Chapter Text
Dad said that the park was dangerous; he said that it’s going to eventually have an accident and that if you worked there, he could lose you. But your dad hasn’t seen this place. It’s huge: an exciting dinosaur filled theme park and they have every dinosaur you could ever imagine. As a child, Dad tried to scare your interest in dinosaurs out of you with near-death stories from his past, but that only made you more interested. You grew up talking about dinosaurs to your friends and as you got older, you studied paleontology and took classes in evolutionary biology, zoology, genetics, geology and petrology. You thought that with your studies in genetics that you would earn a place in the lab, but everyone has to start somewhere.
After orientation, you were stopped in a hallway by a professional looking woman. She wore a white dress and carried a clipboard and you could tell that she was important.
“Ah, you must be Miss Grant.” She smiles at you warmly, but you can tell her mind is somewhere else.
“Um, just Y/f/n,” You correct her. “I don’t want everyone thinking I got the job because of who my dad is.”
“I can respect that.” She responds looking almost impressed. “Well I wanted to welcome you to the park and give you your assignment personally.”
She hands you her clipboard and looks down at you expectantly. “I noticed the emphasis on genetics in your resume, but we really don’t have any openings in the lab right now. Besides, Mr. Masrani believes that you would enjoy getting your hands dirty.”
“Masrani?” You ask, surprised. “Does everyone get their job placement by him?” You look up at her, knowing the answer.
“Well, no.” She says, but puts on a smile and tries to sound excited. “But it’s not everyday that we get a second generation dinosaur enthusiast.”
You sigh exasperatedly. “Sooo… about that position?” You press her to change the subject. Your dad didn’t even want you to come here in the first place.
“Oh right. Mr. Masrani has put you at one of our paddocks that isn’t currently on show. The assets are in training right now with one of our most capable trainers.”
“Assets?” You ask skeptically. She definitely doesn’t work hands on with any of the dinosaurs with that attitude.
“Yes, the velociraptors.” You suppress a shudder. It’s not that you’re afraid of them, really. It’s just the second she said “Velociraptor,” every story your father ever told you came back into your mind. Their speed and intelligence and ability to communicate. Raptors are pack animals. They don’t follow anyone else’s commands.
“Are you okay Miss Gra- I mean Y/n?” Claire looks at you as if you’re about to pass out and you right yourself quickly. The last thing you want her to think is that you’re afraid of dinosaurs.
“Yes, I’m fine, sorry.”
“Nothing to worry about. I’ve got a map of the park here and your keycard. It will get you into pretty much anywhere with your clearance.” You raise your eyebrow in response to this and she shrugs. “Mr. Masrani thinks very highly of you.” She says it fondly as if she does too and the thought makes you smile.
“Thanks. I really am glad to be here.” You give her a warm smile and look down at the clipboard in your hands. “So this trainer, is she really that good?” You ask and if you hadn’t looked up at that exact moment you might have missed the look of disgust that crossed her face before she could stop herself.
“He,” She corrects you, “Well, he knows what he’s doing.” The tone of her voice lets you know she really doesn’t want to talk about it anymore and you give her a nod of understanding.
“Ms. Dearing?” You ask, and she focuses her eyes back on you. “I know we don’t really know each other, but I’d love to hear the story behind that look.” You smirk at her and she lets out a soft laugh.
“I will tell you one day.” She gives you one more smile before looking down at her watch. “Oh, I have to get going, I have a meeting. But I hope you don’t have any problems settling in. I wrote my cell number there,” She adds, pointing to the corner of the assignment page she just gave you. “If you need me for anything just give me a call.”
“Thanks, I will.” You say your goodbyes and part ways. You smile down at the paper in your hands. It’s not the lab, but it sure is going to be exciting; however, you think you’ll wait a little while to call dad and tell him. The last thing you need is him reminding you about his terrifying encounters with raptors and scaring you out of a job.
These raptors are nothing like the one’s at Jurassic Park, you tell yourself. Everything is going to be just fine.