A/N: Hello, and welcome! This will be my first chapter that's out of the episode order, and I decided to do a take on a good old classic! Hope you like it!

Chapter 29: The Careless Cleaner (Based off of Thomas Comes to Breakfast)

There are many other jobs on the Railway that are important to the running of it. Guards help brake in case of emergencies and keep order on the trains, Stationmasters make sure the stations are kept in well working order, and Workmen do odd jobs to keep the railway running. But perhaps one of the most unrecognized jobs is cleaning the engines. Its dirty work, but it's a job that anyone wanting to drive an engine needs to go through. One of the cleaners was named Paul, and he despised his job. He felt that it was beneath him, and longed to drive the one of the locomotives.

Paul: "I bet I could do a better job than any of you lot! I mean, it obviously isn't that hard if someone like Percy is capable of doing it!"

Percy: "Why I oughta…"

Toby: "Settle down, Percy. Now Paul, it isn't as easy as we make it look."

Thomas: "Toby's right, Paul. There's a lot that goes into handling these beautiful machines. You'll get your chance, but until then you'll have to wait.

Paul: "This is coming from someone who left their first train behind."

Eventually they gave up. They knew that Paul would learn his lesson, one way or another. It came sooner than any of them would have thought. It was early one morning after the firelighter came, and Paul was busy cleaning the trains for the day. Thomas, Percy, and Toby were still asleep, as they didn't have to get ready for work for another hour. This gave Paul an idea.

Paul: "If I take one of the trains out, I can use the whistle give them a rude awakening. Once they see how well I handle driving this train, they'll have to tell Sir Topham Hatt how capable I am."

So he got into the cab of Thomas's engine to set it in motion. However, when he got in, he realized that he did not know which lever did which. So he started to mess around, and out of peer luck managed to lift off the brake.

Paul: "Yes! Now to scare them!"

And he blew the whistle long and loud. The three drivers woke with a start, and by the time they had gotten to the shed Paul had already driven out of the yard.

Paul: "Eat my dust, losers!"

Toby: He's heading for trouble."

Thomas: I'll try and stop him."

And before they could hold him back, Thomas ran after Paul. The engine wasn't designed to go fast, so Thomas didn't have too much trouble catching up.

Thomas: "Paul! You need to stop!"

Paul: "Back off, Thomas! This is my time to shine!"

Thomas tried to climb on board, but was pushed off the footplate by Paul, sending him tumbling to the ground. Paul didn't have much time to celebrate, however, as he soon saw The Stationmaster's House coming up. He tried frantically to brake, but couldn't figure out which lever it was. By the time he did, it was too late.

CRASH!

Plaster fell, and the house rocked. The Stationmaster and his family jumped back at the sight of an engine in their dining room.

Stationmaster: "My lord! What is going on!"

Paul tried to limp away, but the stationmaster's wife caught him and restrained him.

Statiomaster's Wife: Look at what you've done to our breakfast! Now I shall have to cook some more!" (A/N: I seriously thought about cutting this line out, but decided to keep it due to how ridiculous it is.)

With that she turned away and slammed the door. Workmen soon arrived to prop up the house, and Toby and Percy rescued Paul and the engine and took them back to the sheds after collecting Thomas. Unfortunately, Thomas had badly twisted his ankle, and Percy and Toby had to help him out of the cab. When they returned, they found Sir Topham Hatt waiting. He spoke severely to Paul.

Sir Topham Hatt: "That was very foolish of you, Paul! Not only have you caused severe damage to the Stationmaster's house and our #1 engine, but you left Thomas unable to walk!"

Paul: "I'm sorry sir, please give me another chance. I…"

Sir Topham Hatt: "Not after that stunt, Paul. Get out of my sight this instant. You're fired."

Paul sadly left. Sir Topham Hatt then turned to the other three.

Sir Topham Hatt: "I'm afraid this leaves us in a bad situation. We cannot run the branchline with only three engines and engine drivers. Thomas, I want you to rest until your ankle is better. You two will have to manage for a little bit until I can find someone new."

With that he walked away to make arrangements. Thomas, Toby, and Percy could only wonder what will happen.