"We got ribs, a boot, and a fish bowl!"
A Plot: When Emma inadvertently finds herself a substitute teacher at the elementary school, she asks Karen and Wanda to talk to the kids about their careers, causing tension to erupt.
B Plot: Lacey's attempt to make the Ruby more birthday-friendly goes too far.
C Plot: Brent and Hank panic after they suspect Oscar has eaten a 30-year-old snack cake.
Tropes Referenced:
- Apathetic Teacher: The teacher at the school is so apathetic that she leaves entirely, forcing Emma to be stuck as a substitute indefinitely.
- Appeal to Flattery: Lacey is against doing special birthdays beyond just Davis, until both Davis and a random mother compliment the celebration and her singing voice. Suddenly, she becomes totally into the idea.
- Ask a Stupid Question...:
- After the employee of the Dingle Puff company tells Brent and Hank not to eat it:Employee: Do you have any questions that aren't about eating?
[Beat]
Brent: Who played Mrs. Howell on Gilligan's Island? - Oscar fakes the effect of eating an old Dingle puff by sitting in the back of his car:Oscar: [to a non-existent driver] Drive me home, please, Buckwalt.
Hank: Okay, this is freakin' me out. Does your dad even have a driver?
Brnet: Yeah, but his name's Wentworth.
- After the employee of the Dingle Puff company tells Brent and Hank not to eat it:
- Blatant Lies: The teacher asks Emma to watch the kids because she has to "step out for a sec", but the suitcase she's carrying shows she's not planning on coming back.
- Escalating War: Wanda and Karen go to increasingly crazy lengths to impress the school kids and make them think their respective job is better.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: After Josh brings some kids nachos on a dirty hub cap:Lacey: Maybe you should have washed it first.
Josh: Maybe you should wash your car more often.
Lacey: Well, maybe you should- Wait! My car doesn't have hub caps.
[They give each other a freaked out look.] - Food as Bribe: Though Davis has already turned against the new Ruby, he still makes Lacey treat him to dinner at Missouri Jack's in exchange for helping her bring back the old Ruby.
- Gone Horribly Right: The new Ruby style is so popular that Lacey can't keep up with all the birthday songs and messes being made on the floor. She snaps in a moment of exasperation.Lacey: This new Ruby is a nightmare! I'm losing my voice from singing so much, and I think I may have a mouse problem from all the stupid peanuts.
Davis: But I thought every day was a birthday at Lacey's Shack of Insanity. - Kitschy Themed Restaurant:
- After some success with special birthday celebrations, Lacey turns the Ruby into one of these, complete with oddball food containers, "Ruby-sized" options, and a new name, Ruby Lu's House of Food.
- Davis's favorite restaurant, Missouri Jack's, is also this type of place.
- Mundane Made Awesome: At the end of the A Plot, the children are most impressed by Emma, whose life as a homemaker gives her plenty of free time.
- Obfuscating Insanity: Oscar does this to sell the fact that he ate the 30-year-old Dingle Puff.
- Out-Gambitted: Brent and Hank figure out that Oscar tricked them into thinking he ate the old Dingle Puff so they'd feel sorry for him. They then trick him into believing he actually did eat it, causing him to freak out.
- Status Quo Is God: Davis and later Lacey herself get fed up with the new style of the Ruby despite its popularity, so they devise a scheme about health code violations to "force" Lacey into turning it back to the way it was.
- Way Past the Expiration Date: The Dingle Puff that Brent finds is 30 years old. He calls the company and the only advice they offer him is to not eat it under any circumstances.
