Mike is forced to look for a job when the quarry temporarily shuts down, and Frankie is forced to do all the work as Brick runs for class historian.

The family takes a weekend trip to Chicago so that Brick can take part in a spelling bee, but Sue gets to call the shots because Mike and Frankie forgot her birthday.

The Hecks parents must react to school assessments of their kids. Axl scored high on aptitude, so his slacking and poor grades are no longer acceptable, but cramming all night with Mike still doesn't do the trick. Brick may a librarian's dream, the only school kid who truly enjoys reading, mean old Mrs. Nethercott, who luckily can't prove vandalism, still threatens to prevent him passing to the next grade unless he returns all missing books, now found all over the Heck home. Sue is the only school kid without a yearbook picture, so Frankie steps up the search for some activity she can join. the principal opens up track running without time threshold, but even a passing deer proves too much opposition fro the eternal failure.