Thomas panted, trying to catch his breath. He and Stacy had dashed around the school's side, and now they were somewhere outside, though Thomas had no idea where they were. He peeked around the corner of the brick wall, hoping the coast was clear. He thought the teacher hadn't followed. "I can't keep up with this..." Thomas muttered, more to himself than anyone else. He glanced at Stacy. "Well, now you know. Yes, I'm like Mei. And yes, I can turn into a giant, but technically, a small tank engine," he added, throwing his arms up in frustration. Stacy didn't respond, staying silent.

Leaning back against the wall, Thomas dropped to the ground, covering his face with his hands. He sat there for a few seconds, trying to calm himself down, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and Stacy was crouched down next to him, her expression genuinely concerned.

"If... you need to talk about anything... I'm here," she said softly.

Thomas stared at her, a bit surprised at how understanding she seemed. But then he shook his head. "I've talked to Carter enough about it lass, and nothing got solved," he said, his voice heavy with frustration.

"Carter? Is that the other one you mentioned? The other one who knows?"

"Yeah." Thomas nodded. "Only my dad, you, and Carter know."

"But... isn't this a little... dangerous? I mean, Mei's panda is big, but you turn into something way bigger... and heavier, no offense..."

Thomas sighed and shook his head. "You think I don't know that, Stacy? It's one of the reasons I'm trying to keep it in, but it's too hard now." He leaned against the wall and stared at the clear blue sky. "I used to be able to hide this blue engine so well... but now... there's just too much going on. Too many questions I need answers to." He thought about it—maybe it was the crush on Carter, maybe it was the lady responsible for making him different from everyone else.

"Maybe if you solve your emotional problems, you'll be able to control it?"

Thomas looked at Stacy. "Solve? That's easier said than done."

"Well, no one said it'd be easy. It wasn't easy for Mei."

"Mei doesn't change into something that can crush people, weighing 50 tons!" Thomas yelled, slamming his fist into the ground. Stacy flinched.

"What I said about you being heavy... did something bad happen?" she asked carefully.

"Bad? Bad?!" Thomas shook his head. "You don't know the half of it. I'm going to live with the guilt of that moment forever," he said, his voice breaking. Stacy's hand was still on his shoulder. "I'm... I'm sorry that happened. Just... know it wasn't your fault."

"If only I'd kept it in more, it wouldn't have happened."

Stacy opened her mouth to respond, but then they heard footsteps. Thomas quickly jumped up, taking her hand off his shoulder. He peeked around the corner. "Shoot!" Thomas whispered urgently.

"Who is it? Is it the teacher?!" Stacy whispered back.

"Yes!" Thomas whispered, looking panicked. "Come on, we've got to go!"

They hurried around the school and found a side entrance, quickly slipping into the building. "You should go back to class. I don't want you getting in trouble because of me," Thomas said. Stacy nodded.

"Just... take care of yourself, okay?"

Thomas nodded. "I'll try..."

Stacy sighed as she headed toward her classroom, and Thomas walked the opposite direction toward his. He wasn't sure if the teacher was still in there, but he was ready to be yelled at. 'I should've handled things better,' Thomas thought, but then shook his head. Why was he thinking that? He'd had to run, or else everyone would've been crushed by a 50-ton locomotive.

He pushed open the door to the classroom. He braced for it.

He pushed open the classroom door, bracing for impact.

"Thomas!" The teacher called out. Thomas kept his head down as he walked to his desk. The other students watched him silently. By now, the gray skin from his transformation had faded. He just sat down at his desk, trying to avoid the stares. Miriam tried to get his attention. "Thomas? Are you okay?" she asked, concern in her voice.

The teacher walked over and crouched beside him. "Thomas..." he said softly. "Is everything alright? This is the third time you've done this."

Thomas figured they still thought he was just going to the restroom. "Y-Yeah. Everything's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah..."

Tyler snickered under his breath. Miriam raised her hand, ready to slap her book across his face, but the teacher heard Tyler and turned his attention to him.

"Would you like to go to the principal's office, Mr. Nguyen-Baker?"

Tyler immediately quieted down. "No!"

The class burst into laughter. The teacher sighed and walked back to his desk. Miriam turned to Thomas. "Hey... Thomas?" she whispered. Thomas had his face buried in his arms on the desk. He looked up at her.

"You sure you're okay?"

Before he could answer, the teacher made an announcement.

"Okay, class, when you leave today, don't go out the back door. For some reason, the two doors and the bricks have been completely blown out."

Tyler snorted. "It was Mei, I bet."

"Hey!" Mei snapped. "It was not!"

"I'm sure it wasn't, Mei's panda," the teacher said, rolling his eyes. "She was in class the whole time."

Thomas felt like garbage. He was the one who caused the damage when he turned into his giant engine self. And with the whole class talking about it, he only felt worse.

On his way out of the school, Thomas just couldn't wait to head home and just chill out with Carter. After everything that had happened today, he just wanted to play video games and forget it all. 'I hope he's still waiting for me and didn't have another appointment.' He walked down the hallway, but as he passed a broom closet, the door suddenly swung open, and someone grabbed him, yanking him inside. "Whoa! What the—?!" The door slammed shut, and the light flicked on. Thomas stumbled, slamming into the wall.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to do that..." A voice helped him steady himself. It was Mei. All of her friends were with her too.

"Guys? What are you doing in a broom closet?" Thomas asked, confused.

"We wanted to see why you've been running out of class," Miriam said, her brow furrowed with concern.

"Yeah! Now TALK!" Abby shouted, her eyes wide.

"Calm down, Abby, this isn't an interrogation," Mei said, facepalming.

Thomas realized they really wanted to know what was up. They weren't buying the entire bathroom ordeal anymore.

"Yeah, we know something's up," Priya added. "You can tell us. We won't judge."

Thomas looked around. Miriam smiled warmly at him, Mei gave a soft grin, Priya calmly waited, and Abby bounced around, clearly eager for answers.

Thomas hesitated, then began to speak. "Uh... you see..."

"Huh?" Miriam urged.

"I'm..."

Priya tilted her head.

"I'm like Mei. I have a similar power."

They all stared at him in silence.

Then Abby screamed, "I KNEW IT!"

"You did?!" the others asked in unison.

Abby blinked. "No..."

Miriam turned to Thomas. "You're like Mei? A red panda?!"

"Ooh, maybe a blue panda!" Abby chimed in, rubbing her hands together excitedly.

"Maybe he's another animal! Like a bear!" Miriam said.

"Maybe a Giraffe!" Meisuggested.

"Maybe you turn into a member of 4 Town!" Abby laughed maniacally.

"Okay girl, calm down..." Miriam said.

None of that is what Thomas could turn into. He turns into a machine. A steam powered machine from the 1920s.

Thomas sighed. "Guys... I don't turn into any of that..."

"Hm? Then what do you turn into?" Mei asked.

"I... Um... I can turn into a stea—"

Before he could finish, a voice rang out from the hallway. "Hey, have you seen Thomas? He usually leaves class by now..."

"No, I haven't seen him, earlier, but not any time in the past hour..."

Thomas froze. It was Carter's voice. "It's Carter..." he whispered. Mei moved to open the door, but then she tripped, sending all of them crashing out of the closet and onto the floor.

Carter was talking to someone, Stacy in fact.

"W-Woah!"Carter gasped, turning toward them. "M-Miriam, Mei? Guys?! Wait... Thomas?! W-What where you all doing in the closet?!"

"Guess... you could say we came out of the closet!" Abby grinned. "Well, Thomas at least, since he likes you—"

Thomas turned bright red. "What?! No, I don't—"

Carter blinked. "Wait, huh?" His face turned pink.

Thomas' face turned redder than Mei's panda. "Um... uh... goodbye!" He bolted out of there.

"Ugh, good going Abby..." Mei groaned.

"Hey, I was just joking!" Abby crossed her arms.

Mei wanted to go after Thomas, but then she heard Carter say something. "Uh... does he really like me like that? Just asking." He asked.

"Uh..." Mei looked at him.

"Isn't obvious? I thought you two where together with all that hugging you do." Abby said. "It's honestly very adorable, it's so addicting to watch!"

Mei tossed her aside. "Well, do you like him?" she asked Carter.

"Um..." Carter looked down. "I don't know..."

"He wanted to ask you to the Valentine's Day dance, but he was too nervous."

"Oh..." Carter's face turned even redder. "That's why he was so nervous to tell me his crush..."

"Wait a minute," Miriam said, "didn't they move the dance location?"

"Oh yeah!" Mei said. "It's at the Skydome this year!"

"The Skydome?" Carter raised an eyebrow. "But isn't it—"

"Hey! We've been working hard on it, okay?!" Mei pouted, anticipating his comment. "It's been tough, but it's been a year of hard work."

"And guess what! 4 Town is performing there!" Abby added excitedly.

Priya raised an eyebrow. "Kinda surprising they'd come back after everything with your... panda mom."

Mei rolled her eyes. "You don't have to remind me every time we talk about 4 Town..."