The driver barely gave her time to gather her thoughts before he nudged her aside, his broad figure blocking the sight of the tense crowd protesting outside the gates. He spoke briskly, his tone always hovering between polite and dismissive. "Madame, the administration has prepared a temporary room for you until your permanent dorm is assigned."
She didn't question it. The academy was large, and logistics like room assignments were rarely precise. Being from a powerful family, she expected things to be in place, but given the protests and chaos, she couldn't afford to demand more. So she nodded curtly and followed him through the massive archways leading into Dino High.
Her room was stark, almost clinical, with white walls and minimal furnishings. The bed was small but well-made, the sheets crisp and clean. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself from the morning's events, then began unpacking, careful not to take too much out. This wasn't permanent, after all. Just a pit stop. She would move again soon, and she didn't want to make this room feel like home. It wasn't.
After placing a few essentials on the desk—her ID card, a framed picture of her mother, a notebook—she stood up and decided to get a feel for the school. Exploring would help ease her mind.
The school corridors were eerily quiet, save for the distant murmurs of the protest outside. Most teachers seemed too preoccupied with the chaos to attend to their usual duties. Still, as she wandered further, she was surprised to find some classrooms occupied. Students were sitting inside, heads bent over their desks, following the lessons as if the protests outside didn't exist.
The first class she stumbled upon was a Science and Biology lesson. She stood by the door for a moment, unnoticed by most, as the teacher—droned on about the evolution of reptiles. The class itself was large, and nearly every seat was filled. In the back row, however, a poor Stegosaur girl was hunched over, clearly the focus of the room's scorn. Whispered insults flew her way, and some students even threw crumpled-up pieces of paper at her.
It wasn't long before the entire class joined in, snickering and casting her pitiful looks. The Stegosaur did her best to shrink into her seat, her eyes downcast as she scribbled in her notebook. The teacher didn't seem to care, barely glancing up from her lecture. It was clear that students here had their own hierarchy, and those at the bottom were left to fend for themselves.
Shaking her head, the Triceratops girl decided she had seen enough. She slipped out of the classroom and made her way to the next hall, where a History class was in session. This time, a Parasaur girl was sitting by the human, snickering as she threw jabs at him. "Look at you, sitting here like you belong," she sneered. "You really are histories villains?"
The human didn't respond, his gaze fixed on his book, but the tension between them was palpable. The Parasaur girl wasn't finished though. She leaned in closer, whispering something she couldn't quite hear but judging by the way the human's jaw tightened, it was enough to hit a nerve.
The Triceratops girl watched from the door, uncertain whether to intervene. But before she could decide, the bell rang, and the students spilled into the hallways.
She moved on, wandering through the school until she reached another classroom. This time, it was different. As she entered, she realized she had become the target of attention. A group of raptors, notorious troublemakers, sat near the windows. They eyed her with a predatory gaze, their long claws tapping rhythmically on their desks.
"Look who decided to show up," one of them hissed, flashing a wicked grin.
The others chuckled. "A Triceratops? Here? What, did you lose your way from the ghettos?"
She stiffened, the insult hitting its mark. The raptors had always had a problem with her kind. Her instincts told her to lash out, to fight back, but she held herself together. She wasn't about to stoop to their level, especially not in front of a room full of students.
It was clear they had been picking on her for some time now, even before she had stepped foot in the academy. The way they spoke, the practiced venom in their words—it wasn't new. But today, it was relentless. They sneered, tossing more barbed insults her way, until finally, the teacher noticed and called the class to order. It wasn't enough to make her feel any better.
By the time lunch arrived, she was on edge. The cafeteria was crowded, filled with students from every corner of the academy. As she made her way to an empty seat, a loud commotion caught her attention. A fight had broken out near the center of the room.
A parasaur girl was beating the hell out of one of the raptors who had been taunting her earlier. The parasaur's fists slammed into the raptor's face with unrelenting fury, her knuckles already smeared with blood. Meanwhile, the raptor tried to fight back, tearing at the parasaur's clothes in desperation. The fabric of her dress shredded under the raptor's claws, but the parasaur was unfazed, grabbing the raptor by the neck and throwing another punch.
The sight was brutal, but it didn't stop the other students from watching. Some cheered, others looked on in shock, but no one intervened. Fights like this weren't uncommon at Dino High.
She stepped past the chaos, her eyes landing on a table in the corner. The human from earlier was sitting there, next to a Stegosaur girl. The Stegosaur looked less than thrilled, but she was still paying for the human's lunch, her expression twisted into something between irritation and reluctant acceptance. The human didn't seem particularly bothered by it, calmly eating his meal.
She approached their table, deciding it was time to introduce herself.
"Hello," she said, keeping her voice steady as she sat down next to them. "I'm—"
The Stegosaur girl cut her off with a glare, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "Ew, a Triceratops. As if my day wasn't bad enough hanging out with a skinny. Now I've got you sitting here, too?"
The insult stung, but she didn't show it. Instead, she glanced over at the human, hoping for a more civil response. But his face remained impassive, his expression unreadable as he finished the last bite of his meal. He placed his utensils down with a deliberate calmness before turning his gaze toward her.
"If you wish to steal my lunch," he said in an even tone, "I'm finished with it. So I'll give you a handout just this once. Because I'm feeling generous."
His eyes, though, told a different story. They were cold and detached, filled with something sharp and dangerous, as if he was sizing her up. His smile was faint, but it was fake—plastic, like the model toys she used to play with when she was a kid. Polite, but with a seething undercurrent of annoyance, the same kind her tutor would give when she was frustrated.
Her stomach tightened, but she didn't flinch. She forced a polite smile of her own and shook her head. "I'm not here to take your lunch," she replied quietly. "Just to introduce myself."
"Lucky for you," he muttered, his eyes not leaving hers for a moment. Then he stood, his chair scraping against the floor as he pushed it back.
The Stegosaur girl watched him leave, her expression softening only slightly as he walked away. Then, without another word, she grabbed her tray and followed him, leaving the Triceratops girl sitting there alone.
She sat there for a moment, feeling the weight of everything around her—the fight still raging nearby, the cold stares from the students who noticed her sitting alone, the strange, uncomfortable tension that lingered in the air.
The human had left her with an uneasy feeling, something she couldn't quite shake. His coldness, his detachment—it reminded her of something darker, something she had always tried to avoid. She felt a shiver run down her spine, an intrusive thought creeping into her mind, one she hadn't asked for. What if… he became a Saurastar?
The thought struck her like a slap. She shook her head, trying to push it away, but it wouldn't leave. It gnawed at her, twisting in her gut. No. She couldn't trust her instincts. They always told her to do the wrong thing, to lash out, to hurt others, to steal. But this time… this time felt different. It felt like if she ignored it, she would pay a price she couldn't afford.
She shook her head again, more forcefully this time, forcing the thought down as deep as it would go. She wasn't going to let herself think like that. Not now. Not yet...