Episode 1234

Extended Summary

Fin’s doing her shift at the Dinner and when Bobby asks how things are at home, she says it pretty sad but they are all trying to keep busy. Pippa keeps disappearing to her room, no doubt to have a good cry but she and Michael are going to counselling sessions and it seem to be helping. Bobby wonders if she should ask her if she wants to take on the baking again and Fin thinks it might even help, so Bobby decides to call on her later. Shane makes Damian laugh when he wants advice on how to win Angel over, by showing her his sensitive side. When Damian picks up a girlie magazine and tells him to get some tips from that, he gets embarrassed, so Damian suggests they go back home and delve into Fin’s collection, which Shane thinks is a much better idea, so they leave.

At the Fisher home, Angel tells him why she refuses to go back to school and he’s astounded by what she tells him. She tells him she was picked on by the students because she was intelligent, then picked on by the teachers when she acted dumb, who then informed her mother, who couldn’t care a less. No matter what she did, she couldn’t win. On one occasion, she made a big mistake by correcting a teacher in front of the whole class and he gave her hell for the rest of the year and she has no intention of going through that experience again. He tries to persuade her to change her mind but when she points out that he’s leaving the profession shortly, he says he’ll make sure she won’t be victimised but she’s adamant – she won’t be returning!

As Pippa busies herself in the kitchen, Damian has given Shane some of the magazines and he’s can’t believe what he’s reading and come to the conclusion, it’s because of them, the girls give blokes such a hard time. Sally comes in with Christopher and asks if she can take him down to the beach but Pippa won’t let her and snaps at her, when she asks why not. She gives her reason, as Michael comes in and commanders the table, to get his accounts up to date. Even though they are not due, he wants to get them in early, just to keep the creditors happy. Sally then spies what Shane and Damian are doing and thinks it’s funny and when Michael asks them what they’re doing, Shane gets embarrassed and beats a hasty retreat, followed by Damian. They head off to the Diner to continue their research and get sprung by Fin who thinks it’s a huge joke and they tell her to get lost. Shane can’t believe what’s been written and thinks it’s all weird but for the sake of scoring a date with Angel, tells Damian to continue to read it, but to skip by ‘the holding bit’. Fisher has come in and been talking to Bobby about the failings of Summer Bay High having no resources for gifted student but when she remarks about him leaving, he retorts, it’s not about him – but isn’t it?

Bobby, having left Fin in charge, goes to see Pippa and puts to her about baking for the Diner again and when Michael leaves it to her, she agrees and Bobby persuades to go with her to Yabbie Creek to get the suppliers. She leaves Sally in charge of Christopher but he wants to go down to the beach so Sally tries to call Pippa back to get permission but it’s too late. Michael tells her it’s okay and the two of them head off, with bucket and spade.

Down at the Surf Club, Luke tells Angel that he’s given up asking her to take the part that was made for her but she’s full of surprises and tells him she’ll do it. As he tells her he can’t figure her out and she says that not many people can, Shane and Damian walk in. Luke tells Damian that Angel will be playing opposite him and asks him to help him with something. They go off, leaving Shane and Angel alone and he tries to put into practice, what he’s read, but she thinks he’s being funny and leaves him standing there. Later, he and Damian go for a walk along the beach, passing Sally and Christopher making sand castles, and they discuss what went wrong. They flick through the magazine again for some clues and Shane thinks the answer is the environment! They go back to the Surf Club and this time he’s more successful, as he talks about plastic cups and saving trees. Angel’s impressed and he boasts to Damian that she’s wild for him and all he’s got to do now, is set up a date. Luke goes over to the Diner for refreshments and tells Fisher the good news about Angel. When Fisher says he wished she would change her mind about going back to school, Fin pipes up that Bobby thinks he should lead by example! He hands her two cups of coffee for some customers and is left to muse over that remark. Luke returns to the Surf Club, just as Shane has hoodwinked Angel into going on a date with him to a Greenpeace meeting in Yabbie Creek. He gives Damian the refreshments to sort out and takes Angel to one side, to talk about Fisher. He tells her he’s worried about him because he thinks he’s too young to retire and asks her if she can talk to him about it. But Angel is wise to Luke’s motives because she knows the only way she can achieve that, is by going back to school herself and she refuses, telling him she makes her own decisions about what she’s going to do with her life.

Pippa and Bobby return from Yabbie Creek in a good mood but that soon disappears when Michael lets slip that Sally’s taken Christopher down to the beach. She dashes out, followed by Bobby and Michael is left wondering what’s going on. When she gets down to the beach, she grabs Christopher and shouts at Sally for disobeying her and takes him home. Sally just stands there and Bobby doesn’t know what to say. Bobby returns to the Diner and tells Fisher and Fin about it and they realise it’s going to be a long time before Pippa gets over losing Dale. Back home, Pippa is cuddling Christopher, as Michael tries to get her to calm down but it all gets heated and she takes Christopher upstairs, to clean him up. He turns to Sally and tells her they’ll just have to be patient with Pippa and he puts his arms around her, to comfort her.

Just as Fisher is about to leave the Diner, Angel comes in and on congratulating her on joining the play,
she stuns him, Bobby and Fin by saying how sensitive Shane is and that she now likes him. They’re all amused about the big turnaround and Angel begins to sense she’s been conned. She forces Fin to tell her what’s going on and she’s furious and goes off to the Surf Club to confront Shane. As Damian and Luke take a back seat, she grabs the magazine he’s been quoting from and makes him squirm, as she asks him why he’s got it. She ends up hitting him across the face with it before storming out, leaving him rubbing his cheek, with Damian and Luke in stitches. She arrives home at the same time as Fisher and she’s ranting on about being conned by Shane. She’s not prepared for his answer.

It ends when Fisher tells her it’s not about Shane deceiving her, it’s about her fear of failure. He points out that if she wants to end up like an under-achiever like Shane, she’s going the right way about it…

Avril M Harrison