Previously
- Chloe is impressed with Sheila's posh Giselle Goddard hand cream; Sheila tells her she can have it
- But Sheila asks Chloe not to tell Kyle and Levi about the hand cream
- Terese asks Paul if he has some kind of money issue, but he insists he doesn't
- Paul condemns Ned's management of the Hive as a 'deadweight artistic nightmare' and fires him
- Terese reminds Paul that Ned is family, and says he can trust him; this gets Paul thinking
- Paul tells Ned he can keep running the Hive on one condition
- Bea worries that writing a Finn book would be too traumatic; Hendrix suggests a podcast instead
- Karl suggests that if Bea did want to make a Finn podcast, they'd have to talk it through
- Jane tells Curtis that the Year 13 plans are all mapped out, so his project won't be happening
- But Curtis later tells Jane that Susan has declared the project will go ahead
- Jane tells Susan, 'It is either him, or it is me' as regards Curtis and Year 13
No 28
Susan's conversation with Jane and Curtis continues.
SUSAN: I referee squabbles between students, not teachers.
JANE: Well, this is more than a squabble. It is a debate about the principles that underpin Year 13!
Susan says there's room to try out all kinds of methodologies as the programme develops, and Curtis adds that he doesn't see why his vocational project can't coexist with curricular Year 13. But Jane continues to rant on about how she's the supervisor of Year 13 and as such, it's up to her.
SUSAN: It's not *about* you, Jane! Or you, Curtis. I appreciate how much you're both invested in this, and Year 13 will only benefit from that. Which is why I'm not going to choose between the two of you.
JANE: Well, you leave me very little recourse.
SUSAN: Come on, Jane, you're not going to quit because of this! You're both professionals. You need to sit down and come to an agreement about the best way forward, for the students.
Jane looks displeased.
Lassiter's Complex
A woman we haven't met before steps out of a car outside the hotel, and checks her watch. She's immediately confronted by a grouchy Vera Punt.
VERA: You're standing in a thoroughfare!
WOMAN: Now I know. Thanks!
Vera walks onwards into the courtyard, and grimaces at Terese as she approaches - but reserves a quick smile for David, who is with Terese. Vera passes them, but then catches her foot on some poorly placed Easter decorations. Vera grabs for a giant inflatable bunny in a bid to break her fall, but to no avail - and cries out as she falls to the floor. David and Terese rush to her aid.
DAVID: Are you alright?
VERA: Oh, what do you think?! I've just gone down like a sack of potatoes!
It appears to be her ankle that's in pain, and David tells her he doesn't think it's broken - but suggests she get it checked out at the hospital. Vera points out the decorations she tripped over.
VERA: This hotel is a death trap!!
Terese rolls her eyes - it's like Valentine's 2019 all over again!
No 24
Jane whinges to Chloe about Curtis being overzealous in pushing his Year 13 ideas, and being an entitled millennial.
CHLOE: You do realise that I'm a millennial?
JANE: You're the exception, not the rule.
CHLOE: Look, I agree we can be super-annoying, but we're also pretty easy to get on-side.
JANE: Well, I'm not interested in being his friend. I am his superior.
CHLOE: Why can't you be both? (...) If you want Curtis's respect, try showing him a little.
The Waterhole
Bea is talking to Susan and Levi about her plans for the Finn Kelly podcast. She wants to do six episodes, depending on how many interviews she gets, and asks Susan if she and Karl are still okay with her doing it. Susan says Bea has her blessing.
BEA: And Karl?
SUSAN: Well, I think you'll find that now these bogus charges have been dropped and he can go back to work, he's gonna be much more relaxed. Unlike me - I'm gonna have a horrible day.
Susan explains to Bea and Levi that she's having trouble with her teaching staff. Then she heads to the bar to settle the bill. Already waiting at the bar is the unknown woman we saw outside the hotel earlier - who stares at Susan curiously and at length. She is looking at the earrings Susan got from Sheila for her birthday.
WOMAN: Nice earrings.
SUSAN: Oh! Oh, thank you. They were a birthday present, from a friend.
WOMAN: Oh. They're lovely.
SUSAN: Thank you.
But the woman looks a little surprised.
Ramsay Street
Sheila sees a parcel waiting on the wall by her house. Across the street, Paul is on the phone as he gets into his own car, seemingly being told by Terese about Mrs Punt's accident.
PAUL: Not again! ... I swear the woman is a scam artist...
As Paul drives off, Chloe approaches Sheila, and they joke about Paul's obvious bad mood. Chloe notices that Sheila has a delivery from the upmarket firm Daintree, and asks what's in it. Sheila opens it to reveal a posh pair of shoes. Chloe's impressed.
CHLOE: They're gorgeous! But so not your usual style.
SHEILA: Oh, yes. But Brooke - you know, on 'The Bold and the Beautiful' - she has a pair just like them. And as you know, she's one of my style icons.
CHLOE: I did not know that! (...) This brand is really pricey.
SHEILA (awkward): Yes, well, you know, why do we work if we can't splurge occasionally?
CHLOE: But you've been splurging a lot lately! I mean, that nice hand cream... Come on, Sheila, fess up.
SHEILA: Uh... sorry?
CHLOE: Did you win the lotto, raid the tip jar? What's going on?
Sheila suddenly becomes flustered, and instead of answering, says she has to get to work. She bids Chloe a hurried goodbye and gets into her car.
Erinsborough Hive
Ned is opening a tin of paint, when the lid pops off suddenly, splattering him in the face with the tin's blue contents. At the same time, the unknown woman appears - and seeing Ned is covered in paint, rushes to his aid, wiping it off his face for him.
WOMAN (laughing): I've only ever done this for a snotty-nosed five-year-old!
Ned asks if she has kids, and she tells him no - and, having removed most of the paint, that he's now safe to open his eyes.
NED: Hi.
WOMAN: Hi!
She remarks that the Hive is pretty quiet for a co-working space, and asks if it's typical for a Wednesday. Ned says it ebbs and flows. The woman says it's bigger than the website pictures suggest, adding that the heating bill must be high in the winter.
NED: Sorry, I didn't catch your name. Did you email about a hotdesk?
WOMAN: Oh, no, no. I just wanted to drop by, get a feel for the place.
NED: Well, I'm the manager - I can give you a tour if you want.
WOMAN: Oh, no. I've seen all I need to. Thanks for the offer.
They smile at one another, and she leaves. Ned, who still has blue paint on him, looks a bit perplexed by the encounter.
The Waterhole
Terese is updating Paul on what happened with Mrs Punt. She explains that David thought her ankle wasn't broken, but that Terese called an ambulance for her just in case.
PAUL: What on earth would you do that for?! That is practically an admission of guilt.
TERESE: Paul, I wasn't gonna leave her sprawled on the concrete!
PAUL: I would've.
TERESE: Not helping.
Terese says she doesn't want Paul involved in this, as the 'mere sight' of him will inspire Vera to demand a larger settlement by way of compensation.
PAUL: No way. I'm not giving that woman another cent.
TERESE: Paul, if we do nothing, we'll have another Valentine's Day disaster on our hands. And we need to learn from our mistakes.
Terese leaves, just as Ned comes in. He joins Paul at the table, and explains about the woman who was at the Hive earlier, who wasn't a client but was asking questions about the business.
PAUL: Ah, good - could be a potential buyer. Oh, I recently put the place on the market.
NED: You're selling? But we're just doing well again. I've had plenty of bookings in the last few days.
PAUL: Yeah, except I made those bookings.
NED: What? All of them?
PAUL: Mm. Just, you know, to make the place look viable.
NED: Paul, that is so dodgy.
PAUL: I am simply illuminating the Hive's potential, yeah?
NED: Yeah, well, I don't want any part of it, alright?
PAUL: Yeah, well, what you want doesn't even enter into it. When I hired you back, you agreed to help me, no questions asked.
NED: This is what you meant?
PAUL: Mm-hm. So, if any more interested parties drop by, I want you to talk the place up, understand? Anyway, it's for your own benefit.
NED: How does lying for you benefit me?
PAUL: Because if the place looks like it's doing well under your management, it's quite likely that you'll be kept on after the sale.
Ned looks annoyed.
Harold's Café
Jane and Curtis are talking about Year 13. Following Chloe's advice, Jane is taking a less combative approach, saying she appreciates all the hard work Curtis has put into the programme. He admits it hasn't felt that way.
JANE: You are an excellent teacher, Curtis. You are one of the best new grads that I have seen in a long time.
CURTIS: Thank you.
JANE: And I'm happy for you to work with me to come up with new ideas for Year 13 in the future.
CURTIS: Jane, I'm not trying to undermine you. But I have a lot more to contribute than you realise. I'm closer in age to the students, so I understand their needs better.
JANE: Well, there is some validity to that. But as the department head, you need to accept my ruling on things, and not take it further up the management chain.
CURTIS: Well, I've already told you, it was Hendrix who brought the issue to Susan, not me.
Jane reluctantly agrees to give some more thought to Curtis's Hive project, 'if it makes you happy'. Curtis thanks her, saying he's sure she'll see it's exactly what the students want and need.
The Waterhole
Sheila is working, and Chloe sitting at the bar, when Levi and Bea come in. Bea finds a two-dollar coin on the floor, and Levi declares it 'finders keepers', but Sheila says she'll put it in the tips jar.
CHLOE: More like pocket it, am I right?
LEVI: Oh, so that's how you've been buying all those packages that have been arriving at home?
SHEILA (defensive): No! But, purely out of interest, if I did receive a package - you know, completely out of the blue - which wasn't exactly one of my orders, would I get into trouble for keeping it?
LEVI: A hundred percent. That's jail time, Gran. Like, five years, minimum.
SHEILA: Oh, you're kidding!
BEA: Yes, he's kidding!
LEVI: Look, whoever ordered the stuff will just tell the company that their stuff didn't come, and the company would cover the cost.
BEA: Yeah, if they sent it to you by accident, it's on them.
Levi and Bea go to take a seat.
CHLOE: So *that's* what's been going on!
SHEILA: Oh, no. That was just a hypothetical.
CHLOE: Hey, no judgement here! Like they said, it's a victimless crime. The only cost here is looking fabulous!
But Sheila looks a bit unsure as Chloe leaves.
Erinsborough Hospital
Karl comes in to tend to Vera. It's been established that her injury is just a sprain, and he goes to check for swelling, but...
VERA: Keep your hands off me! I know what you did to that poor Olivia woman.
KARL: No, no, she withdrew her statement.
VERA: Battered women withdraw statements all the time, out of fear and intimidation.
She sees David walking past the window, and calls out to him, asking him to treat her instead of Karl.
VERA: With his habit of pushing women around, I'm more than likely to sprain my other ankle, or even worse.
David awkwardly says he's happy to take over, so Karl leaves them to it. In the corridor, he looks upset.
Lassiter's
The woman who was interested in the Hive greets Chloe in the foyer, and asks if Paul Robinson is available. Chloe explains he's out of the office, so the woman asks to make an appointment to meet with him, regarding 'potential business interests'.
CHLOE: Let me pull up his diary. Name?
But the woman doesn't answer, having detected a distinctive scent in the air.
WOMAN: ... Is that... Giselle Goddard hand cream?
Chloe confirms that it is. The woman explains it's her favourite, saying she's just run out.
WOMAN: It's not widely available in stores. Where did you get it?
CHLOE: It was a gift from a friend.
The woman asks if Chloe's friend could help her track some down, but Chloe is evasive, saying she thinks her 'friend' got it in some kind of promo deal. The woman looks suspicious...
Erinsborough Hospital
Susan arrives and runs into Curtis. She asks him what he's doing here, but before he can reply, Karl turns up, and thanks her for coming, explaining that Vera Punt was on his rounds today with a sprained ankle. Curtis has moved away, but Vera's name catches his attention, and he discreetly listens to the conversation.
KARL: She's refusing to be treated by me because she believes I deliberately harmed Olivia.
SUSAN: No! Well, pity she didn't sprain more than her ankle, then!
Remembering she's cut short her conversation with Curtis, Susan introduces him to Karl as her colleague from school.
CURTIS: I'm here to visit my aunt Vera.
SUSAN (awkward): ... Punt?
CURTIS: Yep.
Karl awkwardly points Curtis in the direction of Vera's room, and he goes off to see her, leaving the Kennedys looking sheepish.
Harold's Café
Susan tells Levi and Bea about her awkward discovery that Curtis is Vera's nephew.
SUSAN: We were mortified (...) I never would've picked it. Although it does explain why Curtis keeps turning up in Ramsay Street.
BEA: Oh, so Vera's his drawcard, not you, Auntie Suze!
Jane appears, and immediately sits down to start moaning about how Curtis is undermining her again, much to Susan's dismay. She tries to change the subject by telling Jane about Curtis being related to Vera.
JANE: I've had many a run in with Vera over the back fence when I was living with David and Aaron. And I definitely complained about her at school, and Curtis never said a word. Well, maybe that's why he has such a blatant disrespect for me.
SUSAN: Oh, I'd think the opposite would be true. Maybe he didn't say anything because he respects you so much, he didn't want to embarrass you.
Jane looks like she's giving this possibility serious consideration.
The Waterhole
Sheila is looking at her phone. Glancing furtively around the bar, she reaches under the counter and takes out the shoes she received in the parcel, takes off her regular shoes, and puts the new ones on. They're visibly too big for her, as Terese points out when she comes in, remarking that they're 'not very work safe'. Sheila says they're gorgeous and she has a right to show them off!
Terese joins Paul at a table, to give him another update on Vera. Paul wants to know how much her sprained ankle is going to cost him, but Terese says Vera was too tired to discuss it. Conversation moves to Paul's intention to sell the Hive; and he explains he's thinking of offloading the shops on Power Road, too, 'to free up some cash for other investments'.
Terese asks if it wouldn't be smarter to keep the Hive and give Ned a chance to improve things.
PAUL: Yeah, well, we've got a plan in place to do exactly that. And clearly it's working, because Chloe has scheduled a meeting with an interested buyer.
TERESE: Oh! Do you know them?
PAUL: We all do. Look at this!
Paul shows Terese the name of the prospective buyer on his phone. We don't see it, but she replies...
TERESE: That can't be right!
She looks at Paul quizzically.
Erinsborough Hospital
Curtis is sitting with Vera in her hospital room, when Jane turns up. She's brought Vera some flowers.
JANE: I heard about your accident.
VERA: Ramsay Street grapevine in full bloom? Unlike those. A bit wilted. Hope you didn't pay top dollar.
Vera orders Curtis to put the flowers on her bedside, and tells Jane what a good boy he is. Curtis smiles innocently. Jane asks for a word with him outside, about work. In the corridor, it transpires that Curtis has had his cochlear implant turned off while he was sitting with Vera, having just been nodding and smiling to what she's been saying! He turns it on so he can hear Jane.
CURTIS: I love my aunt, but there's only so much of her whingeing I can take.
Jane tells Curtis she's given some more thought to his Year 13 project at the Hive, and has decided it can go ahead, once a couple of concerns have been ironed out. Curtis is pleased.
JANE: I think the best way for us to maintain an ongoing dialogue is for you to check in with me, weekly.
CURTIS: Sounds good.
Lassiter's Complex
Sheila is cleaning tables outside the pub, when the woman who is interested in the Hive appears. As Sheila offers to get her a menu, the woman notices Sheila's footwear.
WOMAN: Nice shoes! A gift from a friend, by any chance?
SHEILA: No. All me.
WOMAN: Oh, so you must be Sheila - the one who's been receiving a bunch of online orders that weren't meant for you.
SHEILA (stammering): How do you...? Are you from Daintree?
WOMAN: No. I'm the one who was supposed to be *getting* the deliveries. Those shoes - they're mine. I ordered and paid for them.
SHEILA: Well, why did they have 'Sheila Canning' on the box?
WOMAN: Because that's my name. I'm Sheila Canning.
Sheila 1 looks horrified, as she realises she is face-to-face with Sheila 2...
Coming up on Neighbours
- Clive tells Karl, 'This is escalating'; Karl asks if he's not welcome at his workplace anymore
- Bea telling someone not to give up, but to 'fight it'
- Paul tells Terese, 'This is a deliberate act of sabotage'
- As an angry Paul approaches, Ned tells Yashvi not to get involved, and to let him handle it
- Sheila 1 asks Roxy, 'What's his problem now?' Paul approaches and says, 'My problem is you'
- Paul tells someone, 'That leaves you as the prime suspect'
