Lexi paced around the depot, suddenly riddled with anxiety; now mixed with curiosity. She had been thinking back to her earlier chat with Rusty; and the more she recalled the conversation with the little diesel, the more she became interested as to find out why her father never mentioned anything about Luke to her or her brothers well before now.
"Hm, Rusty thought it was strange I had never been here before- I mean, Jack, Nat and I were never here with Mum to see Dad at work when growing up. I've lived in Crovan's Gate my whole life, and I never once heard him say anything about Luke… or any of the other engines." she muttered to herself.
"Hey, I kind of need my whistle polished, if you can spare a minute." Sir Handel piped up, with a grumble.
Lexi was so relieved that she could focus on something else that she didn't comment on Sir Handel's bluntness. "I'll spare many a minute to ye, me lord." She said whimsically in reply, grinning as the little blue engine just mumbled 'ruddy theatrics!' under his breath.
Climbing on Sir Handel's footplate, Lexi began cleaning his whistle.
Sir Handel could sense that the teen was tense, and she looked too relieved to be of some use to someone to mention his rudeness to her (he didn't know her that well, but he thought she wasn't the kind to take rude behaviour lying down.)
He debated whether he should ask if she was ok; but he decided against it, and instead focused on how smart his whistle would look when she was done with it. He'll keep her distracted from whatever was on her mind, but that was all.
Just keep her distracted from whatever was on her mind. Since when did he care about the emotional psyche of others?
Since Peter Sam's accident with the incline.
The blue engine gulped as he felt the rag glide over his whistle. He was relieved that Lexi was as gentle as Nancy, if a bit more vigorous than her predecessor.
"Where did Bertram go?" she asked him suddenly, noting the tender engine's absence.
"He had to leave to help Peter Sam with a coal delivery." Replied Sir Handel, who was glad he had one less drama freak to deal with today. "He tried to say bye to you, but you weren't responding." He added offhandedly.
Lexi swore. "Sorry, I was thinking about something else." She mumbled, her polishing slowing. Sir Handel noted this, and for a moment, felt tempted to tell her that he often experienced the same thing. Just suddenly become overwhelmed by a memory, or regret, or just some unpleasant experience take hold of the ship in his subconscious and steer Sir Handel right into a course of nasty memories and guilt and wishes for alternative paths churning up in one great big storm threatening to overwhelm him.
But, as stated before, he didn't know her very well; and therefore, he decided that trusting her with anything remotely personal and confidential at this stage would not go over well. No, no. That would never do. He had no intention of making himself vulnerable to someone he only just met. He could only trust Peter Sam and Duke to confide these deepest, darkest secrets of his soul.
The little blue engine settled for a dismissive "It happens," accompanied by letting out a wheesh of steam. "What were you thinking about, kiddo?" he asked cautiously.
"Ah, just something Rusty and I were talking about earlier." Lexi replied vaguely, who had resumed cleaning. Sir Handel waited for her to clarify, but she didn't; she just continued polishing his whistle, whilst humming 'We'll Be Coming Around the Mountain When She Comes,' and tapping her foot.
"You know, Peter Sam was right about the coaches." She continued, rubbing Sir Handel's whistle more vigorously than before. "I hadn't had half a hard time trying to clean them; and I fell out with Agnes to boot." She sighed, remembering how upset and disappointed Skarloey seemed when she left the carriage shed; not to mention Agnes' words.
"I just… didn't expect this to go so horribly wrong. And on my first day, too."
"Tell me about it," Said Sir Handel in agreement, feeling empathetic on that particular scenario. "I used to fall out with them a lot. Still do, sometimes; just not as bad as before." He admitted nonchalantly. "But that would be on different levels from you, I expect."
Lexi was confused; knowing next to nothing about the engines and their histories, she wasn't aware of the time when Sir Handel first called the coaches 'cattle trucks', and how they attempted to get their revenge on him for that remark after that; and he made no mention to bring this up, either.
"Pardon?"
"Never mind," he replied, "It's still your first day. Besides, it could be a lot worse." And, much to his surprise, he told her of his first day on the Skarloey Railway; again, not mentioning the 'cattle trucks' comment. He just vaguely mentioned that he and the coaches didn't see eye to eye to start with and they found it hard to get along afterwards.
"Basically, I'm not trying to trivialize how badly your day's going; I just want to say you haven't got into trouble from Mr. Percival; and at least you're not running back to Crovan's Gate crying hysterically. You're just not used to anything yet. Once you adapt to the system, you'll hardly remember… well, this."
Since whenever in the Devil's name did, he, Sir Handel, ever care for a mere volunteer? He hardly knew her; he didn't bother with other people's problems. He only cared if Peter Sam, Granpuff or another NG engine or Mr. Percival were in trouble.
And yet, he showed some concern; he told her about his bad day, which he didn't normally like sharing- especially not with those whom he had only just met. But he felt that it was probably so he wouldn't have to look at her sulky face. They couldn't cover her up like Mr. Mack did with Skarloey over 150 years ago; she'd just throw it off and run away. Or stomp. Whatever teens did these days; they were moodier and more unpredictable than himself and Duncan combined these days.
"Sir Handel?"
"What?"
"You sound like you're trying to get me to join a cult."
"Oh, you mean the Little Iron Horse Cult in the mountains, when everyone worships the Great, Immortal and Just Extremely Old Skarloey and Rheneas, argues with any road vehicles about the superiority of the religion of the rails and willingly and blindly walks into life and death situations everyday they decide to wake up in the morning? Sounds like you're in the right place." Sir Handel commented sarcastically.
He was startled when he suddenly heard laughter ringing round the sheds, and he looked to see Lexi trying not to fall off his footplate; he was surprised she was able to stay on, considering her legs were shaking from her laughing so much; and tears were streaming down her face like the Whispering Waterfall.
"What?"
"Sorry, I just needed to laugh today, considering this day isn't going great." Lexi admitted, patting his side. "My hypothetical hysteria… not to mention your cult of the Great, Immortal and Just Extremely Old Skarloey and Rheneas certainly made me feel better. Thanks, Sir Handel. You're cool." She said, playfully nudging his cheek with her knuckle.
Sir Handel blushed at the gesture.
He cared for Nancy, when she first came to work here back in the late Sixties; but she was someone who was closer to Skarloey and Rheneas. (she saw all the engines as her friends…. She just formed a unique connection with the two little old engines)
He'd been indifferent to the setup then, most of the time. But now that he'd matured a bit, he felt more willing to befriend Lexi; she might be a teen, and probably would be harder to deal with than Nancy on some days; but she was nice. She didn't seem judgemental, or rude, or mercurial- at least, for the majority of the time.
Besides, he couldn't blame her for any day she might feel like that; he did, often enough, and his friends did their best to comfort him or leave him be, depending on whether he needed solidarity or solitude.
Suddenly, beside him, Luke stirred, and opened one eye. "…what are you guys laughing about?" He asked sleepily, looking between the unlikely duo groggily.
Sir Handel and Lexi looked in the other's direction, before chorusing innocently "Nothing."
"I don't mean to ruin your fun, but I'm trying to get some sleep." Luke said quietly. He spoke politely, but with a firmness that surprised the older engine, and he felt guilty for waking Luke up. After all, his friend had had to plough through the night shift alone after Rheneas's unexpected accident at the eleventh hour. The least the little guy deserved was some uninterrupted, blissful sleep.
"Sorry, little Irish dude," Said Lexi, sheepishly. "We didn't mean to disturb ya. I promise we'll keep things quieter. If we wake you again, we'll take it elsewhere."
"I'll take you to your word, Miss Heron," Luke replied sleepily, yawning loudly before he once more drifted off to sleep, and the pair chuckled quietly.
As promised, they kept the noise down.