Chapter Text
I’m...still not sure how I got in this situation.
Craning my neck around, I look at my fellow StuCo members that were all sat in an unused classroom that we use for our meetings...well, will be using anyway. I hadn’t been here for one day, new to the school and everything, and now I’m on the student council. It really made no sense to me why Ben would offer me as a replacement, don’t positions like this go up for a vote? Rubbing the top of my head, I think back to how this all started.
***
“OH MY GOD IS THAT A HUMAN?”
I froze on the spot, a gaggle of multicolored dinos had swarmed around me, taking chances at poking and prodding at me. Some even had sketchbooks out and were hastily scribbling away. My senses were on overload as I just tried to keep on my feet as I was jostled around like a ragdoll. It wasn’t until a sharp authoritative voice called out over the din.
“Alright! That is more than enough! Let him breathe!”
The throng quiets down as I turn my head to the location of the voice. A brown haired blue parasaurolophus with piercing magenta eyes seemed to throw a commanding glare across the group. On cue, they all started to disperse from around me. A couple seemed to lag behind, like a brownish triceratops girl with blonde hair, but she looked back at the parasaur, clicked her beak then turned on her way. Once the coast was clear, I looked back at him and took in his appearance. He wore large spectacles that laid on his snoot, shielding those eyes he had trained on me now. He sighed, bringing his hand up to ruffle his own hair as the intense glare softens into one of apology, a sheepish smile on his face.
“Sorry about that, understand that we haven’t had a human in this school...ever really.” He offers a hand out. I look down at it and notice the camera that is slung around his neck and smile as I reach to shake his hand.
“Thanks for the save then, my name is Inco G. Nito.” The boy smiles at my introduction.
“Benjamin Mcknight, but you can call me Ben. Pleasure is all mine.”
As he lets my hand go, he turns quickly to the busy hallway ahead, picking up his camera and taking a few shots of the student body in the halls.
“Sorry, don’t mean to be rude, but I’m on the yearbook committee and have been getting “Day 1” photos for the first few pages.”
I watch intently as he takes a few more of a couple of dinos dressed in lab coats, the taller one yelling at the shorter one about how he’s going to ‘destroy you’ or something like that. After a few more shots, he straightens up and sighs, looking down at the small screen that flashes to life, looking over his shots. Letting my curiosity get the better of me, I peek over his shoulder and look at them as well. They all seemed okay, but there were a few shadows that showed up obscuring the pictures slightly.
“Hey, have you checked your settings? Some slight shadowing is showing, maybe your metering is a bit off?”
Ben whips around, looking astounded at my question. His lips seemed to bend upward into a smile.
“You know photography?” Ben breathes. I nod, a smile forming on my own face.
“Yup, in fact I’m taking the AP photography course with...” I look for my schedule to remind me of the teacher. Ben cuts me off however.
“With Mr. Iadakan right?”
I finally found the name and nodded. Ben seems to be slightly vibrating at my answer.
“Oh good, then we’ll be classmates!” He looked at me with an almost excited expression, then his eyes seemed to widen, his diamond irises shrinking to pinpricks. He closes his eyes and gives a slight cough into his fist. He opens his eyes again, his irises back to normal and a neutral expression on his face.
“Sorry about that, I got a little overboard.”
I shake my head.
“No worries Ben, I’m just glad to meet someone who takes photography seriously!” I exclaim. Ben shoots me a half smile and chuckles slightly. Then he seems to go quiet as he looks me up and down, scrutinizing me.
“Inco, how well do you keep notes?” I furrow my brow in confusion.
“What do you mean?” Ben starts rubbing his chin in thought.
“Like are you quick at taking notes, writing and the like?”
“Sure, I’m pretty good at taking notes I guess.” Ben smiles.
“Come with me, I’m going to take you to meet the principal.” That statement took me aback for a second, much to Ben’s amusement.
“Don’t worry, nothing bad. If anything, it’s a good idea to meet her sooner rather than later.”
My worry was slightly alleviated, but I still wasn’t following his train of thought. He nods his head forward through the hallway as he walks at a brisk pace, Me quickly in tow. Ben cut through the crowd like an expert, waving hello to some students and nodding in reverence to their greetings back. Every type of student seemed to regard him with respect, be they jock or goth. I did my best to keep up with him, getting sidled by a few dinos, but I was just transfixed by his ability to be personable with so many others.
Finally, we broke through the throng and came upon a black and white raptor girl in a pretty blue dress, her tail lifting the back slightly. She was busily hanging up a banner that had the words ‘Human History Appreciation Club’.
“Ah, Lunara, that looks perfect!” The raptor girl turns and gives Ben a warm smile. The markings around her eyes looked like a black mask on her face. Her beak clicks in happiness.
“Thanks Ben, I....whoa...” Her eyes widened as her gaze fell on me. I smile bashfully as I give her a small wave. She moves past Ben to do a couple of circles around me, appraising me like a sculpture.
“Well, I have to say, I haven’t seen an actual human this close before…” she stops in front of me, her eyes narrowing as she looks at my face hard. My uneasiness starts to mount as I’m pretty sure I can hear a predatorial growl faintly. It seems to go away as her beak breaks into a smile.
“But you have to be the cutest one I’ve seen!”
I could feel a slight blush hit my cheeks as she turned to ruffle in her pack and pull out a pamphlet, shook it straight, then gave it to me. I turn the paper over in my hands and give it a look.
HHAC: Understanding our human cousins
It’s a pamphlet selling her club that seems to study human history.
“Oh it would mean so much to us if you at least showed up to one meeting!” she admits, then her eyes go wide. Her clawed hand extends to me.
“Where are my manners! My name is Lunara and I am the head of our humble club!”
Well…she seems friendly enough…and maybe it wouldn’t be too awful to visit once. I match her smile and take her hand. I lean down and give the hand a small kiss and give her a wink.
“Inco G. Nito, and I’d love to visit your club.”
The raptor girl's face falls into a shocked expression at my forward greeting. She kept her hand in mine for a second longer than she had to as a small red flush hit her face.
“Ye…yes…I…uh…of course…”
A loud clearing of a throat breaks Lunara out of her trance. I looked at Ben who had his arms folded over his chest, a brow raised at me. I can feel the sweat start forming in my brow as I relinquish my hand from Lunara’s, who kept hers extended a moment more before quickly wringing it in her other hand nervously. Ben sighs.
“Anyway Lunara, I’m taking Inco to meet Scaler. Keep up the good work.”
She seems to regain her composure as her smile returns.
“Okay Ben! See you after school for the meeting. And Inco,” she turns back to me, the remnants of her blush still present across her face.
“Our first meeting of the HHAC will be tomorrow after school…hope to see you there…” she trails off as her eyes fall away from me. I give her a reassuring smile.
“I’ll see you then!” she looks back with a grin and nods shyly as she returns to her banner. I turn to Ben, who rolls his eyes, but has a small smirk on his face as he continues to lead me.
“You’re just full of surprises huh?”
I look at Ben and chuckle nervously, my hand rubbing the back of my head.
“Honestly, I wasn’t thinking when I did that…it just felt like the right thing to do?”
“Well, accidental charisma non withstanding, you might fit in here better than I thought.”
He seems to want to say more, but falls silent as we approach the door. The nameplate on the door reads ‘Principal Scaler’.
Ben reaches up a fist and lightly knocks on the door.
“Mrs. Scaler? Are you in?”
Sounds of a chair scraping against the ground and a long drawn out sigh signal that someone is in there. Soon, the door opens slowly, revealing a middle aged oviraptor woman. Her brown hair styles to frame her face, a natural part because of her head crest. Almost an entire luggage set resides under her eyes, making it obvious that the mug in her hand had coffee in it. She looked to Ben with an unamused gaze.
“Mr. McKnight, couldn’t this have wa-“ her words falter as her gaze moves to me. The tiredness seemed to melt away as her expression turned to one of excitement.
“Ah, you must be Mr. Gneeto…right?”
I furrow my brow.
“It’s Nito…ma’am” Scaler waves it off.
“Mr. Nito then, if you ever need anything, my office is open whenever you need. The student council is also at your disposal…isn’t that right Ben?”
We look to the parasaur boy, who rolls his eyes at the obvious shrugging off of her responsibilities. He closed his eyes, seeming to collect himself. His magenta eyes open back up, and a smile cracks his lips.
“Yes the student council, I wanted to discuss that with you for a moment if you would?”
Scaler raises an eyebrow.
“Oh? Do come in Benjamin, we can discuss this in my office.. Mr. Nito, if you’d wait-“
“Actually, I'd like Inco to come in with us.”
Scaler and I stare agape at him. Ben just smiles.
The harried principal looks from Ben to me, then seems to look upward in contemplation. Then throws up her free hand slightly and beckons us both inside. Ben winks in my direction and follows after her, leaving me completely confused.
“Come along Mr. Gato!” I feel my nose wrinkle at that mistake, but shake my head and follow after.
Mrs. Scaler’s office was a well maintained room, a few bookcases that lined the walls of the somewhat spacious area. Books and various knick knacks filled the shelves, mostly what looked like school records from throughout the years, and some small statues.
She rounds her large desk that takes up the back half of the room and sits on her lounge chair, a cushy looking thing that she just sinks into, and takes a long swig of her mug. She then looks at us and motions to the two chairs on the other side of the desk near us, telling us to sit.
“Well Ben? What did you want to talk about?”
We both take a seat and I look at Ben, who still has that smile on his face.
“Well Mrs. Scaler, as you well know Darren transferred over the summer to Volcano High, leaving the secretary position open…”
Scaler takes another sip of her coffee, her tired blue eyes looking somewhat disinterested in what he was saying.
“I just met Inco here and found that he might be the perfect fit to replace Darren.”
Scaler’s eyes widen as she does a spit take into her mug, making it look like she was blowing bubbles into her mug of bean soup. She clears her throat, using the back of her hand to wipe her beak clean and eyes Ben suspiciously.
“You want to put a student on the council…that hasn’t even been here for a day…what are you trying to pull McKnight?”
Ben chuckles as he raises his hands up to try and calm her accusation.
“Not trying to pull anything. The secretary position is such a support role that really anyone could fill it. But considering what is…ahem…taking place this year, wouldn’t some diversity look good?”
I am lost at this point…and feel like I’ve been slighted. Looking at Ben, he shoots me a smile.
“Inco has already gotten to know our historian and is even planning on joining our HHA club. Hasn’t been here for a few minutes and has already started networking.”
Scaler narrows her eyes as Ben continues to sing my apparent praises. Her gaze looks at me, analyzing me. Sighing, she puts a hand up towards Ben, who stops in his tracks.
“McKnight, I can appreciate what you are trying to do. With current events as they are, it probably would be a good idea.”
Ben seems to brighten up at her words.
“But,”
He knits his eyebrows, worried.
“I can’t in good conscience just throw a new student into the fray like that. Not unless he wants to…”
I can feel two sets of eyes on me, a pleading gaze from Ben and a scrutinizing look from Scaler.
“Well Mr. Nito…what are your thoughts?”
I look from Ben, his eyes trying to coax me into agreeing. A sigh escapes from my throat.
“I guess it wouldn’t be a bad thing…if it will help the school.”
Ben looks like he just won the lottery, as Scaler leans back in her chair, her fingers at her temples.
“I’ll set up the necessary paperwork…just fill it out at the StuCo meeting after school today.”
“Oh I can get that squared away Mrs. Scaler!” Ben hopped up excitedly. He moves to one of the bookcases and pulls down some papers and the like as he gathers the paperwork. Scaler looks down to me from her reclined spot.
“You can go now Nito, classes will start soon.”
“I’ll catch up with you later Inco! We can have lunch together!”
I nod shakily as I get to my feet and pick up my bag. Walking to the door, I can hear a commotion going on outside. Several shouts at someone and someone yelling about their leg. I open the door in time to see several dinos scrambling out of the way of something. By the time I close the door though, it would seem I missed whoever it was causing trouble.
Sighing, I pull out my schedule to see where I have to go. Huh, AP calculus with Mr. Triggums. I look up the room number and hurry my way through the halls. Without Ben though, I find trekking through the crowd to be difficult at best. There seemed to be a steam of movement that I was just not in sync with. Finding myself more jostled than anything, I do end up in front of Mr. Triggums’ classroom with little to no injury.
I opened the door and saw that there were few seats left, most of them already claimed. I spy a seat near the back of the class and hurry over, the chimes finally ringing to signal the late bell. Once in my seat I take in my bearings…and that’s when I see…her.
The first thing that I see is a long teal neck that was coiled around her shoulders like a muffler…a bit of an odd way of settling one’s neck. Her head rested in the middle of her neck nest, hair of a bright magenta color catching the light slightly making it glow slightly. Her cute little snoot was buried in the math book she had held a loft to her face, light blue eyes with diamond irises dart back and forth while she read.
I…can’t seem to stop looking at her, and I’m not really sure why. I just seem transfixed as I look her over. Her outfit was a smart long sleeved shirt with rolled sleeves over a flannel skirt complete with black leggings and brown boots.
“Uhmm, excuse me?”
My gaze returns to her face, which is still snoot first in the book, but a powder blue eye was gazing at me from the side. I freeze, thankful for my dark shades masking where I was looking slightly.
“Sorry…didn’t mean to stare…” I admit, turning back to my own desk. I pull out my supplies from my back and wait for class to start, not daring to look back at the brachiosaurus next to me.
“Um, you didn’t do anything wrong, you know. Just wasn’t expecting someone to be back here is all.”
I chanced to look over to her. She was looking at me now, both eyes on me as she pushed back her hair out of her face. An awkward silence falls between us as I really don’t know what to say. After a bit, I see her extend a teal hand, her nails painted the same color as her hair.
“Well, I’m Elizabeth…but my friends just call me Liz.”
I extend a shaky hand and take hers, feeling the smooth scales of her palm. Shaking it slightly, I shoot her a smile.
“Inco G. Nito…nice to meet you-“
I’m cut off by the portly purple triceratops man that had entered the classroom. I felt Liz shake my hand anyway and shoot me a small smile.
‘Nice to meet you too.'
The rest of calculus class was uneventful, Mr. Triggums being a droning bore for most of the time. As he went through most of his syllabus for a good long while, I couldn’t help but steal glances to my left at the curious brachiosaurus next to me. She was avidly following the teacher’s every word, writing down notes into her notebook diligently. Craving my neck discreetly, I could see her neat cursive loop around gracefully that was briefly punctuated by a few math equations that Triggums was bringing up in his drone.
Looking back at my own notes, I realize that I haven’t taken any notes of my own. I silently curse myself as I start to pay attention as best I can…while being unfortunately distracted by my seat neighbor. Soon, the bell rings, signaling the end of the class. I start to stow my book and notes into my bag and move to get up on my left, not paying attention. Soon I find I run into an obstacle in my way as I accidentally touch arms with a certain teal girl. I jumped to the side, looking at Liz, who was looking at me with a little surprise at the arm blow. I can feel heat rising on my cheek.
“S…sorry”
I turn quickly to try and escape before she can yell at me for hitting her, when suddenly I feel myself trip over my own feet. I can feel my body start to fall towards the hard ground, a long scaly tube wrapped around my waist like a snake, stopping my descent.
“Omigosh, are you okay?!”
I look up to see Liz’s head floating just above my face, my nose almost touching her snoot. I stared into her magenta eyes for what felt like forever.
“Yeah…thanks. Sorry again.”
I could feel what I realize now is her neck helping me back to my feet. She uncoils around my waist and returns to her body, her neck now no longer around her shoulders. Now it was angled straight up from her shoulders, only to bend slightly so her head would dangle in the air. She gives me a friendly smile.
“Don’t worry, it was my fault for not paying attention.”
She waves off my apology, slinging her bag over her shoulder. I do the same and give her a smile in return.
“Well, I’m guilty of that too, so hey…” I trail off, not really sure what to say next. I’m saved however when Liz picked up my slack.
“Oh, what’s your next class after this?”
I pull out my schedule and scan the page.
“AP Art Design.”
A flutter of movement from the girl caught my attention, her arms seemed to raise in excitement as her head seemed to bob to the side, her smile getting wider.
“Oh, small world! That’s my next class too! Want to walk with me?”
I try to answer, but all I seem capable of doing is sputtering out an unintelligible strangle, causing Liz to tilt her head in confusion.
“Is that a…no?”
Mentally slapping myself, I sigh and shake my head.
“No…I mean yes to your first question!”
Liz pops an eyebrow up, but chuckles at my response.
“Are humans always this jumpy?”
I narrow my eyes slightly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, my mental faculties finally coming under control. She raises her hands apologetically.
“I didn’t mean anything by it, sorry. Just curious is all. Don’t get to meet many humans and I’m interested in understanding.”
I shifted my bag slightly to mask the awkwardness I was feeling. She shakes her head and gives me that smile of hers.
“Never mind, we’ll be late if we don’t start moving, shall we?”
“Sure…”
I turned to walk down the row of desks, Liz following close behind, but her head kept up with my movements, floating in the air next to me. It was a little odd, an almost disembodied head just…there, but I guess I’ll have to get used to it.
We leave the classroom and brave the throng of technicolor students, Liz keeping her body close to mine so she doesn’t get swept up while following me. After a few moments, we found the classroom as well as someone else that had just entered. They were a green baryonyx girl…in a wheelchair. The split second I saw of her before she wheeled into the room, it looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Just as the door was about to close, I grabbed the handle and held it open for Liz. I give her a slight bow of the head and flash her a smile.
“Ladies first.”
Liz smirks and rolls her eyes, but enters anyway, me following after. We both head to the back of the classroom and find a couple of seats. As we wait for the teacher to appear, I see that girl in the wheelchair near the front of the class. She’d only gotten to her seat a second ago and she’s already hunched over her desk. Guess she uses this time to sleep? I lean over to Liz.
“Who’s the gator in the front?”
Liz furrowed her brow and looked up, and for a second, I could’ve sworn I saw her face display an annoyed expression that quickly changes to a soft smile.
“Oh, you mean Olivia? What about her?” I shrug.
“Nothing really, just curious. Haven’t seen many dinos that need wheelchairs is all.”
Liz looks at me with an unreadable look.
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I sputter as I can feel my face redden in embarrassment.
“Okay, touché Liz…” her lips form a smirk as she chuckles.
“Even humans can have insensitive thoughts…better note that down.”
I roll my eyes.
“Anyway, Olivia is a very private person, rarely ever lets anyone talk to her…maybe except Damien, but even then…”
“Damien?” Liz’s cheeks seem to redden then return to normal.
“Friend of mine…ours! He’s basically Olivia’s younger brother, though they aren’t blood related. If you want, we can sit together for lunch and I’ll introduce you to them!”
I think about the offer…I had already made lunch plans with Ben…but a chance to meet Liz’s friends…maybe…
I nod. “Sounds good, looking forward to it!”
Liz smiles happily as the bell rang, signaling the start of class. To my surprise, Mr. Triggums walks in and sets a large stack of books onto the desk. I leaned over to Liz, who had coiled her neck again like in Calculus.
‘Hey, isn’t Mr. Iadakan the teacher for this class?”
Liz, who was snoot deep in another book, looks up and blinks in confusion.
“Yes...strange...”
Triggums takes several books from the large pile and gives them to each of the head desks.
“Take one and pass the rest back...” He grunts as he places the last pile on Olivia’s desk.
“Mr. Iadakan is out for the day so you all get a free period for now. Take this time to familiarize yourselves with the reading material."
With that, Triggums heads to the desk, sits down in the chair, and leans back as he closes his eyes. When a light snoring emitted from the triceratops, everyone seemed to disregard the instruction and begin to group up with friends.
I decide to actually crack open the tome and begin glancing from page to page. I steadily realize that I don’t really get art. Stealing a peek at Liz, I see her actually leaning back in her chair, her head nestled in the middle of her makeshift nest. Her eyes were closed as she just seemed to relax.
“You’re not gonna read?”
Liz opens an eye and trains it on me.
“To be honest, in this class I actually just note what Mr. Iadakan talks about. For the most part, we usually ignore the book, only when he asks us to.”
I tilt my head in thought. We’ll, if that’s how it’s run, guess I should follow suit. I close my book and scan the classroom, taking in my classmates. After a bit, my eyes widen as I recognize Lunara a few rows ahead of us, chatting away with a brown triceratops girl I vaguely recognize. I start to wave slightly in her way, just trying to signal my presence to her. Her eye seems to stray toward me as her beak moves a mile a minute, then clicks shut when her eye widens, her gaze on me. I could see her cheeks redden slightly, but a smile creased her lips. A small shy wave aimed at me, and she turned back to her friend, who looked back at me as well, then to Lunara, then back at me. A smile creeps on her face as she looks back at Lunara and says something. Lunara’s face slacks, her tail twitching behind her slightly. The triceratops girl giggles at Lunara’s reaction, who punches her back slightly.
I lower my hand slowly as I look on with concern, hoping I haven’t caused Lunara trouble.
“I see you have been busy your first few hours. Are you meeting all the popular girls already?”
I jump slightly in my chair, my gaze falling on Liz again. Her entire head faces me, a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
“No, I just met Lunara when Ben was taking me to meet the principal.”
Her smirk seems to falter at the mention of Ben, but returns to normal.
“Oh, you met our fearless leader huh?”
“Yeah, he actually helped me out of an awkward situation. He seems pretty chill.” Her smirk is traded with a neutral expression.
“Yeah, chill.”
She seems to be finished with the conversation; her head nestled back in her snoozing position. I want to ask her more, but her actions tell me I may not want to broach the subject further.
I go back to people watching as time ticks by. Once again, my eyes fall on Olivia. She wasn’t touched anymore, but seemed to be working on something, her back shifting every so often as she works. I can’t see what she’s up to, but at least someone is using the free time to be productive. I’m about to pull out a spare sheet of paper to start doodling, but the bell interrupts my plan. Dejected, I put my book into my bag and watched where I’m going this time, standing up next to Liz, her neck uncoiled once more. I look at her, her small smile back.
“Ready for lunch Inco?”
“Sure! Should we ask Olivia if she…”
I trail off as I noticed the baryonyx was already gone from her spot. Liz lowers her head to be level with mine, a knowing expression on her face.
“Told you, very private. I’ve been trying the same thing for a while…and I’ve found it isn’t really worth the effort.”
I feel somewhat bad about how Liz just seemed to give up, but it really isn’t my place to pry about that. I have no idea how they have been in the past so I guess I’ll leave it there.
“Oh well, I guess we’ll see there then.”
Liz nods and we leave the classroom, Mr. Triggums still snoring away behind the desk.
We brave the gaggle of students, it being a bit easier since it seems everyone was headed in the direction of the cafeteria. In only a few minutes, we reach the double doors and are greeted by a full-on brawl between a group of megalodons and velociraptors, food being flung back and forth as makeshift ammo. Liz and I just try to skirt around the large gaggle of combatants.
“This way Inco, towards the back.”
I follow her as her neck extends to look at the desired table, her body staying close to me. Suddenly, as we are just about to get through the last of the gaggle, I spot a flying plate filled with mystery meat heading straight for Liz’s body. With her head not near her, she doesn’t see it coming. Acting before a thought crossed my mind, I grabbed Liz around the waist and pulled her back to me in a protective embrace, the plate smashing into the wall where she had just been. A sudden flurry of movement from Liz’s neck signals the return of what looks like a vicious beet red snake with magenta hair, a hot glare trained right at me.
“The hell do you think you're doing?!”
I realize I still have my arms around her waist. Like I had just touched a hot iron, I released her and held my hands up defensively.
“A plate of slop almost hit you, I was trying to stop…I’m sorry!”
She gives me a hard glare, then her eyes look to the wall where the plate was still stuck to the wall, shattered, but still glued to the disgusting looking meat mixture. The glare lessens, but she still doesn’t look happy. Sighing, she brushes herself off, then folds her arms across her chest.
“Next time, maybe let me know when you have to save me from lunch okay?”
I blink a couple times in confusion as her expression changes to one of mirth, a slight giggle sounds from her lips. The number of emotions this girl has that just revolve in attoseconds are really starting to throw me for a loop. I just rub the back of my head sheepishly and nod.
“Sorry, I’ll remember that one too.”
“And while we’re at it, sorry for yelling at you...you don’t know how many perverts sometimes think brachio women are free butt grabs...” She hisses at the idea as she regards me with a friendly smile once more.
“Thank you for making sure I wasn’t wearing meat. Let’s keep going.”
I nod as we continue to walk towards the table, the awkward moment passes. I chuckle to myself as we reach our destination. It’s a sequestered table in the corner of the cafeteria that is at least quieter than the rest of the room. Towards the head of the table is a lone occupant, Olivia parked in front of the bleacher less end of the table. She doesn’t react to us as we approach, more interested in her sandwich in one hand, and a pencil that is scribbling on a piece of paper in front of her.
“Hey, just had to pay you back for the save in math.”
Liz rolls her eyes, but giggles again.
“Fine, even then!” She decides as she takes a seat on the opposite side of the table from Olivia. I see her eyes fall on the green gator, her grin turning neutral.
“Hello Liv, good to see you.”
“Hmm.”
Olivia doesn’t move to look at Liz, just grunts and continues on scribbling. A sigh emanates from Liz as she pulls out a plastic box from her bag and places it on the table. Opening it, she pulls out several small cups that have lids on them, marked on the side with what look like words for different condiments. Popping each open, she places them in front of her. Once she is satisfied, she gives me a wink.
“Well, I am going to grab something to eat, you get comfy Inco!”
With that, her head extends upward and begins to pick leaves off of some of the foliage off the rafters. I take a seat next to Liz and try to decide if I want to brave the rest of the room for my food. I look over to see that the line is just as busy and chaotic as the rest of the room. I sigh, resigned to not getting food until I get home.
While Liz is busy, I look over to Olivia, who just popped the rest of her food up in the air, moves her long maw wide open below the last bits, and chomps them out of the air. She chews slowly, her gaze falling on me. Our eyes lock for a second, a dust of crimson going across her face. I proceed to give her a warm smile and a few claps.
“That was pretty good! Do you do parties?”
Her expression changes from shock, to anger, then to embarrassment as she doesn’t answer and just looks back down at her paper, scribbling more fiercely. Ouch...swing and miss, Nito.
A rush of footfalls sounds behind me. Turning, I see a pink dino approaching with a large pile of the same mystery meat on a tray and slamming it on the table, making everyone jump. Liz comes back down from the rafters, a mouthful of leaves hanging from her lips.
“Oh Damien!” Liz calls the dino that just appeared in a clear voice, despite the salad in her mouth.
“Hey Liz! Good to see ya!”
He was a tall pink diplosaurus complete with neck frills and head fin. He wore a green shirt with what looked like a stylized raptor footprint on the front and jeans. He was also wearing a wide grin that changed to what I can only describe as a real life pog.
“Hey, you’re that human everyone has been talking about!” He sits next to me, his frills on his neck starting to undulate. He reaches a hand out and grabs my hand on the table, shaking it vigorously. I can almost feel my arm popping out of its socket.
“I’m Damien, nice to meet ya!”
“I...Inco!”
He kept shaking my hand, only stopping when Liz spoke up.
“Damien, you’re going to take his arm off!”
The excitable dino widens his eyes as he lets go of my now limp arm. He shoots me a wide smile as he gives me a thumbs up.
“Sorry about that dude! Didn’t mean to hurt yah!”
I rub my arm until I can feel it again. I give him a weary smile back.
“No problem. I’ve been dealing with excited dinos around me all day...except Liz anyway.”
Damien looks from me to Liz, who just swallowed her meal in quick fashion after my words. She clears her throat and seems to force a laugh out.
“Yes, I’ve been in his first two classes, so we decided it would be nice to have lunch all together.”
While true, I can’t help but feel she seems to be trying to explain it in a way a kid would try to get out of trouble with a parent. Damien doesn’t seem to pick up on it though as he shovels some of his gruel into his mouth and chews loudly.
“Show Inky...” He says with his mouth full, bits of meat flying out slightly back onto his plate.
“Howsh skewl fo far?”
I’m able to somewhat understand what he’s saying and smile slightly.
“Well so far I’ve met very nice people so far,” I motioned over to Liz. “Including Liz, she’s been a great help so far...even helped me from falling on my face.”
I can see the red reappear on her face again as she raises her head back up to the rafters for a second helping.
“Then there’s Ben, he helped me with a bit of over eager students that had not seen a human before, then took me to meet Mrs. Scaler. He’s pretty cool too.”
A snort comes from the other end of the table. Damien and I looked over to see Olivia had actually looked up to listen to us. Her silver irises seem to regard what I said as amusing.
“What, is there something wrong with him?” I ask her. She says nothing more, but grunts again and looks back to her work. I can’t help but feel a little annoyed.
Rude.
“Well, it’s nice to know you already hold me in high regard I guess.”
I turn my head to see who just spoke. What I see are two dinos approaching, Ben and what looks like a punk rocker girl behind him. A red Parasaurolophus, she had long blonde hair that was parted by her red and white head crest and seemed to stop around her shoulder blades, her bangs cut sharply to cast a shadow over her blue eyes. She wore a crimson leather jacket, white tank top and blue jeans. If first impressions mean anything, this is definitely someone I don’t want to tick off. Ben looks at me with an almost annoyed glance.
“I thought we were going to have lunch together Inco?”
I rub the back of my head and chuckle nervously. I can hear Liz coming back down to see the new guests at the table. She seemed to hear what Ben had said and looked at me with slight confusion, but Ben’s presence seemed to also add a bit of coolness to her look. Ben looks over to her, his brow furrowing. Then his annoyance seems to melt away. He chuckles as he looks back at me, the girl behind him seems to be staring daggers at me.
“Well, once again, you seem to be doing a bit of networking I see. First Lunara and Kiara tell me you’re in their art class, and now I see you getting to know our treasurer.” He looks to Damien too.
“As well as our Male representative...you really do work fast.”
Damien and Liz both look at Ben with confusion, the coolness from Liz seems to turn frigid.
“What are you talking about Ben?” Liz asks quietly.
Ben matches her confusion for a second, then laughs.
“Ahh, I get it, Inco here hasn’t clued you in yet.” He adjusts his glasses and smiles warmly.
“Inco here is replacing Darren as StuCo secretary.”
Even Olivia looks up in shock. Damien seems to look at me with shocked excitement, his frills vibrating. I look at Liz...and I can feel the ice from her look trained at me.
The warm smile I had seen for awhile has all but vanished, replaced by cold fury. She turns to Ben, her voice even quieter.
“And Scaler approved this?”
Ben narrows his eyes at her.
“Of course. That’s why I took him first. I saw something in him and decided for the Council.”
Her glare is back on me. I don’t get it, she was so nice before, why does this change her mood? She seems to be asking me what did the last few hours mean? Suspicion and anger trained on me; I look back at her with nothing but confusion. Ben clears his throat.
“Well, I’ll explain everything at the meeting after school, okay?” He looks at me, still with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“You just seem to meet all of my expectations, Inco. Keep up the good work! See you in Photography!”
He gives a small head nod in our direction, turns, then walks away. The red parasaur girl continues to look at me, a look of danger and one of amusement.
“See ya later Skinnie.” Her slight drawl catches my attention as she turns, her long tail swishes behind her, flashing a nasty row of spikes that line the appendage.
I turn back to the table and can feel three sets of eyes on me.
“Dude, why didn’t you tell us you’re on the council?” Damien asks innocently. I look back at Liz and see she has the same question, but her’s seems to be driven by...betrayal?
“I didn’t really think about it I guess...”
“Hmm,” Liz huffs.
“Is everything alright Liz? You seem angry.”
Liz starts at Damien’s question. The ice seems to melt as she smiles warmly at him.
“I was just surprised Inco hadn’t mentioned.” I blink at her blankly.
“Like how you didn’t tell me you were treasurer?”
She narrows her eyes at me. She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. Her mouth clicks shut, but her glance hasn't changed. I fold my arms in front of me.
“Just what is wrong about me being Secretary?”
Damien seems to look back and forth at the two of us, an uneasy smile on his face.
“Hey now, no need to fight guys. We only just met.”
The two of us look at each other for a minute longer. She rolls her eyes and sighs.
“Whatever.”
The bell rings aloud, signaling the end of lunch. Liz seems to be done with the whole thing, packs her lunch box back in her bag and gets up to walk away. Damien and I watch as she waves to Damien...then gives me one last hard look, then disappears into the crowd.
“Man Inky...what did you do?”
I look at the diplosaur.
“I’m not sure.”