Episode 141

Extended Summary

Bobby, Ailsa and Floss brought an injured Alan back to the flat. Alan was suffering from a nose bleed and dizziness. Donald barged into the flat demanding to talk to his son, he tried to get the truth out of him but Alan wouldn’t budge. Bobby intervened and Ailsa escorted Donald out of the flat but not before Floss retold what she had seen. None of them knew the whole truth about Alan’s condition except for Donald, so Alan milked it for all it was worth. He and Bobby were glad that the plan worked so well. Floss tended to Alan with an ice pack for his nose and was amazed to see Donald lose his cool.

Ailsa closed the shop to talk to Donald about what had just happened. Donald wanted to forget that the incident ever happened and that it was definitely a set up but Ailsa pointed out that if Alan reported the incident to the Department saying that a teacher hit a student, that he could be dismissed for the incident and she hoped that he could defend himself. He did not hit Alan because of the notices as he had dealt with that and was walking away. The only person who heard him dealing with it, apart from Alan, was Bobby and since she was one of the people that wanted to rail road him, he had no-one to back his side of events.

Alan was on the phone to the Department making a complaint against the Headmaster for assaulting him while Bobby and Floss were watching on. He had to put it down in writing but the Department would act on his complaint immediately and he told Floss that they would want to talk to her.

Alan was amazed how easy the plan was working out but Bobby had second thoughts and Ailsa could see that so she took her aside for a chat. Ailsa knew that it was a set up, sending out that notices to the parents, Alan went to a public place where Donald knew where to find him and the witnesses were arranged. Donald’s career was on the line but Bobby didn’t care as she had no sympathy for him as he had provoked her in the past by setting her up for breaking into his home and then wanting to send her to a remand home. The fact that Donald wanted to force Barbara out of the bay was ammunition enough so Alan and Bobby wanted to make a stand. Ailsa thought that Bobby had grown out of this “act now, think later” syndrome. She said that she would deny Donald the truth and so would Alan.

Alan arrived home to a hostile greeting from his Mum over the notices debacle. She reminded him that he was close to suspension and that she didn’t want her son to be a beach bum instead of getting an education. He was so sure that he wouldn’t get suspended and he told his Mum about the incident at the store when Donald hit him. Donald was on the phone to Peter from the Department strongly defending himself by saying that it was a Father and son matter but they were pushing for an inquiry into the matter. He was told to gather all the witnesses together and that he agreed that the matter should be dealt with as soon as possible.

Carly retold the story about Alan being hit by Donald to Lance and Colleen with all the gory details but Colleen didn’t want to hear about stories of fighting so she demanded that they go outside to finish the rest of the story. Lance was tired of being ordered around like a kid so Carly told him to stand up for himself. He really wanted to get rid of his Mum as he was sick of the lectures and no-one had devised any schemes as yet. Bobby’s drum kit plan fell through yet he expected his mates to stand by him and that friendship along with a thousand bucks weren’t worth much around the bay, even Martin doesn’t come around anymore.

Donald showed up on Barbara’s doorstep wanting to tell her the whole truth but Alan walked in on the conversation. He talked to Alan alone as he wanted Alan to reconsider what he was doing, that he was making a big mistake, that by forcing the issue that he was hurting himself more than Donald, Alan was risking an awful lot and Donald was going to tell the truth to the Regional Director about the incident and Barbara would find out the truth as well. Alan knew that Bobby and his witnesses would back him up whereas Donald would only rely on the truth.

Carly had an idea to get rid of Lance’s Mum with mice by telling her that there was a plague of them in their home hoping that she wouldn’t stick around. Carly asked Bobby to borrow ten dollars to buy the mice but Bobby wanted to capitalise on the idea by becoming a partner and splitting the proceeds in half on the condition that Bobby comes to the pet shop before school. Carly let slip to Bobby that Alan had a condition and that she was sworn to secrecy so Bobby wasn’t going to help her get the mice. She then confessed and told her that Alan had a thing in his brain but wasn’t too sure what it was called only that it was a bubble on an artery and if it burst he could die, it had something to do with blood pressure and tension then they go dizzy and collapse.

Bobby had a change of heart as she knew that Donald didn’t hit Alan for circulating the notices. She asked Alan why he didn’t tell her about the ticking time bomb in his head and he replied that if there was anything he hated more than his Dad it was sympathy. She refused to front up to the Regional Director so Alan got angry at her and stormed out of the classroom but not before she apologised about the aneurism.

Donald recounted the incident to Peter the Regional Director that he thought that his son was dying, that the aneurism had burst but then Alan grinned at him and he realised that it was all just a malicious joke and that he lost control. The Regional Director questioned Donald about the notices but he denied that the two incidents were related. Donald defended himself by saying that he had never touched a pupil in 23 years and that he hit Alan as a father and not as a teacher. He believed what Donald was saying but he also said that people are capable of lying when their career was on the line, which in this case it was and he had to question the other witnesses before he could make a ruling on the matter.

Bobby was walking along the beach, playing in the background there was instrumental music and the voice of Regional Director questioning Floss. He then questioned Carly if Tommy Carroll had appeared at 4 pm, told her that Alan lied to her about the surfer’s appearance and was amused when the sight of blood was more amusing than meeting one’s idol. Alan was questioned about Tommy not showing up, about setting his Dad up and feigning a fit but Alan denied it but told the Director to ask his Mum. Donald roamed the corridors while Barbara was being questioned about Alan feigning his illness and pretended to be dying to which she knew nothing about it. She believed that Alan would never feign his illness in order to get back at his Father. No-one could back up Donald’s story except for Bobby and she was nowhere to be found, he also thought that she wouldn’t back his side of the story up anyway since her and Alan were as thick as thieves. The Regional Director said that given the evidence it would have to go to an inquiry, that he was suspended pending the inquiry and told not to depend on a favourable outcome.