Getting Better

It had been quite a few days since Oliver's accident at the turntable, and things had slowly started to get better for him. He now understood how to handle the troublesome trucks, and he wasn't having as many issues as he used to. But, there was one thing about what had happened that was still bothering him: it was how he acted towards everyone. He didn't understand why, but he didn't pay attention to the others' advice and made himself look better than them when he really wasn't. He was busy thinking about all of this one day when he could see Thomas beside him.

"Is something wrong? You look like you've been thinking a lot about something." Thomas commented, with an expression of concern on his face. Oliver remained silent as he kept his glance away from Thomas, before he immediately headed off leaving Thomas to watch on in surprise. "Wait. What's wrong?" Thomas asked. He didn't receive a response since Oliver was too far away to hear him.

"What was that?" Thomas wondered. He looked down to try and work out why Oliver was acting this way, before it immediately came to him. "That's right. He probably still remembers what happened at the turntable, and how he had been acting towards the others as well. But, he isn't the only one to feel like this." Thomas said to himself. Thomas hadn't admitted it to anyone else, but he had experience the same issues that Oliver was of getting a little carried away for his own good; it had happened to him many times before, and he could be certain that was something Oliver wanted to hear.

That night at the sheds, Oliver was sure enough still thinking about everything that had happened during not only the accident, but also what had happened prior; he honestly found it so hard to believe that he hadn't been acting like himself.

"I honestly don't understand. How could I have let the attention I was receiving get to me so easily? It isn't like me to act the way I did. So then, how did I end up acting that way and get into the situation that I did?" Oliver asked, still finding it hard to understand. He then sighed sadly; he just found it so hard to figure it out, and he wasn't even sure of who he could go to at a time like this.

"Not able to sleep very well, huh?" Oliver turned to see Thomas beside him, and it seemed as though Thomas heard everything Oliver was saying. Oliver remained silent for a few moments, as he had to wonder how long Thomas had been listening to him before he looked back up at Thomas again.

"No. I guess I've been thinking more than I probably should be." Oliver responded. "That'd make sense. Still thinking about what happened at the turntable, right?" Thomas asked. Oliver stared at Thomas in surprise wondering how he knew that, before he sighed since he knew that he was right.

"Yes, I am. But, I'm mainly thinking about what happened before the accident. I'm still not sure why, but I let the praise and attention I was getting get to me, and I started acting I was someone that I'm not. I still don't understand why that happened, and it doesn't seem to leave me alone no matter how much I want to forget it." Oliver explained. Thomas remained silent having payed close attention to all of that, and he looked down to think about it for a few moments. He could understand why Oliver was feeling like this; it wasn't a good thing to act like someone that you weren't. After a few seconds, Thomas looked back up at Oliver.

"I can remember acting like that on quite a few occasions." Thomas said. Oliver looked over at Thomas, almost stunned to hear that. "Really?" he asked. Thomas started laughing to himself as a bright smile crossed his face.

"You could not imagine. I was like that for most of the time, and I could always remember getting a bit too big for my buffers. I guess it's because I wanted to be seen as a responsible engine, but I'd always end up getting myself into trouble that I didn't want to be in the first place. I always let my confidence get the better of me, and kept being brought back down because of that. But I always kept getting better, and now I don't see my confidence getting the better of me back then as a bad thing anymore." Thomas explained. Oliver had been paying close attention to that all the while, and he had to admit that he was impressed; he didn't think that events like that could cause Thomas to become better than how he started out.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that everyone gets a little carried away sometimes. We might end up in trouble because of that, but we always learn from our mistakes so we can become better at what we do." Thomas said. Oliver was silent for a few moments, before he started to smile since he knew that Thomas was right.

"You're right. That actually sounds very true when you put it that way. I didn't realise you knew so much about something like this." Oliver said.

"Actually, I was told all of that by someone else. I just remembered about it now." Thomas responded, smiling modestly. The two started happily laughing a bit before they both calmed down and looked back at each other.

"Still, thank you. I guess I needed to hear something like that." Oliver said. Thomas's smile grew brighter as soon as he heard that compliment; he was more than happy to help someone who was in need of it.

"Not a problem at all." Thomas responded simply, and he happily winked at Oliver. Oliver then suddenly remembered something that he nearly completely forgot about. "I don't think we've been properly introduced yet. Who are you?" Oliver asked.

"My name's Thomas." Thomas said. "I'm Oliver." Oliver replied. The two then brightly smiled at each other; they had a feeling that they were going to be great friends from this night onward.

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