A few weeks have passed since Gordon learned his lesson from teasing too much, and Gordon does tease, but it was not much to make someone's feelings either hurt or angry at him.
During those weeks, Stephanie continued learning more and more about the island itself.
She read about the history, most of the famous locomotives, and the kings and queens used to rule over it.
All the legends about them seemed to perk Stephanie's attention the most, causing her to ask many questions about the leaders, infuriating the Troublesome Trio.
They did not like how clever Stephanie was, asking many questions about them and even giving excellent answers, despite mistaking most of them.
Mason was the most irritated out of them all, claiming himself to be the smartest one out of the three.
He listened to the answers and questions Stephanie asked, scowling at her from the back of her head.
After school, Stephanie headed over to where the group was waiting for a locomotive to pick them up.
But before Stephanie could meet with the others, the Troublesome Trio came and purposely bumped into her, causing her to look over at them.
"Listen here, freak!" Mason hissed, showing rage in his eyes as he stood in front of her. "I'm the smartest person here, so you don't ruin my opportunities!"
A confused expression appeared on Stephanie's face after he hissed, asking, "What do you mean? You barely move your hand up."
This seemed to tick Mason off more as he yelled, "Just because you were sitting in front of me doesn't make you look smart to push me off t-!"
Stephanie reached up with her hand and gently pinched her lips together with her two fingers, confusing him as he stopped talking.
"What makes you think I am doing that?" Stephanie asked in confusion as she shrugged. "I'm not pushing anyone around. I am just a responsible student doing schoolwork to be prepared for the future."
That confused Mason more as she released his lips, saying, "If you want, I could move seats after asking permission from the teacher, and you could have a turn with answering questions."
With that, Stephanie turned around and walked away, coming over to the group and meeting up with her friends, as they looked surprised that she shut one of the Troublesome Trios.
"Are ye thon brave enouch tae dae thon tae him?" Alastair asked, sounding surprised at Stephanie's bold move.
"Well, yes," Stephanie bluntly answered with a shrug of her shoulders. "He wouldn't stop complaining about how smart I am. It's just I have learned a lot, but not enough to be like Albert Einstein."
After answering Alastair's question, Stephanie noticed Edward was coming to pick the kids up, seeing that nothing had happened to Stephanie, to his relief.
"Hi, Edward!" Stephanie beamed, waving her hand. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Edward answered, chuckling a little. "Climb aboard."
Stephanie nodded and waited in line as the children boarded his coaches, having her turn to hop into the coaches.
But just as she was stepping on the coach, something made her left leg slip and caused her to trip as Stephanie yelped but luckily grabbed the side of the cushion.
"Are you alright?!" Davi asked, reaching over to Stephanie and helping her up to her feet, sitting down on the chair.
"Yeah, my foot slipped." Stephanie nodded, looking at her leg as the door closed.
"Och, it must've been ane o' thae boys." Alastair groaned, frowning as he crossed his arms over his chest. "They aye been doin' thon tae everyone they hate."
"Yes," nodded Masahiko as Edward whistled his whistle, puffing off to Knapford. "You shouldn't have been interacting with them or be in the same classroom with them."
"But I don't think I could change classrooms, and I have to be sitting near where they are since the other seats are occupied," Stephanie spoke as she pushed back a strand of stray brown hair.
Alastair huffed after Stephanie mentioned, as Aleric said, "That sucks! You have to sit with someone behind you that annoys you all the time!"
"I've gotten used to it," Stephanie shrugged her shoulders.
This seemed to perk Edward's attention a little from the response from Stephanie.
He could hear the conversations since the coach they were sitting in was near where he was, and some windows were open to let fresh air in.
He figured Stephanie was going to agree with Aleric but instead had a completely different one.
"What do you mean by 'gotten used to it?'" Davi asked, sounding a little confused. "Were you bullied before you came here?"
Stephanie went silent after Davi asked, glancing away from her friends, and looking out the window, now rubbing her left arm instead of placing it.
Edward hummed softly to himself after hearing no response from Stephanie after Davi asked, feeling more concerned about Stephanie.
As soon as he reached Knapford, he noticed Sir Topham Hatt waiting on the platform for Stephanie.
As soon as the guards opened the doors, the children ran out of the coaches and met with their parents as Stephanie went to see Sir Topham Hatt.
"Hello, Sir!" Stephanie smiled. "How are you?"
"I am doing fine, Stephanie." Sir Topham Hatt nodded. "I have news to tell you, though."
Not expressing it, Stephanie's stomach clenched with worry, asking without a stammer in her voice, "What is the news?"
"My grandchildren are coming over to visit Stephanie," Sir Topham Hatt explained. "They are from the Mainland."
"Oh!" Stephanie smiled, mentally relieved. "I didn't know that you had grandchildren."
Sir Topham Hatt chuckled and gently placed his hand on her back, saying, "Why don't you go back to the mansion with Lady Hatt to get changed and come back here to meet them?"
Stephanie's curiosity grew a little when he mentioned someone named 'Lady Hatt,' but only nodded her head, feeling excited to meet his grandchildren.
As soon as Lady Hatt arrived, who was surprisingly different from Sir Topham Hatt to Stephanie's confusion.
Not only that, but she was as well as beautiful too.
She has fair skin with shoulder-length brown hair and chocolate brown eye color.
She wore a blue dress combined with a white trim sweater with a pink heart pin, matching shoes, and a matching hat with a pink hatband and a matching flower.
Lady Hatt took Stephanie back to the mansion to get herself changed back into her usual clothes, still a little surprised and impressed that a gentle but beautiful lady decided to marry a stout gentleman.
Once she was changed, Stephanie was excited to meet Sir Topham Hatt's grandchildren, going back downstairs to meet Lady Hatt again.
"Excited to see someone?" Alice asked as Stephanie walked.
"Yes, Alice," Stephanie nodded with a smile on her face. "I am going to meet Sir Topham Hatt's grandchildren."
"Oh, how wonderful!" Alice smiled. "You get to meet someone who is your age!"
'They are both at my age?' Stephanie curiously thought to herself before meeting Lady Hatt again.
Lady Hatt and Stephanie returned to Knapford after Stephanie changed from her school uniform, seeing Sir Topham Hatt with two children she had not seen before.
The first grandchild was a girl, and she has fair skin, short brown hair, and light brown eye color.
She wore a pink dress over a white blouse with white pants and black slippers.
The second grandchild was a boy, and he had fair skin, short brown hair, and medium brown eye color.
He wore a white shirt with a black tie and a green jacket, with light green pants and black shoes.
Stephanie's shyness came to her, and Stephanie hid behind Lady Hatt, confusing her a little along with the grandchildren.
"Stephanie," Sir Topham Hatt smiled as he mentioned a hand to the two children next to him. "These two are my grandchildren, Stephen and Bridget Hatt."
"Hello," Bridget greeted.
Stephanie blushed a little shyly as she waved a hand at them, peeking a little from behind Lady Hatt's legs.
"This is Stephanie," Lady Hatt spoke. "She was staying with Topham after being separated from her foster-father."
"Is he going to be okay?" Stephen asked, sounding concerned.
"He's fine, Stephen," Sir Topham Hatt spoke. "He is going to come here for a few months or more."
Stephanie glanced down for a moment after Lady Hatt explained to a curious Stephen before walking around Lady Hatt, moving her hands behind her back.
Her long hair was pushed back to reveal her face, but her blush seemed to fog her glasses a little.
"Look, Grandfather," chuckled Stephen. "Her glasses are foggy!"
Stephanie blushed more after Stephen pointed out, stammering, "S-Sorry, it happens when I blushed."
After the introduction, Lady Hatt took Stephanie, Bridget, and Stephen to play in the park, which seemed to confuse Stephanie a little, considering that she had not played in a park for a long time.
Once they got there, Stephen and Bridget went to play, as Stephanie stood there, looking confused about what she would do while Lady Hatt was talking with some of her friends.
Bridget noticed the confused expression on Stephanie's face, walking back up to her, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I… don't know how to play," Stephanie confessed, ducking her head down a little.
"You don't?" Bridget asked, sounding confused.
Stephanie shook her head no, feeling ashamed of herself for the lack of playing games since she was homeschooled for a long time.
Bridget thought to herself after Stephanie confessed to her before an idea popped into her head.
"I know!" Bridget smiled. "Why don't you follow me to the playground? We can play hide-and-seek there!"
Stephanie looked curious and confused after Bridget mentioned 'hide-and-seek' before nodding her head, saying, "Okay."
Bridget took Stephanie's wrist with a hand and started gently leading her to the playground, noticing that there was a good portion of children there.
When she came over to them, the children noticed the 'odd' girl, looking confused about who she was, as Stephanie blushed with shyness, only a little that it did not fog her glasses.
"Uh, Bridget?" one of the girls asked. "Who is she?"
"What funny clothes she wears." a boy spoke, taking the sleeve of her sweater and looking at it. "She looks like she is one of the army men."
"I-I'm not." Stephanie fumbled, blushing shyly as the boy released her sleeve. "I just like the sweater, and… it reminds me of dad…"
"Your dad was in the army?" a girl asked as Stephanie nodded her head. "From where?"
"America," Stephanie answered, perking a little.
"You're an American?" Stephen asked with surprise.
Stephanie nodded her head again after he asked, glancing away from them and rubbing her left arm, blushing more.
"She doesn't know how to play," Bridget spoke as she explained to them. "Can you help her?"
The group paused a little after Bridget spoke before one of them said, "Sure! What game should we start with?"
"Hide-and-seek." Bridget smiled as she suggested. "It's an easy game!"
Stephanie smiled a little after Bridget suggested hide-and-seek, wanting to play the game to understand how.
The children agreed and chose one of the girls to be 'it,' and she started counting.
Just as the children ran to hide, one of them explained to Stephanie that she has to hide in a hiding spot before the countdown ends, and the last one found wins the game.
This seemed to make Stephanie excited as she dashed off to hide along with the boy who explained the game to her.
Stephanie glanced around for any ideas of hiding, not deciding to hide in a hole to make things difficult for her or the player or any other dangerous things.
So, Stephanie noticed a small 'room' underneath the stairway and squeezed herself into it, making herself tiny.
Luckily, no one else was inside with her as she watched the girl.
"…Twenty-nine, thirty!" the girl called. "Ready or not, here I come!"
Stephanie went back to where she was hiding, liking the game already as she watched the girl look around.
The girl found Bridget, one of the boys, some girls, and Stephen, but could not find Stephanie, the last one.
"Stephanie?" Bridget called. "Where are you?"
Just after Bridget called, Stephanie crawled herself out from the playground's stairs, saying, "I'm here!"
They glanced over at Stephanie after she called, looking surprised to see Stephanie there.
"How did you get underneath there?" a boy asked with confusion and bewilderment.
"I squeezed myself in there." Stephanie chuckled as she mentioned it. "Since I am a little shorter and thinner, it's easy for me to fit."
"Why didn't I think of that!" chuckled a boy as the other laughed.
"Did I win?" Stephanie politely asked, cocking her head to the side.
They glanced at each other after Stephanie asked before nodding their heads, saying, "Yes, you won!"
Stephanie beamed after nodding their heads as they said, pointing to her, "And you're 'it!'"
A confused expression appeared on her face for a moment before smiling and shrugged, turning around and starting the countdown.
As they played, Stephanie enjoyed the games they played, from tug-a-war to tag, even guessing games too with cartoons, although Stephanie did not understand most of them.
After playing tetherball, the group was tired from running around and playing games, as Stephanie was thrilled.
"That was the most fun day I have ever had!" Stephanie beamed.
"I agree!" nodded one of the boys.
"Bridget! Stephen! Stephanie!" Bridget, Stephen, and Stephanie perked after hearing their names called, seeing Lady Hatt waiting for them. "It's time to go!"
"Aw!" the other kids complained after hearing that their new friends were going to have to leave.
"Don't worry!" Stephanie smiled. "We'll come here some other day and play games again!"
The kids beamed after Stephanie assured them before being tackled in a hug by Bridget and Stephen.
Stephanie felt confused for a moment from the hug before shrugging her shoulders and hugging back with the group.
"Bridget! Stephen! Stephanie!" Lady Hatt called again.
"Coming!" Stephanie called back after the hug was released, running over to her with Bridget and Stephen behind.
Once they were close to Lady Hatt after being called, they started heading back to Knapford to meet Sir Topham Hatt again when Stephanie noticed that something large and fluffy was coming towards them.
Instantly, Stephanie moved her arm forward and stopped Stephen and Bridget, even taking Lady Hatt's hand.
"What?" A low growl caught their attention as they glanced forward, seeing a massive Tibetan Mastiff.
Its fur was in a brown and tan color with bits of black, growling at them as it was baring its teeth at them, getting ready to lunge at them.
"Don't look at its eyes!" Stephanie whispered, glancing away along with the three. "Slowly turn your body around, don't run, and stay here."
They did so as Stephanie eased Bridget and Stephan to Lady Hatt as she took them.
She looked concerned and startled when Stephanie started slowly walking towards the massive and fluffy dog.
"What are you doing?!" Lady Hatt softly hissed.
"Shh." Stephanie gently shushed her, glancing slightly over at the Tibetan Mastiff but not directly at the eyes.
The Tibetan Mastiff had stopped growling when it noticed Stephanie was slowly easing herself towards it, not looking at the eyes.
Then she stopped only a foot away from it, still not looking at it.
Surprisingly, the massive dog did stop growling when she stood in front of it before starting to sniff Stephanie, sniffing her hand a little, before moving up to her chest and neck, then face.
Lady Hatt covered Bridget's and Stephen's eyes, worried that the dog might attack her at this point, not wanting them to see the horror she is about to witness.
But instead, heard… chuckling?
Sure enough, when Lady Hatt opened her eyes to see what had happened, she was only surprised when she saw that the massive dog was licking Stephanie with its enormous tongue and wagging its tail.
"Grandmother?" Stephen asked, sounding confused. "What's going on?"
"It's okay!" Stephanie chuckled as she reached up with her hand, gently scratching the dog's ear. "The Tibetan Mastiff was just startled! Nothing wrong!"
A surprised expression appeared on Lady Hatt's face as she witnessed Stephanie taming what seemed to be a wild animal.
Stephanie continued petting the massive animal with her hands, giggling a little when it licked her face, even nudging her with its snout.
"Would one of you come over here?" Stephanie asked, only for Lady Hatt to shake her head no, moving down and wrapping her arms around her grandchildren.
Stephanie paused a little after seeing that they would not trust a massive dog before turning to the dog and commanded, "Sit."
The dog did as it was told and sat before Stephanie commanded, "Down." and it lay down on its underside, staring up at Stephanie.
After commanding the dog to sit, Stephanie turned around to Lady Hatt, Bridget and Stephen, asking, "Now would you like to come closer?"
Lady Hatt paused a little after Stephanie asked before gasping when Stephen started walking up to Stephanie and the massive dog.
"Stephen, wait," Stephanie spoke as he stopped a foot away from her. "You don't walk like that to dogs. First, avert your eyes and slowly approach the dog. You'll agitate him if you continue scaring him like that."
Stephen nodded his head after Stephanie warned him before doing as he was told.
He slowly turned his body to the side and averted his eyes from the dog before gently inching himself towards it.
The dog moved its head up when it noticed one of the humans approaching, not looking at him or walking up at him fast.
"Okay," Stephanie softly said to him. "Don't make loud noises and wait until he sniffs you."
Stephen nodded his head, and Stephanie glanced over at the patient Tibetan Mastiff before saying, "Come."
The dog stood up on its paws and slowly walked up to Stephen, as he went stiff as a rock, keeping his eyes away from it.
It first sniffed Stephen's hand that was the first out, smelling what seemed to be… cats.
The dog then sniffed Stephen's chest and face, still taking in his scent.
Stephen's breathing hitched a little, feeling worried about getting his face bitten off.
But instead, the dog wagged its tail and started licking him gently, confusing him a little.
"Okay," Stephanie smiled as Stephen shakily sighed in relief. "You're clear to pet him."
Stephen paused a little from petting such a giant dog, but his curiosity got to him, and he slowly reached up with a hand, gently patting the head of the dog, before stretching it.
"Want to have a turn, Bridget?" Bridget paused a little after Stephanie asked before nodding her head and repeating the same thing as her brother did.
Once she had passed, Bridget went to pat the dog, too, surprised at how fluffy it was compared to a cat.
Lady Hatt stammered as she knelt a little to Stephanie's height, "How on ear-earth did you learn to approach wild dogs?"
"My foster-father had many trained dogs before," Stephanie whispered back to her, watching as the two patted the giant dog. "So, I learned how to approach dogs and even tame them."
Lady Hatt gently nodded her head a little after Stephanie explained before recoiling a little as the dog approached her, glancing away from the eyes.
Rather than being bitten, the dog gently sniffed her hand a little before licking it, causing her to be confused from the change of trusting humans.
"See?" Stephanie giggled, reaching over with a hand. "Simba is friendly after getting to know some people around."
"'Simba?'" Stephen asked. "You mean like the lion from the movie The Lion King?"
Stephanie paused a little from Stephen's question, responding, "I don't remember seeing a movie called 'The Lion King,' but I like calling him that because he looked like a lion! And that's the meaning of the name in Swahili."
Stephen and Bridget giggled after Stephanie explained as she started feeling around the giant dog with her hands as her expression looked thoughtful.
"What are you looking for?" Lady Hatt politely asked.
"I'm looking for Simba's microchip," Stephanie explained. "It's where we can find his owner, but… I don't feel any chips."
"How?" Bridget curiously asked, reaching over and trying to feel what Stephanie was doing.
"Well," Stephanie explained. "The microchips are about rice-sized and embedded in their perspex coat, which is the undercoats of their skin."
She used her fingers to show how big the chip was, impressing Lady Hatt as she listened to Stephanie's explanations.
"The only way you can feel it is by using your fingers around the neck at the centerline between the shoulder blades," Stephanie explained, showing the back of Simba as he sat. "But I felt nothing. I think the dog had been abandoned a long time ago."
Lady Hatt paused a little after Stephanie explained before asking, "Lady Hatt? Do you mind if I take care of Simba?"
"Are you certain?" Lady Hatt asked with worry. "Taking care of a dog twice your height would be a challenge for you and… I'm more concerned about how dangerous he could be in Topham's mansion."
Stephanie paused a little after Lady Hatt explained before saying, "If you want and for the safety of your husband, I suggest keeping Simba in my room. I can take care of him since I took care of my foster-father's dogs a long time ago."
This made Dowager Hatt pause a little after Stephanie explained, knowing that arguing with her would not sort things out and how connected she had with the massive dog, Lady Hatt said, sighing a little, "Yes, you may keep Simba. But we need to get him a dog tag and a chip."
Stephanie beamed happily after Lady Hatt agreed, taking them and the dog to the vet, where the dog was calm as it got its chip, along with a massive collar that had his name on it.
Once Stephanie got Simba his collar and micro-chipped, they headed back to Knapford to meet up with Sir Topham Hatt.
Sir Topham Hatt was getting out of his office just as they came to the station, only to be startled when he and his helpers noticed Simba.
"Ah, Simba!" Stephanie yelped, tugging Simba's collar as he started dragging her towards Sir Topham Hatt and his guards. "Down!"
Luckily, Simba stopped in front of Sir Topham Hatt after dragging Stephanie towards him, sniffing his hand with curiosity.
"Sorry about him, sir." Stephanie chuckled with a slight blush. "He was just curious."
"Where did you find him?" Sir Topham Hatt, as Stephanie commanded him to lie down, which he did.
"Me, Bridget, Stephen, and Lady Hatt were walking back to the car when Simba came around the corner, startled, and started defending himself," Stephanie explained, releasing Simba's collar.
Little did she know, Thomas was entering the station when he discovered Simba lying next to Stephanie, looking surprised to see a massive and fluffy dog, along with the Troublesome Trio.
"I managed to calm him down before any harm came to anyone else," Stephanie explained as Simba glanced over at them.
Sir Topham Hatt sighed in relief and said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I am appreciated that you saved my wife and my grandchildren from such a… dog that was protecting itself."
"You're welcome, sir!" Stephanie smiled, nodding her head gently, and did not notice that the dog had walked away from her.
Simba was now sniffing the door of Thomas's cab, looking curious about what could be behind it.
The Troublesome Trio on the platform was behind the cab's door, looking afraid as Thomas's driver looked worried and confused.
"Err, about Simba," Thomas spoke, startling Stephanie a little as she flinched, before turning around.
She noticed Simba sniffing his cab and was now on his hind legs, poking his head through the window as squeals of surprise came from inside.
"Ah! Simba!" Stephanie called, blushing with embarrassment. "Down!"
Simba heard Stephanie calling him and turned his attention to Stephanie, getting down from the door and walking up to her.
"You silly!" Stephanie giggled as she scratched the ears of the giant dog. "What were you doing?"
Thomas's cab door opened slightly to reveal the Troublesome Trio before hiding when the dog glanced over at them.
"Oh, sorry, guys!" Stephanie chuckled a little. "Are you three okay?"
Mason, Jason, and William glanced at each other after Stephanie asked, as Mason bravely spoke, "Y-Yes, we're fine! We were just a little startled from that… thing."
"Excuse you, but Simba is a Tibetan Mastiff," Stephanie huffed as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Oh, that's wonderful…" William winced as the dog leaned a little forward to smell them.
Stephanie patted Simba's back and spent the rest of the day in his office as Sir Topham Hatt worked.
Bridget and Stephen asked questions about Stephanie's experience with America, as she answered them the best she could.
They even asked about what type of dogs her foster-father has, to which she responded that she does not remember.
Throughout the day, Stephanie was perky with his grandchildren, asking questions about their experiences about being in the Mainland and answering their questions in return.
It seems excellent to see Stephanie happy to meet someone around her age, but there are still some mysteries lying behind her that no one else is looking into.
