Chapter Text
It’s December 1st, 201M2024 BC.
The time? About 6:50 AM. The only reason I’m up at this hour is because it’s my senior year of high school.
“‘Name’s Nick! But my friends used to call me Nicky!-‘ Nah, too much for a first introduction.”
The place? Los Meteoros, of the great state of New Rexico. Hundreds of miles from everything I’ve ever known, located Raptor-Jesus-knows-where in relation to the rest of proper civilization.
“‘Name’s Nick… But my friends used to call me Nicky...’ Better, I guess, but I don’t want to sound like a walking corpse.”
The weather? Sunny and humid, about what I expected before coming to New Rexico. The heat was similar to what I used to experience before I moved, so I didn’t complain too much during my first few weeks staying here.
“‘Name’s Nick. But my friends used to call me Nicky. Nice to meet you.’” That sounded about right- about normal. I allowed a small smile to come to my face, perfectly reflected back in the mirror of my bathroom as I turned the sink’s faucet off.
What I saw was a figure dressed in a blue blazer over a white t-shirt with navy colored jeans and white shoes topping off the entire fit. My face was just as nondescript and unnoteworthy as usual- able to simply fade into a crowd just because of how plain it looked. Once, I may have hated it. Once.
As I gently ran my hand through the brown hair styled into a long and semi-messy cut atop my head, I couldn’t help but think that a stranger was looking back at me. “You tellin’ me that this is what I can look like with just a little effort? Bull.” Is probably what I would’ve said if anyone had told me that, yes, this was absolutely “Nick N. Ame,” and that, yes, putting in more than the minimum effort has results. But I couldn’t complain, I didn’t look too bad like this. Although…
“Damn it, did I really not get that much sleep in?” I dragged my finger underneath my right eye, pulling at the bags that had formed with a slight frown. They’d been there for days now, and while I didn’t care about it when I was at home, I didn’t want to go to my new school with such an obvious mark. That got people curious.
Curious people ask questions.
Questions, especially unanswered ones, lead to more curiosity. It was bad enough that, from what I understood, I would be the only poor spear-chucker actually attending the school. When I had asked why they had chosen this school specifically, my concerns had been waved away. Something something, “It’s reputable and out of the way.” Kargyle- or The Man as I called him- said that he and everyone else knew what they were doing, but I routinely questioned their choices in regards to my… predicament.
“Fuck it, I don’t have time for this.” I say to myself through gritted teeth. Releasing my stretched out skin fast enough to feel it go back to normal, I resolved to just go. I couldn’t do anything about it, and as much as my mind screamed at me to worry I just had to accept it. It’s not like I owned any makeup to cover it up.
“Although…” I say to nobody, unlocking the bathroom door and stepping into the hallway that connected my bedroom, the “guest room,” and the downstairs, which subsequently led to the rest of the first floor of my home sweet home. The drawn curtains across the entire house didn’t allow much light in, creating a dim environment as I finished my prep, sliding down the stairs with practiced ease. “It would be a good idea to grab some, now that I think about it. Never really know when it can come in handy. Why’d I never think about that before?” I wish I still had people that were employed to do that kind of shit for me.
I passed by my old baseball bat nestled against the wall and my other bag to step into the dining “room” of the house. I used the term “room” loosely, since it was more like a carpeted area directly adjacent to the kitchen and living room, with the only divide being a lonesome island that connected to the wall. Grabbing a single pack of pop tarts- strawberry flavored, of course- and my bag for school, I made my way to the front door and took a deep breath.
“You’ve got this. Just… one day of introductions and you’ll be home free.” Home free to do what though… I didn’t really know myself. Sit tight and bunker down for the worst of it? Fade into the background?
It’d be just what I deserved if that’s the case.
Forcing a thin line to spread along my lips as the last part of my facade, I went through the process of unlocking my door. And while this might’ve been a fairly straightforward process for most people, most people didn’t have five consecutive locks that were probably designed to outlast the wooden door they were embedded in.
One movement of a chain there, one twist of the lock there, one unlatching of the deadbolt there, and woolah, I was basking in the light of the sun. It was warmer outside than inside, but not nearly as warm as it could have been since it was supposed to be winter. Again, that only seemed to apply to other parts of the civilized world.
I quickly darted my eyes left and right before shutting the door behind me, using my key to lock up right after without turning my back to. With no time to lose, I bolted down the stairs that led to the sidewalk and speed walked towards the nearest bus stop.
Since I didn’t own a car anymore, I was forced to use the public transportation the fine town offered to its residents. My hand twitched at the thought of being so close to other people- dodgers especially- but I had prepared, and forced myself to slowly get used to it over the past few weeks of me doing nothing.
Hell, I’d only had one… no, two incidents. And that was over the course of weeks! It wasn't my fault that one guy kept looking at me funny. Besides, it wasn’t as bad as the inner city bus lines.
Grumbling, I sat at the bus stop like everyone else had to, wishing to Raptor Jesus that I had my phone on me still. The two other individuals awaiting the bus- a well-dressed microraptor and some carnotaurus broad- made sure to make things unbearably awkward as soon as I sat down by giving me weary glances out of the corners of their eyes.
I busied myself by munching on the sweet, delectable, scrumptious, and delicious treat I had brought with me, overwhelming my tastebuds with the taste of God’s chosen snack with each bite I took. Focusing on the pop-tarts helped me ignore the stares and the hairs rising on my back.
“Just ignore them.” My inner voice told me, but it was easier said than done when they were looking at me like I’m some Skin Row punk or a previously undiscovered creature. I knew that Los Meteoros was heavily skewed towards its dino population, but surely these people had seen humans before? At least one or two?
I-I’m not that alone… right?
So engrossed in consuming the last crumbs of my snack and stuck in my thoughts was I, it took me a full twenty seconds to realize that there was now a presence right next to me. Turning my head to face the intruder in my personal space, I’m met with a towering Quetzalcoatlus.
They were a pretty lanky guy, kind of similar to me. But my skinny ass couldn’t even come close to the height of the orange scaled dino who towered over me. He stood taller than me by a bit over three feet, and I was a comfortable five-ten. That meant eight feet of dinosaur that probably packed more muscle in his thin frame than I could ever hope for. From what I could tell he was an older guy, probably in his late thirties and early forties, judging by the gaudy vaporwave tie he wore.
The most eye-catching thing about him, though, were his massive wings. Even though they were mahogany brown, I could see a luster on them that reminded me of the wings of a hawk. I could only imagine their wingspan, but they were long and wide. Befitting his species, I guess.
And now he was looking dead into my eyes, their long beak creating a distance between us that might as well not have been there as I stared into his blue orbs. I could practically feel the curiosity radiating off of him.
“Is there something on my face?” I physically recoiled in surprise as he finally spoke. At that moment my brain began to catch up to the rest of the world, and I realized that it must have been at least a minute since we had made eye contact with each other.
Very awkward, very silent eye contact.
Oh. Oh my God. Barely five minutes out of my house and I was staring at some random dodger like a creep. It most certainly didn’t help that I immediately jumped back in response to being caught. Shit, fuck, I needed to do damage control now. Who the hell knew what kind of damage he could do? Would he start ratting to the rest of the neighborhood about the human creep that just moved in?
I didn’t even think about how the roles were swapped mere moments ago as I prepared for damage control.
“S-Sorry. I just- uh- you were kind of in my space. I didn’t mean to stare. Sorry.” I fumbled my way through speaking with my scratchy throat, turning away and huddling into myself to avoid any further embarrassment. I thought I saw him raise his eyebrow… eyeridge? He raised his eyeridge at me, but didn’t press any further as the bus finally arrived.
The bus drive over to my new school wasn’t really worth talking about. Besides finding an empty bottle of fireball whiskey wedged between the seats, I spent my short commute looking out the window from the very, very back of the bus. I watched as the suburban, upper-class houses passed by me as the sun continued its steady rise into the sky. I noticed families scrambling into their cars and leaving to go about their day, the kids to school and the adults to work. All of them were dinos, not a single human in sight.
For a while I allowed my mind to wander, to imagine what life might be like in one of these families. They’d probably all come back home after their respective activities, sit around a dinner table, and talk about normal things as a normal family, and then get ready for the next day of the exact same thing.
An ugly, jealous scowl broke out on my face, one that took an effort to conceal. I already had prominent eye bags, I couldn’t go to school glaring at everyone too.
“Keep it together.” I muttered to myself, seeing the suburbia give way to the city. Cul-de-sacs became city streets, with brick and concrete structures looming overhead. Despite the modernity, I could also see older buildings mixed in. An old church there, a few old ass buildings there, and the large public library originally built out of an old Spanish mission stood out to me the most. I actually began to see a human here and there the more we got into the center of the city, but we as a species were still vastly outnumbered by multicolored dinos.
We eventually arrived at the bus stop, with a great big sign hung on a fence’s archway that divided the school from the rest of Los Meteoros proudly displayed in front of us.
Grant-Sattler High School:
“Our Proud Past, Our Hopeful Future.”
Grant-Sattler was one of those big private high schools that managed to have a steady influx of donations from the families of their students and alumni, and actually got good funding. Three stories, multiple buildings connected together, and the images of a clean turf field for sports that I’d seen on the brochure made me think of it as a bourgeois place for trust fund babies. It was a familiar sight.
It also had a complete attendance of dinosaurs. Sure, there were a few human faculty members, but in the actual student population? Zero. Nada. Zilch. I was effectively a stranger in a strange land.
“Wonder if there’s a correlation between the nice campus and the lack of human students?” I idly wondered to myself as the bus came to a stop just a short distance away from the school’s entrance, the doors opening to allow for other students onboard to also exit. I got up and grabbed my bag, ready for my first day-
“I certainly hope not! Our school isn’t really known for anti-human sentiment, but I wouldn’t be shocked if some students are surprised to see you.” I immediately proceeded to let out a manly yelp as I heard a voice right next to me. A somewhat… familiar voice.
“Raptor Jesus!” I grabbed a pole to stabilize myself, the action allowing me to get a full view of my accoster. It was the very same Quetzalcoatlus, standing there with a shocked and worried look on their scaly face. At least, I thought so. Once again it was hard to tell what a dino was thinking based on looks alone.
“My… apologies, young man. I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you well?” He seemed apologetic, even offering his hand to help me up. Naturally I stared at the appendage as if it were a foreign entity coming to rip and tear me apart. My scowl returned in full force.
“Why do you give a sh-shit?” I replied with a stutter, hauling myself up and jumping out of the bus in a matter of moments. I didn’t like to be confrontational, evident by my stuttering, but I was intent on getting to school and settling into some shady corner of the place for the next six months. I didn’t need attention, and I didn’t need some stranger on the bus feigning concern for a fucked up skinnie like me that silently stared at him for a full minute. I just needed to start walking and not look back-
“Considering that I’m going to be your homeroom teacher for the next few months, I believe I have a good enough reason to, quote, ‘Give a shit,’ unquote, as you say.” The knowing tone of the man made me stop on the sidewalk, a growing dread settling in my gut as I fully processed the man’s words.
I whipped around to face him as he calmly stepped out of the bus, giving me a friendly nod as he stepped forward and continued. “A pleasure, Nick. I wasn’t sure if it was you when we were at the stop at first, but upon thinking about it I suppose there aren’t many humans that take this specific route to stop near the school.” He held out his clawed hand once again. “My name is Mr. Birch, I'm a professor here at Grant-Sattler. And as of today? Your own personal guide as well.”
I gulped, realizing just how screwed I was. Not only had I creeped on and subsequently cursed out a teacher, they were my new homeroom teacher too. The hell were the odds of that? I couldn’t exactly brush him off now either. As much as I wanted to just go, if I just use what I practiced, I’ll be fine.
I meekly took Mr. Birch’s hand in my own and shook it, giving him a polite nod in a sort of aloof manner that fit the image I tried to create. In the end, I was a bit of a pussy. Hiding behind a mask might as well be my speciality, and I didn’t want anymore of a confrontation or anything like that. Especially after I cursed him out. “‘Name’s Nick. But my friends used to call me Nicky. Nice to meet you.’” I spoke in my practiced, measured tone. It was a perfect recital in my humble opinion.
Mr. Birch just chuckled in amusement. “I’m already well aware of who you are, Nick. I spoke with your… handler, extensively.” He looked around as he said that, seeing that we were essentially alone when the students that used the bus had already started going to the school.
As for me? I was rooted in place, eyes widened in shock and my hand frozen in the air. My verbal faux pas didn’t even register to me as I focused on what he said. “What do you mean?” I barely managed to get the words to come out as my mind raced with a myriad of thoughts. Maybe he was talking about something else? I wasn’t sure, but I was ready to bolt in a moment's notice.
Perhaps seeing this, Mr. Birch’s voice took on a more soothing tone. “I thought your handler may have spoken to you about this, but it appears not.” The massive Quetzalcoatlus let out a sigh, but maintained a smile and approachable demeanor. “Well, no matter! My job is to guide you, and guide you I shall. Let’s walk and talk, shall we?”
I couldn’t think of a way to actually weasel my way out of this, so I just nodded. “Of course, sir.”
The two of us began to make our way to the school’s entrance, passing underneath the great archway and into the school grounds. As we got closer and closer I could see more and more students going about their day and preparing for class. All of them were dinos. Big, small, wide and thin, they filled the courtyard up as they walked to school.
As we approached the central square of the campus, a fair sized area with an actual fountain of all things, the students of Grant-Sattler began to actually take notice of me. At first it was only a few individuals near the entrance, but as we walked some more entire groups began to point and look at me, the skinnie who looked like he hadn’t slept in days being led by Mr. Birch.
“Now, young man,” The man in question said after a while, “I should start by saying that only I and Principal Sattler know the full extent of your transfer here. Your other teachers have been given some information, but for the sake of your own education and future, it was decided to keep the details on a need to know basis.”
“‘Need to know?’” I questioned. He waved it off.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about. If you manage to stay out of trouble I think you’ll be quite alright… and you are intending to stay out of trouble, yes?” He looked down to fix me with a stare that could pierce my soul and unveil my deepest, darkest secrets.
“N-Not at all, sir. I mean- uh- yes, I intend to stay out of trouble. I’ll be on my best behavior. Honest.” Sweat beaded down my forehead at the intense look he had given me as well as the heat, prompting me to wipe at the wetness with my sleeve. Despite his laidback attitude, Mr. Birch’s looming presence was intimidating.
After a moment the corners of his mouth began to twitch, then gave way to a smile. “I wanted to double check. You seem like a good kid, if a little twitchy.” I deadpanned at him even as he spoke. “I just want you to know that you’re not alone as you think you might be. You’re going through a lot, young man, and I understand that. Just know that me and Principal Sattler are more than happy to help you with whatever you need to get yourself comfortable at our fine school.
“Just trust us a little, yeah?”
The last line from Mr. Birch threw me for a loop. Actually, his entire statement left me flummoxed, but it was his final sentence that made me the most uneasy. What the hell was this guy going on about? We’ve only known each other for about ten minutes at this point. He knew everything about me, and I knew nothing about him. “Sure, I guess.”
Mr. Bitch’s smile turned downward, but he nodded in response. “The principal and I would like to speak to you a little more in-depth about the rest of your time here during homeroom. Just a few things to go over, and then you’ll be alright to go about the rest of your day.”
We stopped right at the fountain, its spraying water a welcome reprieve from the heat and a nice distraction from the students that continued to stare at me. It was even worse now that I was smack in the middle of it all, dozens of multicolored reptilian teenagers pointing and murmuring amongst themselves.
“I forgot! One more thing.” Mr. Birch reached into his pocket to pull out a piece of folded up paper, which he quickly unfolded to hand to me. I took it of course, looking it over to see that it looked like my schedule. I’d gotten one before, but having a copy of it didn’t hurt I guess.
“Just in case you might’ve lost yours. Your first period is with Mr. Nile over in Room 304 for chemistry! He’s a good man, if a bit… eccentric.” I looked at my schedule to confirm it, and there he was. Alongside him was a Ms. Morris for English, Mr. Birch himself for homeroom, Mr. Porter for Math, and Mrs. Casada for… third period Psychology? I narrowed my eyes. That couldn’t be right.
“Wait, Mr. Birch.” I questioned, drawing his attention to me. “Why is my fourth period Psych? I’m pretty sure I chose Home Ec.” Besides my disinterest in the subject, everyone knew that Psych students were all pretentious assholes. I most certainly did not want to have to deal with that.
“Ah, that.” For the first time Mr. Birch actually looked sheepish. “There was a complication with the teacher who teaches Home Ec, Mr. Grant. Nothing affecting you, but we did need to find you a class at the last minute, and the other classes were already filled to the brim…” Mr. Birch didn’t look like he wanted to elaborate on it.
Great. I was going to be stuck in a room full of people who thought they were going to be the next Segnound Freud, Oedipus complex and all, for the next half a year. “Thanks.” My displeasure couldn’t be made more obvious even if I tried.
“Well!” Mr. Birch clapped his hands together after that, closing the conversation and looking to the doors of the school. “Unfortunately I can’t stay for much longer. I've got a class to prepare for after all! If you have any other questions for me or Principal Sattler, feel free to ask it during our homeroom meeting! Do you need help getting to Mr. Nile’s room?”
I looked at the menagerie that had congregated on the front steps of the school, a veritable crowd of reptilian students. “I’ll… manage.” Walking with Mr. Birch was just going to get more attention put on me. Plus, I’d already studied the map of the school extensively. I’m sure I could find where I needed to go.
Disappointed but understanding, Mr. Birch bid his farewell and headed towards the front entrance, parting the sea of students as if he were Mosasaurus Moses reborn. As for me? I stood in place for a moment, now fully focused on the murmurs of the crowd without distraction at my side.
“Woah, check out the human!”
“Is he one of the new custodians?”
“Who left their pet monkey by the fountain?”
Fuck that.
I immediately began to make my way to the side of the main building, past the saurian hordes, and stopped in a little alcove hidden from view if you looked at the building from the main entrance. I’d already planned for this, just in case the worst should happen. It should be here…
“Found it.” I couldn’t mask the victorious feeling in me as I found exactly what I had been looking for: a side entrance. It was another way to get into the building that the school had to leave unlocked, but was hardly used by the student body. Annoying for the faculty, a major boon for me. I placed my hand on the handle-
And my hand met with another.
“What the-?!” “Ah-!”
I jumped back as I made physical contact with whoever had the same goddamn idea to use this one side entrance as I did, my balance thrown out of whack when I jumped back on a single foot. Waving my arms around like a lunatic to stay upright on, I succumb to the tyranny of gravity and plop my rear down on the ground with a thump.
I grunted as I impacted the asphalt, my poor ass cushioning the blow but leaving me with an aching behind. I didn’t hear anything else hitting the ground, so the other guy probably didn’t have nearly as bad of a reaction as me. I frowned, ready to pick myself off the ground and forget this embarrassing moment. I was lucky it was only one dude-
“Umm… are you alright?” A soft voice asked, prompting me to stare up at the interloper. At first I thought they were a Baryonyx, judging by their long, crocodilian snoot with yellow highlights and the curved dagger-like teeth I could see in his hanging mouth. He even had green scales! Looking closer however, I noticed a few things that dissuaded my original guess.
For one, their neck was a bit shorter than what I’d seen online, and I could actually see a hint of a spine similar to a Spinosaurus behind him. It wasn’t pronounced, but I could slightly see it due to him being bent over. A Suchomimus then… I think. He would’ve been a lot more intimidating if he wasn’t currently wearing a pair of thick rimmed glasses and a polo shirt.
My observations of the dino took only a few seconds, saving me from another awkward encounter. “I’m fine.” I picked myself off of the ground, dusting my ass of anything that may have stuck to it, and met the stare of the Suchomimus as he watched me with rapt attention. Huh. He had yellow eyes.
“Good, good… Are you a new student?” The guy asked. Gee, Scalelock Holmes, what gave you that idea? Specs- that’s what I’m going to start calling him since I didn’t know his name and those glasses of his were very noticeable- adjusted his glasses to get a clearer look at me.
“Uh… yeah. I guess I am.” I uttered a reply instead of saying my real thoughts out loud like I instinctively wanted to, briefly lamenting my current situation. I wasn’t ready for another conversation with a stranger so soon, and the entrance was right there!
“Wow… I didn’t know we were getting a human here. You’re probably the first one to attend Grant-Sattler in decades. Dr. Malcolm was the last one, if I recall.” Specs ranted on and on, with me standing there with a bewildered look on my nondescript face. When he stopped, I took a second to consider a plan of action.
I needed to get through him and into the building. I can’t- I don’t want to tell him to fuck off. I needed another approach.
“Well… ‘Name’s Nick. But my friends used to call me Nicky. Nice to meet you.’ What’s yours, Specs?” There. Simple pleasantries made, I’d ask him to step aside so that I could make my way to class while the halls were less populated, I’d breeze through class in the back of the room and… he was staring at me oddly.
“‘Specs?’” He parroted to me. What was- oh. Son of a bitch. I kept my mouth in a thin line to prevent a sneer from forming, directed mostly towards me and my sheer stupidity as I realized what I just said.
“Y-Yeah, cause you know… you’ve got glasses.” I fumbled for a reply that didn’t leave me feeling like a moron. I was left wanting in the end. “If this had happened a few months ago, I’d have just pushed this guy aside at this point.” The thought sobered me up, urging me to calm down. I wasn’t like how I was back then. Not anymore, I hoped.
“Specs.” The dino seemed to taste the name in his mouth as I struggled with a healthy bout of internal turmoil, tapping the side of his snoot in thought as he did so. “Specs, Specs, Specs…” He repeated. Whatever he was thinking must’ve been good, because the reserved looking dino suddenly smiled. “My name is Caesar, but you can call me Specs if you’d like.”
Huh?
He… actually liked the name? His reaction left me gobsmacked. Flummoxed, even. Was this what they called, “rizz?” No wait, that’s gay. And I’m not gay. I think. What was I thinking about again? Oh right, he liked the name. I wasn’t sure how to react, but I found myself not as weary of my fellow student as before.
Maybe it was because I was out of the view of the rest of the student body. Maybe it was because he was probably the first non-authority figure I’ve managed to actually talk to without making a huge mistake. In any case, I replied:
“Sure, Specs.” The name flowed easily from my mouth. Cae- Specs’ smile only widened in response to me using the nickname I had just come up with on the spot. “So…” I trailed off. Why was I continuing the conversation? I had places to go, teachers to see. I’d already started though, and couldn’t stop myself lest I look like a weirdo. “Come here often?”
Specs nodded. “I usually use the side entrance here to avoid the crowd and- and just get away from the noise of it all. It’s also pretty close to Mr. Nile’s class. He’s the chemistry teacher if you didn’t know. He used to teach math too, but then they got Mr. Cazador, and-“
“Wait, pause.” I raised my hand to stop the tirade spewing out of Specs’ mouth. Realizing that he had been ranting, a faint flush of embarrassment appeared on his cheeks. “You’ve got Nile too?” What were the odds?
“Yeah! Did you… want some help getting there?” He asked, his tail swaying side to side. Honestly, I really didn’t. I was trying to stay under the radar, and it felt like I’d already reached my limit on social interaction considering that this and my talk with Mr. Birch was the longest I’ve spoken to anybody in weeks. I was about to decline, but then I saw his face.
A wide smile had broken out along his face, a look I was unfamiliar with when it was on a dinosaur. It was so real that it threw me off from everything I was about to say. What was with people and acting so genuine? Was it just a dino thing? I was used to people faking their emotions, I even did it myself back then. In a way, I suppose I still do. It was just how people worked, always putting on an act for others.
Right. Specs was probably just trying to get into my good graces or something. Maybe he wanted to know why I was here, or wanted to find dirt on me. Shit, all of this talking was taking me off my guard. What if he was with them? Fuck! Did I just forget the entire reason I was at Grant-Sattler in the first place?
My gaze shifted back to Specs, his smile retained but now with a nervous twinge. My thoughts returned to his attitude and his genuineness just a few minutes earlier… Well, we were going the same way anyway. I’d probably be safer in the building than out here.
“I know where to go-” His face fell. “-but sure, lead the way.” I reasoned that I was probably better off going along with whatever he wanted to do, both to prevent myself from making a potential enemy and to finally get inside.
I crushed any other thought besides that.
“Of course!” Specs finally, finally, pulled the handle of the door to step inside. Instead I was hit with the coolness of air conditioning and the smell of clean tile, the bourgeois air of Grant-Sattler rearing its head once again to remind me that yes, this was the top private school in Los Meteoros.
“Follow me, Mr. Nile is just past the display cases for Rho Gamma Phi. That’s our science honor society, if you didn’t know. I’m part of it, since I like that sort of thing. We do some cool stuff sometimes. I’m also part of conservation with Mr. Mr. Birch, blah blah, blah blah blah…” I slowly spaced out as I stepped into the building, the door shutting with a satisfying click, allowing me my first look of Grant-Sattler’s interior.
White brick walls, those weird, slick floors with those weird patterns, mahogany display cases, rows of lockers, and even a TV on the wall were the first things I saw when I entered. Everything looked so clean, with even the water fountains lacking a single piece of gum stuck to it, and banners proclaiming, “Go GSHS Hunters!” were strewn across the top of the walls. The logo was the side profile of a chair caveman’s head, tastefully racist.
I could actually see a few natural aspects being added to the building as well, with flowers being put almost everywhere and wide, open windows allowing one to view the outside courtyard and turf with ease. It really did look serene, enough to make me slowly let my guard down.
“Is that you, Pizza Boy?” That was my first mistake.
Specs immediately stopped his rant and froze in place. I didn’t mean he just stopped walking, I meant that he stopped everything, even his own breathing, as if he had been caught in the gaze of a predator. The voice had come behind us, so I turned and- what the fuck?!
Behind us with a posse of various different kinds of dinos was probably the most jacked teenager I’d ever seen. A full six foot three inches of pure muscle, yellow scales, feathers sticking out of his arms, tail and backside, along with a mean grin, the Utahraptor stalked forward with the grace and savagery known for his kind. Mormons, that was.
I felt the goosebumps on my arm as the Utahraptor got close enough to hook an arm around Specs’ neck, his little gang of varsity jacket-wearing goons off to the sides and leaning against lockers without a care in the world. What the fuck? Was this one of those 80s high school movies or something?
“H-Hi, Bradshaw.” I turned my head to see Specs, his eyes wide and his tail ridged. I felt like I was watching a soldier being confronted with his greatest trauma or something.
“Pizza Boy! I was looking for you, you know. Couldn’t find you anywhere, so I thought I’d come inside to make sure you were alright, you know? And look, you made a friend-!” The Utahraptor named Bradshaw, apparently, gestured to me. He then stopped mid-motion to scrutinize me closer, apparently having not taken a single second to look me over. Jackass.
“Huh. Didn’t know we had a skinnie coming here. You in the wrong place?” I tried to make myself smaller as Bradshaw and his cronies chuckled amongst themselves, making me tighten my hands into fists. I was silent, baring the words of the Utahraptor with a grimace. That, combined with the bags under my eyes, must’ve made quite the sight.
I was terrified, intimidated. My hands felt like they were going to start shaking if I unclenched them, so I didn’t.
“What… is it you want, Bradshaw?” Specs asked, a slight shake in their voice. “Me and Nicky were just going to class.” He looked at me, silently pleading for me to do something. I just stood there, dealing with my own fear when Bradshaw switched between looking at me and looking at Specs. He looked at me the longest, a glint in his eyes when he stared at my face. Was he planning on eating it, maybe?
“‘Nicky,’ huh? Well, me and Caesar are good friends. I just needed to talk to him about some stuff for school! Gotta keep my grades up and all. Surely you understand.”
Bradshaw patted Specs’ and I’s backs by reaching his hand to me, nearly knocking me over. “Damn, you’re all skin and bones, huh? Anyway, Brittle Bones, don’t worry a little hair on your head. I’ll be done with him soon.”
Bradshaw began to walk away with Specs and his goons, my newfound acquaintance continuing to shoot pleading glances towards me. All I could do was look back, biting my lip to keep silent in an effort to avoid attention.
I didn’t really want to inconvenience myself for Specs’ sake. In a dinosaur eat dinosaur world, it was better him than me. If he knew what I had to deal with, he’d understand.
If I had my “buddies,” I would’ve just told Bradshaw to fuck off. I could have them deal with him and his gang later, with me watching from the sidelines and recording the whole thing. With this in mind, I began to walk forward to class-
“Don’t fucking try anything, twink.” I felt his tail stop me in place, halting any further thoughts as reality caught up to me once again. Oh… right. I didn’t have any “buddies” anymore, did I? The Utahraptor must’ve thought I was gonna come to Specs’ aid, when that couldn’t be any further from the truth: I was leaving him to save my own ass.
Bradshaw lowered his tail to give me a mocking smirk. “Wouldn’t want anything happening on your first day at our school, yeah? Puts a lot of attention on both of us for no reason.” I realized that I was alone, outnumbered, and lacking anything to use to defend myself. And in a way, he was right. I’d be putting the spotlight on me immediately by acting. I couldn’t have that.
“N-No…” I muttered, giving Specs one last look before I turned my sight to the floor, ashamed and unable to even look him in the eye. As soon as I realized I didn’t have anyone to back me up, I folded near instantly. But did Bradshaw really have to call me a twink though?
“That’s what I thought. We’re all friends here, aren’t we, Brittle Bones? Nobody wants to start a fight. Someone might get hurt.” Bradshaw saw my submission to his intimidation, probably smirking at my pathetic demeanor.
Specs was silent throughout, so I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. God, it felt like the entire hallway was darkening around me as my thoughts spiraled out of control. Wait, no. There actually was something blocking the light from shining on me.
“And what do you think you’re doing now, Bradshaw?” Another voice, a girl’s, seemed to overpower the entire hallway without even having to raise her voice from my left. It had a hint of authority in it, mixed in with concern and… something else. It took me a moment to realize that the voice had come from directly above my head- My breath hitched in surprise as I caught sight of the voice’s source. Or rather, her neck.
She was clearly a brachiosaurus, one with scales the color of scarlet along with a more rosy underbelly. She was pretty well built, not grossly muscular like Bradshaw, but still showing signs of athletic activity with her form. She was currently wearing a short sleeve button-up shirt that complimented her rosy scales and wore jeans as well. Her tail dragged against the ground, seemingly moving on its own.
I slowly followed her neck up to get a look at her face, looking up… and up… and up, to see her soft features currently furrowed and at attention. I could easily imagine her as the type to smile at everyone around her, and her bob cut let me see startlingly green eyes that looked like they were trying to bore a hole into Bradshaw.
My breath was stolen from me at the sight of her, leaving me unable to say anything as Bradshaw and his gang started talking.
“Shit, it’s the wannabe fed!”
“Watch her neck, I still have whiplash from last time!”
“Can it.” The probably-Mormon ordered, snapping his fingers to silence his buddies. Bradshaw released Specs from his grasp, leaving the gator-like dino to quickly scurry to our side. I was surprised; one sentence and a glare, and this lady had just seized control of the entire confrontation.
“Heyyyy, Mallow! Didn’t notice you there. Me and the guys were just… talking to ol’ Caesar here and giving the new kid a nice welcome to our fine school.” Bradshaw’s act didn’t have much effort put into it, but I could actually sense some weariness by the way he was acting. The brachiosaurus… Mallow, I think, must’ve had some rep.
“I didn’t know that involved thinly veiled threats and insults, Timothy.” Mallow smirked as Bradshaw sputtered out an indignant growl, the brachiosaurus taking the opportunity to extend her neck. “I thought you learned your lesson after the Gym Incident. Do you need another football to the head to knock some sense into you?”
Bradshaw and his gang gulped, while Specs let out a laugh that he smothered with his hand. He’d long since taken his place beside Mallow, standing slightly behind her as if she was a shield. Smart guy, I wish I was in his position.
Mallow shot me a gentler smile, one that was different from the sardonic smirk she gave Bradshaw- or Timothy, apparently, but I knew that saying that would get me jumped and shanked in a back alley. I could see in her eyes, though, that she was almost appraising me. She had probably seen my own cowardice as well. I turned away before I could see anything else, focusing instead on the forms of Bradshaw and the rest of his buddies.
“Tch.” Bradshaw crossed his arms and nodded towards the other end of the hall, where the path split left and right, as a silent order for him and his friends to start moving. “Ain’t worth it, anyway. Keep playing as a fed all you want, you can’t be everywhere, Mallow.”
Bradshaw left after that, but not before I raised my hand and flipped the bird at the bastard now that I had someone to keep him away. The righteous contempt inside me was sated when I saw his reaction and subsequent anger at his inability to do anything, making me almost smirk.
“Are you alright, Caesar?” Mallow asked in a kinder tone. Turning back to look at her, I saw that her features and tone had softened towards Specs, almost like a fretting mother or sibling. Mallow’s neck let her look all around him without ever moving her body, searching for any marks. “He didn’t do anything this time, did he? If he did, I swear to God I’ll-!”
“He didn’t, Mal.” Specs replied, tired and overwhelmed. He let out a sigh, adjusted his spectacles after they had been jostled during his rough handling. “You know he never does.”
“Just wanted to be sure. Can’t have your brains getting damaged!” Mallow gave Specs a noogie, resulting in the both of them breaking out into laughter while I just stood there.
“F-Friend of yours, Specs?” I asked, finally finding my voice. Mallow turned her attention to me, once again looking me up and down and pursuing her lips together in thought. I couldn’t keep up with her intense stare, so I focused on Specs.
“‘Specs?’” She asked the two of us, which the Suchomimus quickly elaborated on.
“Ah, it’s a new nickname Nicky gave me. Oh! By the way, this is Nicky! He’s a new student here. We talked a little bit outside of the building, before-“ Specs choked up, remembering what just happened. “Before that. We also share Mr. Nile for the first period! So Nicky, meet Mallow. Mallow, meet Nicky.”
I forced myself to meet her eyes, finding myself peering into his verdant irises. She did the same to me as she did to Specs, looking me over for some reason. Couldn’t she tell that I was completely fine just with a glance?
“You shouldn’t have provoked him. I’ll be happy to keep anything from happening, but he might try something when he wouldn’t have before.” I bit my lip to keep from saying something stupid, something I had a habit of today. Admittedly, flipping him off wasn’t the smartest thing to do. But I had every right to get a bit of my own back from him after the shit he pulled.
“But anyway, I’m Mallow, as ‘Specs’ rightly introduced! It's so nice to meet you!” Not letting anything damper her cheerful attitude, Mallow returned to being more upbeat. Specs seemed shocked by the usage of his new nickname, but didn’t complain. He actually looked happy.
“Charmed.” I said in the most deadpan voice I could.
“I need to go now, but I hope I’ll see you again! Don’t let what happened paint a bad picture for Grant-Sattler, it’s a pretty nice place most of the time!” She gave me a thumbs up and a million dollar smile, which caused my breath to catch in my throat again. “I hope you enjoy the rest of senior year!”
She ran off, the longneck making surprisingly good time to her next class as the warning bell went off. Shit, we’d taken a lot of time talking, hadn’t we? We needed to hurry before we were actually late. But before that…
Specs had deflated, hunching over and grabbing the handles of his book bag like a kicked puppy. I didn’t know what to do for him. I had effectively left him for dead to save my own hide, after all. Did I regret it? I… don’t know. Not really.
“H-Hey, Specs, about what happened-“
“Let’s just get to class, Nicky. Come on, it’s just down this way.” He interrupted me before I could even start my halfhearted apology, scurrying to make it to class and leaving me standing in the middle of the hallway, alone. Just as I had been for the last few weeks. I ran a hand through the hair on my head, sighing once I started walking again.
“I even got a nickname from Bradshaw.” I looked into one of the display cases that stood outside of Mr. Nile’s room, not bothering to look at the accolades and rewards, but to see the reflection of a haggard looking man with messy hair, bags under his eyes, and a venomous scowl on his face. The other students looked at me with a mixture of worry and amusement, making me glare at the reflection. It glared back.
“Welcome to fucking Grant-Sattler, ‘Nicky.’”