[Matt cleans by Mr. Conductor's switch house]
Here! You missed a spot. It's the window over here. You did the others, but don't miss this one.
[Matt dusts the house]
[he appears in front of the house, surprising Matt]
Can't do a job half way. What's worth doing is worth doing well, I say. And that goes double when you're doing my windows. Because they're double-paned. A pain in the neck, and a pane to clean. Do you know what I see when I look at that clean window?
MattNo.
The inside of the switch house. What else would I see? Well done, lad. What's your name?
Matt
Mat--Matthew--M-- Matt!
Or is it Matthew-Matt-Matthew? And you may call me Mr. Conductor. Well, you're a good worker. You know who'd like you? My friend Thomas.
Matt
Thomas lives in there with you?
Dear me, no! Thomas is a steam engine, and he lives on the Island of Sodor. You are interested in trains, aren't you?
Matt
Yes, sir.
Splendid. Then I'll tell you a story about my friend Thomas. You do like stories, don't you?
Matt
Oh, yes.
Very well. But first, I have to find my whistle.
[he looks in his pockets for his whistle and finds it]
[he blows his whistle and the first story begins]
Now, I think it is getting time for me to leave.
Matt
Not yet. Please, not yet.
Now, let me tell you both something. [removes his hat and dries his forehead with his handkerchief] No matter what happens, we will always be friends.
Matt
Promise?
It's a promise! Good-bye, now. Good-bye. [leaves]
Wait! You forgot your hat.
Matt
It's too late. Now he's gone forever.
[on the phone] Hello? Shining Time Station. Stacy Jones speaking. Oh, hi, Claire. Oh, you want to bring Vickie here this afternoon?
[Matt and Tanya quietly make signals of objection]
Oh, sure, no problem. Okay. Glad to be of some help. I'll see you in a little bit. [hangs up; to the children] What is your problem?!
Matt
Vickie! She's horrible!
Yes, she is. She's mean and nasty and selfish and rude.
Okay, okay, okay. Now, come on. Nobody can be that bad.
MTMatt and Tanya
Vickie can!
Oh, now come on, you guys. She must have some good qualities. Think about it.
Matt
Well, both her eyes are the same color.
She never threw up on me.
Well, she does have a pretty good singing voice.
Great! Then you can sing carols together.
No. She never does anything you tell her to.
Matt
Yeah, and she never smiles, even when you say something funny to her.
All right. Listen, you guys. I told her mother that she can come here and play, so I want you to be nice to her, okay?
Matt
Will Santa know we've been nice?
Oh, yeah. Santa will know, and so will Vickie. I hope.
Matt
Dear Cousin Dan, I can't wait for you to get here. Shining Time Station is busier than ever.
Dear Cousin Kara, guess what? Our grandfather Harry was transferred to Fort Farley, so Shining Time Station has a new engineer. His name is Billy Twofeathers.
Matt
But Schemer is still Schemer, and you know what that means. And Aunt Stacy's fine, and she's really happy running the station. A man named Mr. Nicholas came to visit us at Christmas time. Mr. Nicholas needed help at his workshop, so when he went back to his home at the North Pole, Mr. Conductor went along with him.
But then, Mr. Conductor's cousin arrived. There's always a Mr. Conductor living here, or else it wouldn't be Shining Time Station. See you on Halloween. Love, Tanya.
Matt
When you get here. Your cousin, Matt.
[looks at the new uniforms] Oh, boy, look at that.
TST. I like the sound of that.
Yeah. [looks at the back] "The Schemer Team"?
Matt
Well, Schemer did pay for the uniforms. [Mr. Conductor appears on his baseball bat]
Maybe they'll look better when they're on.
[Matt moves his bat, causing Mr. Conductor to fall on a mitt]
Mr. Conductor, are you okay?
Matt
Sorry, Mr. Conductor. I didn't see you there.
[gets back on his feet] Oh, that's all right, Matt. Yes, Kara. I'm as right as rain. I landed as a soft pop fly, you might say.
Shining Time Station · 68 quotes
