Dean: Mom, since the Fair's coming up and I have a solo in the concert...
Kim: When school lets out early, I'm going with Cassandra and Corynella.
Lillian: Well, don't you have a paper... [Dean clears throat] Forgive us, Dean. Please continue bragging about your solo.
Dean: I was hoping that maybe I could get a new shirt for the concert. Maybe a silk one. I want to look cool.
Lillian: First of all, you know you only get clothes at the beginning of the school year. Second... a silk shirt? Which one of the Pips are you replacing? [laughter]

Bill: Hold on, hold on. Maybe the boy has a point, Lil. This is their first time playing in front of real people who don't have to clap. Plus, he's got a solo. Boy's got to look sharp! I think I'll take you shirt shopping myself. How about that? I might even pick up one or two shirts, just in case I end up taking this tour.
Dean: Thanks, Dad. I want to look as cool as you.
Kim: Still gonna wear the glasses, though?
Dean: You're just jealous because the saxophone is way cooler than the stupid cello.
Lillian: The cello is not stupid. And, Kim, there's nothing wrong with your brother's glasses.
Bill: That's right. Cut it out, you two.
Both: Yes, sir.
Kim: And I only play the cello because Dad wouldn't let me play the saxophone when I was your age. He said that's how girls get pregnant.

Adult Dean: Wow. Daddy was getting a chance to play on a bigger stage and so was I. The State Fair. It brought with it a half day of school for Fair Day and the best shows and rides you could imagine! One night, I saw a cow give birth and saw Cory throw up through his nose after riding The Enterprise five times. Hmm. Who were the real animals that night?

Adult Dean: Music was my only chance to be cool because, let's be honest, I wasn't cool in any other way.
Dean: [clears throat] [on the phone in a deep voice:] Hello. May I speak to John? [Cory chuckles]
Keisa: There's no John here.
Dean: Then do you pee outside? [Cory laughs]
Keisa: Dean?
Dean: Uh, who's Dean?
Keisa: I know it's you. You use the same voice when we imitate Mr. Roberts in art class. Remember? I taught it to you? Because my voice is deeper than yours.
Dean: [normal voice] No, it's not! [deep voice] Uh, I mean, who's Dean? [hangs up]
Cory: [laughs] Man, I told you that joke was no good.
Dean: Yeah, it was kind of a thinker.

Adult Dean: As bad as it was to be dethroned in such a public way, it was going to be much worse going shirt shopping with my dad and breaking the news to him... the ultimate musical alpha male.
Bill: Something like this is for when you're performing on the big stage. And this is more subtle, for like a smaller venue. Ahh, but this... See how it shimmers? It's great for catching the light.
Adult Dean: Enough stalling, Dean. It's time to face the music. Pun intended.
Dean: Uh, Dad, today in band...
Bill: Now these are show shirts. [chuckles] You could see me touring in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Mobile in this, right?
Dean: Uh, definitely. [Bill chuckles] Um, so, you know how I was first chair?
Bill: Mm-hmm. Ruffles and sequins? No good musician would ever wear either of these.
Adult Dean: And that's how years of music passed right over my dad.
Dean: [sighs] Um, so, something crazy happened in band today and...
Bill: This is it. It screams "Dean." Yep. Perfect.

Bill: I'm getting this for my son to perform a sax solo... At the State Fair.
Clerk: Oh, well, that sounds exciting. Good luck.
Bill: Imagine the lights shining down on you, playing your solo...
Dean: I'm second chair. I lost first chair.
Bill: I don't understand. What are you saying?
Dean: Well... Craig challenged me for first chair, and he just played so well. It was... surprising.
Bill: "Craig"? Sounds... Is he...?
Dean: White? Yeah. Go figure.
Bill: You know what? It's okay. I got you covered. I'll put together a practice schedule and we'll make sure you're able to challenge to get your chair back in time for the concert. [chuckles] We won't be taking this. [off Dean's look] What? This is a solo shirt. Not a "cat sitting next to the cat with the solo" shirt. [chuckles] In the meantime, I'll be taking these. You can put this back.

Keisa: [sighs] Hey, Dean. Are you... okay?
Dean: I-I guess. Um, won't Charlene be mad if she knows you're talking to me?
Keisa: No. She has a new boyfriend now, so she doesn't care anymore.
Dean: Oh. Glad she doesn't still hate me.
Keisa: Oh, no, she still hates you. It's actually what she and her boyfriend bonded over.
Dean: He hates me, too?
Keisa: Don't overthink it. A bunch of us are gonna ride to the Fair on Fair Day. So you want to come...
Dean: Yes! Yes. Uh, since you really want to be my friend again.
Keisa: You mean because you just looked so pitiful after choking in band that I thought you could really use a friend?
Adult Dean: The fact that she was right made me feel even more pitiful. I would've played the "wah-wah" right now if I thought I could do it without choking. And if I played the trombone.

Adult Dean: Growing up, our neighborhood was filled with all types of families that were well-known for certain things. But everyone knew that the Williams family was a musical family. We all played instruments. With a dad who was a music professor, we didn't really have a choice. I could play the scales before I could ride a bike. That was partly because I had the coordination of a bumblebee, but mainly because of my dad.

Bill: Dean's the other saxophone player in the family.
Duke: Really? Well, you gonna be onstage one day like your dad?
Dean: Well, actually, I'm about to play at the State Fair. Well, my school band is. But I'm first chair.
Duke: First chair. [chuckling] He's a regular chip off the ol' block, huh?
Bill: [chuckles] You could say that.
Dean: Yeah. Hey, Dad, they're paying us to play at the Fair, right?
Bill: [chuckles] Now you can really say it. [both laugh]

Lillian: Ooh, we can go shopping in Tuskegee.
Bill: You all think you're going, too, don't you?
Lillian: I don't trust those groupies.
Kim: Musicians are hot.
Dean: No school!