Episode 1238

Extended Summary

Angel meets up with Damian at the Diner and he can’t believe she intends to go to school in her outfit and when he says Fisher will freak, she tells him, he’s already seen it. When he asks why she’s doing it, she says she’s showing him, she’s her own boss. Bobby and Ailsa have also noticed her and Bobby comments that Fisher has got his work cut out, if he intends to tame her. As Ailsa asks how is Greg’s job prospects, all Bobby can say is, Sam is the only one who’s enjoying himself at the moment because his dad’s spending a lot more time with him. Back home, Greg and Sam have returned from surfing, so Sam can get ready for school. Alf drops by and while Sam’s getting changed, tries to make light of the situation Greg finds himself in but he’s having a hard time trying to find anything to smile about these days. Back at the Diner, Angel’s stuffing her face and admits to Damian she’s nervous about returning to school and makes him promise not to tell Shane. As they walk to school they get talking about how boys and girls act around one another. They both agree they like just talking to each other, a thing that seems to be rare these days. At school, it doesn’t take Tug long to start on Damian, as he announces he is selling his football boots and even when Shane, Sarah and Angel tell him to back off, Damian lets it go right over his head. Fisher passes and tells Angel to report to the office first, to fill in the enrolment forms, which reminds her of the bureaucracy of schools.
At the Diner, Nick, Ailsa and Bobby find it amusing when they discuss Angel’s tactics and how Fisher will cope with her. Ailsa reminds Bobby it wasn’t that long ago, when she was bucking the system and he came out of that intact. Greg and Sam come in, to pick up Sam’s lunch box and Greg’s not happy as Sam asks for money for a school trip. When Bobby slips him the money and tells him not to pestered his dad for money, she doesn’t realise Greg’s behind her. He glares at her before taking Sam to school and she knows she’s in for a hard time. After dropping Sam off at school, he returns to tell Bobby off and warns her, never to do it again. With that, he leaves and she looks perplexed.

At school, Angel settles into Fisher’s class for her first lesson and it’s not long before she takes centre stage, arguing with him about the choice of book that’s being discussed – ‘Lord of the Flies’. As far as she’s concerned, it puts women down and it’s not fair but before she can continue her line of argument, he stops her in her tracks, by ordering her to be quiet. As the class comes to an end, Fisher gives them their homework assignment and Angel once again tries to be clever when she suggests a different topic. All she succeeds in doing, is giving herself more work, as Fisher says she can do both. For once, she’s on the receiving end but she has a few admirers in the class. As the students leave, Fisher tries to make her understand, she’s not helping herself or the other students by continually disrupting the syllabus but she thinks he’s picking on her and she storms off. She goes to the Diner and finds Tug and Shane have got completely the wrong idea about her actions and guesses right that Shane hasn’t even read the book they are studying and wonders where that’s going to get him. Fisher is at the counter and Ailsa says he looks like he’s had a rough morning and he says, it’s at times like these, he wishes he was marooned on a desert island, with a chest full of books. Bobby comes out to ask him if there is a possibility of work at the school for Greg but he can’t help at this time. She goes home to talk to Greg about the incident and he forgives her but he’s had no luck finding any work.

Back at school, Angel persists in arguing about why they’re doing ‘Lord of the Flies’, the reason being there are no girls in it and she thinks that sexist. When Shane chips in that Angel must have read every book around, so she must be as brainy as Fisher, it’s the last straw. Fisher puts the argument to the class and makes the students realise they’ll suffer, if they let Angel continue to be argumentative because it’s obvious she has read the book and knows what she’s talking about. With exams looming, if they don’t complete the task, they will all fail, with the exception of Angel. Once again, he has the upper hand on her and she looks daggers at Shane.

Nick and Greg go for a run and Fisher passes by in his car and stops to tell Greg why he couldn’t offer him any work at the school. He says he explained it to Bobby and after Fisher drives off, Nick jogs off as Greg stands there, fuming, before catching up with Nick. When he gets home, he has a go at Bobby for interfering and storms off upstairs, as Tug and Sam look on.

Angel’s in a foul mood when she gets home and Shane’s fed-up with her going on about it. He tells her she was showing off and got caught out and when Damian agrees, she sulks. Damian decides it would be a good time to leave and when he asks her if she wants to go for a run, she sarcastically says she has her homework to do. He tells her to give him a ring if she changes her mind and goes home. Michael’s seems to be in a good mood, as Damian gets ready and they talk about why he’s taken up running.

Fisher’s preparing the evening meal, when Angel comes into the kitchen and accuses him of showing her up but he flatly denies it and she knows he’s right. He suggest that if she wants an in-depth point of view on the book, they could do it in the evenings, which will mean no more disruptive classes. All she can say is, as she glares at him, is she’s going for a run.

It ends when she catches up with Damian and as they jog around the caravan site, she still going on and on about her first day at school. When Damian points out she’s got to get use to other people’s point of view, she retorts she doesn’t have to and if it doesn’t get any better, she’ll leave.

Avril M Harrison