I rattle out of the sheds as soon I am given the all clear- I don't want to be in the same shed as Duke any longer! He's insane! He tortures new, young engines for the fun of it- why does the manager keep him on? I wonder as I speed off towards the yard, where I am due to do some shunting work.

Why me?

...

I hiss steam furiously as I glare at the empty coal dust covered trucks in the yard, all laughing at me.

"Come on, old chap- negligence of your duties will likely get you to lose your bet." My driver reminds me, patting my side. "You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"No!" I huff. "It's just...nothing." I sigh. "So, what am I doing with those trucks, exactly?" I ask the foreman

"Well, you just shunt these over there," he replies, pointing vaguely to an empty siding with untrustworthy buffers. "They need to be shifted out of the way for later. Right now, this yard's a mess and needs to be tidied up a bit."

"More than a bit, I think!" I reply bitterly. "What's that Duke been up to?"

"Never mind about Duke- you should be more concerned about your future here." The foreman scolds, leaving me to my own devices.

"Right, come on Falcon- we better get started." My driver informs me, and I reluctantly set off, hissing steam and some choice words about Duke, the foreman, the trucks- this whole railway, in fact.

...

BUMP! CRASH!

"OUCH!"

"CUT THAT OUT, YOU LITTLE BLUE MANIAC!"

"STOP- WE REFUSE TO TAKE THIS ABUSE! THIS IS VIOLATION OF ACT 3456: GIVING TRUCKS THEIR RIGHTS!"

"Shut up!" I snarl furiously, ignoring their insults and instead bumping the trucks like the end of the world was coming- and I suppose it is for me, it is-if I lose this bet to a stupid, fuddy duddy psychopath I'm to work with.

I growl at a particularly nasty looking brake van ahead of me.

"Well, this one's vicious, ain't he?" He sniggers nastily to his comrades. "I never realised that falcons could growl- did you, Rags?" He asks a much worn truck next to him.

Rags burst out laughing "Good one, boss!" He tells me cheekily. "I also thought falcons were brown, not blue and red! He looks like he could turn purple any minute now- with rage!"

And they fall about laughing- at me. Feeling my rage spiral out of control, I simply yell "Oh yeah, you wise guys? If you want it, you'll have it!"

And I bump them – I bumped them so hard my buffers were ringing.

As for the trucks, they speed along the line, and I chortle nastily. "See you like that!" I shout carelessly.

"Falcon- you could cause an accident!" My driver scolds. "Quick- we need to get help, before"-

A loud, high pitched scream sounds from the bottom of the yard, followed by a loud 'CRASH!' of splintering wood shattering on impact.

...

I couldn't even explain my actions to the manager when he and Duke arrive to inspect the damage. I'm not one to regret being foul tempered, but the manager tells me that what I had done today had been very dangerous, and could have had fatal implications if things had happened differently.

"You're just lucky that the foreman and that workman were able to get out of the way of the trucks, Falcon!" He scolds, pointing an accusing finger at me as he continues to rant at my actions. "Not to mention the fact that you destroyed a wall and damaged several trucks!"

"Yes sir. I'm sorry sir."

"SORRY doesn't even begin to cover it, Falcon! I'm already considering sending you back to Loughborough! I was willing to overlook your rudeness initially upon arrival and hope things would improve once you settled in, but this is a whole new level of disruption you've caused!"

I glance down at my buffers, cowering a little. I know I'm hot headed, but I didn't mean to nearly kill two people! I could give stuff about the damage, though.

"Now, what to do with you..." He ponders, glaring at me. "You're a danger to the yard already...this wouldn't do...what will people think?"

Just as I feel things were looking grim, I hear a voice- a gruff one, clear his throat. (Well, engines don't have throats, but you know what I mean. Or at least you SHOULD know, cos you're people, and it'd be kinda dumb if you don't know what I'm going on about.)

"Sir, I feel that I have some responsibility for this incident- I neglected to guide him in matters of the yard. Give Falcon a week in the shed and then entrust him to me, sir. It's his temper that's the real danger here, and when he gets time to cool down, I can mentor him."

The manager stares at Duke as though he's crazy, and so do I. "You...you must be kidding, Duke. This engine's wily, irresponsible, dangerous"-

"That may be, sir, but he's young. He needs discipline, and I can give him that. But that week in the sheds will help him show first of all that hot-headedness and railways don't mix."

The manager pauses to consider it, and then he looks at me, but I don't pay attention to what he might be thinking- I am too much in awe of what Duke just said.

Is this the same engine whom I insulted for seeming so weak when we first met? It is- I know it is, I'm not that irrational- but I can't believe that this old timer just stuck up for me.

It acknowledges I lost the bet, which I resent- but he actually seems willing to take me on which is surprising. His expression is cast with determination to do just that.

'How's he gonna do that? He would have been built last century!' A voice within my funnel asks. 'He's got to be some tough engine to deal with me!'

"Well, alright Duke. I'll trust your word on this, and I hope you're right!"

"Thank you sir," Duke replies smoothly. "I wouldn't let you down."

I wait until the manager nods, and then walk over to check on his two employees, before I glance at my new 'to-be' mentor.

"Duke, thanks for sticking up for me." I say. "I never thought that you"-

However, he sends me an icy glare in response, silencing me from any gratitude I was about to display. "That was not me sticking up for you, Falcon. I am merely honouring our agreement."

"Oh..." I breathe.

'Oh why am I disappointed? I complained about Duke torturing engines for fun- why should I expect something more?'