Thomas, of course, didn't wake up early enough to make it to breakfast on time, but that didn't stop his new friends from greeting him with excitement when he arrived at class. He was genuinely surprised by their smiles. "Thomas!" Abby called out, waving enthusiastically and shouting hello in Korean.

Thomas smiled shyly, and walked over to them. They where all standing around, waiting for the bell to ring, for the class to get started.

"Mr. Kieslowski loved our experiment so much!" Abby exclaimed, looking as hyper as she always does.

Thomas raised an eyebrow. "Really? It… was actually that good?" he asked.

Miriam nodded. "Dude! We completed it before anyone else!" she said, her eyes sparkling.

"And it was working well to be honest." Tyler said. "Hopefully next time we'll have an experiment as cool as this."

Miriam laughed, casting a glance at Tyler. "What's this? You turning into a nerd?" she teased, smirking.

Tyler scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You wish! I just thought it was… interesting."

Pyria nodded. "Hm-hm. That's what all nerds say," She said with a grave expression.

Tyler grunted, sinking into his desk chair, visibly annoyed.

Mei just shook her head before looking back at Thomas. "You… alright?" she asked.

Thomas nodded. "Yeah… why?"

"I... just never seen you look so lively before." She said.

Then, Miriam got in on the conversation. "She's right. You look more... bubbly?" She added.

'Darn, is it that noticeable?' Thomas thought, surprised at himself. But, he played it off. "Yeah, I'm ok." He said.

Mei seemed about to say something else, but Mr. Kieslowski walked into the room just then. "Alright, kids, take your seats," he said. Mei returned to her chair, and Thomas took his place.

"So, I hope everyone enjoyed yesterday's steam pressure experiment. I was impressed—especially with one group in particular."

Mei shot a grin back at Thomas and the rest of their friends. "Yeah! We da bomb!" She said quietly, as her Panda ears appeared on her head.

Mr. Kieslowski began writing on the board. "We talked a lot about steam engines, but today, we'll discuss steam locomotives."

Thomas gasped quietly. The last classes they where learning about steam engines, engines that run on water with a heat source. But now they where going to learn about the most known device that used the steam engine, and that's a locomotive. And he was a locomotive—a tank locomotive.

He thought that part of the subject was going to be a while before they reached to it.

Tyler, sitting nearby, must have noticed his reaction. "You… okay?" he whispered.

Thomas nodded, though he felt tense. What was he supposed to say? 'No, I'm not okay because we're learning about what I can turn into'?

Part of him wanted to confess, but he knew the excitement might accidentally trigger his transformation, and that would be a disaster. He tried to focus as Mr. Kieslowski showed a picture of a locomotive. "Is that a train?" someone asked.

Even though Thomas was not comfortable learning, or hearing things being discussed about what he's trying to keep in, what that student said, irritated him.

"No," he corrected out loud. The kid turned to look at him. "That's not a train. It's an engine—a locomotive. A train is a series of wagons pulled by the locomotive. We eng—I mean, engines aren't the trains."

The kid blinked. "Oh… okay."

Mr. Kieslowski smiled, clearly impressed. "Spot on, Thomas! Nice job!"

Thomas felt pleased by the compliment, though Tyler muttered, "Nerd."

Miriam caught the comment and whispered to Thomas, "Don't let him get to you." She said in a whisper, to not alert the teacher.

Thomas wanted to listen to her, but he's soft, and sometimes he can't take the simple crap people like Tyler can say.

Thomas sighed, then looked at the board. 'If you're a train fan, how do you even make yourself look... cool?' He thought.

Mr. Kieslowski continued explaining how steam engines worked, describing the coal, firebox, and boiler. Thomas knew all this already—or at least, had a basic understanding of it. 'Please don't mention train crashes,' he thought, not wanting a reminder of a particular mishap on his time on the Island.

Then the lesson took an unexpected turn—for Thomas.

The talk of steam locomotives, turned to locomotives used in the United Kingdom.

"As you can see, steam locomotives in the U.K. often look different—they're generally smaller but tend to be faster than North American engines," Mr. Kieslowski said.

Some of the kids looked at Thomas. Thomas's face went a little red. He's British. That's why they all looked at him.

"Some engines are so small, they lack a tender." Mr. Kieslowski added, which caught Thomas's attention.

'Tank Engines...' Thomas thought to himself.

Mr. Kieslowski showed an image of a small engine with a tank over the boiler. "This is a Saddle Tank Engine," the teacher explained. "As you can see, the tank sits on the boiler, as if it's a saddle."

'Strange…' Thomas thought. 'What kind of tank engine am I? I don't look like that…'

Then, Mr. Kieslowski pulled up another image. "This is a side-tank engine," he said.

Thomas's eyes widened in shock. The engine on the screen looked just like the form he could transform into. 'No… No way. I thought my design was unique!' He'd believed the E2 Class Tank Engine, as his father had once called him, was one-of-a-kind... Only for him.

"Do these... engines have a name?" A kid asked.

Mr. Kieslowski nodded. "Yes! Some are numbered, and some have nicknames. This particular side tank engine is called the LBSC E2 Class Tank Engine."

Thomas couldn't help it. "WHAT?!" he blurted out. The whole class turned to stare at him. Tyler looked at him with utter confusion. Embarrassed, Thomas tried to hide his panic as the teacher asked, "Everything okay, Thomas?"

But with everyone's eyes on him, Thomas started to feel overwhelmed, as if he might transform right there. His hands tingled, and he glanced down—his fingers were beginning to turn gray. "Wait… when did you dye your hair blue?" Miriam asked, noticing the color change.

Thomas panicked. He had to get out of the classroom—now.

Without a second thought, he leapt from his seat and dashed for the door. "Thomas! You need a hall pass!" Mr. Kieslowski shouted, but Thomas was already gone.

Thomas barely made it outside to the back of the school before he felt himself shift fully. With a loud clang, he transformed into the steam engine, landing hard on the ground. "Ow! My wheels!" he groaned, as he noticed he was facing the doorway. He saw Mr. Kieslowski peering out of the classroom, probably searching for him. "Oh no, I have to change back—he can't see me like this!"

Thomas grunted, trying to shift back, but panic kept him from controlling himself. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Alright… in and out… just breathe…"

But his efforts shattered when a student rounded the corner and froze at the sight of him. "O… M… G!" she exclaimed, stunned.

Thomas gasped. "Oh no! I... Um! I don't look like this! This isn't me! None of this is me! Your eyes have gone bloody blind!" Thomas had no idea what the hell he was saying. The girl just stared. Then she turned and ran.

"W-Wait! Come back!" Thomas called after her, but he knew he had to get control of himself. This isn't how I wanted people to find out.

Taking another deep breath, Thomas finally steadied his mind, and with one last surge of focus, he managed to turn back into his human form. Wasting no time, he dashed back into the school, praying no one else had seen him as an engine.