Well it's here at last, the 2016 edited version of Sodor High School's Episode 3. Truth be told, I was hoping to have gotten this out sooner than today (February 7th). Oh well, better late than never right?

Sodor High School: Thomas & Friends Tales

Written by: ThomasZoey3000

Based on the Railway Series by: Rev. W. and Christopher Awdry

Based on the Television series by: Britt AllCroft/David Mitton/Hit Entertainment

Episode 3: Constructive Efforts

Based on "Hero of the Rails" by "Sharon Miller"

Later that afternoon, Thomas was walking down the hallways to where the junior high students were. He was halfway down the stairwell when he heard a voice call out to him; "Hello Thomas." It was Emily, calling from the top of the stairwell, "where are you going?"

"I'm going to see my friends Skarloey and Rheneas."

"Why are you going to see them?"

"Well remember what we said to..." Thomas paused and looked around to see if the hallways were empty except for him and Emily, "Hiro? Well I figure the only way to help him is to carry him out of there on a wagon. Now Skarloey and Rheneas are the best when it comes to this kind of stuff, so it's no brainer really."

"Are you sure it's a good idea to ask them?"

"They're good friends of mine, they'll build it without asking questions. Now come with me, I'll show you what I'm talking about."

"This I have to see," and so Emily followed Thomas to Rheneas and Skarloey's classroom.

"So will you two help me?" asked Thomas after a bit of explaining.

"Of course Thomas," said Rheneas.

"We'll be glad to help you," agreed Skarloey with a nod.

"Wow! You weren't kidding when you said they wouldn't be asking questions," gasped Emily.

"Well knowing Thomas, he probably needs it for something important," said Skarloey, "besides Rheneas and I don't mind building things."

"We've been doing that ever since we were kids," added Rheneas. Then he asked; "so Thomas, are you going to be introducing us to your new friend here?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. This is Emily, she's one of the new students in my classroom."

"It's an honor to meet you two," she smiled. The two younger teenagers bowed to show respect.

"Out of the way," snapped a voice, a younger teenage boy with blonde hair walked past them and over to his desk, "stupid homework assigments keeping me up all night, then my stupid alarm clock doesn't go off, thus nearly making me late. Why do these things happen to me?"

"That was Duncan," said Skarloey, "he's always like that."

"If you think he's bad, try Sir Handel, he's quite a temper on him too. Come to think of it, those two are like two peas in a pod," whispered Thomas with a chuckle.

"So Thomas, what time would you like us to come over?" asked Rheneas.

"Come by around seven thirty, okay? But if I'm not around, then Annie and Clarabel will let you in, and thank you again. I promise to pay you back someday."

"Nah, you owe us nothing," smiled Skarloey, "we're always glad to help our friends, no matter what."

Around lunchtime, Thomas and Emily were in the cafeteria thinking on what else they could do for Hiro.

"Maybe we should bring him some food too," suggested Thomas, "and maybe we should bring some tools along to cut that wood up."

"I agree, that could help."

"Help what?" snapped a voice. Both teens looked and noticed Spencer walking over towards their table. He had heard the tail end of their conversation.

"Don't you have class right now?" asked Thomas.

"Not yet," came the answer. "You two are up to something and I have the right to know about it, so either you tell me or I'll find out for myself."

"Sorry Spencer, but it's none of your business," said Emily angerily.

"Fine, I'll find out for myself," Spencer looked down to Thomas' lunch tray and slapped it off the table, "have a good lunch loser." He then walked proudly away.

"Idoit!" cried Thomas. "Well that's just great. I have no money left for today, so I suppose I'll have to go without any lunch."

"Uh, hello," said another voice. The two teens looked to see Rosie, "if you want, you can have my lunch."

Rosie held out her lunchbox for Thomas, "it's a special chicken lunch I made this morning."

"Thanks," he said while excepting the lunchbox. He took a bite of the food and a smile came to his face, "this is really good. You made this yourself?"

"Yep," Rosie nodded. "Truth be told, it's about all I can cook for right now. Anywho, I hope you'll enjoy it, I'm heading off to the library."

"Aren't you hungry?" asked Emily.

"A little bit, but that's okay I can always eat something when I get home."

"That's not a good idea, why don't you have the rest of my lunch, I couldn't eat another bite."

"Thank you," smiled Rosie.

Emily got up and walked away from the cafeteria, then she looked to see Thomas and Rosie talking, this made her feel a little sad, "they're only talking, that's all."

Later on at the bus stop, Thomas was waiting as Emily finally came running out, "I found some important information on...you-know-who," he said, "and I found info on where his family lives, and a phone number for their home."

"Well let's hope they haven't moved away."

"Well we won't know for sure till we call them. Now, we need to make a stop by the bike shop and pick up my bike, then we'll go visit..."

"Visit who?" Spencer was standing nearby and he heard what they were saying, "who are going to see and who's family would that be?"

Both Thomas and Emily jumped just hearing Spencer's voice; "Uh...well...uh," Emily didn't want to say anything.

"Rosie!" shouted Thomas at once, "we're helping her to find her family."

"You're fibbing."

"Who? Me? Cinders and Ashes Spencer, I swear you've gone nuts, cause I'm telling you the whole truth."

"I can tell that you are fibbing. I'll find out your sneaky plan Thomas and I'll ruin it, as I've done so on several occasions."

Spencer climbed onto his bike and he rode off.

"What a bully," groaned Emily.

"You should see him in the wintertime, he really hates the snow and he will complain about it none stop."

"Say Thomas, I was wondering, why can't we tell anyone else about you-know-who?"

"Spencer's your main reason, if he finds out about...you-know-who, then he'll have him sent to an insane assulm instead of a hosptial and tell them that he's crazy. He hasn't seen his family in years, so I'm not going to allow that jerk Spencer ruin the rest of his life."

"Oh okay, I get it now."

"Uh, hi," whispered another voice. It was Rosie once again, "I'm sorry to interupte your conversation, but I was just wondering if you had gotten down all the notes the teacher wrote down earlier."

"I did," said Emily.

"Oh Cinders and Ashes!" groaned Thomas and slapped his forehead, "I didn't, I was doing another assignment at the time."

Rosie held out her notebook, "I copied all the notes down before the teacher earsed the board, you can use my notes if you want."

"But what about you? You won't be able to complete your homework without these."

"Don't worry about me," she giggled, "I can remember it all, I'll be just fine. To be honest, I don't usually take down notes."

"Then why did you write them down today?"

"I did them for you."

"For me?"

"Yep!"

Thomas was just speechless. He was starting to blush, "well thank you."

"Your welcome," smiled Rosie as she walked away, "you can give me that notebook back tomorrow, okay?"

Thomas was silent as he watched Rosie walk over to her bus. He stared at Rosie for so long that he didn't notice someone else walk up behind him; "you punk!" cried a voice. Thomas felt someone slap him hard on the back. It was James and he wasn't alone as Gordon and Henry were standing behind him.

"What was that for?" he asked angerily. "You didn't need to slap me on the back."

"Why wouldn't I? I mean come on, you're hanging out with Emily, and Rosie just happens to give you her notes, that she wrote down for you."

"You are trying to steal the ladies away from us!" snapped Gordon.

"No, it's not what you think," groaned Thomas.

"That Rosie sure can make up a strange story that much is for sure," said Percy as he walked up on the scene. "I wrote down those notes earlier, I knew Thomas was going to need them, so I asked Rosie to give him the notes."

"Still, didn't you hear what she said?" asked James angerily.

"Yes I did and that was her acting," he chuckled. "Rosie was practising for the drama club."

"She was acting?" asked Gordon and James in unison.

"That's right, so there's no reason to beat Thomas up. Unless you want Hank to have a little talk with you, or should I call Murdoch and let him know?"

James, Henry and Gordon made the wise choice and walked off for their bus stop.

"Percy...why did you...?"

"Save your life? It's obvious Thomas, that's what friends are for."

"Yes that's true, thanks Percy."

At that moment, the bus pulled up and all the students got on. After a few minutes, the doors closed and the little old red bus roared away.

As the bus rolled on down the road to Ffraquhar, Thomas was still thinking over what Rosie had said to him before. "That was sweet of her to do this, but..."

"There's that stuck up Harold," groaned Percy, looking out the window and watching a helicopter fly by.

"Do you know the pilot Percy?" asked Emily.

"You can say that, I once raced Harold the pilot to prove to him that I'm not as slow as a tortoise. Boy the look on his face when I beat him, it was priceless," he chuckled.

"It sure was amazing," said Thomas, finally snapping back to his senses and joining in on the conversation, "I'm still overall shocked that you of all people were able to beat Harold, who was flying a helicopter, all the while you were riding on your bike."

"You were riding on your bike while racing a helicopter?" asked Emily.

"Yep, they don't call me 'Percy the Fast' for nothing you know."

"You're the only one who says that," chuckled Thomas.

"Nonsense Thomas, lots of people say that all the time!"

"Sure they do," he said while chuckling, "just like they still talk about the coal yard incident."

"They do not."

"They do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Are you two going to fight all the way to Ffraquhar or am I going have to step in to stop this?" Emily asked firmly, which subsided the two boys at once.

"You don't need to that, Emily," said Toby, "they're always doing that, they never mean any harm at all."

"Oh I see."

"Still I would like to know what you and Emily were talking about before Rosie came to you with those notes," said Percy.

"I'm sorry Percy, but at this point we can't tell you anything."

"Why not Thomas?"

"It's top secret, I'm sorry."

"Oh, well that's okay, I guess." Percy felt disappointed, but understood secrets were secrets, and Thomas would never reveal a secret. Not even to his best friend, not unless he wanted to.

Soon the two teens came into Victor's shop and there was Thomas' bike looking as good as new. Just as the teens were leaving, Emily noticed two huge wheels.

"What are you going to do with those old wheels Victor?"

"Those old things? They're just taking up space, I'm waiting for someone to take them away."

"Maybe we could take them off your hands."

"Aren't you two busy with homework assignments?"

"Maybe," said Thomas meekily, "but this won't take us that long at all, besides we like to help whenever we can."

"Would you like a helping hook?" called Kevin, grabbing the crane's keys.

"No thank you Kevin," cried Thomas and Emily in unison.

Soon they had the wheels on the back of Thomas' bike and the two of them set off for the hill. As they went along, they heard a loud bicycle bell going off.

"It's Spencer," gasped Thomas, "can't let him see us, otherwise he'll take the wheels to the rubbish dump."

Thomas rode his bike beside some thick bushes, then he and Emily waited till Spencer rode by. Spencer however stopped, and looked around, Thomas and Emily didn't dare to breath.

"I thought for sure I saw someone riding on ahead of me," he said out loud. He looked around one more time, then; "oh well, it must've been my imagination." He got back onto his bike and rode away.

"Cinders and Ashes," groaned Thomas, "that was too close for comfort."

Thomas and Emily soon rode up to the old house and went inside. Hiro was happy to see them again.

"We brought you some food and water," said Emily.

"Thank you so much," then he looked over to Thomas' bike, "what are the wheels for?"

"We're going to be using those on the cart that will carry you to the hospital," explained Thomas. "My friends Skarloey and Rheneas are going to be helping us build it, but don't worry I didn't tell them about you."

"They didn't even ask what we needed the cart for," added Emily.

"Well you heard what they said, they know that I need the cart for something important so they don't bother to ask."

"Sounds to me like you have some wonderful friends," smiled Hiro.

"Yeah we do. Say Hiro, would it be okay if we told just one of our friends about you? Don't worry, he can keep a secret and I'm sure he would be honored to meet you."

"It's fine by me. Besides, I'm always glad to make new friends."

Emily gave Thomas her mobile phone, then he made a phone call to Percy.

In less than an hour, Percy arrived at the sight, "why did you want to meet up with me here, Thomas?"

"Come inside, there's someone I want you to meet."

So Thomas led Percy inside the ruined house. Being careful in the unsafe building, they walked along till they found Emily and another person. Percy was in complete shock with the sight that was in front of him.

"Hiro, this is my best friend Percy."

"Uh hello there," he said quietly.

"Hello Percy," Hiro said with a smile, "It's such an honor to meet you, your friends have told me alot about you."

"They have?"

"Oh yes they have, they told me all about your little adventures. You are lucky to have special friends, I think that's because you are special too."

Percy blushed when Hiro said that, "do you have special friends?"

"Yes I do...or at least I did, before I was left here."

Emily and Thomas then explained about what happened to Hiro, fifteen years ago, then they told Percy of how they are going to help.

"Skarloey and Rheneas are going to help with the cart, that just leaves us with the problem of keeping this a secret from Spencer."

"Why is that Thomas?" asked Percy.

Emily told Percy all Thomas had told her before.

"Don't you guys worry, I promise not to tell anyone about Hiro or where he is."

"I know you can keep a promise Percy," smiled Thomas, "you certainly proved that years ago, after our bus driver passed out and you promised to get us home."

"Did you really?" asked Hiro.

"Yes I did, I drove the bus all by myself and I was only twelve years old during that time."

"Where did you learn to drive?" asked Emily.

"I didn't, I just took a chance. If it meant helping my friends get home, then I had to try, plus I had seen many times before how the driver drives the bus."

Emily and Hiro were indeed surprised, "well that's my best friend Percy for you, he'll help in any way he can."

"Yes I can see that Thomas," smiled Hiro.

Thomas then handed Emily her mobile phone back, "I wonder if I can get a signal from in here..." thankfully she could. "Say Thomas, can I have that number you found earlier?" He nodded and handed her a piece of paper with the number on it. She dealed a number and waited. For a while there was silence then..."hello is this Koyuki? My name is Emily and I have someone here who would like to talk to you."

She placed the phone near Hiro's left ear.

"Who is this?" asked the voice.

"Koyuki, my dear, is that you?"

"Hiro? Is...is...it really you?" stuttered the voice of his wife; Koyuki.

"Yes honey, it is me."

"If this is a joke, please knock it off, my husband has been dead for fifteen years."

Thomas, Percy and Emily all looked worried as they heard what Koyuki said, "if it really is you Hiro, then tell me what were my favourite flowers, was it Marigolds or was it roses?"

"Neither, it was cherry blossoms or Sakuras as they are known as, they were your favourties. We used to meet up by the Sakura trees all the time when we were younger and were living in Tokyo, remember?"

"Hiro...it...it really is you, but I thought you were dead," she sounded like she was going to cry.

"No my dear, I'm alive, I've been stuck in an old run down house for the last fifteen years, but now my new friends here are going to help me get out of here."

He then explained about their plan to get him out, "I'm looking forward to seeing you and the kids, how are they?"

"They're okay, oh and I should tell you that we have another member in the family, just one year after you disappeared. It was a girl, I called her Sakura."

"That's a beautiful name sweetie. Now don't you worry, as soon as my friends have completed their project and get me to a hosptial, I'll be coming home before you know it."

"Alright then, see you soon honey."

"See you soon sweetie."

After Koyuki hung up, and Emily had shut her mobile phone off, she and the other two teenagers could see that Hiro was crying.

"Thank you, I so wanted to hear my wife's voice again for so long."

"We're just glad we could help," smiled Thomas.

Before long it was time for the teens to go, "besides we need to get back to help Skarloey and Rheneas with the cart," said Emily.

"Don't you worry Hiro, we won't let you down, we'll have you out of here in no time."

"I know you will, thank you so much my friends and it was nice meeting you Percy."

"It was nice meeting you too Mr Hiro," smiled Percy.

They waved goodbye to Hiro, then came out of the house to where their bikes were, "would you like to help with the cart Percy?" asked Thomas.

"I'd love to, but I have homework to do and so do you by the way."

"Oh yeah that's true, but by the time we get to the house, we'll have more than enough time to do our homework," said Thomas, "then we'll be able to help Skarloey and Rheneas."

"Well I wish you good luck with that, and I'll see you guys at school tomorrow." Percy climbed onto his bike and he rode away for home.

"Bye Percy!" they cried.

"Seems to me like you have a good friend," said Emily.

"Yeah he is a good friend to have," agreed Thomas. "Now come on, we better get going."

Emily nodded and once she had gotten onto the bike, the two teens rode their way back to the house.