The Mystery Begins

First Date
Season 2, Episode 44
First Aired (CAN) November 9, 2020
First Aired (USA) November 9, 2020
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The Mystery Begins is the forty-fourth episode of "Sodor High School: Thomas and Friends Tales".

Plot

"My first date… I do hope it goes well," Emily was saying to herself. She then heard a knock on the door. "Yes? Come in."

The door opened, and Annie and Clarabel both entered, looking excited for their friend.

"Aren't you excited, Emily?" smiled Annie.

"You're going on your first real date!" squealed Clarabel. "We're so happy for you!"

Emily managed a smile of her own. "I am excited, you two," she agreed, before becoming worried. "I'm really nervous though… My last big outing was with Thomas when we attended the Valentine's Day dance together, even though it wasn't really an actual date."

"Emily?" peeped Annie.

"I mean after all, Thomas and I are just friends, and nothing more. I mean, it's not like he has feelings for me or I have feelings for him. I mean, it's not like I'm stuck in a love triangle between two boys and I'm having a conflict with my-"

"Emily, I think you might be trailing off just a little bit," commented Clarabel.

Emily snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry, you two," she apologized. "I guess I was."

"It's fine; after all, it's common for both boys and girls to trail off when they're nervous about something," said Clarabel.

Emily nodded slowly in agreement. In her head, as she resumed getting ready, it was a whole different story…

"Thomas… do you have possible feelings for me?" The dark green-haired girl thought to herself, thinking about Thomas. "Do you accept me going on a date with another boy like Leo?" She then started thinking about Leonardo. "Leo, I don't know if we should get together, or if I should tell you the truth about who I really am…"

Yup, that's some major inner conflict going on.

(elsewhere…)

Inside his own room, Thomas was laying on his bed and gazing up at the ceiling; he had been doing that for most of the afternoon ever since last night when Leonardo asked Emily out and she said yes.

"What's wrong with me?" Thomas asked himself. "Why am I acting hurt over Emily going on a date? Heck, it's clear Leo likes Emily and she likes him, and there's nothing wrong with that—but what about me? Do I possibly like Emily more than as a friend and roommate?" He turned onto his side. "I mean, we did go to the Valentine's Day dance together because I asked her out to it, but-"

There was a knock on the door, causing Thomas to sit up and forget what he was talking about.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Emily walked inside the bedroom. She was wearing the same red dress she wore at the Valentines Day dance, and, like then, her hair was all let down. The sight caused Thomas to think back to that night before Emily finally broke the silence…

"Well, this is it, Thomas," The dark green-haired girl said bashfully. "I'm going to meet Leo at his family's house."

"Oh, t-that's good," Thomas replied in a quiet tone.

Emily saw that her good friend looked upset, causing her to become a bit upset herself as she decided to ask him an important question…

"Thomas, are you…jealous?"

"Huh?" quizzed Thomas, snapping out of his thoughts.

"You've been quiet ever since we got home from the Hockey game last night, and you haven't spoken too much for most of today," continued Emily. "Do you have a problem with me going out with Leo or any other boy?"

Thomas fell into silence. Emily, however, wanted an answer…

"Thomas, just tell me the truth," she requested gently. "Are you jealous of Leo and I going out because you…like me?"

"N-No, that's not it at all!" denied Thomas, shaking his head. "I'm just…worried."

"Worried? Worried about what?"

"I'm just a little scared Leo might find out your secret," The blue-haired boy continued, even though what he was saying was a lie. "If he does, I'm afraid he might tell his friends or other people about it."

"Thomas, you and I both know that Leo is a great guy," sighed Emily, shaking her head. "Why in the world would you even think that?" She then shook her own head and became a bit stern-sounding. "No fibbing, Thomas, please tell me the truth."

Just then…

"Emily! Your taxi has arrived!" Annie and Clarabel both called from downstairs.

Deciding to get the answer later on, Emily turned and started to leave.

"Thomas, when I return you must tell me the truth," The dark green-haired girl insisted, before finally leaving.

As soon as he was alone, Thomas started to feel awful with himself.

(elsewhere…)

Over at the Splinterson residence, Leonardo, wearing a snazzy-looking suit with a necktie, was speaking to Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello outside the house while he waited for Emily to arrive.

"This is it, man, your big moment!" teased Raphael.

"Treat her well," put in Donatello.

"While Raph, Donnie, and I have a party dude's Saturday night of our own!" cheered Michelangelo. "Pizza, video games, you name it!"

Leonardo remained silent on the matter. Just then, he saw a taxi pull up on the side of the road.

"There's your girl, Romeo! Have a good evening!" laughed Raphael, just before he, Donatello, and Michelangelo each went into the house.

Leonardo scratched the back of his head nervously, although he lost his nervousness once he saw Emily emerge from the taxi. He thought she looked beautiful, in that red dress and with her long hair all let down—even though he always saw her as beautiful regardless.

"H-Hi," greeted Emily shyly.

"Emily, yoo look amazing," said Leonardo truthfully.

Emily blushed. "T-Thank you, Leo. You look really dashing."

"Thanks," Leonardo smiled, before pulling out something in his jacket pocket. "I got us reservations at that restaurant called 'Hugo's Clockwork Buffet'," He then chuckled a bit. "I owe Raph big time for helping me with getting those reservations."

"'Hugo's Clockwork Buffet'? That's a pretty expensive place to eat," remarked Emily. "James told me one time he, his Mother, and Step-Father went there for dinner late in the Summer and pretty much gawked over how much money it cost for food."

"Och aye! This will cost me the savings I made from my summer job, but I can guarantee it will be worth it. Now, come along, m'lady."

With that said, the dirty blonde-haired boy and Emily both started walking down the street to the bus stop.

(elsewhere…)

Inside the basement of the Brighton household, Thomas was in the middle of a 'Dungeons and Dragons' game night with Toby, Edward, Percy, and James.

"I heard Emily's on her first real date tonight," said Edward, reading the game manual.

"Yeah. If she weren't, she would be either hanging out with Mavis or would be busy doing homework," put in Toby.

"The boy she's going out with is Leo," James pointed out, before looking towards Thomas. "You know, you really should have said something to Emily before it was too late, Thomas."

Thomas remained silent on the matter.

"Come on, Thomas, it's not the end of the world, you know!" protested Percy, thinking that his best friend had fallen into a depression. "I mean, there are other girls out there you could go and see. Like say Molly-"

The green-haired boy then immediately stopped speaking when Edward laid a hand onto his shoulder.

"Let's not talk about it for now," he suggested, shaking his head.

"Oh," Percy realized, before looking at the silent-looking Thomas once again. "I think you might be right, Edward. Why don't we just continue with our game night?"

For sure…

(elsewhere…)

Somewhere in the middle of Knapford, Leonardo and Emily both got off the bus and looked across the street at a large restaurant. This restaurant had the name 'Hugo's Clockwork Buffet'.

"There it is, 'Hugo's Clockwork Buffet'," admired Leonardo.

"Wow, it does look interesting," agreed Emily.

After carefully crossing the street, the two teenagers entered the restaurant.

(elsewhere…)

Inside the restaurant, it was shown to be a mighty fine-looking place with lots of old-fashion clocks, thus perfectly matching the restaurant's name and setting. The manager himself, Hugo, was currently overseeing everything that was going on.

"This way," offered Leonardo, leading Emily to a place where they can wait to be seated.

While waiting for a waiter or busser to show up, the two teenagers started talking to each other once again…

"This looks like a nice place to eat," commented Emily.

"Yeah, it is," agreed Leonardo. "Once again, it's expensive but worth it."

Emily smiled, but then became somewhat conflicted as she started thinking about Thomas and the dream she had that involved Diesel 10…

"Will it be the boy you've been living with until now?" The voice of Diesel 10 echoed in Emily's head. "Or will it be the new guy who clearly has a crush on you? Which one will it be?"

"Why do I have to pick? They're both my friends!" The voice of Emily snapped.

"N-No, that's not it at all!" The voice of Thomas followed suit. "I'm just…worried."

"Emily?" The voice of Leonardo called out soon enough.

Emily snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh? What?"

"Come along, lass," said Leonardo, who was shown standing up. There was a waiter standing beside him. "We're going to be taken to our table."

"Oh, okay," whispered Emily in response, standing up herself.

The two teenagers were lead to a two-seat table near the window. Upon taking a seat, they both were handed a menu by the waiter.

"Shall I get one of you a drink while you're looking through the menus?" The waiter offered kindly.

"I'll just take a water, please," answered Emily.

"I'll have an iced tea, please," put in Leonardo.

The waiter nodded and walked away to get the drinks. While waiting, Leonardo was looking through his menu, while Emily remained silent as ever.

"Och man! James was right about the costs!" gasped Leonardo, seeing how expensive some of the foods were.

Emily didn't say anything back.

"Emily? Emily, you've been quiet for the past ten minutes," Leonardo pointed out, becoming concerned. "What's going on? Is there anything the matter?"

"N-No, Leo, I'm fine. Really," insisted Emily, trying to sound convincing.

Before Leonardo could speak up about that, the waiter returned with water and iced tea for the two customers.

"Your water and iced tea," he announced, giving the water to Emily and the iced tea to Leonardo.

"Thank yoo, sir," said Leonardo politely.

"Y-Yeah, thank you," put in Emily, politely but a little more dull-like.

"Are you both ready to order yet?"

Leonardo shook his head. "Could you give us a few more minutes?" The dirty blonde-haired boy asked. "We're still making up our minds over what to get."

The waiter nodded and left the table, leaving both teenagers to look through their menus.

"Hmm… Steak? No, not tonight. The pork special sounds yummy though…" mused Leonardo. "Still, no matter what I pick, it will be delicious yet expensive."

Emily just stared at her menu in thought; she was trying to decide if she should ultimately tell her friend the truth about who she was and who Diesel 10 was. Soon enough, the same waiter came back with a pencil and notepad in-hand.

"Ready now?" The waiter asked.

"I'll take the pork special," replied Leonardo, handing over his menu.

"Ah! That's an excellent choice, sir!" said the waiter, pleased by the choice of meal. He then turned to Emily… "And for you, ma'am?"

"I'll…have a Caesar Salad and a small side order of garlic bread," Emily sighed, handing over her menu.

After taking a moment to write the orders down, the waiter walked away towards the kitchen.

"So, uh, Emily," began Leonardo, trying to start a conversation. "Are yoo…happy?"

"Happy?" blinked Emily, looking up. "Y-Yes, I am happy. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You have been quiet and feeling somewhat down ever since we got here, and I'm getting very worried," said Leonardo firmly. "Please, lass, tell me what's the matter. If something's on your mind, yoo can tell me."

"I'm telling you, Leo, I'm perfectly fine… I'm having a great time."

The dirty blonde-haired boy shook his head. "No, you're not fine," he insisted. "I know something is wrong just by your body language and tone."

Before anything more could be said, the waiter returned with the food.

"Please enjoy, sir and ma'am," he requested, serving the guests' meals before leaving.

And the two teenagers began to eat their dinners. There was nothing but silence throughout the whole meal, while Emily didn't seem to eat very much of her salad or garlic bread. Eventually, when they were both almost finished eating…

"Leo, I know you really like me," Emily said so suddenly, causing Leonardo to look up from his meal. The dark green-haired girl, meanwhile, was struggling to find the right words to say next. "I…um…know you want us to be more than just friends."

"Emily?" quizzed Leonardo. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"Truthfully, I really want to enjoy our evening together," continued Emily, hoping that she wouldn't regret saying what she was about to say. "I really do, but, to be perfectly honest, I… I… I want the both of us to remain as friends only, because I've been think a lot lately and…there happens to be another boy out there whom I like."

Leonardo's mouth opened from surprise at first, before a heartbroken look appeared on his face over the realization.

"I see…" he whispered, crestfallen. "It's me, isn't it? Heh, I cannae say I'm surprised about that."

"N-No, not even close! It's not you at all!" denied Emily, believing she had hurt her friend. "I truly think you're a wonderful guy, Leo. Any other girl out there would be really lucky to have you as a potential boyfriend."

"R-Really? Are you sure?"

"I'm being 100% truthful when I say this," smiled Emily, for what could be for the first time since they arrived at the restaurant. "If it were any other girl right now, they would be very, very lucky to be with you," She then looked remorseful. "Look, I'm sorry if I hurt you with that confession. It was never my intention to do that at all. I really, really hope we can stay friends, because I still truly think of you as such a great friend."

There was a long silence, and Leonardo seemed to continue looking down over being rejected by the girl he has a crush on. Emily, believing she had lost a friend, felt very upset with herself, wondering if she really made the right decision on the matter. Just then…

"Of course we can stay friends."

"Huh?" peeped Emily, wondering if she heard that right from Leonardo. "You really mean it?"

"I do," smiled Leonardo, feeling better now. "Of course, I am a bit disappointed right now, but I'll get over it."

Emily was very relieved to hear that. Soon, the waiter returned with the checks, and Leonardo, after his eyes nearly popped out from how much the everything cost, paid for both meals while leaving a nice tip behind for the good service.

(elsewhere…)

Outside the restaurant, Leonardo and Emily both walked to the nearest bus stop to wait for their bus to go home.

"Man, that date was something," said Leonardo, stretching his arms out.

"It sure was," agreed Emily, sounding more upbeat and cheerful than from earlier on. "If you want my advice, Leo, maybe after getting a girlfriend you should bring her here to 'Hugo's Clockwork Buffet' for dinner."

"That's gonna take a long time, considering after how expensive it was," Leonardo remarked, laughing a little bit. "However, I'll still take yoor advice about it."

It was then Emily had to make yet another confession…

"Now, before this date truly finishes up, I wish to tell you something very important," The dark green-haired girl went on, seriously. "If I tell you this secret of mine, then you must swear to not tell anybody else but Thomas and a number of our closest friends. Leonardo Splinterson, do you promise to keep this quiet?"

Leonardo nodded. "I promise."

It was then Emily told her friend about Diesel 10; like how he wanted to become principal of Sodor High School, how he was out to get her Father (Sir Topham Hatt) and likely the rest of the family, how she had moved out of her family's home and into Thomas' home for her own safety, and how that if her identity was ever learned by that dark man or anybody who worked for him she would be in terrible danger.

"Geez… that guy sounds horrible," grimaced Leonardo.

"He is," confirmed Emily grimly. "I saw how vicious he could truly be when he, disguised as Mister Ten, tricked Rosie into helping him and a bunch of the guys from the Smelter take over the school last year. Once that happened, he had Thomas and I captured before accidentally setting the school on fire"

"Wait, he tricked Rosie into helping him, captured you and Thomas, AND was the one who set the school on fire?! That's horrible!"

"Indeed," The dark green-haired girl agreed. "When we finally confronted him in the principal's office, he threatened to sick his gang on the firefighters who came to help put the fire out. When my Father arrived with the police, he escaped while vowing to return eventually."

Leonardo growled, uttering a strong Gaelic curse word in the process.

"That man…" he hissed, clenching his fist before slamming it down on the bench handle beside him. "I won't let him have his way!"

"Please, Leo, don't do anything too drastic," begged Emily, gripping onto her friend's right arm. "Diesel 10 is an extremely dangerous man, so try not to confront him if he ever shows up at the school again unless it's absolutely necessary," She then had a stern look on her face as she spoke on… "And since I've told you my secret, you can't tell anyone except for those who already know of it - namely Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Rosie, and a few others."

"Dinna worry, Emily, I won't tell a soul," promised Leonardo. In his mind… "And I also won't let Diesel 10 his hands on get you, your family, or hurt our friends."

From there, the bus finally arrived.

(elsewhere…)

Inside the Brighton residence's basement, Thomas and some of the other guys' D&D game was ongoing when they finally heard the front door open along with a familiar voice call out…

"Hello?" The voice of Emily echoed.

"Hey, Emily's back!" realized James. "I guess that means her date with Leo's all over with."

Edward stood up. "On that note," he said, checking his watch and seeing what time it was. "I think I'll call it a night."

"Same here," agreed Toby.

"Me too," put in Percy. "Besides, my Mom's expecting me back home soon, anyway."

"What the heck," shrugged James, also standing up while stretching his arms with a yawn. "I might as well leave, too."

With that said, the four boys, plus Thomas, proceeded upstairs. They, joined by both Annie and Clarabel, got quite the shock when they saw not only Emily standing in the doorway, but Leonardo, too.

"Um, what's up with Leo being here?" wondered Percy.

The answer came in only two simple words…

"I know," answered Leonardo.

Thomas pushed through. "You know what? What are you talking about?" he questioned, before coming to realize the whole thing. "Do you mean-?"

Leonardo could only nod silently. Just before Thomas could respond about that…

"Yes, Thomas, I told Leo the secret you and I both have," Emily cut in. "Thankfully, he promised to not tell anybody else about it."

"Indeed, I swear it on my life," vowed Leonardo seriously.

"Oh, what a relief," sighed Percy, wiping his forehead.

James scratched the side of his head. "So, I'm taking it the date went rather well?" he asked, hoping for an answer from both Emily and Leonardo. "I mean, are you both officially a couple as of now?"

"Our date actually did go well, but Leo and I decided to just remain friends when it ended," answered Emily.

Percy, Toby, and James each were taken aback by that statement, while Thomas seemed to look rather relieved over hearing that Leonardo and Emily both decided to just remain friends. Edward, meanwhile, was able to catch a quick glimpse of the look on his friend's face for a few seconds before realizing…

"Then it looks like I was right; Thomas does like Emily more than as a friend," The intelligent, blue-haired boy thought to himself.

Meanwhile…

"Well, we're outta here," announced James. "Great 'Dungeons and Dragons' night, Thomas."

"It was a whole lot of fun," put in Percy.

"Here's hoping we can have another such night soon," agreed Toby.

Finally, Percy, James, Toby, and Edward all left to return to their own homes for the rest of the night. Before leaving, Leonardo spoke to Thomas and Emily one last time…

"Well, I'm heading home to see what my brother and friends have been up to without me trying to keep them in-line," he chuckled, before bidding farewell. "I'll see you guys at school on Monday,"

"Same to you, Leo," agreed Thomas.

"Enjoy the rest of the weekend," put in Emily.

With that said, Leonardo left the house. Now that the guests were finally gone, the family could talk about the evening…

"We're glad your date went well," said Annie pleasantly, speaking directly to Emily.

"Although we feel a bit sad that you and Leo decided to stay as friends," added Clarabel. "You two seemed so perfect for each other."

Emily giggled. "Leo's very likable and a gentleman, but he just wasn't the right type for me. In fact-" She stopped and stared at Thomas. "Oh, that's right! Thomas, don't you owe me an explanation from earlier tonight?"

"You're right, I do," agreed Thomas, who knew he had to tell his friend the truth sooner or later. "Come into the kitchen, and I'll tell you everything."

With that said, the two teenagers walked into the kitchen to have a long talk. Annie and Clarabel, getting an idea on what this was going to be about, looked to each other and winked as they went back upstairs to get ready for bed.

Characters

• Thomas
• Emily
• Percy
• Leo
• James
• Edward
• Toby
• Annie and Clarabel
• Mikey

Donnie Raph (mentioned)