Frankie Heck quotes from The Middle

Frankie

[narrating] The teen years. Clothes may change. The hair may change. What part of the body gets pierced may change. But one thing doesn't change: teenagers suck.

Frankie

Sue! Honey!

Frankie

[narrating] The truth is, maybe we are just average. But the way I see it, families where parents get up every morning and go to jobs that are hard so they can get their kids through school and through life and struggle to make it all work and manage to do it with dignity and a little humor, well that's not average, that's extraordinary.

Frankie

I want family in this house, Mike. Otherwise it's not Thanksgiving. It's just overeating!

Sue

Mom, can I talk to you?

Frankie

Yeah, sure.

Sue

I saw this boy today at school...

Frankie

[narration] Now, I know I should have been thrilled by this. My daughter was telling me about her first big crush. But I was so tired, all I could do was pretend to listen. And then I saw something amazing, something I was beginning to think I'd never see in my lifetime. Brick was making a sandwich. Just this morning he was sick, and now, an actual sandwich! It was like that guy who got hit by lightning and suddenly knew how to play the piano.

Sue

So, what do you think? Is it a good plan?

Frankie

Uh, sure, honey. That's a great plan.

Sue

Yay! [walks away]

Frankie

Brick, did you make your own lunch?

Brick

Uh-huh! Did it all by myself!

Frankie

Hey! [narration] And suddenly, everything seemed hopeful. There was one less thing I would have to do tomorrow and the rest of my life. Brick would make sandwiches, Axl would learn to drive, and soon there would be time for trips to the carpet remnant store whenever I wanted...or so I thought.

Frankie

[taking Brick to work with her when he is sick] Okay, there's ginger ale in the cup holder. If you need anything, honk twice.

Brick

I wish I could stay home and watch TV and have you make me soup.

Frankie

Oh, sorry, honey. Wrong family.

Mike

[after trying to get Brick involved on the basketball team] That's it. I'm out.

Frankie

Whoa, whoa. What do you mean, you're out?

Mike

It was a disaster! It's not that he was even bad. He was just...weird.

Frankie

Damn it. I was hoping it was gonna be like the YouTube video where the odd kid who sat on the bench the whole time makes the basket and saves the game, and everybody loves him.

Mike

Yeah. It wasn't like that.

Frankie

What are we gonna do now?

Mike

I told you. I'm out. I'm gonna work on something I can understand: the lawn mower.

Frankie

So, what are we gonna do?

Mike

About which one?

Frankie

The small one. I don't know. Maybe we didn't do enough for Brick.

Mike

He's the third kid. He's lucky we remember to feed him.

Mike

[about the huge bandage on Brick's arm] It's tiny. There's not even a scratch. Here, Brick. Unwrap it and show him.

Sir, we can't allow you to talk directly to your child.

Mike

What? Is this for real?

Frankie

[narration] Oh, it was for real all right. It started with a bandage and just snowballed from there. It didn't help that there was a new hall monitor at school.

[to Brick] Hey, buddy. What happened to your arm?

Brick

I'm not supposed to tell.

What do you mean?

Brick

My mom says I'm not supposed to tell.

Well, if something happened at home, you have to tell a grown-up.

Brick

Okay. My mom hit me with a beer bottle. She was mad, my dad was mad, and I always get in the way.

Frankie

[narration] You can see how this sounded. Everyone could see how it sounded, except Brick.

Frankie

Do you people realize what I have gone through this week to make Thanksgiving happen? And now you guys don't appreciate... [interrupted by a car honking]

Axl

There's my ride. [to Frankie] I figured once my friends came to pick me up for snowmobiling, you'd be too embarrassed to say no.

Frankie

You figured wrong. [opens door] NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! [car drives away]

Mike

[while en route to Chicago] What snacks did you pack?

Frankie

I've got pretzels, candy corn, cheese corn, kettle corn, girl scout cookies and frosting for dipping. It's all in the blue bag

YOU FORGOT THE BLUE BAG!

Frankie

Sue, no offense, but if I wanted to ride in silence, I'd have brought your Dad. What's going on with you? [notices that Sue is very upset about something] Honey, what's the matter?

Sue

Never mind.

Frankie

Sue, something is obviously wrong. Now tell me.

Sue

It'll ruin your Mother's Day.

Frankie

Nothing you can say would do that.

Sue

I broke a commandment..

Frankie

Oh...kay. Which one?

Sue

I stole something. I stole an inspirational fridge magnet.

You take the "m" off of mom, replace it with "gl", you know what you got? Glom. Want me to conjugate it for you? To Glom. She gloms. She's a Glommy Mommy.

Frankie

I AM NOT A GLOMMY MOMMY!!!

Frankie

Hey, Brick, you're slowing down. Come on, you've got 30 kids in the class. You've got to keep moving.

Brick

Have you guys seen these things? It's candy with words on it. Candy and words, who thought of this?

Frankie

Brick, you've gotta sign your name to the card, stick it in the envelope with a couple of hearts, lick it. C'mon, Brick, lick, stick, done.

Brick

When did they invent these? 'Be mine.' So simple, yet so profound. 'Luv ya.' Genius!

Brick

Not the one with the lion on it.

Mike

Whoa. What's the big deal about this one? 'I like you and I'm not lion!' Someone spent four years in college to come up with that.

Brick

That one's for Autumn Wagner.

Frankie

Oooh, so who's Autumn Wagner?

Brick

She has pink lips and can do three cartwheels … in a row!

Mike

Wow, no wonder she gets the lion Valentine.