Sodor High School: Thomas & Friends Tales
Written by: ThomasZoey3000
Based on the Railway Series by: The Reverand Wilbert and Christopher Awdry
Based on the Television Series by: Britt AllCroft, David Mitton, Hit Entertainment and Mattel
Episode 40: Sir Handel's Adventures
Based on "Sir Handel Comes Home" by "Christopher Awdry"
"Did I forget to mention I dislike this? Did I mention it already?" James asked Percy, Thomas and Emily.
"Ever since last Monday," all three teenagers said in unison. They were growing restless over James' complaining.
The reason for all the complaining was simple; summer vacation was over and it was time to go back to school. James had spent most of it in hospital, then on punishment work following his near death accident into the station, so he really didn't get a chance to relax like his friends did.
"You know James, it was your fault you ended up in that mess," said Percy. "We're glad you're alive, don't get me wrong, but you wouldn't have gotten hurt if you didn't try to beat Rosie."
"Ugh! Don't remind me about that race!"
As if on cue, a motorbike pulled into the parking lot and stopped near the bike-stand. The person pulled their helmet off, revealing the face of Rosie and letting her new cheery-red hair flow out.
"I'm going inside, just so I don't have to look at her or that bike," grumbled James and he hurried away.
"Well that was rude," commented Emily, "but given what I've learned about him, he's often like that." Both Thomas and Percy nodded with Emily's words.
Rosie ran up to them, "hey guys, beautiful day isn't it? I say it's a good sign."
"What do you mean?" Percy asked curiously.
"I can't really explain it, but back when I lived in the States, when the sun shone brightly on the first day of school, then I knew that the school year was going to be grand, and usually, it was. Of course, I had George to content with, but that didn't change my wonderful school years."
"Oh yeah, that reminds me, why did your parents allow the beatings to go on for so long? Why didn't they stop George?" Percy asked.
"I honestly don't know, they were either too afraid of him, or they just didn't notice. Remember, before Brad came back, I was too weak to really defend myself, and George was quite sneaky. But since Brad's returned, I've been learning so much from him, and now no-one can hurt me the way George did. Why if George was here, I'd knock him flat on his butt. Uh, not meaning to sound boastful or anything."
"It's fine Rosie," smiled Emily. "Though he deserves it after all the things he did to you."
The four teenagers continued walking up to the school, and once through the front doors, they went over to the cafeteria to find their schedules for the year. As luck would have it, they were all in the same classes again, much like they were last year.
"Shame this is our last year in this school," sighed Percy. "It won't be the same come next September."
"Then we better make this school year count Percy," smiled Rosie. "Besides, it's not like we're not going to meet up in other places in the future."
"Rosie's got a good point," nodded Thomas. "After all, Sodor's not that big."
"And if summer's anything to go by, it'll be easy to meet up in future," added Emily.
Percy smiled and nodded with his best friends. They turned away from the schedule and headed for their classrooms. Along the way, Thomas whispered to Emily, "though I bet you're looking forward to getting back to your home soon right?"
"I guess, but that won't be happening until Di...er, you know who is caught," she whispered back.
"Oh he will, and with luck, it'll be off school grounds. It actually surprises me this place is still getting new students when there's already been three takeover attempts, but I guess the hard work the teachers give out relieves some of the tension from parents deciding where to send their kids."
Emily could only nod, though she never did mention that while she wanted to be with her family again, she wasn't ready to give up her friendships.
"I was alone for a long time before I met these guys, I don't want to lose them," she thought to herself. "I hope father will understand that."
At lunchtime, Rosie was heading off to the cafeteria. Her stomach was growling at her, "you growl like I haven't fed you or something," she said to it.
"Oh look, the little pip-squeak is now talking to her stomach," sneered a nasty voice.
Rosie rolled her eyes and looked behind her to see Diesel, along with 'Arry and Bert standing outside a classroom.
"It shouldn't be the weirdest thing you've ever seen, given all the stupid things you punks have done," she said firmly. This caused the three teens to gasp and stare in shock. They were so stunned that they didn't harrass any of the students coming out of the classroom.
"My look isn't the only thing's that changed this summer boys, so keep this in mind," she pointed a firm finger at them, "I will not be tormented or tricked by you idiots again! Now be off with you."
She turned and continued walking off. The three teens shook off their shocked looks after a few moments, and with angry glares, charged at Rosie. It was at this time that Luke and Peter Sam appeared in the hallway from their classroom. They saw the three Smelter class teens racing towards Rosie.
"Rosie, you might want..."
But Luke was cut off as Rosie raised a hand to silence him. She smirked and glanced behind her. At the last second, she raised her arms over her left shoulder, grabbed Diesel's swinging right arm and made him fly over her and onto the ground.
"Whoa," gasped the cousins together.
Rosie looked over firmly to 'Arry and Bert, "I said 'Be Off with You', and I meant it! Not scram! I will not be repeating myself!"
Scared by Rosie, the smelter twins raced off. Diesel picked himself up and raced after them. Rosie turned to the two Junior High cousins, "I was taught that move by Brad, first time I got to use that though."
Luke whistled, "Impressive, and hello Rosie."
"Hello boys, it's good to see you again. Especially you Luke."
"Well I have you, Thomas and my friends to thank for the happier days in my life. Plus, this summer gave me a chance to see my family again for the first time since I ran off."
"I'm glad to hear that Luke," Rosie smiled.
"Luke wasn't the only one to go on a trip," Peter Sam added. "Sir Handel was on a trip himself, and he returned just last night."
Rosie's eyes opened wide in surprise, "geez, that's really cutting it close isn't it?"
"Perhaps, but he and his family had it all planned out from the start, I think. Say, would you like to hear what he's been up to?"
Rosie nodded and followed the cousins towards the cafeteria where they got some food, and headed off to meet up with the other Junior High students. Sir Handel was already talking, and from the sounds of it, was answering a question from one of the other students.
"...I honestly didn't think we'd make it back in time, not with the motorway's intense amount of traffic. It was nine in the evening once we got moving again, and ten when we finally arrived, I hadn't even had time to unpack my bags."
"Well that contradicts what I was saying," commented Peter Sam.
"Don't tell me we missed the stories already," groaned Luke as he, Peter Sam and Rosie sat down.
Sir Handel shook his head, "not really, I was just answering Skarloey's question about how late I got in last night. Oh and hello Rosie, it's good to see you again, love the new look."
"Thank you Sir Handel," she smiled as she ran her fingers through her hair. "It was a time for a change you know?"
Everyone at the table nodded, then turned their attention back to Sir Handel. Rosie asked the obvious question, "so where did you go during summer vacation?"
"I went over to Wales to meet up with my cousin; Haydn, named after the Tayllyn Railway's No 3 saddletank engine. It's been a tradition our families have had for years to meet up during the summer months, but this year, he was working as a part-time worker on the railway itself, so instead of calling it off, we went to see him and his family."
"Did you see my cousin over there?" Skarloey asked.
"I did indeed. He's doing quite well, and so are his friends. They're much like us in a way, and all of them are named after the locomotives on the railway." Sir Handel paused as he chuckled, "though I think Alf was trying to hide his name."
"What makes you say that?" Rusty asked.
"Cause anytime one of us tried to call him over, he would pretend he heard nothing."
"Not surprising given the name," chuckled Duncan, but was quickly hushed by the other students.
"During the first week of my visit," Sir Handel continued, "there was a big wedding for one of the railway's staff members. It was quite the interesting event, they even had my cousin's name-sake engine there, ready to take them to the reception afterwords. Sadly, I couldn't go."
"Why?" Rosie asked curiously.
"Well my parents had another engagment, so I got dragged along with them on their journey, but my spirits were lifted later on when the young Prince came to the railway." Sir Handel chuckled, "I remember all the fuss that went on during that time, every worker was rushing about like bees, and my cousin was doing his best to be super strict to make sure everything was spic and span."
"I'm only going to assume it wasn't when the prince arrived, am I correct in saying that?" Peter Sam asked.
Sir Handel gave off a nod and a quiet chuckle, "Talyllyn's name-sake engine had something down it's funnel, and as the prince stepped onto the platform, the engine blew the stuff out of it's funnel and the dust went everywhere. 'I am so sorry your highness', my cousin said to the Prince, 'we didn't mean for this to happen.' But you know what? The prince wasn't mad at all, 'I came here to see what a real railway's like, so I don't mind a little dirt, or dust, or whatever this stuff is. It just makes me feel like a real visitor to your railway'. So needless to say, the Prince's visit was a grand success, and even spoke to me."
Duncan raised an eyebrow, "you spoke with the Prince?"
"Oh yes, he wanted to know everyone there, including myself. He even said that he's considering visiting the Island of Sodor one day, and maybe visit Sodor High School."
"Hopefully if no one's attacking it...ouch!" Duncan cried as a foot kicked him in the leg to hush him up. He glared up at Peter Sam, who gave off an innocent look, like nothing happened at all.
"Go on Sir Handel, what happened next?" Rheneas asked.
"Well there was the one day when I turned into a pirate."
"What?!" the Junior High students shouted in unison. The noise was so loud that everyone turned to look to them. They all looked sheepish and apologized.
Sir Handel on the other hand was chuckling, "well not really. It's quite the tale..."
It was early in the morning on July the 15th. Sir Handel was one of the first passengers, and was enjoying himself, "this railway truely is grand, I wish our railways had scenery like this," he thought to himself.
The sun's rays were starting to shine through the windows of the carriage. A light breeze blew in through a small crack.
"It seems lovely," he said to his father.
"Yes, your cousin has it made here," he commented.
Sir Handel wanted to smell more of that fresh air, so he opened the window to let more air in, and that's when it happened. A strong wind picked up and blew a light branch from a nearby tree towards the train, right where Sir Handel was sitting. As he took in a deep breath of fresh air, the branch hit the window and right into him.
Everyone gasped hearing that, "that must've really hurt you Sir Handel," commented Rusty.
"It did, but it didn't hit me in either one of my eyes, but it did leave a nasty scratch on the side of my face."
"I don't see one now," said Rosie.
Sir Handel lifted his left hand to a certain spot on his face, "it's healed up by now, but at the time, it was pretty nasty. My father went into panic mode, and my mother, well she fainted at the sight of seeing me. My cousin was quick in getting me to the hospital...where one doctor fainted over seeing my face. Two more came in to see me, and a nurse fainted."
"You must've been one ugly sight to see," chuckled Duncan, "and that's not talking about the scratch."
Skarloey stared firmly at Duncan, "this isn't funny Duncan, Sir Handel could've lost an eye over this incident, or had more life threatening injuries. Would it have been funny then?"
"Uh...no, no it wouldn't," Duncan admitted.
"That's what I thought."
"Well anyways," continued Sir Handel, "they gave me a couple of stitches and put an eye-patch over my eye, in spite of my protests."
"I told you, my eye is fine," Sir Handel grumbled to the doctor, "the tree branch only hit me on the side of my face."
But the doctor continued to make a fuss over it, and in the end, Sir Handel gave up. He returned back to his hotel where he found his cousin and his friends there. Some like Douglas laughed at him.
"Going to join a band of pirates Matey," Douglas, Duncan's cousin, chuckled.
"Yo-ho-ho and a bucket of..." Edward Thomas began, but was hushed by Talyllyn himself, placing a hand over the young lad's mouth. Much like Skarloey will do with Duncan in September, he gave the same firm statement about the situation.
Haydn walked up to Sir Handel, "Cous, I'm so sorry about that, none of us thought that tree branch could hurt someone."
"Hey, you can't predict everything."
"Even still, we're going to cut off any and all branches that could be considered threats to trains and passengers, so something like this won't ever happen again. Now, is there anything I can for you to make up for your injury?"
Sir Handel held up his hand, "Haydn, you don't need to do that..."
"No, no, I will not except a 'I'm fine' kind of response, I got to do something for you."
Edward Thomas suddenly came up with an idea, "why not have Sir Handel drive the AGM train tomorrow? It is an important run."
"An important run?" Sir Handel asked with a raised eyebrow.
Douglas rolled his eyes, "please, we've all worked for the railway for years, and not one of us has ever been given the chance to drive an important train like that."
But Haydn liked the idea, "provided I can get the manager to agree to the idea, would you like to drive the AGM train tomorrow Sir Handel?"
Sir Handel thought about it. He really didn't want his cousin to make a fuss over his injury, but he also knew that, much like him, Haydn was stubborn and wouldn't stop till he put things right.
"I suppose it will do," he answered at last. "If the manager agrees."
Haydn spoke with the manager, and at first, he didn't agree to the idea, but when Haydn mentioned the incident with the tree branch, he did eventually agree.
The following morning, Sir Handel went with his cousin to the station. The Driver and fireman were there waiting for him, "welcome to the AGM run Sir Handel," they said, "are you ready to be an engine driver?"
"Yes please," he nodded.
He was invited into the cab and after being shown the controls and how to use them, he took charge of the train. The responsibility delighted Sir Handel.
The run itself went off without a hitch, and this time, no more tree branches went flying towards the train. Everyone had a grand time, and thanked Sir Handel for the smooth ride.
"I hate to interupte your story Sir Handel," Luke cut in, "but does AGM stand for?"
Sir Handel blushed in embarassement, "you know, in all the excitment of the moment, I forgot to ask." This got a rolling eyes effect from Duncan and Peter Sam.
Sir Handel sighed happily as he took a bite of his lunch, "Haydn's got a lovely home, I was very sorry to leave it."
"Well that's it," said Sir Handel as he loaded the last of his stuff into the boot of his father's car.
Haydn was there with his family to see them off, "the summer season just flew by, didn't it?"
"I don't know, felt like I'd been here for five years or so," he chuckled. Haydn laughed along with him, "I did have fun though, despite the tree branch incident. I hope to come back and see you again someday."
"That would be great cousin. Oh and speaking of the tree branch, I got something for you to take back to Sodor."
He reached into his bag and pulled out a newspaper. It showed a picture of Sir Handel in the cab, waving to the many happy people. The headlines read PIRATE BOY DRIVES AGM SPECIAL, GRAND SUCCESS.
Sir Handel took the paper and looked it over carefully, "you're really going to give me this?"
"Yeah, just so you never forget your time here."
"Thanks cousin."
Haydn held out his hand to shake, but Sir Handel surprised him with a hug. Haydn smiled back and hugged his cousin back, "I never pictured you as a hugger Sir Handel."
They broke apart after that, "yeah well, don't get used to it."
"Fair enough, just remember to write or call me."
"Hmm, like I'd forget to check in with my favourite cousin."
After some more good-byes to Haydn's parents, and Haydn himself, Sir Handel and his parents got into the car and drove off. Sir Handel looked back and waved to his cousin till they were out of sight. He sighed as he looked at the newspaper.
"So Sir Handel, did you enjoy your summer here?" his mother asked him.
"You bet I did, and I look forward to more adventures in the future." He then noticed a note with a picture that make Sir Handel laugh. It showed Douglas in a first mate's outfit, and the note read 'The captain needs a first mate in his crew of pirates.' Right away, he knew how Douglas ended up in that situtation.
As Sir Handel's story came to a close, he pulled out the newspaper and the picture to show his friends. They laughed over seeing Douglas' expression in the photo. Only Duncan didn't laugh, "way to make us look bad cousin," he muttered under his breath.
"After all the teasing he did, Haydn felt it was the only way to get back at him." Sir Handel shook his head, "he's much like Duncan and myself, now that I think about it."
The others laughed. "Serves him right, still it sounds like you had a grand summer vacation," smiled Rosie.
"I did indeed Rosie. All the same though, it feels good to be back on Sodor." And with his story now done, Sir Handel finally ate his lunch, as did everyone else at that table.
"Oh steaming pistons, I never thought that day would end," grumbled James as he walked with the other students out of the school.
"Steaming pistons?" Percy asked with a raised eyebrow, "since when did you start talking like that James?"
"I don't know. All I do know is that school is boring, and it does nothing but give me super sized headaches."
Emily was quick to defend her father's school, "for your information James, learning isn't boring. It's very useful, and it can really help you out in the future." James grumbled under his breath, not agreeing with that statement.
"Not only that," added Rosie, "but it gives you a chance to meet up with friends you haven't seen in a while."
"Like the Junior High students?" Thomas asked.
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"I saw you with them earlier and listening to Sir Handel's story." Thomas showed a kind smile, "you know, you've really grown since you first came to Sodor High School."
"Hmm, how so?"
"Well think on it. When you arrived, you hardly knew anybody and you were always scared of your family, namely your brother. Yet now, you know lots of people, and you even scare the smelter class teens, I'd say that shows you've come so far in just one year."
Rosie was silent for a moment, then smiled, "you know, I never thought of that, but you are right. I have grown alot in just one year."
"Not only that, but you've gone from a pink pony haired girl," Percy added, "to this really cool cheery red beautiful girl."
Rosie blushed, "you think I'm beautiful Percy?"
Percy, realising what he said, turned away and said nothing more. This only got laughs from Emily and Thomas.
"We sure have come a long way together," Emily thought to herself. "I wonder what the new year will be like." With her friends by her side, Emily was due to find out.