Well my friends, you've been patient since December 24th 2014 (which was the day I posted this very chapter) and on Friday, I will be posting the long awaited Episode 31. I hope you'll tune in to see that one. First up though is this edited version, once done by my good friend; SF64Rules. Without his help, we wouldn't be where we are right now and you guys would still be waiting, so make sure to thank him too.
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 30: Toby and Mavis' Bond
Based on "Mavis" and "Toby's Tightrope" by: The Rev W. Awdry
The exams were finally drawing to a close, and real soon, summer vacation would be starting. Leonardo had finished all of his exams, but he was still hanging around the Sodor High School. Why? Mostly because he wanted to hang out with his new friends. As the dirty blonde-haired boy would put it; 'It's certainly a lot better than staying home doing pretty much nothing all day'.
On one particular day, Leonardo was walking into the cafeteria when he spotted Mavis and Toby both at a table and talking...although what really got his attention was that they were holding hands and even playfully flirting with each other. In addition, Mavis was also shown wearing something new today; it was shown to be a nice-looking sleeveless yellow shirt instead of her usual jacket today (likely due to the weather outside becoming gradually hotter because summer was coming real soon), as well as plain yellow sneakers instead of black boots...although she still wore a long black skirt. All-in-all, it was actually a nice change for the black-haired girl's usual fashion choice (as you can see, Mavis was a bit of a tomboy with a hint of a girlie streak in her)...although to some of the boys from the school, she was still a pretty girl, regardless if she was wearing her black jacket and boots or not...and what the jerks would also say about her. Toby especially seemed to find Mavis attractive apparently, at least from what the dirty blonde-haired boy knew about the brown-haired boy. Buying some lunch, Leonardo went over to see his two new friends, who immediately saw him walking over towards them.
"Hi Leo," The two teens greeted the slightly older boy in unison.
"Hey there, do you both mind if I join you at this table for lunch?" Leonardo asked politely.
"Oh no, we don't mind at all," said Toby kindly. "You can sit here with us."
Leonardo bowed to both briefly and respectably, just before he sat down on the opposite side of the table and facing his two new friends.
"Why are you still here at school anyway Leo?" Mavis asked. "I thought you had finished your exams already."
"Well I did, but I think it's still better hanging out here instead of staying home with nothing much to do. Both my parents are at work, my younger brother has school of his own to go to, and all of my new friends are still here. Clearly, it was a no brainer really," Leonardo explained in a good-nature like tone. "But what about you two? Have you finished your exams yet?"
"I've got two more exams, and then I'm done," answered Toby.
"I've got one more left," chirped Mavis, just before sighing. "Personally, I can't want for the exams to finish up. Once that happens, we can all finally go to the beach and enjoy the beautiful weather."
"Aye, I'm all for the beach," Leonardo agreed rather quickly, putting both his hands on the back of his head in a good-nature like way.
"Are you going to let your hair down when we go there?" Toby asked, looking to his girlfriend with a loving stare.
Mavis blushed and rubbed Toby's hand softly with her thumb. "For you Toby, I will let my hair down," she said kindly. Mavis nearly always kept her long black hair neatly separated into two pony tails with two yellow ribbons, and rarely did she ever let it all down.
Leonardo, quietly at first, watched his two new friends carefully. Normally, the dirty blonde-haired boy would never go and ask something like what he was about to ask because he respected their privacy, but this situation seemed to be very different, because he was actually curious. And so he went ahead and asked his question.
"Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?" Leonardo asked curiously, while also hoping that he wouldn't regret it.
To the dirty blonde-haired boy's relief, Toby smiled and kindly answered the question without denying anything at all.
"Yes Leo. Mavis and I are a couple, we've been together for seven years now."
"Whoa! Wait a minute, are ye serious?" Leonardo asked, eyes widened with surprise. "You two have been dating for seven years?"
Mavis giggled slightly. "That's correct. We have been a couple for seven years. We started off when we were almost ten years old and we've been together ever since."
"Wow!" gasped Leonardo in amazement, before chuckling. "That's really amazing, I guess you two were a perfect match from the start, am I right?"
"Well, not exactly," Mavis admitted with an embarrassed look.
"Huh?"
"When we first met, we weren't really the best of friends," said Toby. "In fact, we couldn't even stand each other. Back then, Mavis thought she knew best and often put things in different places everyday."
Mavis looked unhappily down towards the ground. "I can't believe I was ever like that," she muttered with shame.
Leonardo, while not the most curious guy around, really wanted to know the whole story of the two teens getting together.
"Could you tell me the story on how you two became a couple?" he asked hopefully. "...or is now not a good time for a story?"
There was silence between the two teenagers, before Mavis finally spoke up.
"Go ahead Toby, you can him tell our story. I don't mind."
"Very well then." With that said, the brown-haired boy began to tell the story...
[FLASHBACK]
After the East Angelia tramway closed down due to vehicles becoming more and more commonly used, Toby's father got a job at the Ffarquhar Quarry. He, his whole family, and his faithful tram engine were transferred to their new home on Sodor. The family was at first worried about adjusting to their new home, but found they had no need to worry as Ffarquhar proved to be a good home, and the family also made plenty of friends shortly after the move. Young Toby especially made some wonderful friends in Thomas, Percy, eventually James (after a small incident with some tar), and the likes.
The little tram engine did a fine job, but the quarry still needed another engine to keep up with the demands. After some time, a small diesel had arrived. This diesel also had cowcatchers and sideplates just like the tram engine. The engine's driver got along quite well with everyone, but his daughter on the other hand was another matter altogether.
Mavis was young, full of energy, and also full of her own ideas. Whenever she came to Toby's place, she would rearrange his things without permission. This got Toby cross.
"I had my room the way I had it and I don't need you messing things up," he said angrily.
"Too bad Toby, cause every time I come over, I'll make your room the way I like it," said young Mavis smugly. "After all, I know far more than you."
And she flounced away all proud-like. Young Flora watched the black-haired girl leave and poked her head into Toby's room.
"She shouldn't have done that," she said in a sing-song tone.
Toby was angry, but for the sake of his family's friendship with Mavis's family, he tried to hide it. Overtime though, he got crosser and crosser until he finally lost all patience with the young black-haired girl girl.
"I don't have time to play 'moving things' with you," Toby snapped. "Put things back to where they were now!"
"No, I do what I want!"
This started a blazing argument between the two children. It got so loud, and even almost became violent, that both fathers had to separate them when they overheard the yelling and such between the two 9/10-year old kids.
"Hey now, what in the world is this all about?" asked Toby's father.
Mavis spluttered. "Um...well..."
It didn't take long for Mavis' father to figure it out. "Young lady, this is not your room. You have no business whatsoever moving Toby's things around," he scolded.
"It makes his room look better," Mavis protested.
"Even so, you can't just do that, especially to Toby. Now, you will put his things back to where he wants and no where else."
Mavis was unhappy. "But Daddy..."
"No buts Mavis, I ask you to behave yourself and do as you're told," Mavis' father said sternly.
Mavis felt hurt, and under everyone's watchful eyes, she put Toby's things back to where they were suppose to be. This pleased everyone...well, except for Mavis.
"I should be able to do what I want," she grumbled.
The roadway, like the railway, has a steep hill that first goes down, then up into the quarry. People had gotten stuck here many, many times, with the worse times being during the winter, but many had figured out how to prevent getting stuck. They stopped before reaching the lane, someone goes ahead and checks to make sure the traffic is clear, and then they set off again. By using the downward slope, they are able to gain speed, which allows them to tackle the hill and get into the quarry on time. For this to work, the workers and visitors had to travel in groups.
On one cold winter's day, Toby and Mavis were both going to the quarry to see their fathers. Mavis however was still cross with Toby and didn't want to listen to him. Soon they reached the hills. Toby stopped, but Mavis continued on.
"Good on you Mavis!" Toby called out cheerfully. "One of us needs to check to make sure the path is clear."
But that's not what Mavis was going to do. She instead charged at the hill, but didn't stop. The young black-haired girl blasted through the intersection without stopping, and would've gotten through safely...had it not been for a rock that she didn't see. Mavis' front tire hit it, and she fell off her bike and landed face first into the mud.
"Yuck," she groaned, but was not injured.
Car and lorry drivers saw her and stopped, blaring their horns at her and demanding that the young girl get out of the way. Mavis tried to get up, but found that she indeed injured something. The black-haired girl managed to sprain her ankle when she fell and couldn't get back up. Car and lorry horns continued to blare at her in anger.
"I can't move! I sprained my angle!" Mavis cried out in pain.
Nearby, Toby had overheard Mavis crying out, as well as the cars and lorry horns blaring, and fumed silently.
"She had been warned on what to do countless times, but she insisted that she'll be fine," he thought crossly. "I have a good mind to leave her."
But of course, that's not who Toby was, so he raced to the rescue. Down below, an angry motorcyclist was telling Mavis just what she could do with her bike, which was not exactly a very good thing to say to a 9/10-year old girl.
"So much for knowing everything huh Mavis? I am surprised at you," Toby remarked innocently.
"Grrr-osh!" Mavis growled, while grimacing from the pain in her ankle.
Toby immediately helped the black-haired girl to her feet, and then helped her out of the intersection. Finally, he grabbed Mavis's bike and waved to everyone in their vehicles to move on. They thanked the brown-haired boy and roared away.
"And that Mavis is why you should listen to advice from others," Toby pointed out. "Not bothering to listen will get you into trouble, as so."
Mavis didn't answer back. She instead angrily picked her bike up and hurried (slowly and limply due to her sprained ankle) into the quarry to try and find her father.
[END FLASHBACK]
Toby, at this point, briefly paused the story and looked over to Mavis, who gave a sad sigh.
"I'll never forget that day anytime soon," she groaned. "My ankle hurt for a couple of days, but I wasn't really entirely thinking about that. At the time you see, Toby had made me look real foolish and I wanted to pay him out in any way possible."
As the three teenagers spoke, Diesel was shown walking over with his own lunch and had overheard the conversation going on. He had especially noticed that Mavis was wearing a sleeveless shirt and gave quite possibly the smuggest flirting-like smile anyone had ever seen him give before walking over to try and hit on that hot looking black-haired girl, and also make fun of her boyfriend.
"And you should've," Diesel snickered, whilst walking over. "He was a loser back then, and he's still a loser now."
Toby, Mavis, and Leonardo were each very unhappy to see the devious black-haired boy. Care to guess on why that was the case?
"I wasn't talking to you Diesel!" Mavis snapped heatedly. "And besides, Toby is no loser, you are."
"He is so Mavis. Always was and always will be. He's a regular old fusspo,." Diesel replied rather oily. "Just dump him already and go out with a handsome stud like me, you fine-looking, hot babe you."
Toby was looking very cross now. While being insulted by Diesel was bad enough, the devious black-haired boy also had some nerve to also go and shamelessly flirt with the brown-haired boy's girlfriend like that too! Speaking of girlfriend, Mavis was also looking particularly disgusted over the situation. Not only over her boyfriend being harshly insulted by Diesel, but also over the fact that the devious black-haired boy was hitting on her.
This caused the black-haired girl's face to flush bright red a little bit, all the while feeling both very uncomfortable and embarrassed over being around Diesel right now...not that the devious black-haired boy actually cared about that anyway. Angrily, Toby was just about to go and stand up, face Diesel square in the eyes, and put his foot down by saying something to the devious black-haired boy in order to tell him right off...but Leonardo had immediately beaten Toby) to doing it, and you can bet your coins that he wasn't looking very happy in the slightest.
"Hey! Are ye looking for trouble pal?!" thundered Leonardo, standing up from his seat and gazing at Diesel very fiercely, thus causing him to immediately become silent. "You know, if there's one thing that I can't stand at all is seeing rude and selfish jerks, such as yourself, insult any of my friends, like Toby right here. I also can't stand it when I see a jerk again, such as you, disrespecting a girl, like Mavis right here. Now, unless you have anything nice you'd like to say to any of us, I'd suggest you shut your mouth and beat it! NOW!"
Diesel, looking a bit nervous (due to the fact that Leonardo was as tall as Hank, and well-built like Murdoch), spluttered and hurried away without saying another word. He certainly didn't want to mess with that dirty blonde-haired boy anytime soon, not unless Diesel wanted to get a humbling telling-off from him (so to speak). Needless to say, Toby and Mavis were both very impressed with their friend after watching the scene.
"Thanks," sighed Mavis, feeling deeply relieved that Diesel was no longer insulting her boyfriend or saying rude things to her.
"Wow, you're good," Toby commented while smiling. "It's no wonder why Spencer has been real quiet over the last few weeks."
"Ah well, it's nothing really. It's just that guys like him, and Spencer, don't like it when you stand up to them," Leonardo shrugged, before sitting back down and acting like nothing had happened. "So, what happened next?"
Awkward silence filled the table for what seemed like forever before Toby finally spoke up to Mavis.
"Go on Mavis, you can tell him the next part," The brown-haired boy said kindly.
"Are you sure Toby?" The black-haired girl asked with concern.
"I'm sure."
Mavis sighed unhappily (with some hints of guilt and remorse in her voice) and began to tell the next part of the story.
"Okay... this part of the story, I'm not really all that proud of to this very day. This is because I'm so ashamed of my actions..."
[FLASHBACK]
Weeks later, even after young Mavis' ankle had healed up, she was still cross with Toby.
"I'll show that old fusspot Toby, that I do in fact know best, and that he should never mess with me or make me look foolish before everyone," she mumbled to herself.
For the longest time, the young black-haired girl couldn't come up with anything. But as winter left and the snow melted, she finally came up with a plan to get even with the young brown-haired boy. One day, Mavis went alone into town to go and see some teenage boys, otherwise known as the Troublesome Trucks, at their hideout. The Troublesome Trucks were a street gang of a sort.
"Hey, could you guys do me a favour?" she asked them.
"Perhaps, what is it you would like us to do?" replied the leader.
"Well, there's this guy named Toby, who has brown-hair, is my age, and had recently made me look foolish. I would like you to damage his bike and make him look foolish. Oh, and keep this quiet okay?"
The leader smirked dangerously. "No worries. You have our word of honour, young lady."
I'm sorry to say that Mavis should've known better than to trust any of them. Why, you might ask? Because they were the most devious and troublesome lads in town. The Troublesome Trucks don't simply cause trouble, they actually thrived in creating chaos and danger for their own amusement. Either way, the trucks made their plan and went into action.
When young Toby was to go over to the quarry and visit his father one day, the truck gang struck. As the brown-haired was speaking to his father inside the little office, the trucks were all waiting outside.
"Cut his brakes, that'll make him slip out of control," The leader said to one of his members.
The truck member did as he was asked, using some strong scissors to snip the brakes. Once he was done, the trucks quickly ran away before they were caught. When his conversation with his father had finished, Toby left the office, got onto his bike, and rode away. As the brown-haired boy reached the crossroads, he tried to put his brakes on, but...
"Hey, what's the matter with my...uh-oh!" Toby slid down the hill and up the other side quickly without him doing anything. He managed to stay upright, but he was now very worried. Toby climbed down and was about to check his brakes - when suddenly, he found himself surrounded by the Troublesome Trucks street gang.
"Lookie what we have here boss," said one truck member dangerously. "A young boy who doesn't seem to know how to ride his own bike."
"Is that so?" asked the leader. He gave Toby a sinister stare. "Well then, let's give him a bike lesson boys."
In a frightened panic, Toby tried fighting back against the trucks (more like trying to escape from them), but they were much stronger than he was and so it was useless to try and resist. The Troublesome Trucks soon took him to an old wooden bridge near the river.
"If you can ride across this bridge, then you can go anywhere," snickered the leader. "Heck, we'll even leave you alone."
Toby gulped. The bridge was very old and made of rotten wood, while also on the verge of collapsing. Since he had no way of getting away, he got on his now vandalized bike and started to peddle across. Surprisingly, Toby was doing well and was already halfway across, when suddenly...
"Now!" shouted the leader.
Two members, down near the creek, pushed a giant log, which sailed down the water and hit the supports of the bridge. With a loud crash, the bridge vanished and Toby's bike splashed into the water below.
"Where's the brat?" asked a truck member.
The leader looked down and where the bridge once stood was a single line of beams with Toby hanging on for dear life. He looked really scared.
"HELP! HELP!" The brown-haired boy shrieked in terror.
"Break the beam! Send him for a swim!" The leader shouted.
The gang was about to do that when they heard a new, female voice call out to them.
"What are you guys doing?!"
Toby managed to pull himself up a bit just to see Mavis running in. She looked positively horrified at what was going on.
"We're just doing what you asked us to do!" called the leader. "'Make him look foolish'. Those were your exact words!"
"Mavis, you didn't..." Toby groaned in realization, just as his hands started to slip.
"Yes, I said for you to make him look foolish, but NOT send him to his death!" Mavis protested. "Hold on Toby, I'm coming!"
Luckily, the beams were bolted together, so she was able to cross it slowly. The gang thought it would be fun to push her off too, but before they could do anything, they saw police cars and officers arriving and heading right for them.
"Split now!" cried the leader. He tried to get away himself, but was suddenly tackled down by one of his own members.
"Sorry boss, but I happen to be a Ffarquhar police officer," said the member, revealing who he really was. "I've been assigned and working undercover for the last few weeks on orders from my superiors. You are now under arrest for attempted murder!"
The leader groaned and buried his face into the dirt crossly.
Meanwhile, Mavis had finally reached Toby. "Grab my hand Toby. Please!"
"Why should I?" The brown-haired boy demanded, looking pretty angry in addition to being terrified out of his mind. "It's because of you I'm in this mess!"
Mavis moaned. "You're right, and I'm sorry. I was just so mad at you that I asked those guys to make you look foolish, but I see now that it was my fault that I got you into this mess. I'm so sorry Toby, but you have to trust me now or else you're going for a long swim...permanently!"
At first, Toby flat out refused to listen to her, but when he looked back up and saw the seriousness within Mavis' green eyes, he finally reached up and grabbed her hand. Despite a few slips, the black-haired girl soon brought Toby back to safety on firm ground.
"Whew, that was a close call," sighed Mavis. "It's a good thing you held on for a long time."
But Toby didn't smile or say anything and just turned away from her. Mavis looked sad. She didn't like seeing him mad at her.
Unfortunately, Toby wasn't the only one who was mad at Mavis. When the parents found out everything from the police, they scolded her badly.
"I would never have expected you to do this Mavis," Mavis' father said angrily. "Rearranging his things is one matter, but this..." He had to stop himself before he really got mad and did something he would later regret. After taking a few deep breaths, the man turned to his friend. "I am so sorry about this."
"It's okay my friend," Toby's father replied. "I'm just glad Toby is safe."
"Yes, and rest assured he'll be safe now that my daughter won't be seeing him again."
"What?!" Mavis cried out in shock. "But Daddy..."
"No, it's clear you and Toby don't get along. ...and personally, I would rather not receive another call about another stunt you've pulled," Mavis' father said very sternly. "You will stay away from Toby and that's final, young lady."
"Hold on there. Why not ask Toby if that's what he wants?" Toby's mother suggested.
Everyone looked at him, but Toby didn't say a word.
"I think he would agree with us," said Mavis' father. "It's settled then; Mavis here will stay away from your boy until she can be trusted again."
Mavis felt very sad indeed.
[END FLASHBACK]
Leonardo was surprised by the outcome. "But if you were told to stay away from each other, then how in the world did you two become a couple?"
Mavis turned back to Toby. "Care to tell Leo about this part?" she asked.
"Of course," Toby smiled, looking back to Leonardo. "Well, for six months afterwards, I heard nothing from Mavis. At the time, I thought she was thinking she had been wronged and didn't want to speak to me ever again. But then one day, that all changed..."
[FLASHBACK]
It was a warm autumn's day six months later after the incident, and young Toby was hanging out at the arcade playing some of the latest arcade-like video games that had just been developed, released, and delivered all the way from the United States. As he was finishing up, young Percy had arrived with something in his left hand.
"Hey Toby, someone gave me a note to give to you," he stated, upon reaching his brown-haired friend.
Toby looked up from his game. "Oh yeah? And just who would that person be?"
"Well, they asked me not to tell you their name."
Toby finally stopped playing his game and looked to Percy with a raised eyebrow of disappointment.
"It's from Mavis, isn't it?"
Percy sighed unhappily and nodded. "Yes it is. Just read what the note says, and you'll find out everything."
Toby accepted the note and began to read it:
"Toby, I have wronged you badly. Please meet me outside the station, I have something to say to you."
At first, Toby thought about if he should go or not, because he hadn't forgotten what Mavis put him through. In the end, he left the arcade and headed for the station. There, he found young Mavis waiting with something big behind her.
"Why did you call me here?" Toby began suspiciously.
"Toby... I have been nothing but a painful little witch towards you and had nearly gotten you hurt or worse," Mavis said, feeling deeply ashamed. "I don't know if you're still mad at me for what happened, but I hope this gift will help make you smile again."
She stepped away, revealing a brand new bicycle.
"I know yours was destroyed when you fell off that bridge, so I worked over the last few months. Doing some odd jobs around the house so I could earn enough money to get you this replacement bike. It's my way of saying sorry for what happened and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
There was silence between the two for so long that Mavis thought time was standing still.
Finally Toby showed a smile. "Of course I'll forgive you Mavis. To be honest, my life just hasn't really been the same without you."
"Well, my life has been miserable without you, I've been rather lonely," said Mavis, looking glumly. "And my father makes it worse by always reminding me to stay away from you."
"Has he now? Well, I think we'll need to change that," Toby suggested.
Mavis smiled to that. "I think a good way to start is if I promise to change my ways and become a better person."
"You know something Mavis?" Toby asked.
Mavis looked confused. "What is it?"
Suddenly, without warning, Toby walked up to Mavis and wrapped his arms around her. Mavis was very surprised, but hugged Toby right back.
"You already are a better person. And thank you very much for the bike. I love it!"
Mavis, now blushing a bit, was very happy and relieved to hear those words.
[END FLASHBACK]
"After that," Toby continued, finishing the story up, "Mavis and I started going out and doing things together. Our parents eventually lifted the ban once she proved to them and my own parents that she has changed for the better. Ever since then, we had been together as a couple."
"And the best part is that we haven't had a single fight ever since," added Mavis, smiling brightly. "Not even a tiny squabble of a sort, although there were a number of very playful spats between us at times, but they do not count as actual fights."
"Glad to hear it," smiled Leonardo.
Toby then chuckled. "...and funny about the incident too; my parents once told me about circus people who walk on tightropes, but I didn't really fancy doing it myself."
Mavis giggled a bit. "I'll say that for a fact."
The three teenagers shared a cheerful laugh. Just then, the school bell rang, and Mavis immediately stood up from her seat with a look of hope on her face.
"Well, I'd better get going, for my exam is going to start. Oh, I really hope I can pass it," she said hopefully.
"You'll do great Mavis, I have faith in you," smiled Toby. He stood up and kissed her on the right side of her face. "Just don't forget all you've learned this year and you'll be just fine."
"Thanks honey," Mavis smiled right back, just as she kissed her boyfriend on the right side of his face. She then turned and ran off to do her final exam.
"Now that is the proper way to treat a lady," commented Leonardo positively. "In fact, I bet you could even give most of those naughty Smelter Class teens, like Diesel, a little lesson on manners and how to treat women correctly."
"Perhaps," chuckled Toby. "I'll see you later Leo."
"Later man."
And on that note, Toby left to take on his next exam, leaving Leonardo to finish eating his lunch on his own and to think about another lovely lady he knew. Yup, things were certainly going to get very interesting this upcoming summer.