Episode 431

Extended Summary

Carly is trying to sew a dress while Sally ask her to sponsor her for her readathon-a Buck a Book-so the school can plant some trees. Carly agrees and Sally jokes it’s lucky it’s not a sewathon. Bobby goes to Danny’s caravan but finds no sign of him. She heads down to the beach to ask Fred the fisherman if he’s seen him. He says he hasn’t and commiserates with her.

Steven and Viv arrive back at her place. Steven seems to want to carry on where they left off and get closer to her but Viv is suddenly more standoffish around him. She puts on some boppy music which Steven thinks is a mood killer and keeps moving away from him when he tries to sit with her. When he tries to dance with her, she heads off to make a coffee. Later, Viv objects to Steven touching her leg and he asks why she was all over him at Emma’s if she doesn’t want anything to happen. Before they can properly discuss it, Don arrives home, wondering if Bobby’s back, and Steven makes himself scarce.

Emma complains to Ailsa about her failed evening, how Viv turned up and ruined it and how Steven bailed when Duncan started crying. She’s annoyed she didn’t get a chance to tell Steven how she feels. Bobby arrives home to find Don waiting up. She’s annoyed with him and Ailsa for convincing her to give Morag a chance. Don apologises but tells her Morag will end up the loser. Bobby thinks Morag was interested in hurting her rather than Danny.

Next morning, at school, Emma has a go at Viv for taking Steven off her when she doesn’t like him and accuses her of trying to make her jealous. Viv retorts Steven’s no Mel Gibson but when Steven passes them she’s suddenly friendly and flirty with him, saying it’s a shame Don interrupted their fun. Emma doesn’t think anything happened but Viv retorts that she and Steven had a good time and Emma’s out in the cold.

Celia goes to the mobile home to wake up Lance and Martin, telling them it’s ten past nine and they should have been on the stall at eight. They protest that they don’t have any customers before eleven but Celia says they should be targeting early morning joggers and surfers and people going to work. They tell her they’ll be down there when they’ve washed and dressed but Celia gives them ten minutes and waits outside. She takes them to the van and gives them their instructions: Lance is to start on the bread and Martin is to disinfect everything, then they’re to paint the outside. A stray cat comes to the door and Lance seems quite taken with it but Celia shoos it away, saying it’s probably diseased. Neither Lance nor Martin is happy that they seem to be Celia’s slaves.

Bobby turns up at the Diner and Ailsa apologises to her, since Don told her what happened at Morag’s. Bobby wants to forget the whole thing and is more concerned that she doesn’t know where Danny is. Later, Bobby insists to Don and Ailsa that Danny will turn up. Carly gives Bobby an order and she heads into the kitchen, after which Don and Ailsa admit neither of them think they’ll see Danny again. Ailsa offers to talk to Bobby. At a nearby table, Emma asks Carly how to impress Steven, claiming there’s a girl in her class who really likes him. Carly says Steven’s a sucker for a damsel in distress and suggests her “friend” ask him for help with a science project. Steven is using a computer at school when Emma enters, saying she’s doing a project about ecosystems of rock pools and wonders if he might know the best places on the beach to look. Steven agrees. As Emma leaves the room, she runs into Viv and tells her she’s not out in the cold anymore.

Celia checks on Lance and Martin and is disappointed by the lack of profit. She hears a cat meowing and Lance knocks some bread on the floor, seemingly to try and distract her. Celia is annoyed since it will have to be thrown away and says it should have been in the tub, only to find the cat in the tub, which is now full of its droppings. She tells them to incinerate the tub and that their wages for the day will be used to buy a new one, along with some more bread and disinfectant. Later, Lance and Martin are sitting exhausted at home when Celia arrives with the news that the van isn’t making enough money to support two staff: One of them will have to be fired and she’ll base her decision on their performance over the next few days.

Ailsa and Bobby have a coffee in the kitchen while everything’s quiet. Ailsa talks about Danny, saying he came to Summer Bay for revenge, had no friends except Bobby and they know nothing about him. She feels there’s no reason for him to stay on but Bobby thinks he has nowhere else to go. Realising she’s convinced, Ailsa decides she and Bobby should check out Danny’s caravan for clues. However, when they get there, they find that his things have been cleared out since Bobby was last there. Bobby accepts that he has gone and tells Ailsa that she didn’t think anyone could replace what she felt for Frank but Danny did.

At the house, Sally asks Steven to sponsor her. He doesn’t think he can afford a dollar a book so she accepts twenty cents. After Sally has gone, Carly asks if he needs cash for the new girl in his life: Emma. Carly tells him what Emma said earlier and Steven admits he’s helping Emma with her science project. He protests he doesn’t even like Emma but Carly tells him he’s got a date with her anyway. Steven looks worried.