The morning of April Second began cheerfully aboard the Ark Royal. The start of the new school year was always a time of excitement for both the students and the adults. Scott roused himself from sleep with plenty of time to spare and dressed before meeting the girls in the common room and joined them as they caught a train to the school.

The day passed by quickly as it wasn't too dissimilar to what Scott was used to back in America if a bit more advanced to what he would have been learning back on the Texas. School would be released by three in the afternoon, which left just enough time for him to get back to his dorm and grab some quick dinner on the go that he would need.

When four came, he arrived at the sheds and pulled off his assignment from the board. "Supply runs for the… Sensha-dō team. Huh… lone crew protocols" he muttered before climbing aboard and blasting the whistle and heading out.

Since he was the only person on the engine he had to keep an eye on the water levels and the fire and his speed and location. He didn't understand why anyone would run a steam engine by themselves, but he figured that he was the only one qualified to replace both of the crew members that were demoted the day before.

Reaching the above deck transfer yard, he back down onto a load of shells and parts before seeing a yard worker flag him down. "Hello! What's up?" he called.

The yard worker ran over, "You're gonna need to make a few trips, we recently got a few loads of powder and petroleum and diesel and since they register on the level four HAZMAT chart, you're going to be limited on how much you can haul at a time." he replied before thinking a moment. "You'll only be able to run two loads a day since you need the team to unload the wagons."

Scott nodded, "If you could get the departures to divide for me, I'll make as many trips as I need to. Safety is key after all."

Seeing the signal drop and the guard's whistle sound, Scott sounded the engine's whistle and pulled out of the yard. The trip to the Sensha-dō warehouse was five kilometres away by the rails and would probably take about twelve to fifteen minutes. He just hoped that there were going to be people ready to unload otherwise he'd have to spend his whole shift moving things for the team.

Orange Pekoe looked over the rest of the Sensha-dō team, they had just finished their training for the day and were waiting for Darjeeling to give them new orders. She hoped that there wasn't much to do since she was already tired from loading shells for the Churchill's gun.

Just then, Darjeeling entered the room. "Marvelous practice today everyone." she praised, drawing pleased smiles to everyone's faces, "You all know what you must personally do to improve so I won't rehash it here but there is one job left for us to do before we can go home." she revealed, "The train is going to bring two loads of munitions and parts for us. We'll unload both train loads then we can climb aboard the passenger carriages and rest."

Hearing a whistle, Darjeeling smiled, "There he is now!" she called as she lead everyone to the loading platform.

Pekoe wasn't looking forward to more lifting, but if it got her home quicker, she'd move as quick as she could. They waited until the train stopped when much to her surprise, Scott popped his head out of the cab. "Bill! Uncouple the wagons and we'll make the second trip before they finish!"

Bill nodded, "Right away!" he replied.

Scott caught Pekoe's eye and, for that moment, the noises of the world faded away. The moment couldn't last, however, as Bill blew his whistle, forcing Scott to break the gaze. Scott nodded and blew the engine's whistle and shouted "I'll be right back!"

Watching the Number Two switch onto the passing loop line and rocket backwards towards the marshalling yard. A look of longing rested on her face as she helped unload the wagons. Much to her relief, no one noticed or commented about it.

They were just finishing up unloading the final wagon when the Number Two's whistle sounded again. They began unloading the new wagons whilst Scott took the empty wagons back to the marshalling yard and returned with passenger carriages to take them home. Darjeeling stood by the engine cab watching the team put the final items away and chatting to Scott. From her distance, Pekoe couldn't hear what they were talking about, but it was clear that they both found it amusing. It was then that Pekoe felt something that she had never felt before and could not put a name to it, but her lips quirked down and her brow furrowed.

Rosehip looked at her friend and was about to ask her something when she saw the look on her face and was shocked, for she had seen that expression before but never on her best friend's face. Pekoe was never known to get angry after all and she looked downright furious. Following her gaze, Rosehip's eyes widened in understanding: Pekoe was jealous.

It wasn't much longer before everyone finished and loaded into the carriages. Scott blew his whistle and began pulling away, ready to start his shift on the passenger run.

Much to his surprise, Orange Pekoe jumped into the cab, "Mind if I join you?" she asked.

Scott shrugged, "Don't see why not, especially since we're underway." he replied before turning to her, "Though next time, just ask. I'm more than happy to offer footplate rides since I'm the only one controlling the engine."

Pekoe blushed but bit back her retort. It wasn't like he was hers. But eventually, she did ask, "So what were you and Darjeeling talking about?"

Scott waved his hand dismissively, "I noticed some oversized well-wagons back in the yard that looked to be the size needed to transport the tanks, so I asked if they truly expected this little engine to haul such loads and was told that yes, they do." he replied before laughing, "I would think that the wagons would tip over on the first bend, and that's if this engine could get the load moving in the first place!"

Silently, Pekoe breathed a sigh of relief, even if she didn't know exactly why she was relieved. Suddenly, Scott bent down and picked something up off the floor next to the firebox. "What's that?" she asked.

Scott smirked. "Dinner." he replied, "It's a Croque Monsieur*, a basic sandwich eaten best when warm, hence the closeness to the fire."

Pekoe was surprised. "I thought you got a lunch break of sorts!" she exclaimed.

Scott laughed, "Hardly." he murmured as unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. "It's not that different to the Morning Expresses back in the glory days of steam. Though for them, breakfast would usually be a bacon sandwich that had been cooked on the fireman's shovel and, if they were feeling adventurous, an egg, again, cooked on the fireman's shovel, while travelling at speed."

Pekoe was horrified at the idea of eating food off of a used shovel but Scott continued. "I've heard that you can't tell the difference between food cooked in the firebox and food cooked in a kitchen if it's the same meal. And truthfully, your worst enemy would be undercooking your food or losing it to the coals. But that's why I prepare my meals beforehand and use the firebox to keep it warm."

Neither said much after that and they soon arrived at the Dormitories Station. Pekoe got off the train quite intrigued by Scott and determined to speak with him more.

This carried on for about a month. They would talk while Scott took her and the Sensha-dō team home and they found that they would look forward to this time and were becoming close friends.

A month after the school year started, Orange Pekoe and Assam were sitting in Darjeeling's office when the office phone rang. "Hello? Oh, Miss Kadotani. Ah yes, I have heard. I see. St Gloriana accepts. The fifteenth? We'll be there."

*Recipe found as the first recipe in the Binging with Babish: Croque Monsieur from Brooklyn Nine-Nine

I forgot to do this last chapter so the first recipe in that chapter was the Chicken Parmesan from Basics with Babish and the second one from that chapter was the second recipe in the Binging with Babish: Ziti and Lasagna from The Sopranos

Needless to say, I highly recommend the Babish channel