Freebird

## Release dates

###

March 11, 2016

###

April 1, 2016

###

May 16, 2016

**"Freebird"** is the 11th episode in Season 1 of *Lost & Found Music Studios*and the 11th episode overall. It aired on March 11, 2016.

## Synopsis

"Clara, wanting to impress her friends, lies about writing a song she performs at the open stage. Luke refuses to give John access to the van until he asks Michelle on a date. Maggie, wanting to get her mind off the truce she and Leia have formed over Luke, challenges Theo to a busking competition."

## Plot

In the Rose Room, Clara is performing a song in front of an audience. Clara reveals in Talking Heads that she stayed up the previous night finding the perfect song to sing at Open Stage, and she chose "Free Bird" as it is her father's favourite song. During the song, Leia tells Rachel that she is very impressed with Clara's song, that, they presume, she wrote. Clara finishes the song, without getting stage fright. After this, the "cool girls" approach her and compliment her. Leia asks her when she wrote it. Not planning to say that she wrote it, Clara lies that she wrote it last week. The girls marvel at it, and Leia suggests that she and Clara collaborate later on. Clara (in Talking Heads) says that she feels as if she is finally fitting in as a result of people being impressed by her. At this point, Clara doesn't think that her lying is a big deal and that it is just a mere white lie.

In the Green Room, Luke is awaiting John's arrival so that he can motivate him to ask out Michelle by threatening him (after John failed last time), as explained by Luke in Talking Heads. John enters and sits opposite Luke. Luke asks John what and where the item, in front of him, is from: (as John replies) fuzzy dice from the van. Luke says that, if John wants to see the van again, he has to ask Michelle out *tonight*. When John tries to make an excuse to get out of his predicament, Luke tells him to stop talking. In Talking Heads, John looks back at the previous time that he asked Michelle out on a date and all of the confusion and trouble that complemented it. Luke repeats the ultimatum, and John reluctantly agrees to it. Luke leaves, and before leaving reminds John of the deal and hits him with the dice. John, although knowing that Luke is right, believes that he isn't ready to ask Michelle out.

Rachel and Annabelle, in Java Junction, are conversing as Leia and Maggie approach them. Leia explains in Talking Heads that, both, herself and Maggie have romantic feelings for Luke. To prevent it from being a problem and affecting the band and their friendship, Leia explains that they thought up of "The Luke Truce", the only solution they thought of. As can be expected, Annabelle and Rachel don't know what it is, so Annabelle asks what it is, and Maggie explains that herself and Leia have to stay away from Luke (in order to save the band and, more importantly, their friendship). Leia and Maggie know that it will be hard to keep to The Luke Truce.

In the Green Room, Luke approaches John to ask him if he has asked out Michelle. John replies that he still hasn't, not having figured out what to say. After being asked by Luke, John reveals that he has thought up of *one* thing that he *could* say to Michelle. Pretending that Luke is Michelle, John says what he will say to the real Michelle when he asks her out. Sarcastically, Luke approves of it. Luke calls in Leia, who is walking outside of the Green Room. Luke forces John and Leia to sit opposite each other on a table. Luke asks Leia (who is thinking of the Luke Truce and is just helping out Luke as a friend) to pretend to be Michelle for John. Along with this, Luke reveals that John likes Michelle, and Michelle likes John. This infuriates John. Luke tells John to be himself and ask Michelle out. The "performance" begins. Leia starts batting her eyelashes and John hesitantly greets "Michelle". "Michelle" greets him back. At this point, Leia thinks she is doing well pretending to be Michelle. She then asks John if he wants to do a duet, which confuses John, not knowing whether she meant a music duet or a dance duet (as he thinks it would be awkward if the real Michelle asks him to dance). Acting less like Michelle, Leia clarifies she means a song. Luke tells Leia that John should be doing the asking rather than her. Pretending to be Michelle again, Leia suggests that John should ask her what she likes to eat. Following Leia's (or rather, "Michelle's" request), John asks her what she likes to eat, to which Leia replies that she loves soup, finding something in common with Luke (who also likes soup). "Michelle" tells John that he should tell Luke that, so John unenthusiastically tells Luke that "Michelle" likes soup, like him. After this, Luke, thinking that the activity has failed, dismisses Leia. Not being able to ask out Leia *pretending* to be Michelle, John dreads to think how he will manage being able to ask out the *real* Michelle.

In Busker Alley, Theo is setting up to perform, and Maggie, with her guitar, enters. She kicks his guitar case close and asks him what he is doing. As said by him in Talking Heads earlier, Theo tells her that he is preparing to busk. Maggie forms an idea to get her mind off Luke. Maggie tells Theo that they should play a game: they busk for one hour, and the person who has the most money, at the end of it, wins. Theo agrees to this.

In Java Junction, Mary is complimenting Clara about the song that she had allegedly written. Eva is sitting in Java Junction, too, a table away from Mary and Clara. Eva is listening in on their conversation, realising that Clara is telling people that she wrote "Free Bird", when, in fact, it is a famous song from the 1970s, that Clara didn't write. As a result of this, Eva is disappointed. After Mary leaves, Eva sits opposite Clara and begins to talk about the song, questioning her why she is telling others that she wrote the song, despite the fact that she didn't. Knowing that she didn't write the song, Clara asks Eva why she thinks that she didn't write the song. Becoming even more suspicious, Eva asks Clara to give her her phone. Clara does so, knowing that she is busted.

Still in Java Junction, to prove her point to Clara, Eva plays the original version of "Free Bird" on Clara's phone. Clara snatches her phone from Eva and turns the song off, in fear that someone could hear it, and Clara explains that the musicians will hate her if they find out if she didn't write the song. Eva convinces Clara to tells the truth, knowing that the other musicians would hate her even more if they found out another way. Eva stands up and tells Clara that the truth always comes back; she begins to walk away, but Clara stops her and somewhat forces her to not tell anyone. Eva agrees but says that she won't lie for her.

In Busker Alley, Theo and Maggie are performing a song. During this, many passers-by put money in Maggie's hat and Theo's guitar case. Maggie thinks that it is going to be close. At the end of this, Maggie is all right if she wins or loses, as the main goal was to get her mind off Luke and she has. Maggie and Theo count their money. Maggie and Theo both have $27.50, making it a tie. This frustrates Theo, despite not being a competitive person.

In Java Junction, the real Michelle is doing her homework while John is preparing himself to talk to her. John greets her. Michelle explains that she is doing homework about Nikola Tesla, a famous inventor. John tells Michelle that Nikola Tesla got his photographic memory from his mother, who was also an inventor. Michelle tells John that she'll add the fact that he told her to her project. She also says that her mother was a dancer and found her passion for dance through her mother. John begins to say something (presumably about him having a passion that he got from his mother) but begins to think of bad thoughts about his mother. As a result, John awkwardly leaves and wishes Michelle luck with her project.

Maggie meets Theo in the Recording Studio. Theo tells Maggie that they need to break the tie. In Talking Heads, Maggie wants to break the tie, because it would mean more time with Theo, meaning less time thinking of Luke. Theo tells Maggie that whoever holds a note the longest wins the overall contest. The two agree on a note to hold. Wanting to have closure, Theo doesn't mind whether he wins or loses. The two begin holding the note. After several seconds, Maggie begins to run out of breath, saying that Theo is relentless and competitive, contrary to what he thinks. Maggie stops, meaning that Theo is the winner. Theo celebrates, not really caring that he won.

Clara, nervous about Eva telling everyone the truth about "Free Bird", is sitting in the Rose Room, when the girls' band enter and invite her to get some pecan tarts with them at Java Junction. Clara corrects Annabelle's pronunciation of "pecan" and leaves to go to Java Junction with them. In Talking Heads, Clara is happy to be with the cool girls and presumes that everything will be O.K.

In Java Junction, Clara is with the girls. They are asking her how she managed to write an amazing song. Clara explains that she was "listening to herself", which the girls understand. Annabelle asks Clara if the song is dedicated to anyone. Clara lies that it was about someone she met when her family was travelling across Europe. Now, Clara feels the lies to "spiral out of control". After Clara finishes talking, the girls listen closely to the song that is playing on the speakers. With horror, Clara realises that the song is the original version of "Free Bird". Leia tells Clara that her lyrics are playing on the speaker. Clara leaves Java Junction.

In the Rose Room, a majority of the Lost & Found Music Studios members (including Mr. T) are conversing, about to determine Clara's feature at the studio. Rachel explains in Talking Heads that Clara had violated one of the main Lost & Found Music Studios' rules: a member never steals anyone else's work. Clara, in the Recording Studio, watches Eva enter and ask as to why she would do that to her. Eva reveals that she had nothing to do with the song playing in Java Junction; Clara doesn't believe her. Clara says that she will get kicked out of the studio and that the musicians are voting on it as she speaks. Eva reveals that she came from there and encourages Clara, by saying that she can defend herself, and she has nothing to lose from defending herself. The two hug, and Eva says in Talking Heads that Clara did something wrong but doesn't deserve to be punished badly. Clara and Eva exit the room. Then, they enter the Rose Room. The room grows silent as Clara enters. Clara sits on the stage and tells Eva to accompany her; Eva agrees. Mr. T emphasises how serious plagiarism is. Leia describes it as the worst crime that a musician can commit. As the other musicians begin debating, Clara merely sits there, watching tearfully, the voices of the musicians cannot be heard by Clara as she is not at all focusing on her surroundings. After a while, Clara stands up and begins yelling at the musicians, explaining her actions. She says that she didn't know what to do and thought that if she could make a good song, she would be liked and was proud of "Free Bird". Clara says that she belongs at the studio and wants to prove it. Eva stands up and suggests that Clara makes an original song. Mr. T, along with the other musicians, agree with Eva's suggestion. Rachel immediately demands Clara to give her her phone, causing Clara to tell Rachel that she has a lack of faith in her. Eva tells Clara to be strong, just before Clara leaves to go to the Recording Studio.

Rachel and Clara arrive in the Recording Studio. Rachel, harshly, reminds Clara that not many people get a second chance around the studio. With Clara's phone, Rachel leaves the room. Never feeling less capable before, Clara knows that she has to write "the song of her life". In the Rose Room, John is playing the piano. Just then, Michelle is walking towards the Rose Room, attracted to the music. She secretly watches John play. In Talking Heads, John says that music is easy for him, whereas connecting with Michelle is hard. Still in the Recording Studio, Clara is singing a song, with John's piano music as the backing track. After a while, John sings along too. Whilst he is performing, Michelle expresses, in Talking Heads, her obliviousness of why John is not connecting with her. She says that, until he does, they can't be a couple. As she says this, Michelle leaves. The song ends, with Clara looking on.

## Trivia

* Clara *might* be kicked out of Lost & Found Music Studios.

### Continuity

* In *The Next Step*, for a story (in the episode, "The Girl Is Mine"), Michelle is referred to as "Michelle" and such is the case here.

### Cultural References

* The title of the episode shares the same name with "Free Bird", a song that is performed by Jeni Ross (Clara) in this episode. The original version is performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

### Errors

* It is unknown why Leia asks Luke if Michelle has a crush on John because she finds out about the crush in "Day After Day", a previous episode.

## Gallery

*To view the **Freebird** gallery, click here.*

## Cast

### Main

* Jeni Ross as Clara
* Olivia Solo as Annabelle
* Ella Jonas Farlinger as Eva
* Levi Clattenburg as Theo
* Maranda Thomas as Mary
* Sarah Carmosino as Rachel
* Alyssa Baker as Maggie
* Keara Graves as Leia
* Rakim Kelly as Isaac
* Shane Harte as Luke
* Alex Zaichkowski as John
* Michael Torontow as Mr. T

### Absent

* Matthew Bacik as Nate
* Deshaun Clarke as Jude
* Katrina Hachey as Hannah
* Ali Milner as Parker

## Songs

* "Free Bird" (Clara)
* "Lost and Found (Main Titles)"
* "Original (Isaac)"
* "Heart Shape"
* "Callin' Callin'"
* "Free Bird" (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
* "Photograph"
* "Firecracker"
* "I Found My Voice"

## References

1. ↑ Lost and Found Music Studios on CBBC at 4:30pm May 16th, 2016. Digiguide. Retrieved on May 8, 2016.

**Season 2**"Sweet Tarts" - "Rhythm in My Heartbeat" - "Wondering" - "Take Control" - "Hit My Heart" - "How Far We've Come" - "Last Shot" - "Take You There" - "Let It Go" - "Falling for You" - "Call My Name" - "You Could Have It All" - "The Sound of Change"