school and the house half empty, I don't know what the next thing is.
And then when I think about it, and All I could come up with is death.
Well, maybe we should be like those bone-density people.
You know, the ones in the commercial? They take the bone-density stuff, and then their bones are strong and they end up living an active lifestyle, you know, refurbishing furniture together, walking through the woods with big visors on.
That was a miserable weekend.
I was at 12 libraries, and I didn't get a chance to read a single book.
Do you know what that's like for a person like me? Yeah, it's kind of like not getting to kiss Logan.
I was this close! Now, before you freak out, we don't want to be here, either.
Apparently, Derek and Andy were not the badass landlords we thought they were.
Our real landlord is some dingus named Mr.
Callen who red-tagged our house and kicked us out.
- Hang on.
You got evicted? - Yeah.
Apparently, our house is deemed "unfit for human habitation," but, I mean, shouldn't that be our judgment? Mom! Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom! Okay, and the worst part is, what if Logan thinks I ditched him? He doesn't have my phone number, and the number I have for him is one number off, but I don't know which one it is.
What am I supposed to do, just start dialing numbers? Anyway, we're gonna be crashing here for the next couple of weeks till we figure it out.
- We're gonna crash here? - I appreciate it, Mr.
heck.
And I hate to be a burden, but is there a way we could set up a shower schedule or something? Turns out All this life crap is just one big distraction from death.
But it's a pretty good one.
So that's why you got to keep the hope peas on the shelf.
And for the love of God, stay too busy to think.