Adult Dean: Seemed like Jefferson Davis Junior High wasn't quite ready for its first Black teacher. Or maybe Mr. Brady wasn't quite ready for us.
Dean: Did they fire you? Was it the drum?
Mr. Brady: No. I wasn't fired. But Principal Cartwright and I both agreed that Jefferson Davis isn't the best fit for me, so I'm still on the search for the school that is.
Adult Dean: It's ironic that a teacher that once was an embarrassment to me is now the person I'll miss the most.
Mr. Brady: Well, I hope your next Black teacher is so much Blacker than me that Kim gets worried. [both chuckle]
Adult Dean: Oddly enough, the Blackest teacher I had after that was my White African-American Studies professor in college. I later learned that Brad's parents, like mine, appreciated us having a teacher who inspires his students because of what he sees inside them, not outside. And even though Mr. Brady's time at Jefferson Davis was short, he showed me what it felt like to have a great teacher, and I took that leadership advice he gave me to heart. As well as a few more things.

Adult Dean: Coach Long telling me not to reveal his secret was like telling me not to think about pink elephants. I was sweating so much, my jammies had pit stains.

Cory: Dean, you coming? Dean?
Adult Dean: Unh-unh. Not getting me. Lock box. I've managed to keep my mouth shut this long, I wasn't about to start blabbing now.
Cory: Are you seriously still not talking to me because of that dumb Student of the Week thing?
Dean: What? No. I-I don't care about that anymore.
Keisa: From how you're acting, it seems like you do. You know, you still have a chance to be the second Black Student of the Week.
Adult Dean: Nobody remembers the second Black anything.

Adult Dean: I never knew what he and Mrs. Long's fight was about. It didn't matter. After I'd been married several years myself and experienced the ups and downs, I truly came to understand what my dad and Coach Long were saying to me that day. And thankfully, my wife and I had a guest room above our garage.

Lillian: So, uh... Uh, does this mean that you...
Kim: Kwame is just giving me a ride to the party... as friends.
Bill: "Friends"? Uh-huh. I used that one a time or two myself back in the day. But experience tells me there's no such thing as boys and girls being just friends.
Adult Dean: What was my dad talking about? I have friends who are girls, like Keisa. Oh, right.

Adult Dean: Kim's friends were super cool. All they really did was gossip about people I didn't know, talk about music I didn't listen to, and reference magazines I hadn't read. But still, I'd never felt so included in my life.

Adult Dean: This was it. My last chance to connect with the men of my family, and I was not gonna let anything ruin it. We broke so many family rules that night. Playing poker, not using coasters, peeing out the back door. Mom would've killed us.

Joey: Ooh, cool! [paper rustles]
Dean: No. Don't touch that! It's supposed to stay in the plastic. You got fingerprints on it.
Adult Dean: Okay. That kid just took my Daredevil from mint to near mint.

Adult Dean: It had been over an hour since Joey stole from Bruce's desk, and the kid hadn't cracked. That little grifter had ice water running through his veins. I was kind of impressed.

Dean: Based off what I saw, things might still be a little tense between them.
Lillian: [laughs] That song is really gonna put you over the top.
Bill: Well, it never would have worked without your idea for the bridge.
Lillian: Oh!
Bill: Mwah!
Lillian: I'm just glad I was able to help. [chuckles]
Adult Dean: I didn't understand marriage then. Uh, actually, I still don't.