Yes my friends, Sodor High School has returned. Due to me being busy, I can't write up the rest of the episodes of Season 2, at least for now. Lucky for me, I have an awesome team, who are understanding and very helpful with this series. The following chapter you're about to read is done by SF64Rules91, who did a very grand job on the story. Hopefully there will be more episodes coming out in the next few months of 2021, then it's onto Season 3. Can you believe it's been 11 years since this began? Anyways, thank you again to SF64Rules91 for this episode, and for the continued help with the ideas for future episodes. You're awesome buddy!
Sodor High School: Thomas & Friends Tales
Written by: ThomasZoey3000 / SF64Rules91
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: SF64Rules91
Episode 47: Rosie & Stanley
Somewhere in town one crisp, fall morning in the month of November, Rosie was strolling down the street minding her own business when she overheard a familiar voice (male) call out to her…
"Well, well! Rosie, I'm surprised to see you around these parts."
Gasping, Rosie turned and noticed Stanley Hudswell; the boy she met at that Hockey game early into the new school year.
"S-Stanley?" The red-haired girl pondered, surprised but happy to see him.
"What's up?" smiled Stanley, walking over to speak to his new friend, "If you're wondering what I'm up to, that's easy; I'm on my way to meet up with some friends of mine to help out with a weekend fundraiser."
"A fundraiser?" asked Rosie curiously.
"Yup," Stanley said proudly, "We're raising money for our school's basketball team."
"Oh yeah, you don't attend Sodor High. You attend a special prep school."
"You're right about that," The polite silver-haired boy confirmed, "Say, are you free at the moment? Perhaps you'd like to come and help out?"
"Me?" blinked Rosie.
"Why not?" offered Stanley, "My friends would love to meet with you."
That came as a surprise to Rosie, but she wasn't so sure if she should go and help out.
"I…" stammered Rosie, who, despite taking a liking to her new friend, still did not know Stanley well enough, "I don't know."
"It's okay if you don't want to," reassured Stanley, "I mean, if you're busy and are not able to come and help out, then I'm cool with your decision."
He started to walk away, but was grabbed by the arm by Rosie.
"Actually, Stanley," corrected Rosie, "I have nothing to do right now, so I would be more than happy to come and help out."
Stanley was very happy, "Really? You would?" he asked hopefully, "That's great! I'm so glad to hear you say that! Come on, the fundraiser being held is not far from here."
And so, the two Sudrian teenagers went on their way further down the street.
(elsewhere…)
Before long, Stanley and Rosie arrived at one of the outdoor supermarkets.
"You see," said Stanley, "we're helping out by selling baked goods like cookies, squares, bread, and a few others. Not only that, we're also selling toys and a few other hand-made things."
"Oh, it sounds interesting," acknowledged Rosie with interest, "Can you introduce me to your friends first?"
"Sure. They're right this way."
Over at one of the booths, two teenage boys wearing aprons were hard at work selling baked goods to various customers. One boy had brown hair, and the other had mustard blonde hair and glasses. As soon as they noticed Stanley…
"Stanley!" The first boy called out.
As soon as he heard the voice, Stanley led Rosie over.
"Glad you could make it," The second teenage boy greeted.
"Same," agreed Stanley, before introducing Rosie to the two boys, "Rosie, these two are Bill and Matt. Bill and Matt, this is my new friend Rosie; she attends Sodor High."
"Hi," greeted Bill (the mustard blonde-haired boy).
"It's nice to meetcha," added Matt (the brown-haired boy).
"Likewise," agreed Rosie, "Stanley told me you guys were helping out with a fundraiser for your school, and I couldn't say no to something like that."
"Actually, Stanley, Matt, and I aren't the only ones here today," corrected Bill, "Anna, Keith, and Richard are here as well."
"Ah."
"I'll introduce you to them," offered Stanley.
"Okay," agreed Rosie, before looking to both Matt and Bill, "It was nice meeting you two."
Matt and Bill both waved goodbye as they resumed their work, while Stanley was leading Rosie to one of the other booths.
"You know, Stanley, I have a friend at Sodor High who's named Bill as well," Rosie was saying, "He has a twin brother named Ben."
"What a coincidence," smiled Stanley, "I'm betting they're both nice."
Rosie grimaced, "They are, but they are also very, very mischievous," she sighed, having a mental flashback to her first official meeting with those twin boys, "They enjoy pranking the other students and, sometimes, the teachers and staff even when it gets them into trouble."
Stanley raised an eyebrow over that. With that said, Rosie told her new friend about her initial interaction with Bill and Ben.
"I was initially one of their targets one day," The red-haired girl was recalling, "While I was walking down the hall in our school, they dropped a water balloon in the upper level and laughed at me. If it wasn't for Mavis seeing the situation when she did, I likely would have caught a cold. According to her, Edward and BoCo both are the only ones who can keep them in-line, and even they sometimes aren't very successful in doing that."
"Geez, those two…" Stanley winced, now knowing what those two boys were fully like.
"However, things between us quickly changed. After I saved Bill during our class field trip to Morgan's Mine," finished Rosie, "he and Ben ceased targeting me with their pranks and jokes. We all have been friends ever since."
"I'm glad to hear that," nodded Stanley, before pointing up ahead, "Speaking of which, my other friends are just up here."
Working at one of the booths was a kind-looking teenage girl with light brown hair. Before long, she turned and spotted Stanley and Rosie both approaching.
"Stanley!" The girl whistled, "Over here!"
"Anna!" beamed Stanley, as he and Rosie both walked up, "I'm glad you're here today; this is Rosie. And, Rosie, this is Anna."
"Hello," said Rosie politely.
"Hi," The girl (Anna) added right back, "Wow, I like your hair. Red looks really good on you."
"Truthfully, I wasn't initially a redhead," admitted Rosie, "I actually had pink hair for most of my life."
Anna raised an eyebrow, "Pink hair? Sounds like the same hair color Chantal has."
"Chantal?" quizzed Rosie.
"Chantal is another friend of ours, and is the girlfriend of Matt," explained Anna, explaining who Chantal was, "Unfortunately, she, Sam, and Vanessa couldn't make it today."
"Oh, that's too bad," sympathized Stanley.
"Yo, Stanley!" A teenage boy's voice hollered, causing Stanley to look nearby.
In yet another booth were two more teenage boys; one boy had brown hair like Matt, and the other Asian boy was Asian with black hair.
"Richard! Keith!" realized Stanley, before looking at Rosie, "You'll like these two, Rosie. Come on!"
He took Rosie to see the two boys.
"Great timing," The black-haired boy, named Keith, remarked.
"Who's she?" The other boy, named Richard, wondered.
"This is Rosie, and she's a new friend of mine," answered Stanley, "We met at a Hockey game."
"Is she, like, your girlfriend?" grinned Richard. When Stanley and Rosie both blushed in response, he continued, "Oh man, what an amazingly shocking surprise! Stanley, you finally got yourself a girlfriend! That means you've joined the leagues of me with Anna, Matt with Chantal, and Sam with Vanessa!"
"W-We're not a couple," denied Rosie, embarrassed.
Before Richard could continue teasing the pair…
"Dick, are you misbehaving again?!" scolded Anna from in her booth.
"Aww, Anna!" whined Richard, "Call me by my actual name! 'Dick' sounds too profane!"
"Not technically," corrected Keith, "Dick is short for Richard, you know."
"Okay, okay, let's change the subject," suggested Stanley, interrupting the little argument before it could possibly escalate. he then looked at Rosie, "I'm gonna give Richard and Keith a hand, could you go and help Anna with baking?"
"Sure," nodded Rosie, smiling brightly.
"Great! Let's show everyone some girl power!" Anna, overhearing the conversation, smiled back, "We have a long day ahead of us, so let's work hard and have fun while we're at it."
And the day began. Anna and Rosie both were baking cookies and selling them to customers, while Richard, Keith, and Stanley were selling hand-made toys. Over at the third booth, Matt and Bill were busy making and selling more variety baked goodies like bread, apple pies, etc..
"I enjoy baking cookies," hummed Anna, looking at Rosie, "My Mom taught me how. When I graduate from school, I'm hoping to apply for work in a bakery or eventually start my own baking business here in town."
"Is that your dream job?" asked Rosie.
"You could say that."
Over at the booth Stanley, Richard, and Keith were working at, Richard was busy teasing Stanley about his relationship with Rosie.
"So, man, you sure you don't have anything you'd like to tell us?" joked Richard, nudging his friend's side, "Come on, fill us in! What's your relationship with Rosie really like?"
"We're just friends!" Stanley said forcefully, "And that's final!"
"Heh! I guess you're not gonna say anything," grunted Richard unhappily, before grinning again, "So I guess 'I'll' have to do it!"
Stanley rolled his eyes, "Richard, you're being a pest."
Richard simply laughed the comment off as he carefully painted a wooden model of a steam engine. The day was going well overall, and Rosie soon got to know Stanley and his band of friends while on the job.
"So, Rosie, what do you think?" pressed Stanley, once he and the other settled down for lunch.
"Your friends are great, Stanley," Rosie said back, starting to reach for a napkin.
But Stanley had also reached over for a napkin, and both he and Rosie ended up touching each other's hand. The two teenagers froze, looked at each other, before retracting their hands, looking away, and blushing profusely. At another part of the table, Richard, Bill, and Keith each couldn't help but laugh at those expressions, Matt merely smiled, and Anna giggled. Soon, break time was over, and the small group of teenagers went back to work. As Rosie assisted Anna with getting some cookies out of the oven and getting a newly made batch in, she (Rosie) asked her (Anna) a question.
"Anna, how long have you known Richard for?" wondered Rosie.
"For a very, very long time, and we've been dating for three years straight," said Anna, "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason. I was just curious, that's all. But at the same time, I'm also curious to know… What do you see in him?"
"I'll admit he can be a handful at times," The light brown-haired girl admitted, "This is due to his playful, easy-going attitude and all, but he's still really sweet and has a very kind heart hidden beneath his usual playfulness. Like there was a time when Matt got framed for a prank at our school, Dick quickly stepped in and offered to help find the real culprit."
"Hmm… That kinda reminds me of another boy in my life," mused Rosie, before looking a little disappointed, "Oh, but he likes another girl though. Still, I tried going out with other boys in order to find my one true 'spark', but I didn't really feel anything while being with them. For the Valentine's Day Dance last year, I asked a plucky boy named Oliver to it. I admit the experience was great, but in the end I simply could not feel anything with him because I was far too focused on my crush."
"That's too bad," sympathised Anna, "But don't worry, I'm sure you'll find the right boy for you," She then smiled playfully, "Hmm… Maybe Stanley might be the one you're looking for?"
"W-We still don't know each other well enough," stammered Rosie, blushing once again, "He simply can't be the one 'spark'."
Anna kept her grin, "Well, I don't know about that," she joked, "Throughout this busy day, you and Stanley seemed to be getting pretty close to each other. Like, for example, you've been shooting each other quick glances during work. And there was also that little moment of you two touching hands during lunch. To me, that pretty much should be the so-called 'spark' you're looking for."
Rosie groaned and slammed her head onto the counter in defeat, ignoring the pain that briefly brought her.
"Hey, it's alright," comforted Anna, "If you're still unsure, just give it a little time."
Rosie looked up and smiled slightly, feeling a little better. Meanwhile, Stanley was now helping both Matt and Bill with baking and preparing baked food like bread, cake, etc.. As he worked, Stanley began to daydream about Rosie. In fact, he was so busy thinking about her that wasn't paying any attention to the oven.
"Stanley?" echoed Bill.
Stanley didn't seem to hear.
"Stanley?" came from Matt, being a little louder.
Still no response from Stanley. What ultimately got his attention was some black smoke coming from the oven.
"Hey, what's that smell?" The polite silver-haired boy wondered, sniffing the air a bit. He then noticed the black smoke, "Gah!"
Quickly, he pulled the product (bread) out, which, sadly, had gotten burnt from staying in the oven for too long. Fortunately, it did not burst into flames, otherwise there would have been a quick and panicky evacuation from the supermarket—as well as big trouble from the owners.
"That's what we were trying to tell you," frowned Bill, adjusting his glasses slightly, "You were burning the bread."
"Oh man, sorry about that," said Stanley sheepishly.
After some silence…
"Let me guess, you were thinking about a certain girl helping us out for the day?" pondered Matt.
"No, I wasn't," Stanley denied quickly.
"You are so lying!" cracked Bill, "We can see a smitten look on your face. You totally ARE thinking about Rosie, hence why you forgot to take the bread out of the oven and left it to almost burn!"
Stanley rubbed the back of his head as a blush appeared on his face.
"It's alright," reassured Matt kindly, "We understand if you like her this much. I was sorta the same with Chantal before we got together."
"Oh yeah, didn't you also used act that way around Tabitha a few years ago?" recalled Stanley, which earned him a nod in response, "And that was before you two briefly got together—although she wasn't exactly the nicest girl we knew of."
"Yeah, I remember," Matt acknowledged, looking a little ashamed and uncomfortable, "Our relationship from that time was a big mistake, since I had become meaner around you guys without me noticing until it was almost too late."
"You think?" said Bill firmly, since he and the brown-haired boy got into a serious fight one time.
While the boys were having their discussion, both Rosie and Anna were continuing to bake cookies and sell them. Just after setting a fresh batch into the oven, Rosie heard a familiar voice (male)…
"Whoa! Rosie! Why are you here today?"
The red-haired girl turned and saw it was Percy.
"Hi, Percy. Whoa! You're looking better today!" greeted Rosie, looking rather happy to see her friend.
"Not entirely better, but I'm definitely getting there," Percy beamed in response to the compliment. He then looked at Anna and introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Percy. I'm a friend of Rosie's."
"My name's Anna," smiled Anna, "It's good to meet you, Percy."
Percy nodded, but before he could say anything more, Stanley, after noticing the arrival, walked up.
"Oh, Percy, I'm surprised to see you here," he realized, yet sounding friendly.
"Hello, Stanley," said Percy brightly, having met Stanley while he was in the hospital recovering from that accident, "I just came to the supermarket to buy some hot cocoa, with it being fall after all—yet I find you and Rosie here working. What's the occasion?"
"Well, a few friends and I are actually here helping out with a fundraiser for our school's basketball team, and on my way here I bumped into Rosie and invited her to go and give us a hand. And you know what, this is actually great timing on your part; I need a quick favor from you if it's fine."
"Sure, name it," The green-haired boy offered.
"Do you think you can get a picture of my friends, Rosie, and I?" requested Stanley, holding up his camera, "The picture taken will be for our whole school to see."
Rosie actually felt pretty happy over hearing of being in a group photo with Stanley and his friends, while Percy was a little surprised to hear that she was going to be in the picture, too. Deep down, Percy also felt a little jealous about it because he recently developed a crush on Rosie, and he also heard from Emily one time that she was quite taken by Stanley when they first properly met at the Hockey game between the Green Machines and the Silver Stream early into the new school year. Percy had been hoping that Emily was wrong about that last part, but he could now see clear as crystal that she was right about Rosie being smitten with Stanley.
"Percy?" cut in Anna.
"Are you okay in there?" pondered Stanley, when he received no answer.
"Oh, s-sorry," Percy apologized quickly, once he snapped out of his thoughts, "What did you say?"
"Stanley asked if you could take a picture," replied Rosie, before placing a hand on her friend's shoulder out of concern, "Are you sure you're feeling okay, today?"
Percy blushed slightly, "Really, Rosie, I'm fine."
"Then you'll take our picture?" asked Stanley hopefully.
Without answering, Percy took the camera from the polite silver-haired boy and nodded in agreement.
"Great!" rejoiced Stanley, "I'll go get the others! I'll be back."
Thus, he turned and went to find Matt and the likes. Percy, without anyone noticing, secretly frowned in jealousy of him. Unfortunately, Anna managed to notice the look for a moment and become worried of a possible love triangle in the near future seeing as both Percy and Stanley liked the same girl (although Stanley was well aware that both Percy and Rosie were friends, he didn't know that Percy also liked Rosie more than as a friend). Later after the picture was taken, Stanley, Richard, and Keith were looking at the picture taken on the camera.
"Man, that picture looks great!" grinned Richard, looking at the photo in the camera.
"It sure does," agreed Keith, before looking towards Percy appreciatively, "Thanks for taking it for us."
"Sure," Percy said quietly, before turning to leave, "I have to go now. I'll see you at school on Monday, Rosie."
"Bye, Percy," whispered Rosie, watching Percy depart from the market. In her mind… "Can something really be the matter?"
Stanley blinked, "I wonder what that was all about?" he mused, looking a little confused, "I was going to ask him if he would like to stay and help us out for the next half hour, but he left before I could make the offer to him. Maybe there's something he needs to attend to?"
And so, everyone resumed worked. After half-an-hour had passed, the day had finally ended for the group.
"This has been a great day," remarked Bill, cleaning his glasses.
"It sure has been," acknowledged Anna brightly.
"Hopefully we can have another fundraiser sometime after Christmas," put in Keith.
"For now, I'm off to find Chantal," said Matt, "We're gonna try to hang out with both Sam and Vanessa."
"Double date, I bet?" snickered Richard cheekily.
"You could say that."
"Well, we hope it goes well," reassured Anna.
"Thanks," Matt smiled in response, before looking at Rosie, "It was nice meeting you, Rosie."
"Same here," Rosie agreed, "I hope we can meet again soon."
Once Matt had left, the rest of Stanley's friends were preparing to leave the supermarket as well.
"We're outta here," remarked Richard, as he Anna, and Keith started their departure as well, "We'll see you on Monday, Stanley!"
"Enjoy the rest of the weekend, guys," added Stanley.
Soon, only he and Rosie were left behind.
"Stanley, this day… it's really been something," admired Rosie.
"Yup," nodded Stanley, "We've made plenty of money for my school's basketball team. Not to mention…" He smiled at his new friend, "…I got to know you a little bit better."
Rosie smiled back, "Funny," she retorted playfully, "I got to know you better, too."
The red-haired girl then punched Stanley's shoulder and ran off laughing, causing Stanley to run after her while also laughing. Well, that was quite the eventful day for the pair, wouldn't you agree? They raised lots of money for Stanley's school, and even became closer than ever before. Still, there was one thing that was bothering Rosie, and it was Percy. He seemed upset that she got to be in the group photo, and even looked a little cross when he gave Stanley back the camera.
"Did Percy feel left out, or is there something more to it?" Rosie thought to herself, "Maybe on Monday, I should try talking to Percy and get this all sorted out. I really wouldn't want what happened at the Railway Show last year to happen again."
That's a good idea; after what happened back then, it would be wise to prevent another potential bad situation between friends from ensuing.