Helen, Alice, and T.D. are playing baseball outside at night, with Martha and Skits nearby. When Helen comments that it's three weeks into summer, T.D. worries that the summer will go by too quickly like last year. The next morning, Helen invites T.D. to the park, but he says he wants to go to school. This confuses Helen and Martha, since T.D. usually finds school boring, but he explains that since school days seem to last longer, going to school will make the summer last longer. Helen isn't on board, but Martha is, so they set off.
When they get to school, they find Mr. Stern the janitor goofing around in the classroom. Even though he doesn't normally allow dogs in the school, he decides to let Martha slide, and reveals that he let the squirrels party in another classroom. He says that since there are no teachers, the dogs can't learn anything, so they won't end up ruling over humans. Martha asks if he's also seeking to "enjoy the eternal minutes", but Mr. Stern reveals that he's instead pretending to surf. Then, T.D. and Martha sit in an empty classroom for hours.
That night in the Lorraines' yard, they tell Helen and Alice, much to Alice's confusion. Despite having been bored, T.D. and Martha aren't giving up and in fact plan to do it every day. This bemuses the girls, but they decide that T.D. will eventually give up.
The next day, T.D. and Martha try sitting around in school again, but Martha grows bored and escapes out the window. While having fun with the girls and Skits (Helen roller skating and pulling Martha in a wagon, and Skits pulling Alice along on a skateboard), Martha tells the others that T.D. said he would stay in school forever.
Two days later, Helen, Martha, and Alice are flying kites in the schoolyard and wondering if T.D. will give up. He sees them and tries to prove he can have fun on his own by making noises with his face to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", but he grows bored of that. As the days go by, Helen, Alice, Martha, and Truman try to have fun but it's not the same without T.D., and T.D. stays in school, but he's very bored. Helen and Alice are confused by T.D.'s behaviour and are worried it will change him into a dull boy. They want to tell him to stop, but they think he'll believe they're tricking him.
Martha comes round and tells him to stop, but he refuses despite being incredibly bored, because he wants to prove the girls (who said he'd quit) wrong. Martha tells the girls, who come up with a plan. Martha comes back and tells T.D. that the girls need someone to play baseball with and he doesn't want a bad summer. T.D. says that he doesn't want to be wrong, since before, he said he wouldn't give up. However, when she tells him they'd be sad, he finally leaves and they have fun for the rest of the summer.
This episode provides examples of
- Ate It All: Discussed when Alice claims that whenever they sell lemonade, T.D. always drinks it.
- Big "NO!": In the past, T.D. yells, "NO!" when he realises that school is starting the next day and he has no time to do the activities he wants.
- The Bore: When Helen worries that staying in school all summer will change T.D. forever, she imagines him sitting on the steps in a deadpan way not wanting to play hockey and instead scratching his nose and considering that fun.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Helen says that T.D. won't stay in school forever because "forever means forever."
- Determinator: The reason T.D. is sticking with his plan to stay in school all summer despite him being bored out of his skull is because he refuses to give up.
- Facepalm: Alice puts her palm to her face when T.D. says he wants to be a dog.
- Fantasy Sequence: When the girls are discussing how strange T.D. has been acting, they worry that he will become The Bore, and Helen imagines him sitting on the steps scratching his nose for fun.
- Flashback:
- We see scenes from the previous summer when T.D. complains that it went by too quickly.
- When T.D. is explaining how the last day of school seemed to last forever, we see him waiting on that day.
- Here We Go Again!: Downplayed. The episode ends with T.D. wanting to find another way to make summer last forever, and Alice even says the trope title, however it's evidently not going to lead anywhere, since his goal (becoming a dog) is unobtainable.
- Hidden Depths: Mr. Stern is revealed to have a rather unorthodox hobby, which is pretending to surf.
- Incredibly Lame Fun:
- T.D. tries to make summer last longer by waiting around in school, at one point counting the "moments".
- Mr. Stern enjoys pretending to surf.
- In Helen's imagination sequence of T.D. having become boring, he considers scratching his nose to be "almost too much fun".
- Insane Troll Logic:
- T.D. wants to make summer last longer, so he decides to go to school because he thinks that time feels slower when he's at school.
- Mr. Stern's reason for allowing Martha in school during summer is that there are no teachers around so that the dogs won't learn too much and end up being waited on by humans.
- No Animals Allowed: When T.D. wants Martha to join him in school, she points out that the janitor doesn't let dogs in. However, he makes an exception due to it being summer.
- Nursery Rhyme: T.D. once tries to entertain himself by making noises on his face (slapping his cheeks, popping his mouth, etc) to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".
- Shaped Like Itself: At one point, T.D. says, "Then my summer will be truly endless, that means it will have no end!".
- Speak in Unison:
- When T.D. and Mr. Stern see each other, they say at once, "What are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be on vacation?! Hey, we're talking at the same time! Stop! You stop first! Okay, now!".
- When Helen and Alice want to jump rope, but there's no third person available, they try tying the rope to the tree so only one can turn the rope. However, it's too short, so they say they need a longer rope or a thinner tree. Then, both girls say, "Or T.D." in unison.
