Episode 7538

Extended Summary

Bella and Nikau are walking back on the beach after the award ceremony. Bella notes that even though she wasn’t sure about going, it was the best night ever. She has been guarding her trophy ever since and says she’s never won anything before. She reminds Nikau he encouraged her to study photography in the first place and suggests Colby would be proud. Meanwhile, Ari and Nikau are unloading the bike from the trailer. Ari has trouble starting it and Ziggy admits everything needs replacing, although she says she can get the parts cheap through the garage. Mia thanks her for arranging it and Ziggy notes someone did the same thing for her once.

Irene approaches John at the surf club. He says she can talk to Roo about the surf comp but Irene says she needs his help: Jasmine was meant to be choosing a new manager for the gym but isn’t up to it so Irene’s volunteered and wants John to help out. John isn’t sure about his judgement at the moment but Irene insists. Outside the bait shop, Roo is finishing a phone call and tells Alf she’s got the permits for the surf competition fast-tracked. Alf says he’ll have to put her on the committee. Marilyn appears with Alf’s tea but Roo takes it. She says Dean’s organised judges but she needs to get a budget to him, talk to the paper and hire a gazebo, hurrying off.

John is looking over the applicants’ CVs but is struggling to form an opinion. Roo comes in and John tries to go to help her, saying she’s fixing his mess, but Irene can see that Roo’s in full flow and reminds John he’s meant to be helping her. John suggests they call some of the applicants in. Outside the Parata house, Ari and Tane are dismantling the bike and examining it. Bella and Nikau arrive and Nikau is impressed with the bike. Bella shows off her trophy and everyone congratulates her.

Inside, Mia is extolling the virtues of riding on a bike to Ziggy, recalling going on a road trip with Ari once. She gets a phone call from John inviting her to a job interview. At the Diner, Bella is showing off the trophy to Marilyn. She gets a phone call from a lady she exchanged numbers with at the event and is surprised that she actually wants to talk to Nikau and won’t say why. Bella says she’ll pass on the message, then heads upstairs to change out of her dress.

Mia is struggling to pick out an outfit for the interview, despite Ari saying she could turn up in workout gear. Ari talks about the bike before ushering her out past Ziggy and Tane. Ziggy mentions that John’s  doing the interview and Ari confirms he can be tricky. After Mia has gone, Ziggy checks on Tane who notes he could have used a CV. Ziggy explains to Ari and says Tane’s serious about getting a job. At the surf club, John and Irene show out a candidate, James, that John was unimpressed with. John takes the seat away and Irene accuses him of tormenting the candidates. Mia arrives and reminds Irene they met, being introduced to John. She has trouble finding a chair or remembering her last boss since she’s been self-employed for some time. John cites poor problem solving and attention to detail, then asks why she didn’t wear gym gear.

Ziggy finishes eating and heads off to look for parts, leaving Ari and Tane alone. After eating in silence for a few moments, Ari says he’s heard about Tane looking for a job. Tane makes it clear he’s not keen on construction but Ari suggests Tane cover his job for a few weeks so it’s not given away. Back at the surf club, John suggests Mia came to the Bay impulsively. Irene shuts him down and asks Mia why she wants the job. Mia says she’s a qualified PT instructor and ran her own business, also offering to change into gym gear. John leaves to take a call from the real estate agent and Irene offers Mia the job.

At the Diner flat, Nikau finishes off the call to Bella’s contact and tells Bella that she runs a modelling agency and wanted to take him out for lunch to discuss work. However, he isn’t interested. Later, Bella tries to encourage Nikau to look into it, saying he’ll get paid more than at the bait shop just for standing there. Nikau says it’s not his scene and seeing his picture up was weird.

Ziggy turns up with the parts, telling Tane she’ll think of a way for him to thank her and Ari can just buy her a beer. Mia comes back and tells them she’s got the job. Everyone congratulates her and she and Ari go inside. Tane tells Ziggy about Ari’s suggestion but isn’t keen on it, since he’d rather have a job he’s interested in. Ziggy suggests it’d give him something to put on his CV. Back at the surf club, Roo tells Irene she’s arranged free publicity at the Coastal News. John returns and wonders why they aren’t seeing any more candidates. Irene explains she gave the job to Mia. John says it’s on her and Irene notes it’s good to see him back to his old self.

Mia, Ari and Ziggy are handing round beers to celebrate, while Tane is trying on Ari’s work shirt. Bella and Nikau arrive and the others explain Tane and Mia have jobs. They also congratulate Bella. Ziggy gets a text from Dean saying it’s her turn with Mac. Mia goes outside to collect pizzas and calls over to John, who distractedly congratulates her before looking at the For Sale sign in a melancholy fashion. Ziggy tells Tane that when she gets home Mackenzie will bombard her with questions about Ari. She says that every day she has a good time and then goes home where Mac doesn’t want her.