Episode 8088

Extended Summary

Xander and Kirby run into each other on the beach. Xander notes he still can’t get used to Kirby being a surfer and says she’ll be running lessons soon. He asks her about the album launch and Kirby notes that she thinks Lyrik are heading for big things. At the coffee cart, Justin makes an unsuccessful attempt to call Alf, with Marilyn worried that he’s had an accident. John appears and Justin asks him to keep an eye on Marilyn, since he has a national radio interview to sort out for Lyrik. Marilyn tries to downplay it but, after Justin has gone, John asks her what’s going on and Marilyn says it’s her fault Alf is missing.

Justin arrives home and sees Leah’s note. Theo shows him the meme and Justin laughs, before awkwardly saying it’s pretty funny. Theo thinks he’ll never be able to live it down. Justin says everyone will forget about it after the interview on Drive Time With Felix J. Theo tries to psyche himself up for it but Justin says Kirby’s doing it. By the surf club, Kirby fills in Mackenzie, saying she’s doing it on her own because Eden and Remi hate doing publicity and Justin thinks Theo is a bit too green. Xander appears and Mackenzie fills him in.

John turns up at the Diner looking for Alf and explains to Irene about Alf’s hearing problems. He says Alf wouldn’t listen to either him or Marilyn about it. Irene is surprised he isn’t more thick-skinned. She says she’ll call him, knowing he’ll answer if she says there’s a problem with the bait shop. Later, John and Marilyn are at the coffee cart when Irene turns up and tells them Alf is in the city with Roo, having left first thing. While she’s pleased that he’s all right, Marilyn is upset that Alf wouldn’t answer her calls.

Justin tells Theo he didn’t think he’d be up for the interview. Theo thinks that Kirby planned this. Despite Justin trying to stop him, he storms round to the Lyrik house and accuses Kirby of manipulating the whole situation to put herself in the spotlight. He thinks she stepped in to make him look bad. Kirby reminds him that he thanked her for it but Theo won’t be swayed. Justin turns up as Theo and Kirby’s argument continues. He tells Kirby they have to get to the interview and tells Theo to pull his head in.

At the Diner, John comments to Irene on her still enjoying his company and she jokingly calls it Stockholm Syndrome. He confirms he’s happy being home especially since Lyrik haven’t been practising lately. They discuss the fact that Marilyn is still down about Alf not talking to her. Irene notes it’s never fun being in Alf’s bad books. John says he practically lives there.

At Salt, Mackenzie tells Xander Felicity will be back at work tonight and they discuss her attacker being caught. Mackenzie puts Kirby’s interview on the restaurant speakers, which is preceded by a playing of Secrets. Theo also puts the interview on at home. Kirby talks about making sense of things via songwriting. The interviewer asks about rumours of a rift in Lyrik. Kirby says they don’t get on all the time but the others are great musicians. Leah comes home and notes Kirby sounds great. Theo agrees.

Kirby arrives at Salt to a warm greeting from Mackenzie and Xander. Mackenzie jokingly complains about the lack of a plug for Salt. Kirby worries that none of the band bothered to listen, since she hasn’t heard from them. Mackenzie suggests they’re waiting to talk in person. Meanwhile, Justin joins Leah and Theo at home. Theo is feeling bad about what he said to Kirby and wonders if he should call her but Justin suggests giving her space. Leah recalls Theo was fine fronting the prank videos and Theo explains Lyrik means more to him. Justin and Leah suggest that Theo starts with print interviews, where he can think about what he’s got to say, and he agrees.

Kirby notes that she does most of the songwriting and all the publicity but instead of thanks for it she gets accusations from Theo. Mackenzie and Xander sympathise. Xander goes to do a surf class. Kirby gets a phone call from a number she doesn’t recognise. Mackenzie encourages her to answer it, saying it might be a fan. Later, Mackenzie finds Kirby out on the balcony. Kirby says the call was from Forrest Duke, a label rep from a big record company. Mackenzie thinks the rest of the band will be delighted but Kirby explains he only wants to talk to her.

At the Diner, Marilyn asks Irene if she can go home and Irene agrees, with her and John both trying to give words of comfort. Irene makes a quip about being stood up by John. Later, they talk about how pleased she was to have company the other night. John is amused at Irene having a tarot reading and says needing a new path is what everyone’s told. He notes he’s happy to have his own space but realises Irene isn’t.

Kirby explains that Forrest only manages solo artists. Mackenzie asks Kirby if she’s seriously considering it. Kirby says she wouldn’t have done a few weeks ago but now she’s not so sure. She decides to meet with Forrest, saying it might work to Lyrik’s advantage. She asks for a table on the balcony, in the corner, which Mackenzie takes to mean she’s hiding. Kirby says she’s after privacy…but not to tell the others.