Episode 7195

Extended Summary

Colby chats to Mackenzie about how easy dating her is, giving her a kiss that Ryder suggests is against health and safety and suggesting she come over tonight. Mackenzie reminds him of Bella but Colby says she’s turned a corner. Mackenzie asks him what Dean’s passions are and Colby says beer and surfing. Dean and Ziggy turn up and, on being told of the comment, Dean adds Ziggy, kissing her in front of a still uncomfortable Ryder. Bella comes over as Irene slips away and says she’s going home, with Ryder taking his break to keep an eye on her. Dean notes Colby and Ryder have made up. Mackenzie gives her reason for the questioning: She wants to give Dean the money to set up a surf school. Downstairs, John tells Alf he wants to help Ben but the committee won’t let him put him on the payroll. Alf says to just give him odd jobs and John agrees he can pay him out of petty cash. Ziggy comes down and thanks Alf for looking out for Ben. Nearby, Ryder asks Bella what’s wrong and if it’s to do with Irene. Bella leaves, telling him not to follow her, and also doesn’t respond when he tries to check he’s still walking her to school.

Next morning, Ziggy runs into Dean at the caravan park. She asks him about the surf school but Dean isn’t keen, saying he’s already got a job and it’ll take the fun out of surfing. Ziggy says they’ll talk later as she goes over to chat to Ben. She knows he’s signing over the pier today and thinks that with no money stress he can move back home. She says she and Maggie both miss him but Ben thinks Maggie would be more miserable if he was there. He disappears into the shower block. Meanwhile, Ryder meets Colby at the Diner flat as he arrives to collect Bella. Colby calls out to her and she emerges but isn’t dressed, saying she’s not going to school. Colby and Ryder ask what’s changed but she tells them not to pressure her and disappears back into her room.

Downstairs, Roo offers to cover for Maggie if she wants time off but Maggie says she’d just sit around at home; she knows Ziggy is staying home more so she isn’t alone. Ryder comes down and says Bella’s not coming to school, although he doesn’t know what changed. Irene overhears and feels guilty. She heads up to the flat where, after learning Colby is similarly in the dark, she admits she told Bella she needed her to testify. Bella listens from her room as Irene explains about the lawsuit and how being found guilty will mean losing everything. Colby still thinks it’s too much for Bella and Irene agrees. She knocks on Bella’s door and says she’s sorry for pressuring her and she doesn’t have to testify. Bella can hear but doesn’t answer and Irene leaves. Bella emerges and tells Colby she wants to help Irene but is scared.

Ziggy finds Dean on the beach and asks why he didn’t tell her he’d finished his probation. Dean says he didn’t want to bother her given how much else she had going on. Ziggy insists she’s interested in his life and asks him about the surf shop, saying they’re going to talk about it this time. Meanwhile, Mackenzie joins Colby on the Diner flat balcony with a takeaway, reminding him they were meant to meet for breakfast. She realises something’s going on with Bella and Colby explains the guy Irene hit was assaulting her. He notes Irene asked her to testify. Mackenzie wonders what’s wrong with that and Colby says she wouldn’t cope. Mackenzie gets permission to offer Bella a different perspective.

Ben and Maggie meet at Salt to go over the pier sale papers. Maggie says they’re lucky the buyers wanted a quick settlement but Ben isn’t happy, since all the money from the sale will go on his defence. However, after much hesitation, he signs the papers. Maggie tries to tell him she misses him but Ben ignores the comment, simply checking what they’ll do with the papers. Maggie tells him he can come home any time he wants. Ben pauses for a bit, then leaves. Near the caravan park, Ziggy reminds Dean he wanted to run a surf school out of Ben’s Boards but he says that Ben would have handled the business side. He says surfing’s the only thing he isn’t a loser at. Ziggy says she’s with him because she believes in him, like Mackenzie and Ben have done.

Irene turns up at the caravan park and tells Leah she’s not going to take no for an answer this time: She wants Leah to sign the contract. She says in order to protect Leah’s interests she did something horrible in trying to get Bella to testify. Leah still regards signing over the Diner as defeatism, but Irene insists it’s common sense and she has no chance without Bella. Leah tells her to listen to the other stories and leaves her with the laptop. Irene starts playing Teresa’s story, in which she says she went to a party as a teenager where four men considered her fair game. At the surf club, Dean and Ziggy put up a sign for the surf school, saying to apply at Salt. John asks if Mackenzie knows about it and suggests the name Wipe Out With Dean, but does offer to hand out flyers when they’ve got some. Ryder asks them to sign him up; Ziggy gives Dean a congratulatory kiss and Ryder wonders why that keeps happening. Ben arrives and Dean offers him a job. Ben is a bit bemused but accepts.

With Colby sat nearby, Mackenzie tells Bella that she reported her best friend to the police on learning he was abusing his girlfriend. She gave evidence at his trial, despite him and his family begging her not to. It was the hardest thing she ever had to do but it gave her peace of mind. She asks Bella how she’d feel if she didn’t help Irene. Downstairs, Irene hugs Leah, having been moved by the women’s stories and the fact they were willing to relive their own hells in order to help her. She is now determined to fight. Colby, Bella and Mackenzie come in and Irene apologises face to face. Bella tells Irene she’s going to testify even though it’s going to be hard.

Ben returns to the caravan park where someone wolf whistles and calls him “handsome”: Karen. She asks him to buy her a drink for the compliment. After a bit of hesitation, Ben invites her to his caravan for a beer.