Turning Blue (Completed ✅)

Chapter 5 Learning About Locomotives

Thomas, of course didn't wake up early the next morning to get to breakfast on time, but that didn't stop his new friends from looking happy to see him once he reached to class. He was very surprised how all of them smiled when they saw him. "Thomas!" Abby called out, waving. Thomas smiled shyly, and walked over to them. They where all standing around, waiting for the bell to ring. "Mr. Kieslowski loved our experiment so much!" She exclaimed, looking as hyper as she always does. Thomas arched an eyebrow. "Really? It... was really that good?" He asked. Miriam nodded. "Dude! We completed it before anyone else!" She said. "And it was working well to be honest." Tyler said. "Hopefully next time we'll have an experiment as cool as this."

Mei chuckled at Tyler. "So, what? You turning into a nerd now~?" She asked, smirking at her friend. Tyler scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You wish. I just find the thing instead."

Pyria nodded. "Hm-hm. That's what all nerds say,"

Tyler grunted, then sat down in his seat at his desk, looking rather fed up.

Mei just shook her head, then looked back at Thomas. "You... alright?" She asked. Thomas nodded. "Yeah... why?" He asked. "I... just never seen you look so lively before." She said. Then, Miriam got in on the conversation. "She's right. You look more.... bubbly?" She said.

'Darn... is it that notice?' Thomas thought to himself. Even he was surprised in himself. But, he played it off. "Yeah, I'm ok." He said. Mei was about to say something, but that's when Mr Kieslowski walked inside the classroom. "Alright kids, take your seats." He said. Mei had to stop talking, then she went to sit her her chair, and Thomas did the same and went to his.

"Now, you all had so much fun with steam pressure experiment yesterday. I'm impressed. And I'm very much impressed in one certain group."

Mei looked back at Thomas, and the rest of her friends, and she smirked. "Yeah! We da bomb!" She said quietly, as her Panda ears appeared on her head.

Mr. Kieslowski started to write on the board. "We had a lot of talk about steam engines, but today, we are going to talk about steam locomotives," He said.

Thomas gasped. It was a startled gasp. The last classes they where learning about steam engines, engines that run on water with a heat source. But now they where gonna learn about the most known device what uses the steam engine, and that's a locomotive.

He's a locomotive. A Tank Locomotive.

He thought that part of the subject was going to be a while before they reached to it.

Tyler, was sitting next to Thomas, and he heard Thomas's gasp, and he looked at him. Thomas felt like someone had their eyes on him, so he looked to the left. "You... ok?" Tyler asked. Thomas could only nod. What was he supposed to say? "No, I'm not ok. We are gonna learn about what I can turn into"?

Part of him wanted to come clean. But he was worried the excitement might bring the locomotive out and he wouldn't catch it in time to make sure it doesn't take out the entire classroom. The teacher continued to talk, and he pulled up a picture of a locomotive. "Is that a train?" They asked. Even though Thomas was not comfortable learning, or hearing things being discussed about what he's trying to keep in, what that student said, irritated him.

"No..." He said out loud to the kid. "H-Huh?" They turned around to looked at Thomas. "That's not a train. It's an engine/locomotive. A long set of wagons, pulled by the locomotive, is called a train. We eng- I... I mean engines aren't the trains."

The kid just blinked. "Oh..." They said. But, the Mr. Kieslowski was impressed. "Spot on Thomas, good job!" He said. Thomas felt happy at the compliment, but Tyler wasn't so thrilled about what Thomas said. He quietly scoffed. "Nerd." He said. But Thomas still heard him. Miriam was watching them, and she must of figured out what Tyler said. She looked at Thomas's face. "Don't listen to him." She said in a whisper, to not alert the teacher. Thomas wanted to listen to her, but he's soft, and sometimes he can't take the simple crap people like Tyler can say. Thomas sighed, then looked at the board. 'If you're a train fan, how do you even make yourself look... cool?" He thought. Mr. Kieslowski kept going on about how steam engines start up by putting coal into the firebox, and the heat going up the shaft to reach the boiler to boil the water, that later turns to steam to give the locomotive movement. Thomas knows all of this. Or, at least an understanding of it. 'We better not learn about crashing of trains.' He thought. He doesn't need to be reminded of that one moment he crashed when he was on the island what his father was going to buy.

But then something worse happened.

The talk of steam locomotives, turned to locomotives used in the United Kingdom. "As you can see, steam locomotives, look vastly different over in the U.K. They're relatively more smaller, but most are faster than American steam engines." Mr. Kieslowski said. Some of the kids looked at Thomas. Thomas's face went a little red. Thomas was British. That's why they all looked at him. "Some engines are so small, they lack a tender."

That caught Thomas's attention. He blinked. 'Tank Engines....' He thought to himself. Mr. Kieslowski showed a picture of a small tank engine that had a tank that coated the boiler. Thomas actually didn't know what it was. "This, is what is called a Saddle Tank Engine. As you can see, the tank engine sits on the boiler, as if it's a saddle."

'Strange....' Thomas thought. 'What tank engine am I? I don't have a tank like that...'

But then Mr. Kieslowski showed another picture of a tank engine, and Thomas couldn't believe his eyes. "This, is a side-tank tank engine." He said.

The tank engine on the picture looked exactly as how Thomas's engine looks like. 'No... No what? I... I thought my model was just limited to me?' He was certain that the 'E2 Class Tank Engine' What his father called him, was just made up just for him. "Do these... engines have a name?" A kid asked. Mr. Kieslowski nodded. "Yes! Actually a lot of them have names. Most, are just numbers. But some has nick names. This specific side tank engine, is called the LBSC E2 Class Tank Engine."

Thomas gasped. "WHAT?!" He said out loud. The entire class turned to look at him. Tyler looked extremely confused as he looked at Thomas. Thomas felt embarrassed once he saw everyone staring at him. "Everything ok, Thomas?" The teacher asked.

But with all eyes on him, Thomas was starting to feel stressed out. He felt his engine coming out. He felt like he couldn't control it. He looked at the door, thinking if he should run out the classroom to prevent anything deadly from happening. He tried to calm down, but it wouldn't work. He tried again. "Thomas... you ok?" Tyler asked. Thomas felt like he was hyperventilating. The engine wouldn't go away as he was trying to calm down. He snuck a look down at his hands, and saw them turning gray. "Huh... wait... when did you dye your hair blue?" Miriam asked. Thomas gasped.

He had to get out the classroom NOW!

Thomas didn't care if anyone thought he was an idiot, this was for their own good. He jumped out the seat, and dashed trough the door. "Thomas! Where are you going! You need a hallpass!" Mr. Kieslowski yelled, but Thomas was gone.

Thomas barely had enough time, and as soon as he jumped out the doors to the back yard of the school, out came the steam engine. "AAAHHH!" Thomas yelled as he exploded as the engine, then slammed onto the ground. "Ow! My wheels!" He yelled. Thomas was facing towards the door, as this giant steam engine. Inches from the door, and he could see Mr. Kieslowski walking out his classroom, possibly looking for him. "Shit, I gotta change now! I can't let him see me!"

Thomas grunted, and grunted. "Come on! Change!" His metal body trembled, and shook. But then he realized he wasn't calm. But how can he be calm in a time like this.

So, Thomas tried to calm himself down. "Ok... deep breath... in and out... in. And. Out. That's it...." But that all went out the window, as someone came around the corner from a back part of the wall.

It was one of the students, and she froze when she saw Thomas. "...O....M...G!" She said looking extremely shocked. Thomas gasped. "Oh no! I... Um! I don't look like this! This isn't me! None of this is me! Your eyes have gone blind!" Thomas had no idea what the hell he was saying. This kid was just stating at him, not moving. She was completely stiff.

Then, all of a sudden she ran the opposite way. "W-WhaT NO! COME BACK!" Thomas yelled. That's when Thomas realized he HAD to be calm. This is not the way he'd want to come out with his power. "Ok.. calm... calm...." Deep breath, after deep breath, and he finally regained control, and turned back to a human. And once he did, he ran back into the school.