Thomas and the Lonely Girl

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Thomas the Tank Engine or any rights to the show, characters, etc.

It was a gorgeous sunny day on the Island of Sodor. Thomas was wide awake and full of energy. He was happily weeshing steam when Sir Topham Hatt came to the sheds. "Thomas, there are some coal trucks at the station. I need you to pick them up and bring them to the coaling plant," he said. "Right away sir!" peeped Thomas.

Thomas cheerfully puffed down the line with his cheeky little smile. On his way he noticed a teen girl walking beside the tracks. "What's she doing walking along the tracks?" he thought to himself, "This isn't exactly a safe place for someone to be walking." He slowed down and pulled up beside the girl. "Excuse me," said Thomas, "But this isn't a very safe place to walk." The girl looked at him, then looked away, then back at Thomas. "I'm sorry, I'll go elsewhere," she said. Thomas noticed she looked sad and lonely. "Is something wrong?" he asked her. The girl's blue eyes became cloudy with tears as she began to explain. "My life has been a living hell since my mom married my step dad. He's a jerk. He's always putting me down. He makes me do ALL the housework. I always have to bring him his food and do his laundry. He does absolutely nothing. He sits on the couch all day watching sports and eating junk food in his boxers. My mom is a workaholic. She goes in at 5am and doesn't come home till 10pm. I've tried to talk to her before about my step dad, but she never believes me." Thomas felt bad. "Do you have any friends around here?" he asked. "No," she replied, "It's practically impossible for me to make friends. I've tried, but people just push me away. I always feel lonely." Thomas felt very sympathetic for the girl. "Have you ever tried standing up to your step father before?" he asked her. "If I did, he'd probably whip the living day lights out of me with one of his belts. If I disobeyed him or refused to give in to his commands, he'd lose it." Thomas, nearly on the verge of tears himself, had a sinking feeling in his boiler. "Thomas, we have to go to the station, now!" demanded his driver. "Shut up driver! I'm dealing with a damn situation here!" he snapped. His driver, stunned at what had just come out of the little tank engine's mouth, stood there speechless. "Listen, it sounds like you're going through a tough time. I'll take you back to the sheds with me."

"But what about your job?"

"Screw it."

"Thomas watch your mouth!" snapped his driver. Thomas, fed up with his driver, asked the girl, "Do you know how to drive a steam engine?"

"My dad taught me when I was 12 before he passed away. He used to work for the railroad. So yeah, I know how to drive a steam engine."

Thomas bumped his driver off the footplate, knocking him unconscious. "You want to be my driver?" The girl's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as her sad frown turned into a bright cheery smile. "I'd love to!" she cried out. "Good, hop aboard. Just hurry up before my driver wakes up."

"Thank you Thomas! Oh by the way, my name's Candace, but I like to be called Candi."

She hopped aboard and drove away. A few minutes later Thomas' driver woke up from being knocked unconscious. "Damn that little tank engine!" he shouted out loud. No one heard him.

Candi was driving Thomas down the line. "Thomas, if you're not collecting the coal trucks, who is?" Thomas thought for a second. "Duck can do it. The trucks behave better for him anyway."

To Be Continued