We know Don has a certain respect for rules and regulations, but there’s no way Matilda could have prepared herself for the scary courtroom feeling that he creates as he talks her through her crimes, providing his own witness testimony in the process. Having pointed out the coincidence of Emma’s paper being blank one minute and completed the next, and to find Matilda busy writing when he thought she’d finished, he goes on: “I was even more curious when a quick check of the two test papers revealed some alarming similarities.” Sally, meanwhile, has remained quiet throughout the whole debate (perhaps because she hasn’t had a chance to get a word in), but she suspects there’s something Matilda’s not telling them, and delays making any decisions until she’s had time to look into it – much to Don’s chagrin. “I know that there’s a reason for all of this, and if I knew, then maybe it would help me hose Don down,” Sal later tells Ric, painting quite the image. On his advice, she pays Matilda a visit, and it doesn’t take her long to suss out the truth about her having been covering for a friend. Don reluctantly comes round to Sally’s view that, given all the hardships Matilda’s suffered recently, she should be allowed special provision. Unfortunately, that does little to ease the blow of the next piece of bad news they have to deliver: despite Mattie’s confidence, she’s failed the exam. We bet Emma won’t be so glad of that favour now.Top of the class

School’s turning out to be just as tough for Rory, who’s so used to having to up and leave as soon as he’s settled somewhere that this time he’s decided not to even bother, distancing himself from his classmates and refusing to participate in lessons. After a heart-to-heart with Sam and Jack, he promises to try harder – but Sam’s fears are far from allayed when she gets a call from the Principal, who wants her to come in for a meeting. Panic not though; it turns out that when Rory does open his mouth at school, he’s quite the smarty pants – and, as a result, it’s recommended that he’s moved up into Year 7. There’s no waiting around; he’ll be straight off to Summer Bay High as the newest recruit to sample Don Fisher’s firm-but-fair(ish) approach.Toxic

Meanwhile, Geoff is labouring under the pressure of not only working the farm but also keeping a rather big secret, as becomes only too clear on one of Bruce’s numerous visits to the police station to chase up the investigation into the death of his sheep. “If someone is tampering with his stock, we will find them and we will prosecute them,” Jack tells Geoff, Bruce’s rage having left him deaf to just about everything. You can’t help but notice that Geoff seems surprisingly more concerned about this than he should be – but then, as Annie discovers, he’s been harbouring a box of rabbit poison in his schoolbag. While Geoff comes agonisingly close to telling Tony everything, Annie is left battling with her discovery, eventually confiding in Luc; in spite of his differences with Geoff, he still doesn’t think it’s something of which he’d be capable – until Annie theorises that her brother’s so desperate to find a way out of his situation that getting rid of the stock may have been his idea of a solution. When she finally plucks up the courage to confront Geoff, he says he won’t dignify her questions with a response – which is pretty much all you need to know to realise that he has something to hide – and so leaves it at that. But just as Bruce prepares for a new herd of sheep to be brought in (perhaps not the best of decisions when your grandson tends to feet them a staple diet of poison), Jack arrives to deliver the results of the toxicology report. “Whoever did it used a chemical commonly used to poison rabbits,” Jack says grimly. This is clearly no coincidence, and a heartbroken Annie knows it.

Tagged in