What you're about to read will begin something so special to me.

This is the story of a young lad named Thomas - he is based off of Thomas the Tank Engine, my favorite childhood character and favorite fictional character of all time. This little blue tank engine has helped me through so many struggles, practically taught me so many morals when I was too young to even know what the heck that was, and just... has always been there for me.

I hope that this book series remaster of my first real series can give back to the characters, and the magical world they live in, that I've loved for so long.

Thanks for everything, you stupid little trains.

You may have been done dirty by your current owners, but this loving fan will not let you down.

- Choco

-0-

Thomas Awdry groaned as he slammed his hand down on his alarm clock… the stupid thing couldn't give him like, five more minutes?

Or, five more hours… one could dream.

But not him, since he was now awake.

"Come on down, bedhead!" one of his older brothers called out (probably Gordon), fondness in his voice. "Otherwise I'm gonna eat your toast!"

"You won't!" Thomas groggily called out, forcing himself out of bed and running his hand through his neat black hair that was ruffled to bits. He smiled as he yawned, walking downstairs to see his mom and two brothers in the kitchen, eating at the table together.

The first person he saw when he found his way downstairs was his sweet mother, who looked radiant just like every other day. "Good morning, sleepyhead!" Rachelle Awdry smiled, kissing her son on the cheek as he walked past. She was a middle aged woman who still looked freaking gorgeous for her age, as most queens did - at least, that's what the brothers told her on Mother's Day.

Thomas Awdry was the youngest of the brothers - at sixteen, the black haired young adult was actually the only biological Awdry, since Gordon and his other brother, Edward, were both adopted.

Rachelle's husband had passed away very shortly after Thomas' birth, and despite not wanting another man, she did desire more children. Adopting Edward and Gordon, now nineteen and eighteen respectively - biological brothers who had ended up in the local shelter - was the best decision she knew she made.

Now, as the four of them had been practically from the get-go, they were as close and as tight as glue.

"I can tell by that look you slept just long enough to not be tired the whole day, but you're gonna need a nap later," Gordon chuckled at Thomas.

"Energy freak," Thomas laughed, biting into his toast and beans. "You already signed up for basketball and track?"

"You know he has," Edward smiled fondly. "And I have already secured my position on the academic decathlon team, as well as the speech and debate team!"

"Good for you boys!" Rachelle smiled, taking her plate and putting it in the dishwasher. "You all finish up whenever you feel like it and bring your dishes over here; Thommy, you should probably shower soon."

"Gotcha mom," Thomas nodded, his mouth full of egg.

"That was revolting," Gordon laughed.

-0-

"Are we taking the bus today?" asked Thomas.

"Bertie texted me a meme yesterday just to tell me he wasn't running through here today," Edward answered. "So no - we're walking."

"What a funky man," Gordon muttered.

So, after the three brothers kissed their mom goodbye, they made their way out of the Awdry residence. The sun was shining, birds were singing on trees… it all seemed like the stereotypical perfect day.

"Something's bound to go wrong," Thomas said. "This day's off to too good of a start."

"Wow, you're being optimistic this morning!" Edward laughed.

"Dude, I'm just sayin'!" Thomas laughed back. "You all think Diesel re-enrolled?"

"Why wouldn't he? This is a really good school, and despite how much of a jackass he is, he probably wants an education too," Gordon shrugged.

"I know… but considering, y'know… the trial this summer," said Thomas meekly.

The other brothers shared a look at that statement.

The 'trial' Thomas was referring to was the trial of attempted murderer and serial bank robber, Tanner D. Vintex - Diesel's father. Thomas was a key witness, as he had been running an errand when he saw a maskless Tanner bolt from a bank and nearly ran someone over in his getaway car.

Thomas' testimony was the key to getting Tanner twenty five-to-life in prison.

And the look Tanner had given Thomas as he was led away… it was nothing short of bone chilling.

-0-

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Judge Norramby asked.

"We have, your honor," the lead juror said. "We find the defendant, Tanner David Vintex, guilty on all charges. These charges include several accounts of armed burglary and one count of attempted second-degree murder."

The defendant made no emotional outburst.

As a matter of fact, no reaction whatsoever came from him…

Thomas was chilled by this still and soulless man.

As Tanner was grabbed by two escorting officers to stand to attention for his sentencing, he looked over at Thomas…

The look in his eyes sent chills down Thomas' back.

"Tanner Vintex, for your crimes, you are sentenced to three consecutive life sentences in the supermax facility over on our Mainland."

Judge Norramby banged his gavel three times, and dismissed the court.

Thomas could swear that wasn't how these things worked, but it was pretty understandable - they likely wanted Tanner out of there as fast as possible. And that was exemplified by the guards escorting him out as fast as they could…

Thomas could breathe a sigh of relief, however.

The monster was gone.

And he had helped to put him in his cage.

-0-

Gordon, Edward, and Rachelle had been in the courtroom, and had seen the look Tanner had given their brother and son.

"Hey, let's not dwell on that," Edward said, patting Thomas' shoulder.

"You're gonna get to see Lady again, remember!" Gordon smiled.

Thomas' eyes instantly became hearts, and he chuckled fondly in a dreamy state, all of his woes now forgotten. "L-Lady…"

"Oh gosh, what have we done?" Gordon asked Edward with a laugh.

"Something that can't be fixed now," Edward admitted.

With that, the brothers realized they had made it to the high school - Tidmouth High was one of the smaller high schools on the Island of Sodor, but it was still fairly large sized. Students milled about the courtyard, prepping for school or just talking with their friends and cliques.

"Same as always?" Thomas asked, gesturing to a group of five already talking by one of the benches.

"Same as always," the brothers nodded.

They walked over to the group of five, and hugs were exchanged all around. And who were these five, you ask? Thomas' best friend Percy Avonside; Edward's best friend, James Daviess; Gordon's best friend, Henry Drosek, and girlfriend, Emily Stirling; and everyone's ultimate friend and flat cap enthusiast, Toby Holden.

"About time!" Toby laughed.

"Dude, Bertie didn't come through their neighborhood today," Henry reminded Toby.

"Oh yeahhhh," Toby nodded, fixing his flat cap.

"How are you guys?" asked Emily excitedly, her Scottish accent brimming with joy. "Are you all ready for senior year?"

"You betcha!" Thomas nodded. "Excited to get it over with, more than anything."

"So excited, you skipped two grades?" James teased, smirking.

And yes, it was true - Thomas had skipped two grades. His intellect had been proven worthy of doing so, and when he heard it would also mean he'd be in the same graduating class as his brothers, he couldn't pass it down at all.

"Hey, does anyone know where-"

"Somebody getting ready to ask about me?" a soft, feminine voice asked.

Everyone smiled as they watched a smitten Thomas turn around to see his girlfriend of one and a half years now, Martha "Lady" Stone, walking towards their group. Her short cut blonde hair glistened in the sunlight, and she stood exactly one inch taller than her boyfriend, which everyone thought hilarious.

"How'd you figure that out again?" Thomas laughed, pecking her quickly on the lips.

Lady shrugged innocently. "A feeling, I guess."

"You get a lot of those, yknow," Toby observed.

Suddenly the bell rang - it was time for the very first class of their senior year.

"Well, here we go," said Gordon.

And with that, the young adults headed to their very first class.

-0-

9:30 AM

"I already hate it here."

Thomas chuckled as he and Percy walked out of the chem lab - the class was Percy's least favorite class, and starting off with said class on the first day of school was not exactly the ideal way to go. However, Thomas loved the class, so he got to get a good laugh out of this.

"C'mon man, I'm the pessimistic one around here!" laughed Thomas.

"Not anymore - me after chem is a no no," Percy shook his head.

"You guys see how that one dude didn't have his goggles on? For one nanosecond?" Toby asked, popping up behind them.

"Damn shadow," Thomas muttered, trying to recover from jumping out of his skin just then.

"Hank's a rebel like that - dude literally wears his cowboy hat to class," said Percy, finally able to smile after chem. "I aspire to give less fricks than that man."

However, the enthusiasm of the friends soon waned, as Diesel began to walk towards the crew. Behind him were his "squad" - 'Arry and Bert Ironside, and Spencer Gresley. They weren't "bullies" per say, but they were annoying as heck.

Diesel shoved Thomas by his shoulder. "Good morning to you too, Diesel."

"Shut it, Awdry," Diesel said, his voice low. "You cost me a lot this summer."

"Diesel, I can't exactly help that-"

"No - I don't wanna hear it!" Diesel exclaimed. "You… you just watch your back. You'll get paid back when you least expect it."

Diesel walked away. Bert gave the gang a look, 'Arry kept his head down, and Spencer smirked as he stepped up to Percy - the dude was a full foot taller than him, and Percy didn't care. It was quite a sight to see. "Where's Gordon, little one?"

"Probably in the gym, preparing to beat you up," laughed Percy.

"You don't want the smoke bro!" Toby warned with a laugh.

"The 'smoke'? What does that mean, old timer?" Spencer asked, knocking Toby's flat cap off.

Toby scoffed, pulling another flat cap out of his backpack and putting it on, putting the other one back safely. "Sacrilege. How dare you, Spency?"

"I will never understand you," scoffed Spencer, walking away.

Percy eyed Spencer all the way down the hallway, laughing and pointing. "He didn't want the smoke, bro."

"He didn't want none of the smoke!" Toby said gloriously, raising his hands and fixing his flat cap.

"I have the weirdest friends," Thomas muttered, shaking his head fondly. He wouldn't exchange this life for any other, and that was just how it was.

-0-

12:30 PM

Gordon was running scrimmage on the basketball court at this very moment - being an athletic student, he was allowed to take days where athleticism took priority.

He was on the team as technical captain (since he was the best player, everyone mutually agreed - except himself) on the starting five with Donald MacIntosh, the first Scottish twin; Douglas MacIntosh, the second Scottish twin; Murdoch Riddles, the gentle giant (seriously, this dude was big); and Bobby Connors "BoCo" Bowersfield, Gordon's right hand man on the team.

"Alright team, run five suicides down the line and then we're done for the day," Coach Peregrine Percival said, blowing his whistle - his team had done really well for the first day back, and he was proud of them.

The team collectively ran their suicides while the JV players worked on their free throws on the other side of the gym. They all finished with a pretty good time, though Murdoch and Donald were disappointed with their times.

"Ugh, could'a made a betta time than that surely!" Donald muttered.

"You still did good, brother," Gordon said, giving him a sweaty pat on the back. "Are you ready for our first game next Tuesday?"

"You know it!" Douglas said excitedly, speaking for the starting five.

"Y'all taking lunch outside?" BoCo asked. "I brought a spare burrito we can play rock, paper, scissors for!"

"Oh heck yeah," Murdoch smiled. "Always down for a classic 'quartz, parchment, shears' game."

"What's wrong wit ya?" Douglas asked, before the team shared a laugh.

As they walked outside, they noticed the JV looking at them weird - but they didn't pay much mind to it. The jealous looks from the JV as they walked outside to eat their lunch would wear off soon; they knew, for all five of them had been in that exact same position before.

They all grabbed their lunchboxes and headed outside the gym to take their break while the majority of their "loser" friends were in mathematics - being an athlete did have perks!

However… Spencer was outside, ditching class for a smoke break. He stared down the starting five, but they shrugged him off. Lunch was more important than him.

"Let's go around to the courtyard," BoCo suggested with a whisper. The team collectively nodded, and they all walked over to the courtyard.

Despite the dodgy look Spencer had given them, he didn't cause any trouble to the team - they all were able to play rock, paper, scissors for BoCo's spare burrito (which Donald won, and he was very happy about this - and why wouldn't he be?), have a good time and laugh with each other while making fun of one another, and all around just enjoy themselves.

"...and then I told him, 'Get online or I'll piss in yer keyboard!'" laughed Douglas.

Donald cackled at his twin's story, but the other three starting players just… stared. That was a weird story they had just been told.

"Wh-Where exactly does your cat fit into this story again?" asked Murdoch, raising a brow.

"Oh yeah, I haven't gotten to the best part!" Douglas exclaimed.

Tragically, the bell rang to summon them to their last class of the day - everyone sighed, but all five of the guys smiled as they shared a far too sweaty group hug.

"We continue tomorra'?" asked Douglas.

"Of course," Murdoch nodded.

As the gang all split up to go grab their bags and gym equipment, BoCo whispered to Gordon, "How did we get there from me saying I needed to fix my tire swing?"

"Dude, it's a MacIntosh twin," said Gordon, with a laugh. "Next to nothing makes sense when it comes to getting to the point with their stories."

"Fair enough," BoCo laughed.

-0-

2:10 PM

"Kill me," Emily mouthed.

Edward chuckled at his brother's girlfriend's comment, as he knew the struggle - she was staring at a blank outline for a paper for their English class that was already due by next Friday. Edward was a kind as heck soul, but he really wasn't feeling friendly towards their English teacher at the moment.

However, he felt a bliss unlike any other when the bell rang to send them home or to their after school clubs. He got up and packed his things like a normal person, but he chuckled at how Emily practically bolted as fast as she could out of class without raising a brow.

Edward's smile only grew when he saw her hugging Gordon in the hallway. "Rough English class?" asked Gordon with a smile.

"Ughhhh," Emily groaned.

"Yes, she mouthed 'kill me' right as it ended," laughed Edward.

James, Henry, and Percy then all walked up to the three. "We just got out of our first Spanish class," muttered Percy.

"As I am half-Latino, the class is virtually pointless," James shrugged. "My dad didn't learn English till I was three."

Henry didn't really have a comment about it. Thomas, Lady, and Toby then walked up to the gang, having gotten out of computer class.

"Who knew Mr. Graves could make technology boring?" Toby asked, adjusting his flat cap.

"I did - I had him last year," sighed Thomas. "Same old stomping grounds…"

"Well, since we're all here, anyone wanna drop their stuff off at home and go to the park?" Lady suggested. "A good celebration for making it through our first day!"

"I'm totally down!" Henry said. "They just planted a new tree, I'd love to see the first sprout if it's up. I love trees."

"We know, buddy," Percy chuckled.

Everyone mutually agreed to head to the park and meet there within fifteen, so they all departed from one another and headed their separate ways before reuniting.

A good first day for sure…

Let's hope it would stay that way, huh?

-0-

Chapter 2 is right after this one! ;)

No, literally, it's literally going up like five minutes after this.