Episode 6920

Extended Summary

Ty goes down to the beach, followed by Ryder and Raffy. Ryder thinks what Ty did was awesome while Raffy asks if he’s all right. Ty starts having a panic attack; they call John over and Ryder explains what happened. John gets Ty to sit down and focus on his breathing. Raffy crouches by him and says she’s sorry. John tells her to give him space. At the Diner, Olivia reflects on having to make a wedding dress when it’s not something she’d wear herself and Hunter quips that she made that clear. He gets a text from his lecturer, Christina, wanting to discuss his work. Olivia doesn’t think there’s any mystery there but Hunter says he’s only just submitted it.

John, Ty, Raffy and Ryder head up to the surf club. John sits Ty down and gets one of the staff to bring him water. Marilyn arrives, having been called. Ryder suggests giving them space and Marilyn says they’ll meet him and Raffy at the Diner. Ty is aghast that he came out by accident. Marilyn suggests the kids will find something else to talk about but Ty thinks he has to leave Summer Bay and can’t go back to school. At the Diner, Raffy feels bad, thinking Ty only blurted it out because she let Abbi get to her. Ryder wonders what they can do to help.

Roo is visiting Maggie in hospital with Ben and Coco. She asks about Maggie’s chemo and Ben chimes in that there’s still a chance of a donor. Maggie asks Roo about school, hoping for a bit of normality. Roo says it hasn’t burnt down, although the Year 10s were experimenting with bunsen burners. She leaves, taking Coco home. Maggie checks her phone for messages, noting Diana should have got the letter today. Ben offers her a game of cards. Roo joins Ryder and Raffy at the Diner, saying she heard about Ty. Marilyn also turns up to collect Raffy. She and Roo move aside for a private chat. Marilyn confirms that Ty wasn’t ready to come out and that he doesn’t want to go back to school. Roo hopes they can sort something out.

Next morning, Roo meets John, Marilyn and Ty by the surf club. She asks Ty if he’s okay but he says he isn’t: He got into his uniform thinking he could go to school but he can’t. Roo says he can always come to her and John says he’s got nothing to be ashamed of. Ty says they can’t control how people react and walks away. Later, Ryder, Raffy and Coco find him sitting on the beach. Raffy apologises again but Ty says it’s not her fault. Coco suggests he should be proud of himself. Ty says he’s not going back to school. Raffy sits down next to him and says she isn’t going either then. Coco concurs and Ryder agrees that he won’t miss the opportunity to skip school.

At the Diner, Hunter tells Olivia that he’s probably going to get kicked out of uni and thinks he must have messed up his assignment. He sees Christina coming and Olivia leaves them to it. Hunter apologises but Christina says his assignment was an eye-opener in a good way and she has an opportunity for him. She suggests they get takeaway coffee and talk outside. There, she asks how he finds the course. Hunter says he likes it but it’s challenging. Christina explains the opportunity: She works part-time with the reserves of a baseball team in the city and every year they offer a work placement. She wants him to apply: It requires an interview and a physical assessment but she’ll mentor him. Hunter asks if he can think about it overnight, then says he’s only joking: It’s a yes.

John, Marilyn and Roo find the teens sitting on the beach and wonder if they’re going to school. They explain they’re not going without Ty. Marilyn asks if it’s a protest and Coco says it’s a show of solidarity. Roo says this isn’t the way and she’d have to give them all detention. Ty doesn’t want to get the others into trouble and Raffy muses that that’d involve being stuck in a room with Abbi. Coco suggests they all go and Raffy takes Ty’s hand. Back at the Diner, Hunter has filled Olivia in and says he can’t believe Christina chose him. Olivia agrees, which wasn’t the response he was hoping for, so she quickly backtracks, saying he’ll get experience from the placement and Christina wouldn’t risk her reputation if she didn’t think he was up to it.

Roo leads Ty, Ryder, Raffy and Coco into school and leaves them to it. Ty feels as though everyone is looking at him. Raffy and Coco try to encourage him to own what he is but Ty says he’s not confident and insane like Ryder. Ryder says there might be a way. Roo shows Ty and Ryder into the office and Ryder shoos her out. He takes Ty’s phone and says he knows the song he played him was about how he felt, so he’s going to play it. Ty isn’t convinced but Ryder gets on the intercom (with Raffy and Coco encouraging people to listen) and, after making a short speech about diversity, plays Ty’s song. He summons Ty over to the door and they see students enjoying the music. Ty emerges and gets a round of applause.

At the Diner, Hunter asks Christina about the sort of training they do. Christina wants to test some of her routines on him, saying he might run some drills himself soon. They leave as Raffy, Ryder, Ty and Coco arrive. Ty says some people still looked at him funny but the others say they always do that with anyone different. Raffy says she’s a nerd and Coco says she used to have an eating disorder. They look pointedly at Ryder who claims he’s perfect, but Raffy and Coco list his faults: Sleeping disorder, talks without thinking, rude and annoying, and takes jokes too far. Marilyn brings over some rainbow cupcakes and says there’s a rainbow sticker on the door. Ryder says Ty should come out more often.

At the hospital, Ben shows Roo in to see Maggie. Roo tells her about Ty coming out not entirely on his own terms. She adds that Raffy, Ryder and Coco were a big support, although it did involve a sit-in and Ryder as DJ. She says Ty’s the first student to come out at Summer Bay that they know of but won’t be the only one and asks Maggie’s advice on making them feel safe. Maggie gets a phone call from Dr Callan and assumes it’s about the trial. She gets Ben to take it outside. Ben does and it seems the news isn’t what they expected.

Christina puts Hunter through a session on the beach which includes passing a ball back and forth, runs and jumping over hoops. She checks he’s still alive. Hunter takes his shirt off and goes for a swim before round two; Christina looks somewhat flustered. Back at the hospital, Maggie is alone in the room. Ben comes in and says they’ve found a stem cell match. Both look relieved.