Naomi Preston
Naomi Preston (2007)
Tiffany Preece
Episodes: 4415–4432
Occupation: English Teacher
Naomi wasn’t in the Bay for very long but the time she did spend there was certainly eventful. She had recently been offered a short term placement as an English teacher at Summer Bay high. She hadn’t just come to the Bay for the job though she was one of the tutors at the youth writers circle which Lucas went to, because he won a writing competition.
Naomi turned up on Tony’s doorstep, a short while after Beth had died. Tony was finding it hard to deal with, so Naomi gave a listening ear.
Lucas was understandably shocked when he found out that Naomi was in Summer Bay. Lucas and Naomi had a “relationship” at the writing camp and had formed a connection so Naomi was in the Bay to try and get to know Luc again. That was before she found out he was a student. Lucas had lied to Naomi before she came to the Bay, and told her that he was at Uni.
Naomi confronted Lucas about him being a student. After talking things over briefly the two of them kissed. Naomi pulled away from the kiss after telling Lucas that they couldn’t be together because she was a teacher and he was a student. After telling him they couldn’t be together, Naomi walked out.
In some ways she was looking forward to her first day at Summer Bay high because she was passionate about her work, but was also dreading having to face Lucas at the same time. Lucas made sure that he got Naomi’s attention during class by answering back and generally being disruptive. Naomi wasn’t happy about this but assured Lucas that she wasn’t ignoring him, she just had a lot of work to catch up on.
After teaching her first class, Naomi went to the diner where Tony introduced her to Ric and Hugh. The guys invited her out for a drink but she had a whole pile of work to do, so she said she couldn’t make it. In the end she did turn up. Her and Tony got talking again and he thanked her for listening to him the other day.
The next day, Naomi headed down to the beach to go surfing. Tony could see that she was struggling a bit so he offered her a helping hand and gave her a surfing lesson. Lucas and Ric were sitting on the beach when Luc noticed his dad and Naomi getting on well. Lucas started to feel jealous of his father’s new found friend-ship with the girl he wanted to be with.
Back at Summer Bay High, Naomi made sure that Lucas knew that her career was on the line if they continued having a relationship.
Naomi met up with Tony on the beach and was persuaded into taking another surfing lesson. Naomi’s words were “I don’t think the world needs to see me on a board too soon”. But Tony managed to convince her.
After the surfing lesson the two of them headed back to the Diner. Lucas and Naomi ended up sitting at the same table before the tension between them become too much and Naomi left. Later on that day, Lucas went over too see Naomi in her caravan.
Naomi told Lucas that she was his teacher and that was it. Lucas managed to accept this and was happy with being just ‘friends’. Lucas had an idea which he thought might cheer Naomi up. He managed to get hold of a book that Naomi was renting from the library. She wanted her own copy so Lucas thought buying her one would make great gift.
That night, Tony went around to Naomi’s caravan because he needed someone to talk too. Tony fell asleep in her caravan so Naomi went to check on him when she noticed he was waking up. The two of them eventually ended up spending the night together.
The next morning, Lucas went around to Naomi’s caravan to give her the book he had bought for her, completely oblivious to the fact that his father was in the caravan with her. Naomi asked Lucas to come back later. Tony made sure that Naomi knew that what happened between them was a mistake. She agreed and told Tony to forget what happened.
Lucas returned to Naomi’s caravan to give her the book. She told him that she wouldn’t let him in the next time because she didn’t want students in her van because of how it would look to other people. Lucas gave Naomi the book and then left her caravan.
Tony then discovered that Luc and Naomi had a ‘fling’ at the writer’s camp. Lucas admitted to his father that he was in love with her. Tony was shocked to hear this as not only was Naomi a teacher but she hadn’t told him about her relationship with his son.
Tony went back to Naomi’s van where he asked how she could let this happen. Naomi argued that they had a genuine connection and that they didn’t mean for it too happen. Naomi reassured Tony that everything would be okay, but Tony wasn’t convinced.
Ric met up with Tony at Noah’s bar, and told him that he knew what happened between him and Naomi as he saw him leaving her caravan. Ric agreed not to tell anyone.
A few days later though and Lucas had found out about his dad and Naomi. He told Matilda right in front of Tony and Kit later found out too.
Brad offered Naomi a permanent job at the school, of which she accepted. Brad didn’t know that Lucas and Naomi had had a relationship with Lucas though. Jack went over to the caravan park house to tell Brad and Sally that they couldn’t employ Naomi because it would be illegal. Brad asked why, and Jack told him the truth about Luc and Naomi!
Brad was shocked and told Naomi that he might have to go to the education department. Jack and Martha discussed the situation with Brad at Noah’s bar and it wasn’t long before the papers got hold of the story…with a little help from someone called Colleen Smart. Yes, as usual Colleen told the papers everything that she knew and had overheard about the situation. When the papers heard about it they were soon to have the story on the front pages of the newspaper! The education department eventually got involved.
Naomi decided to leave the Bay after telling Lucas that, she wasn’t going to fix anything by staying. She offered the book that Lucas gave her, back to him and said that he might be able to get something out of it. She also told him to use the angst and heartache that he had suffered and turn it into a story.
“I think your son might need you though” were Naomi’s final words to Tony before she left the Bay.
That was until Brad got a phone call from his solicitor saying that Naomi had completely changed her story. Her version of events led them to believe that she told Brad everything about herself and Lucas straightaway. By doing that she would stand to keep her job and make it look like Brad didn’t act on what she had told him. Brad was completely up in arms about the situation and couldn’t believe that Naomi had changed her story altogether. So much so that he went to see her in the city.
Brad asked Naomi why she changed her story to make it look like Brad new about her and Lucas relationship from the very beginning. She reasoned that she was desperate, she couldn’t find a job, was running out of money and her mum had just had a stroke. Brad accepted that she was going through a rough time but still couldn’t believe that she had turned things around so much.
Naomi was soon blackmailing Brad even more. She found out that he was in possession of drugs at the school he used to work in and told him that unless she agreed to back up her newly made-up story then she would tell the education department the true reason why he left his school in Western Australia. Naomi told him that the decision was up to him.
She had to return to Summer Bay briefly to be interviewed by the education department. Brad asked her if this meant she would change her story and tell them the truth. But she told him that she wasn’t about to throw away her career.
Once in the interview room Naomi started to unravel her story. She said that as soon as she found out that Lucas was a student at Summer Bay High she told Brad that they had been in a relationship. She also told the education department that Brad told her to say nothing and that she would be able to continue teaching there as long as she kept things quiet. The woman interviewing Naomi questioned this though by asking her why Jack Holden told Brad about her and Lucas after she had enrolled in teaching at the school. But Naomi had an answer for that question too. She told her that Brad had apparently lied about it and pretended he didn’t know.
After Lucas and Naomi had been interviewed Brad was the next one to be put under the spotlight. He told the woman the truth by saying that he found out about Naomi and Lucas’ relationship the night that Jack come to tell them the news which was a few weeks after her intial enrollment as an English teacher at the school.
Lucas texted Naomi to ask whether she was still in town but she replied no. She was still in Summer Bay though. The following day Lucas met up with Naomi and told her that it was so much easier for him to hate her when she wasn’t there. He also admitted that when she was in town he couldn’t get rid of that part of him that still wanted to be with her. Naomi let him know that she was heading back to the city that night and told him that he could then forget that that chapter of his life ever happened. She told him that she definately would.
Naomi came back again though. Lucas was writing a story related to him and Naomi and started to stalk her. He found her flat and waited outside. Naomi was understandably surprised to see Lucas sitting outside. She soon called Jack to tell her what had been going on. After getting a stern talking too from Jack, Lucas continued to add the final touches to his story. Jack had told Naomi about the story that Lucas was writing. This was the reason she returned to see Lucas in Summer Bay. She said that she would take out an AVO against him if he didn’t agree to let her read his story. At first Lucas was adamant that he didn’t want her to read it but he eventually gave in. Naomi read it and told Luc that he should get it published as it was so good. Lucas explained to Naomi that he needed to write it because he felt he didn’t have a say in the way that their relationship ended. In his eyes, it just ended without him having a say. Lucas helped this process by burning the story he had wrote. This was his way of saying he was going to move on from Naomi.
Credit to Bttb-Rox!