Chapter One: A New Year


It was a bright, summer day on the island of Sodor. As the morning mail train rumbled by, an alarm clock was brightly going off in one of the houses near the railroad, followed by a groaning sound of a young teenager and a SMASH of an alarm clock falling to the ground.

"Dang it! Not again." It was Thomas Hutchinson, a 14-year-old fellow who had woken up. He groaned as he sat up in bed, and picked up his alarm clock. He was about to put it back, when suddenly, his eye's popped wide open and yelled, "We're leaving for high school today!" He then rushed out of bed and went to the attic for his suitcase. He dragged it down, the open lid banging on the banister, and heard his mother's voice, "Keep it down, Thomas, we don't need a racket." Thomas yelled back, "Yes mom!" On his way back, he nearly crashed into his brother, Edward.

"Whoa, slow down, Thomas. You might crash into the wall next!"

"Nah, I'm too quick for that. I won't hit anyth-"

He crashed into a wall. Hard. As he fell down backward, he felt a strong hand lift him up again.

"Thanks, Gordon"

It was his other brother, Gordon. Gordon usually was in a grumpy mood, but he really cared about Thomas.

"Are you ok bro? That was a nasty crash you had. Here, I'll take the suitcase. You go dust yourself off and pack."

"What about you?"

"Oh, I packed yesterday. Don't worry little brother. Just pack up."

As Thomas followed Gordon back into his room, Edward picked something that fell out of Thomas's open suitcase. He looked at it, and immediately knew what it was. It was Thomas's diary. He knew that this was private, so when Gordon left the room, Edward went in and closed the door behind him.

"Thomas, I need to tell you something."

"Yeah Edward? What about?"

"Why did I see Gordon reading your diary?"

Thomas stopped and slowly turned to Edward. He gulped. Now he knew that Gordon will go on and on about his secret crush, one that he had since she came to his school during 6th grade, and he thought it was all ruined. That's when Edward said,

"I knew you would be sad. So be glad I picked this up for you."

He handed Thomas the diary and smiled. Thomas got it and started to stuff it into his bag. His bag was quite full, so he went to change it into a bigger one.

"Thanks, Edward."

"No problem little brother, just make sure you hide it better. I'm expecting we are sharing a room, with three other-"

"Guys… I am going to look forward to this, but I wish… I don't know"

"Well, if I wasn't so rudely interrupted…"

"Sorry Edward. go on."

"With three other girls, I think that you'd be fine if you just stick with me, and oh also…?"

He slowed to a stop when he saw Thomas staring at him.

"Girls? Did you just say, girls?"

"Yeah, there was only that option and that's one of the only co-ed dorms. Also, we are brothers so they expect no weird fights over girls, as weird as it is. I am looking forward to this."

When he saw Thomas deep in thought, he noticed that he was clutching the notebook. A smile crept onto Edward's face, so he decided to leave.

"Alright pack your stuff and come out, okay?"

When Thomas didn't reply, Edward turned and walked out. Gordon was waiting with his suitcase, backpack, and sports bag.

"What's taking him so long?"

"Patience is key, Gordon. Just wait."

As they waited, Gordon thought about what Edward told him yesterday night, about sharing a co-ed dorm with girls. He was excited and scared, but mostly excited.

30 minutes later, Thomas walked over, pulling his suitcase and wearing his backpack. Their mother followed close behind.

"Alright you three, don't forget to call and video chat! Love you guys!"

"Love you too, mom!" chorused the three brothers.

As they set off, with their bikes in one hand and suitcase in the other, she couldn't help but let a small tear drop roll down her cheek.


For the three teens, they were nervous and excited. As they went to the train station, Thomas couldn't help but sigh. Edward noticed and gave him a one-handed hug. He smiled, and Thomas smiled back. As they boarded the train, a beautiful blue GNR A1 Pacific 4-6-2, bearing the number 4, Gordon's favorite train, They all looked around inside. The seating was private, so they left their bikes and suitcases in the racks and went in one of the compartments. Only then, as soon as the door closed, Edward pulled out a clipboard and showed them a map of their dorm.

"Ok, look. This is the entrance, and to the left is the kitchen and dining area. Right is the living room. Then at the end of the hallway, there are two of the rooms and a bathroom. Those are going to be two of the girl's room."

Then he flipped over to the second-floor layout.

"Here, when you come up, you'll see the study area, with a desk and a bookcase. This is shared area, for studying. Down the hallway are the girl's room, the bathroom, and our three rooms. The second-floor bathroom is for us, the downstair's bathroom is for the girls. We shop for breakfast food together, and let's hope one of the girls can cook, because, for heaven's sake, none of us can cook well."

They all nodded in agreement. Soon the train stopped at the first station. Their stop was the end of the line, taking about two hours total. After the train started again, Edward put the clipboard away and got out, saying,

"I'll go get us lunch. Just wait a bit."

Gordon then looked at Thomas and smiled.

"Well, what do you want to do? We can watch a movie you know. Wi-Fi on this train is awesome."

Thomas looked at Gordon uncertainty. He was nervous, and he still had to do something first.

"No thanks, not now. Although I hope we do have nights where we just watch movies… That'll be nice."

"No problem little bro, I got it under control. We can watch a movie anytime."

Thomas smiled and went out of the compartment. He saw Edward coming back with sandwiches.

"I got our favorites. I know you need to get something to drink. Just get Gordon and me something."

Thomas nodded and set off. He knew that he needed to get the drinks, but first, he went to the bathroom.

After he relieved himself, he went back with aloe juice for all of them. Gordon was busy eating his tuna salad sandwich and watching his favorite movie, The Great Race, while Edward was listening to a YouTube video about chemistry and eating his whole wheat club smiled at each other and Edward pointed at the remaining sandwich. It was egg salad, his favorite. Thomas gave Edward a thumbs up and tucked in. Then, he put on his earphones and listens to a song and slowly started to eat.

After they were finished, they had covered half of their journey, with only an hour left. Edward was busy planning out a schedule for the shower and the other things they needed to plan out, while Gordon was watching another movie, The Adventure Begins. Thomas was listening to music, as his eyelids got heavier and heavier. Soon he fell asleep.


Thomas was woken up by Edward.

"We're here Thomas. Wake up."

Thomas sat up, stretched, and yawned. He got up, got his bag, and got off the train and found his suitcase and bike. Gordon and Edward were already waiting and went up the hill together. Then they saw the high school. It was splendid. There was a green quad, main building, and a lot of dorms on the side. They put the luggage into a golf cart, which was going to pull all of the luggage to each corresponding building and drop them off, while the three got on their bikes and rode to the registration at the end of the quad. A man in a black suit and a top hat was waiting for them.

"Ah, you must be the Hutchinson Brothers. I'm Sir Topham Hatt. I am the headmaster of this high school. Welcome. Your dorm is the one called 4-8-8-4."

Thomas and Gordon were puzzled, while Edward smiled.

Edward said, "Thank you, sir. We'll be on our way."

Edward then got on his bike and Thomas and Gordon followed. As they were riding towards their dorm, Edward explained what the numbers represented.

"As you know, the island of Sodor has a great railway. The numbers mean the wheel configuration of the famous engines. This particular engine was a Big Boy that visited this island. His nickname was Chad. Also, the higher and longer the name is, the bigger the dorm is. So we have the biggest dorm, but only because we have six people."

They slowed to a stop. They saw their trunks on the porch, locked their bikes in a shed, and went in. None of the girls were there yet. They went upstairs and chose out their rooms. Then they looked around and smiled. This was going to be great.


Hey, guys! This is my first chapter. I know this is probably not much compared to others, but this is my first ever fanfic. So please understand, and I hope to see you again!