dinohigh, no humans allowed!

saurastar- triceratops

It was another day at school.

Classes had only started a week ago. I was always mad in the morning.

having to be paired up in my living quarters with that fucking stinky monkey.

What were they thinking? angrily at the young triceratops. kicked a can in the road so hard it knocked a trash can over.

spilling it on the floor. and a horseshoe-like crab crawled out and ran into the drain next to her. The sudden shock had made her drop her books on the ground. her foot still in midair, she fell too suddenly off balance.

hitting the ground with a thump on the ancient cobblestone sidewalks. But she rubbed her sore spot as pain filled her body.

She grumbled in her tantrum; this was another terrible start of the day. and worse, the people around her were all staring. She wished she could just crawl back into the shadowy back alleys she grew up in.

The Triceratops Ghetos were not the best place to grow up. but it felt safe from the judging eyes of all the other dinos looking down on them. for failing again. yet another wasted handout.

her baggy clothes. a hoodie jacket. with a neon shirt under it. and cargo pants. with sports shoes. and a gold necklace chain around her horns in two rings.

She shook in place, hugging her knees in rage. How come it was so hard? Why was it so hard to keep up with everyone else? after all the triceratops had been thrown. You think it would get easier, at least a little? but no, the cards were still stacked against it.

She cupped her head in her arms. She wanted to go home; she hated this place. Everyone was so much better than her. She was just making triceratops look like even bigger, pathetic loosers.

A shadow moved over her. She nervously looked up. Oh no, what if the other herbivores came to mock her? or worse, a carnivore trying to get a look at the snack she was presenting by not being mobile on her feet. She struggled to get up, fear filling her body. but she stumbled, falling over herself.

A hand reached out. Hay, are you okay? The voice had genuine concern, like it was spoken by someone sheltered from the world's cruelty. She looked up at the person nervously. still conscious.

She couldn't believe her eyes. It was another triceratops like herself. which was strange because normally only one of each species could enter the school per year. But she guesses that ever since the school let in non-dinosaurs, the adults threw a fit and demanded the limitation rules be lifted. So she guesses there would be multiples of one species now in Dino High. which was unheard of to have duplicates. 

The school's previous inclusion program made it so everyone from everywhere who was a dino had a chance. but now it has just been moved to everyone. Even though she didn't like that, everyone, including non-dinos,. She at least felt happier that it wasn't just her to carry the Triceratops name.

but something felt wrong with the girl's voice. was off.

Uhhh, are you okay? She really listened in closely. to the girl's question, replaying each word in her head. its sentence structure. It sounded somewhat British but very subtle. It lacked the gheto hood that Triceratops were known for.

She looked at the girl's clothes. They were European. They had sleek frills and intricate designs. It was the look of wealth, but it lacked its iconic character. Everything about it was screamingly refined and admirable. but she felt wrong, like she had sacrificed a part of who she was. just to fit in. 

She narrowed her eyes at the girl. swiping her hand away. the other girl's eyes widening from the sudden aggressive response. recoiling her hand back quickly in shock and holding it against her chest. checking if she still had all her fingers. counting it with her eye movements, then sighing in relief.

Uhhh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Uh, let's start over. Hi, I'm Othniel. She waved her free hand timidly, brushing her straight feathered hair.

I glared, even more upset. She didn't even braid her head feathers like a true triceratops. What is she hoping for with the other dinos?

Marsha, I said back. getting up and dusting myself off. wiping the braided locks of my hair from my eyes. 

marsha horridus. I said, proudly puffing my chest forward and standing straight. narrowing my eyes at this imposter. 

She smiled timidly back, rubbing her knees against each other in a nervous stance. I hated how it looked so feminine. so girly and gracious. so weak. so non-triceratopsian.

Uhhh, oh sh*t, we are doing formal introductions now? She mumbled out while tapping her bag for something. bringing out a notebook, she was reading something off.

uhh uuh. im. im.uuh, she stammered. flipping threw the pages.uhmmm othniel s. agathamus.

I raise my eyebrow. skeptically crossing my arms. What the hell is the s for? misses fancy pants.

s? Oh, uh, Sylvestris. It's an old Triceratops family clan. It's actually one of the oldest ones in our history books. that we have significant data on. It's also one of the most important.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing from this girl. My eyes glared back at her. Wait, so your triceratops do. But why did they give you a different name?

She looked around, seeing if others were listening clearly, not very confident in the answer. Well, my mom did some behind-the-scenes stuff to get me in here as the class saura star. since the new law was implemented, letting more species in. We were able to argue that nomen dubiums are synonymized species by law. were actually unrecognized regional varieties and subspecies of the existing ones. like, for instance, triceratops. There can't possibly be just one triceratops in a million years, right? So, uh, there had to be others. We applied for admission for recognition under the old names. to get our status formally revived as a house.

So yeah, thats how we and other parents in the board coalition for Dinos come first! got a lot more dinos in here! Isn't that great? Now you won't be alone. and I won't be either. and we can be friends and hang out! 

She smiled a bit more, bubbly now. clearly excited.

I hate to rain on your parade. She shuttered at that word. glancing back at me now with a smile fading from her lips into a frown.

But you're just a fucking fake. You're just one of those triceratops.

She looked confused. Uh, excuse me? Huh, what do you mean by one of those triceratops? Please elaborate further

SHUT UP IM TIRED OF YOUR STUPID VOICE! I can't stand how you don't even sound like us. You're just one of those bitches that makes themselves look pretty and changes their name to be more like the other dinos, so they will finally accept triceratops. and you do this by pretending you are not a triceratops. and something entirely different, so people will tolerate you, but allow people to say the rest of the triceratops are bad, no good thugs and gangs. 

You could be working to improve our species name. but instead you abandon it and go pick up another name. You pretend like we are in this together, but in truth, You are in this for yourself. You only want our support. but you can't stand us. You barely act like us anymore. You're playing right into their hands, becoming what they want you to be.

You think you're too good for us. that you are better. but I won't stand for it. I shuve the girl back. making her fall on her back against the floor.

feel that? That's the pavement. where you belong. where our kind was born. If you were a real trike, you would feel at home. but you are not, so it feels alien to you. Your not a pavement trike like me. Your a fucking house trigger!

The girl began to cry quietly. She had the elegance of a fallen angel crashed down on earth. Even with tears in her eyes, her form was divine. 

A crowd began to form around them. the classic dino crowd that seems to materialize from nothing. everyone staying an arm's distance away when there is no conflict. anticipating a first strike. but then standing shoulder to shoulder when one breaks out. to lunge on their prey, surrounded by a circle of hunters. cornering anyone trapped in their black hole.

i frowned. I had to get out of here. I hurriedly to an area where the crowd wasn't as dense. I could hear them behind me.

Hay, it's the class, Saurastar! one of them said. I didn't know what that word meant. but I knew it was a position I held. but wait.. dread filled me. Did these idiots around me, these morons? think... Was she the star? AND NOT ME. This imposter is fake. this cheep bootleg rip off. instead of the original. I felt so much rage. but I had to bite my lip and force myself to resist looking back and walk forward faster.

starting to gather around her. consoling her. comforting her. They all moved in to help her. but no one helped me. I felt my eyes frown in rage again. The world was so unfair!

there there. one of the students said to her. We know your not like those triggers. your different. your civilized. Don't worry, I'll protect you.

I looked behind me. to see who it was. It was that fucking.

HUMAN.