This story is part 1 of the Blue Mountain Mystery adaptations for this series, it was originally written back in 2014 (two years after the movie came out) and this adapted version was done by SF64Rules. Oh and in case you're wondering, I will be adapting the other Thomas movies into this series, but when they will be coming out, I'm not sure, just be patient.
Sodor High School: Thomas & Friends Tales
Written by: ThomasZoey3000/Edited by: SF64Rules
Based on the Railway Series by: The Rev. W. and Christopher Awdry
Based on the Television Series by: Britt AllCroft, David Mitton, Lionsgate, and Universal Pictures
OC(s) owned by: SF64Rules
Episode 28: The Junior High Mystery
Based on "Blue Mountain Mystery The Movie"
It was a miserable day, as rain poured down hard. But many of the students of Sodor High School didn't notice it as they were busy doing tests on this day. James was getting close to finishing his own test when he suddenly noticed some drips of water fall on his paper and as he looked up, he got a look of horrible shock.
"Uh, sir!" James raised his hand to get the teacher's attention.
"Please be quiet James, everyone is doing a test and so are you!" The teacher scolded.
James spluttered in fear. "B-but, sir..."
"No buts James."
James looked up again and stood up. "Sir, the roof is going to cave in!" he finally managed to blurt out.
This time, the teacher looked up and gasped. Just as the red-haired boy had said, the roof was going to cave in and at any moment now.
"Alright students, put down your pencils or pens and calmly get out of the classroom."
The students didn't need telling twice, they grabbed whatever they could and ran out of the classroom...but it looked far worse in the hallways. The teacher went from classroom to classroom warning them about the roof.
"What about everyone below us?" asked Emily. "It will fall on them too."
"You got a point there Emily, so let's warn them," said James.
Without wasting a second, the red-haired boy ran over to the fire alarm and pulled it down. Students are normally never allowed to pull the alarm, but this was an emergency. Loud sirens went off and the whole school cleared out like magic.
"What is the meaning of all this?!" Sir Topham Hatt asked outside, whilst not looking very pleased. "This..."
James merely pointed to the building. There were loud creaks and groans coming from the roof and before anyone could say anything, the roof caved in. The firefighters, lead by both Flynn and Belle, arrived in time to see everything. Dust flew everywhere, windows blew out and doors flew off their hinges.
"Cor blimey! I hope everyone got out," said Flynn in shock.
Despite a quarter of the roof caving in and destroying the school, everyone was safe and sound without a scratch on them. Belle and Flynn both went inside to inspect the damage and soon came back out with a report on the school's condition.
"You had too much water on the roof Sir," Belle said to Sir Topham Hatt. "It collected in one spot, thus causing the damage."
Sir Topham Hatt was puzzled. "I can't understand how this happened. We've always had a system that gets rid of the water."
"Well it has been raining quite a bit in the last little while Sir," Flynn pointed out. "That could be one reason this happened...although the fire from a while back might have also had something to do with it, I can't really say for sure. In the meantime, I would suggest you send the students home for the rest of the day. It's not a good idea to have them standing out in the rain, or send them in there when the rest of the roof could cave in."
Sir Topham Hatt understood and told all the students to go home, but he also thanked James for his quick thinking before they left.
"Nice one James, you've managed to prevent something really bad from happening to all of us," Leonardo said, praising his red-haired friend on doing something good.
"Thanks Leo," smiled James. "You coming with me, Henry, and Gordon to the Pizza Palace? It's Gordon's treat."
Leonardo smiled back and accepted the invite.
Later at Thomas' house that night, Emily and Thomas were both in the kitchen talking about the day's events.
"It's a good thing James noticed the roof was caving in, otherwise the tests would've been the least of our concerns," Thomas commented.
"You're right there Thomas," nodded Emily. "But now what are we going to do about our education? We can't learn if we're stuck at home."
"Don't worry, I'm sure your father will come up with something."
And Sir Topham Hatt did so. Several nights later, Annie and Clarabel were watching television in the living room when the news suddenly came on.
"Your principal is on the news big brother!" Annie called out to Thomas.
"And he's standing in front of your school!" added Clarabel.
Thomas and Emily both came into the living room. Sure enough, there was Sir Topham Hatt standing in the schoolyard and talking with news reporters about the roof fiasco.
"What about the students good sir?" asked a reporter. "What are they going to do?"
"Well thankfully, the rest of the school wasn't damaged, so it will mean that they will be able to continue their education. For those students, they'll have to work in some of our empty classrooms or join other students in their classes."
"See? I told you your father would come up with something," smiled Thomas.
"Yes, but I wonder which classroom we're going to be going to tomorrow."
They found out the next day as a poster was hung on a large bulletin board at the entrance hallway, saying who was to go where. Emily and Thomas were both shocked to learn they would not be in the same class.
"Well, thankfully Percy and Leo will both be with you," Thomas said to her. "They will both make sure no one will hurt or harass you."
"True, but I thought I was suppose to stay in the same classroom as you," Emily protested.
Thomas sighed. "Well, this might not be your father's choice. Maybe someone who doesn't know our secret made the seating arrangements."
With nothing more they could do, the students went on their way. Thomas watched as Emily, Leonardo, and Percy each walked away. He was rather sad he would not be joining them. All of a sudden, Thomas heard someone say something to him.
"Look at this Thomas. We're still going to be together in the same class."
It was Rosie, and she looked very excited. Thomas looked on the poster and sure enough, he and the pink-haired girl were going to be in a classroom together.
"And by the looks of it, it's in the Junior High section of the school too...isn't that where the Narrow Gauge students are?" Rosie asked curiously.
Thomas nodded.
From there, the two teens walked through the hallway and soon arrived at their temporary classroom. Sure enough, this classroom had several Narrow Gauge students in there, such as Thomas' friends, Skarloey and Rheneas. Also, Sir Handel, Rusty, Peter Sam, and Duncan were in there too. Three more students were at the back of the classroom, one had silver hair like Spencer, but was named Freddie and the last two were twins named Mighty and Mac, both had blue hair and same style of shirts.
"Hello Thomas," said Skarloey. "Welcome to our classroom."
"Thanks Skarloey. It feels good to be here. Especially after that little fiasco."
"So we've heard, you were very lucky to get out when you did," said Rheneas.
Rosie introduced herself to any of the students she hadn't met yet, just as the teacher, Mr. Duke, came into the room to begin class. Thomas and Rosie both took their seats and the school day officially began. Since they had been interrupted by a falling roof, Rosie and Thomas both had to do some studying before taking the test again. Mr. Duke was more than happy to help them and get his own students ready for the exams. Studying was good in all, but the students were much happier when lunchtime came around. Rosie stepped out to give her brother a call using her mobile phone when she nearly bumped into someone.
Rosie grimaced. "Sorry about that, I guess I..."
But she didn't finish what she was saying as the shy green-haired boy turned and ran off.
"Was it something I said?" Rosie was puzzled, but then though that the boy might've gone the wrong way and turned to go the correct way. "Yeah that's probably it."
With that said, she went ahead with making the phone call.
The next day, Thomas and Rosie were both heading to their classroom when they saw the green-haired boy again.
"Good morning!" Rosie called to him.
The boy jumped, but instead of saying 'good morning', he turned and ran away.
"That's the second time that's happened," she said to Thomas. "Who is that boy anyway? I've never seen him before."
"Neither have I," replied Thomas. "He looks like a Junior High student, but this is the first time I've ever seen him."
When they got to the classroom, they found Sir Handel seated at his desk and reading a good novel.
"Hey, Sir Handel, do you know anything about a Junior High student that has a habit of running?" Thomas asked.
"Lots of students like running," Sir Handel replied bluntly.
"This kid had a couple of big teeth and green hair," added Rosie.
"Huh?!"
Hearing that brought a shocked look to Sir Handel's face and made him drop his book. Rosie and Thomas both immediately knew that Sir Handel knew, but they were surprised by his response.
"Sorry, I don't know anyone like that." He quickly picked up his book and pretended to read it again. "Oh, this is a good part, I can't put it down!"
But Thomas wasn't fooled. "Uh-huh...you know Sir Handel, your book is upside down," he pointed out.
Sir Handel spun the book around and saw it was indeed upside down.
"Ah yes, that could explain why it was going backwards," he chuckled nervously.
Thomas and Rosie were both confused, but they had no time to ponder what happened as class was to start again. Before Mr. Duke arrived, Thomas whispered to Rosie.
"We'll ask Skarloey about it later. Maybe he knows."
"Good thinking Thomas," Rosie whispered back.
At lunchtime, Thomas and Rosie both went to speak with Skarloey when they saw the boy from before walk in with books. He quickly saw them and got ready to run.
"Wait, don't run!" Thomas said hastily. "We'll not going to hurt you. We just want to talk to you."
Rosie nodded in agreement. The boy stood in the same spot, but then took off regardless.
"Hurry Luke!" cried the Junior High students, including Skarloey.
But the boy nearly ran into Merrik the Junitor, and then Owen the electrician came in the doorway the boy wanted to use.
"You're in a big hurry Luke. What's going...uh-oh!" He stopped when he saw Thomas and Rosie.
"In here Luke!" cried Merrik.
The boy, now known as Luke, ran into the Junitor's shop and Merrik shut the door, preventing Thomas and Rosie from trying to talk to the green-haired boy.
Now Thomas was cross, "What is this all about? What are you lot hiding from us?!"
"Sorry Thomas, but we made him a promise not to let anyone know he's here," said Rheneas.
"But why?" asked Rosie.
"It's none of your business!" Duncan snapped rudely.
Thomas stared angrily at him, and then looked back to Rheneas. "Look, you've known me for a long time, and you know I would not hurt anyone...unless they asked for it," he muttered the last bit under his breath. "And Rosie here wouldn't hurt anyone either."
"It's not a matter if you would hurt him," said Skarloey. "It's just that...well, we made a promise to protect him."
"But Skarloey, you can always trust us," Rosie replied. "If he's got a secret, we won't tell anyone else."
Thomas nodded. "Come on Skarloey, you know me better than that."
Silence filled the classroom, even Owen was silent. Eventually, Skarloey gave a heavy sigh and decided to speak up.
"Yes Thomas, I do know you quite well, and Rosie, you do seem like a trust worthy person. So, we'll tell you all you want to know, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else about our friend; Luke."
"We promise," Thomas and Rosie both said in unison.
All eyes fell on Skarloey. He took in another deep breath and told them about Luke.
"Luke is Peter Sam's cousin, who came all the way from Ireland to attend our school...but his school wouldn't let him leave, nor would his parents. So, using whatever money he had, he paid for a boat ticket and got on the first boat to Sodor. On route though, Luke did something very bad and now worries that if he is caught, he'll be sent away to jail forever. For those reasons and the promise of Mr. Duke and Mr. Bertram Hatt, we allowed him to join our classes and to keep him from being found out."
"But what was it that Luke did on the way to Sodor?" Rosie asked.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that part. You know too much already. Besides," he added, "if Luke wants you to know, he'll tell you himself."
From the janitor's room, two eyes looked over to the classroom, then closed the door to prevent from being seen.
True to their word however, neither Thomas nor Rosie mentioned Luke to their friends, but Rosie still couldn't stop thinking about what Skarloey said.
"What could he have done that would get him into so much trouble?" she thought to herself.
Rosie was still thinking about it when she got home and went up to her room.
"Hey Rosie," called a voice. It was Brad, standing in her doorway. "You look like you got a lot on your mind. What's up?"
Rosie knew she could trust her big brother, but she also knew that she had to be very careful not to mention Luke.
"I was just thinking. Just out of curiosity, what would happen if let's say a kid or teenager ran away from home and did something bad on the way, what kind of trouble would that person get into?"
Brad raised an eyebrow. "Why? You're not thinking on running away are you?"
"Oh no, no, no, not at all Brad. I'm just curious," Rosie insisted.
Brad was silent for what seemed like forever. Eventually, he spoke up again in a very serious tone.
"Well, if I had to guess, they would be in a lot of trouble. If they did something bad, they would be sent home in disgrace or shipped to a reformed school. But if it was something really bad...like robbery or even murder, then they could spend years or even the rest of their lives in jail. From what I learned in military camp, it's definitely the one place you don't want to go to."
"Oh, I see. Thanks for answering my question Brad."
"Glad I could help," The green-haired young man smiled.
As he watched Rosie do her homework, he couldn't help but wonder why Rosie would ask such a question. But then he just thought it was just a random thing she needed to know for school or something like that. After Brad had left the room, Rosie noticed she was finally alone again to talk about Luke to herself.
"Don't worry Luke. Your secret is safe with me," she whispered.
The next day, Thomas and Rosie were both once again walking to their temporary classroom when they saw Sir Handel and Duncan ahead of them, looking very serious.
"What's all this about?" Thomas asked.
"You didn't tell anyone about Luke, did you?" Duncan asked firmly.
Thomas shook his head. "No, I never once mentioned Luke, not even to Emily."
"And I didn't tell anyone either," added Rosie. "I wouldn't turn on my word or on a friend."
"Neither would I," agreed Thomas.
From close by, Luke overheard and even peaked his head around the corner. Sir Handel and Duncan both lost the serious looks of their faces.
"Very well then, carry on," said Sir Handel.
They all headed to the classroom. They could see Merrik cleaning the windows, but they could see it was ready to fall, straight onto Skarloey and Rheneas' desks. Without wasting a second, Thomas and Rosie both shouted a warning to them and they got up and ran. It was a good thing too, because the window finally came loose and fell on top of their desks. It didn't break, somehow, but now it sat on top of their desks.
"Geez, I can't understand how that happened," gasped Merrik. "Sorry about that, is everyone alright?"
"Yes we are," called Skarloey. "Thanks to Thomas and Rosie, who warned us in time."
"We're just glad you didn't get hurt," said Thomas.
"It could've been much worse had it landed on us," Rheneas threw in. "You two really saved our lives. Thank you."
From where he was, Luke had seen everything and decided that Thomas and Rosie were both not so scary after all. He walked out of his hiding spot and over towards them.
Rosie was surprised. "Oh, hello there," she said quietly, yet in a kind tone.
"Hello, I'm sorry for running from both of you," Luke apologized. "I just didn't know you and thought you would try to take me away from here, but now I don't think that after seeing what you did for both Skarloey and Rheneas. I would like to start over and do a proper introduction."
"We would like that," smiled Rosie. "I'm Rosie. I'm an American transfer student."
"And I'm Thomas. I'm from the town of Ffarquhar."
"I'm very pleased to meet you both. As you likely already know, my name is Luke, and I'm from Ireland."
Well, from that day afterwords, the three students became good friends. They laughed and joked at lunchtime, studied for their exams whenever they found the time, and thanks to his new friendship with Thomas and Rosie, Luke was never found out by the others. But Rosie was still wondering what happened during the boat trip to Sodor.
One week after becoming friends, Rosie decided to ask Luke at lunchtime.
"Skarloey told us that you ran away from Ireland," she said. "Is that true?"
Luke was hesitant at first to say anything, but then he broke his vow of silence and decided to fess up.
"It is true. On the way here, I did something very bad."
Rosie stared at the green-haired boy. "What was it?"
Luke shuddered. "I...don't really want to say it, it's too painful."
"It's okay Luke. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Thomas said kindly. "I think at some point and time, we've all done something bad, like when I rode my bike into a disused mine and fell down a hole, breaking my ankle in the process."
Luke managed to smile a bit. "Yeah, I guess you got a good point."
Unknown to the students, someone was outside their classroom, listening to them. It was Paxton, easily one of the less troublesome students in the Smelter's Class and a very good friend of Thomas and Rosie. He needed to pick up some things from the janitor. Luke meanwhile, continued to speak to his new friends.
"Well, I guess it would be alright if I told you two...but you have to promise not to tell anyone else."
"We promise," Thomas and Rosie both said in unison.
Paxton stayed outside the room and listened with interest as Luke took in a deep breath and began to tell the story.
"My old school back in Ireland wasn't really the best as it had out of date equipment, books, and chairs. And for the teachers themselves...well, let's just say they were more focused on finishing their novels than teaching us. Many of my classmates didn't really have a problem with that, but I did and I brought it up with my parents. They unfortunately dismissed it and said that's the way schools are becoming nowadays. But then I remembered a conversation we had with Peter Sam when he last visited us and hearing how great Sodor High School was. I really wanted to go, but my parents wouldn't let me. So, I took matters into my own hands, I packed up as much as I could, used whatever money I had to get on a boat and left for Sodor. I didn't really talk to a lot of people there because of how shy I am, but one person came up to me for a chat. The trouble was that I couldn't understand a word he said, but I showed him a kind smile. When we got to the docks, everyone seemed to be rushing to get off the boat. The man with the different language and I didn't rush off the boat, and so we calmly headed for the exit, but then..."
Luke stopped his story.
"Then what?" Rosie asked.
Tears came into Luke's eyes. "I pushed the poor man into the water."
Outside in the hallway, Paxton gasped, but covered his mouth so no one could hear him. Inside the classroom, Thomas and Rosie were both in a state of shock.
"It's all true. I was bumped from behind and I pushed the man, breaking the barrier and he fell into the water. He fell quite a long distance, so I was sure he didn't make it. When I got to Peter Sam's house, I explained everything and he and his parents agreed to put up with me for a while. But from that day to this, I've heard nothing of what happened to that man. I blame myself and I'm sure if anyone found out and learned I was a runaway, I would be sent away forever...or even taken to jail."
Luke finished his story on a sad note. Back in the hallway, Paxton immediately ran off, forgetting what he came for. Back inside the classroom though...
"But Luke, it was an accident. I'm sure other people would understand," Thomas said kindly.
"I can't take that chance. I don't want to leave Sodor or its high school. So with the help with my friends, I've been able to stay undetected, and I would really like to keep it that way. Please pinkie swear that you won't tell anyone about this," Luke pleaded.
Luke didn't need to ask anymore, as Thomas and Rosie both pinkie swore on it. That made Luke feel relieved. As for Thomas and Rosie, they had both solved one mystery...but now they had another; what did exactly happen to the man with the strange language? Find out the answer to that in the next story.