03x19 - Episode 19

[bunniefuu]

(Waves crashing)

(Surf music)

♪ There's too much choice and not enough tides ♪

♪ Once more aiming for your head, get down ♪

♪ You're the the only one in town ♪

(Waves crashing)

(Happy upbeat music)

- Surfing is like any sport.

In order to do well, you need to be confident.

It's about believing in yourself.

If you have that belief, it's amazing what you can achieve.

But if you lose it, you're dead in the water.

[Cassie] After eight months of Soul of Blue, it was easy

to see that all six of us have become

much more confident than when we started.

In the beginning, we'd all had a few good days and a lot

of bad ones.

Now, you could drop us into any swell, on any break

and we knew we could give a good account of ourselves.

In lots of little ways, the six of us were barely

recognizable as the (mumbles) kids who stumbled in here

all those months ago.

- How long you gonna be, mate? I got a whole pile of

clothes to get through.

- Don't rush me, I'll be finished when I'm finished, right?

- Is that going to be this year or next?

- Listen, mate, when you get your collars as crisp

as mine, then you can talk.

Until then, just enjoy watching the master at work.

- (Chuckles)

- [Cassie] Who'd believe that Adam and Guy, two of the

sloppiest creatures in the universe could turn into

gold medal ironing buffs?

(Chopping food)

And Charlie, who couldn't boil water when he got here

can now become one of the world's great kitchen hands.

- This will be the vegetable soup to end all

vegetable soups.

- Don't forget these.

- Coming right up.

- [Cassie] While Lauren, who'd always been a good cook,

was now super chef supreme.

(Whoosh)

As for Bridget, she'd gone from the most ineptable

play you'd ever seen - [Opponent] Good shot!

to someone who was now seriously hard to beat.

(Pool ba*ls hitting)

Okay, so playing pool, cooking and ironing might be

earth shattering stuff, but they were all things

people couldn't do eight months ago and now were like

second nature to everyone.

If confidence comes as a result of doing the little things

right, then these guys were brimming with it.

- [Cassie] For me personally, the thing that had begun to

pay off big time was something I'd never dreamed would

be possible.

School was something I never starred at, as the year had

gone by though, I'd begun to surprise everyone, especially

myself.

- Overall, some excellent answers to this weeks assignment,

I was pleasantly surprised.

Even by you, Guy...you actually managed to answer the

question.

- Well relevance is my middle name, Sir.

- Ugh, pity about the first one.

- [Girl] (Mumbles)

- [Guy] Aww, settle it down!

(Laughter)

- [Teacher] Well done, Cassie, that's three A's in a row

now. Good work.

- Putting the rest of us to shame!

- I don't know whether confidence breeds success or success

breeds confidence.

Either way, school was suddenly a lot more fun when

they both kicked in.

[Cassie] If I had to pick a single reason as for why

might confidence get increased, then I didn't have to look

any further than the five kids I lived with.

Just being around them was enough to make anyone feel good.

Knowing that they were all still looking out for me,

was the icing on the cake.

[Charlie] All right, so do we go to Swordfish Bay, or what?

- Yes, count me in.

- Me too!

- I'll be there.

- Mmm, some pretty bad rips there.

- Yeah, the rips are down in south end.

You stick to the north end we should be fine.

- Yes, but on the north end that break gets really dodgy

at low tide.

- Aw, pipe down Native Nancy.

- Sorry, I'm just putting it out there, that's all.

- Cool, so it's settled then?

- Yeah

- Just try and stop us!

(Laughter)

- Hey, um...you're not really worried about this, are you?

- No, no I just think we gotta play it smart.

Especially on that break.

- Eh, c'mon we always play it smart.

- I'll remind you of that when I have to pick you up off

the South American coast after the rip carries you there!

- (Laughter) Not a chance! I'm way too good.

So, there it was. Eight months in and my life was on a roll.

Confidence was high and the future looked rosy.

But confidence is a tricky little beast.

Just when you think you have it all wrapped up,

it can slip through your fingers quicker

than a greasy spoon.

[Cassie] The turning point for me came later that afternoon

when we all went down to tackle the break at Swordfish Bay.

- Looks dangerous over the rocks.

- Check out that left! That is mine!

- No way! That left is so dodgy, stick to the right.

The left will leave you high and dry on the rocks

in like a second.

[Cassie] That was my first mistake. I didn't listen.

I vaguely heard what Adam had said but I was

so intent on picturing the ride I was gonna get

that it went in one ear and out the other.

- Everyone ready?

- Let's do it!

- You gonna be alright?

- Just try and hold me back.

(Waves crashing)

♪ Catching and k*lling ♪

(Surfing)

♪ Oh I'm catching and k*lling ♪

♪ Oh I feel like I'm winning ♪

♪ No, I ♪

♪ Catching and k*lling ♪

♪ No, I ♪

♪ Catching and k*lling ♪

(Surfing)

♪ Catching and k*lling ♪

- Yew!

- Now that is what I call a wave!

- Aren't you glad we came?

- Tough call, girls.

- Did you see that wave Cassie caught?

- No, wait...where is Cassie?

- She's going for another wave over that rock ledge.

- You guys ready for another one?

- Definitely.

(Upbeat rock music)

[Cassie] There's no doubt about it, the sets here were

really amazing and I couldn't wait for the next one,

which is when I made my next mistake.

(Rock metal music)

- What's Cassie doing over by the ledge?

- I thought we told her not to go off there.

(Rock metal music)

(Waves crashing hard)

- Oooooooh

(Underwater)

[Cassie] They say that when you're in an accident,

things happen in slow motion.

Well this felt really slow, especially the bit where

the rocks jumped up to kiss me hello.

[Friends] Cassie! Cassie!

- She's hurt and lost her board!

- She's gotta get off those rocks!

- She'll be shredded by the time Adam gets anywhere

near her.

(Waves crashing)

♪ Track on the wrong side ♪

♪ Now he's in for the long ride ♪

- What do you think?

- C'mon

♪ I'm told I saw the crime ♪

[Cassie] The further out I got, the worse things started

to look.

But I could see that if I didn't do something, I'd end

up on the rocks again.

- Cassie!

♪ There's nothing I can try ♪

♪ There's nothing I can try ♪

♪ Running out of time ♪

- Cass! Here...

- (Breathing heavily)

- Get up. Here, hold on.

Are you okay?

- Yeah, but I cut my foot pretty badly though.

(Rock music)

(Rescue boat speeding)

- It was a pretty big hit, Bec...I don't know how bad

but we'll need some transport.

They're bringing her in now.

- (Mumbles) C'mon. We got ya.

(Groaning in pain)

- Ow.

- What about you?

- Yeah I'll be cool. Just get Cassie in now.

(Rescue boat speeding)

♪ Running out of time ♪

♪ There's nothing I can try ♪

♪ There's nothing I can try ♪

♪ Running out of time ♪

♪ There's nothing I can try ♪

- Cassie, are you okay?

- I'll live, only just.

- Quick...

♪ Running out of time ♪

♪ There's nothing I can try ♪

♪ There's nothing I can try ♪

- Boy, when you guys go out on a social outing,

you don't do it half-heartedly, do ya?

- We didn't exactly mean for anything to happen.

- Why didn't you follow the drill?

You know the rules when you go out in a new break.

You stay together and you keep away from the rocks.

- Yeah, well that's how we planned it to be.

- So, what went wrong?

- Cassie just misread the break. It happens.

- Well it's going to be an expensive misread, isn't it?

- Why?

- Well that foot of hers isn't going to heal in a hurry.

There's no way she's going to make that comp in three weeks.

- What comp?

- What comp? Do you guys not read the calendar?

It's the South Coast Open.

It's worth three points towards your end of year tally.

(Birds chirping)

- (Deep sigh)

(Slow, acoustic guitar)

(Door knocking)

- How's the foot?

- It's alright, thanks. Only ten stitches.

To be honest, it's a lot better than my pride.

- Well don't feel bad, surfers cop injuries like these

all the time, it's part of the sport, I'm afraid.

- Yeah I know, but I'm just kicking myself for being

so dumb.

It was a stupid mistake that should never have happened,

and--

- And?

- And I put all the others in danger, especially Adam.

- True, but you would've jumped in had it been one of them

in trouble.

- Yeah, I know but it wasn't one of them, it was me.

You know, why do I have to be such a klutz?

- You know, if it makes you feel any better,

exactly the same thing happened to me when I was

a student here.

- Really?

- Mmhmm. You're not the first and you definitely won't

be the last, so stop punishing yourself about it.

(Slow acoustic guitar)

- Hey Bec?

When will I be able to start training again?

- Well, it was only a flesh wound, but the danger is that

you could do more damage if you try to come back on

it too quickly.

- Meaning?

- Meaning we wait for the stitches to come out...a couple

of weeks, at least.

- So the next comp?

- Forget about it. Sorry.

- But what about all the points I'll miss?

- It'll be tough to catch up, but you can do it.

(Slow acoustic guitar)

(Birds chirping)

[Cassie] The funny thing about confidence is that when

you lose it, you don't notice it at first.

It's like a leaky pipe, it just starts as a tiny trickle,

drop by little drop.

It didn't take long for the process to start either.

Suddenly, I had plenty of time to watch Lauren and Bridget

work out on their boards.

(Surfing and waves crashing)

I always knew they were good, but now I realized

they were really good.

The more I watched them, the more I knew how tough

they'd be to compete against.

For the first time this year, I started to feel seriously

shaky about my chances.

- That's it guys, as fast as you can.

Don't worry about hitting hard, the point is to keep

the speed up.

(Small punches)

[Cassie] As I watched the others train, I could see how

hard it was gonna be to catch up to them again.

(Small punches)

- That's it guys, light and fast.

[Cassie] They were all so good and so on top of their game.

At this level you can't stand still and hope to be

in the race.

And I wasn't just standing still, I was actually

going backwards.

The worst thing of all though, is that when you start

losing faith in yourself, you take it out on

everybody else.

It's almost like you blame them for your own stuff ups.

- Hey there. Thought you might like this.

- What is it?

- A reference book for the history question we have

to answer.

- Oh look, I'm fine I don't need it.

- Have a look at Chapter , it's got some really good

stuff in it.

- I'm fine. I can manage.

- I...I know you can. Just --

- Adam, I have so much material, I'm swimming in it.

Anymore, and I will drown.

- Okay. Um, well it's still here if you need it.

(Melancholy rock music)

[Cassie] Okay, I know what you're thinking.

Not only had Adam taken huge risks to rescue me

when I was in trouble, but now he was being really

sweet and offering to help me with my homework.

You know, and what was I doing in return?

Acting like some ungrateful three year old.

Personally, I wouldn't blame Adam if he never

spoke to me again.

The truth is, the more I felt my confidence slipping

away, the harder I tried to assert myself.

It was like I was desperate to prove I was still

at the same level as the others.

And it wasn't a pretty sight.

(Books falling on the ground)

- Watch where you're going, Dropkick!

- Don't worry Cassie, we'll get them.

- Look, I don't need you to do this, I'm not helpless.

- No one said you were.

- Do you want us to take these to class for you?

- No, I'm perfectly fine!

You guys go on and all I'll meet you there.

[Friend] You sure?

- Yes! I wouldn't have said so if I wasn't, would I?

- Okay, we'll see you in there.

[Cassie] Last night I abuse my boyfriend,

now I just balled out my two best friends.

What was going on with me?

- Put your essays on the desk please.

I'll come and collect them.

And, uh, open your textbooks to page , quickly read

the section on government.

[Cassie] Another nasty thing about confidence is that once

you start losing it, everything gets caught in the wash.

For the first time in months, I'd really struggled to

cope with an assignment.

- This doesn't feel like , words, Cassie.

- I couldn't find anything else to say.

- That's not like you to be short of an argument or two.

- Yeah, I'm sorry. It's the best I could do.

- Okay, we'll see how it stacks up.

(Somber guitar music)

- Alright guys, we better get out there before that swell

dies off.

Pick your feet up.

(Somber guitar music)

(Bag drops on table)

- What's this?

- It's your swimming stuff.

- But I can't train, I can barely walk.

- You're not gonna have to walk.

- Adam --

- C'mon, you can get changed in the shed.

- I've been begging Gary --

- Eh, eh, eh...don't worry about begging Gary.

I've discussed it with them and they approve.

- Discussed what?

- Your new training program.

Now come on, are you going to get changed or am I

gonna have to throw you in the water with your

clothes still on?

- You're really serious, aren't you?

- You better believe it.

(Somber guitar music)

- I seem to remember going this before.

Many more piggie backs and I'm gonna have to start

charging you a fee.

- Can you please tell me what this is all about?

- I already told you, it's a new training program.

(Somber guitar music)

[Adam] There you go.

Now that should keep your bandage dry.

- You really think I'll be able to swim with this?

- I know you can.

- What for? What's the point?

- Here comes Bec. Why don't you ask her?

- Hey? How's it going?

So, do you think it'll work?

- Perfectly. She's ready for anything.

- Can you please tell me what's going on here, Bec?

- You're going swimming.

- Okay, that much I can see.

- So that you'll be ready for the comp in two weeks.

- There is no way that I will be ready for the comp in

two weeks. My foot won't handle the pressure.

- Not that comp. This is something Adam's found.

- What did you find?

- It's a swimming marathon called the

Avalon Big Beach Swim.

You're our best swimmer so I asked Bec if you could

represent Soul of Blue in it.

- Why would I do that?

- Because it'll be worth points, that's why.

The same number of points the others will get for going

in the surf comp.

- That way you don't fall behind us.

- And the swimming training will be good for your

foot's recovery.

- Well how far do I have to swim?

- About three kilometers.

- Three kilometers?

- Which you can do, provided you start training now.

- That is a massive swim!

- Well, you either sit around moping feeling sorry

for yourself or you make up your mind to do

something about it.

I guess it depends on how serious a contender

you expect to be at the end of the year.

It's your choice, Cassie.

- You can do this. You know you can.

- Come on Cassie, you have to do it.

It's about time I got in shape again.

- Sorry?

- I'm gonna be your pacemaker. So while Gary trains

the others, I'll do two sessions in the pool with

you, before and after school.

- You'd do that?

- I'm game if you are.

- Guess I don't really have a choice, do I?

- No.

- Okay, let's do it!

- Up...easy.

(Swimming)

(Upbeat drum rock)

- C'mon Cass, you're doing really well!

(Swimming)

[Cassie] At first I was really angry with Adam and Bec

for the way they've railroaded me into this.

But the more I swam, the better I felt.

I couldn't believe how good it was just to be doing

something.

- Just a few more strokes and you'll be there!

Bring it in to the home straight.

C'mon and...wooo!

(Catching breath)

- I had no idea how out of condition I was.

- That was great!

I forgot what a rush it was to be back in here.

- Give it a week and you'll really be powering.

How's the sore foot?

- Uh, what sore foot?

- See? That's what we wanna hear!

(Laughter)

(Birds chirping)

- How ya going, champ?

No bad after effects?

- A bit better, new twinges. I'll get over it.

- Cool, you're on your way then.

[Cassie] Adam?

- Hmm?

- Can I tell you something? Confidentially?

- Yeah, sure.

What's up?

(Kiss)

- Just that.

(Laughter)

- You can tell me that anytime you'd like.

- (Sigh) And also that I'm sorry for being such a

misery guts.

I've been horrible to everyone, especially you.

- Don't worry about it.

We're just stoked that the Cassie we know and love

is on her way back.

- But I have been really horrible, haven't I?

- Yeah, pretty ugly.

- Aw, okay you don't need to agree so whole-heartedly

about this.

(Laughter)

- Listen, it wasn't that long ago that you rescued me

from the horrors over a few shocks, so I figured helping

you get back in the pool was the least I could

do in return.

- Thanks, Adam.

- Just do that swim for me. And, you better do well.

The honor of Soul of Blue is at stake here.

- Look, I'll just be happy to finish.

- You'll do way better than that. Trust me. Good night.

(Kiss)

(Energetic guitar rock)

[Cassie] After two weeks of training, the effect on my

foot was amazing. It was almost back to normal!

Even more than that, I started to believe I was genuinely

in with a chance.

Then, I saw the people I was up against.

These guys were really serious swimmers.

How could I possibly compete against them?

- Where's Cassie, I can't see her?

- There she is, in the middle.

- Cassie!

[Friends] Cassie!

- Good luck!

- Good luck!

- Good luck Cass!

[Cassie] I don't know whether it was to have the others

turn up to watch me or not.

I suddenly felt more nervous than I've ever felt in my

whole life.

What if I bombed?

I'd never be able to look them in the eye again.

(Clapping and cheering)

- She looks a bit nervous.

- Of course she is, look at the competition.

- It's not like she's a regular competitor.

- Oh, what's the matter with you guys? Show a little faith.

- They're ready to go.

(Upbeat rock music)

- GO!

(Cheers and applause)

(Whistling)

(Applause)

- Hope she doesn't go too hard too quickly.

- Don't worry, she'll pace herself.

[Cassie] Once I got into a rhythm, I forgot about my nerves.

I also forgot about the other competitors too.

Suddenly, it was exactly like surfing, just me

and the ocean.

- Hey Bec, how's she going?

She caught up to the leaders, yet?

- It's too hard to tell, there are so many

swimmers out there.

- Gary, how long before they reach the bouy, you reckon?

- Maybe minutes?

- We should go out to the headland, we'll be able

to see them turn from up there.

- True, what are we waiting for?

- Let's do it.

[Cassie] The one thing I hadn't thought about in all this

was that this was first time I'd been in the ocean since

my accident.

As the waves got bigger, my mind kept screening instant

replays.

"Come on Cassie, you're over that. You can't wink out now!"

(Upbeat rock music)

- Hey, they're making good time.

- What about Cassie?

- Can't actually see her, we're not gonna see anything

til' the finish line.

- Afraid she'll keep up?

- You wait, the second half of the race she'll really

show her stuff.

- COME ON CASSIE!

- Lauren, she can't hear you from up here!

(Laughter)

- C' MON CASSIE!

[Cassie] Halfway. You've made it to halfway.

It's downhill from here, right?

(High pitched guitar)

- I don't know about you mob, but I'm going down

to that finish line.

- Me too, I'm not missing out on that.

- C'MON ON --

[Cassie] Why do my arms feel like lead?

Why won't my feet kick in time?

C'mon body, just ten minutes, please.

- Oh look! Everyone's coming in now.

[Friend] Any sign of Cassie?

- Hey, I wouldn't expect much.

It'd be a major achievement just to finish this race.

(Applause)

- C'mon Cassie, where are you?

(Applause)

- Look! Look!

(Applause)

- Yeah Cass, come on!

(Whistling)

[Friend] You did amazing!

(Applause)

(Subtle rock music)

- Uh, you oughta feel awesome.

[Friends] Fantastic. We knew you could do it.

- That was great work, Cassie.

- Would anyone mind if I die?

(Laughter)

[Cassie] Okay, so I didn't win the swimming race.

In fact, I didn't come second or third, either.

But I did place in the first ten, which as it happened

was enough to get me the three points I need to keep

up with the others at Soul of Blue.

And of course, it was those very others who'd done so

much to get me there, anyway.

- Hey guys, I'm just gonna make a quick detour,

I'll catch you later.

- Oh, well don't be too long.

Otherwise I'm gonna eat all your lunch.

- Mr. Saban!

- Cassie, good morning.

- Good morning.

Um, that assignment I handed in a couple of weeks ago,

the one that was short --

- Yes, not the standard I've come to expect from you.

- No, it was rubbish.

Um, I just wanted to give it to you properly, this time.

- I'm sorry Cassie, it's too late, I've already marked them.

- No, I'm not doing it for the mark. I just wanted to make

up for doing something that was so second rate.

- Good.

Well, I can't adjust the mark but I will read it and let

you know what I think.

- Thanks, sir. I'd really appreciate that.

[Cassie] They say a truly confident person is someone whose

not afraid to admit their mistakes.

If that's the case, my confidence must be well and

truly back because, boy, have I made some mistakes

lately.

At the end of the day though, I'm just glad to be back

where I started.

And next time we go out to surf a new break, I'll be

really, really careful.

That's today's promise, anyway.

And who knows? I might even be able to keep it.

At least until tomorrow.

(Upbeat pop/electronic music)