Chapter Text
Who knew that fresh air could feel so stuffy? Not you, that’s who. You weren’t exactly someone who’d leave the house every day, not enjoying the outdoors. So you couldn’t really judge how fresh air could be, but this sea air just seemed too fresh.
Luckily, a ‘thunk!’ interrupted your thoughts, and then a hand shooed you off the boat until your feet met the gray concrete docks.
Looking around, you surveyed the faces of five other people, all varying in looks. The most notable one to you was the guy standing on your left. He wore a bright green jacket, with a face that resembled a similar color. You felt bad for him; but you would not mix the smell of puke with your own—beautifully non-pukey fragrance, so you’d keep your distance for now.
You shimmied a little to the right, almost bumping shoulders with one of the teens, though you skillfully avoided that using something called spatial awareness.
Another person was this girl with a rather long, black ponytail who seemed too busy inspecting her surroundings to notice a pink-haired girl sneaking up on her with a cellular device in hand.
Your eyes widen as you realize exactly who this pink haired girl is, which is the famous Brooklynn, of course. You weren’t really a fan, but it’s hard not to know her, considering her social status.
You tear your eyes off the two girls once the taller one pushes Brooklynn’s camera out of her face forcefully. Instead, you focus on the dark-skinned boy in front of you, wearing a yellow jacket with black stripes on the sleeves. He was looking around excitedly, practically bouncing on his feet—no, scratch that, he was. You hold back a chuckle, not wanting to be a creep, and jump when someone elbows you gently.
“So… Jurassic World, huh?” You look behind you when you hear a southern accent directed your way. The culprit is a girl with a pink headband, wearing a black leather jacket.
“Uh, yeah. That’s–that’s where we are. Haha.” You grimace at your attempt at a conversation, though the cowgirl doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, she seems happy just at the fact you responded at all.
Before she can speak again, the man who had just been humming a Lady Gaga song and staring at a clipboard finally speaks up; prompting everyone to form a group in front of him.
“Welcome to Isla Nublar, campers!” The man has pale skin and a yellow bandana that forces his hair upwards. He carries a carefree smile and continues talking as he walks back and forth ahead of your group.
“You are the chosen few, the first kids in the entire world to ever experience the awesomeness…” He pauses, and everyone—despite not knowing one another—looks at each other in excitement.
“... that is Camp Cretaceous.” He folds his hands behind his back and walks to the left.
“I know—the trip from the mainland was rough on some.” He nods his head towards the green jacket teen.
“Hello, Ben.”
Said boy turns towards the man to give him a thumbs up, right before spinning back around to barf again over the edge of the dock.
You raised a brow. When had he left the group?
The older man shouts, “But you made it! I’m Dave, head counselor. You heard that correctly—head honcho, big shot.”
Dave’s interrupted by the sound of screeching wheels, and everyone turns once they notice the dust flying from the vehicle that just pulled up.
The mystery person pushes the driver’s seat door open, and a brown-haired woman with sun-kissed skin jumps out.
“Ah, so sorry I’m late!” She has to shout over the commotion she herself had created.
She begins her own introduction as she makes her way towards the group. “Welcome, campers! I’m Roxie, head counselor of Camp Cretaceous.” Her words cause a silence to overcome everyone.
You, along with the other teens, stare down Dave with judging eyes.
He fumbles with his words, chuckling with embarrassment. “Haha–well, it’s sort of a co-head… counselor sort of situation.” His hands point at the air, as if trying to summon something to back him up.
“Is it?” Roxie snickers.
Dave clears his throat, desperate to steer the conversation away from his failed leadership role.
“Anyway, some of you won contests to be here, some of you had VIP invites,” During Dave’s speech, Brooklynn spins her phone around, recording the area; along with the ponytail girl. The black-haired girl blocks the camera’s view of her face before walking away completely. Rejected but still determined, Brooklynn instead turns her phone towards the rest of the group, which includes you.
The boy in the yellow jacket gives a double thumbs up at the camera, in addition to a bright smile. The cowgirl then notices the camera and leans over the dark-skinned boy to throw up a peace sign. Even Ben gives a small smile at the camera.
You glance at the camera, eyes widening before giving a quick wave and hurriedly turning the other way. The action causes Brooklynn to raise a brow, but she doesn’t investigate further. Rather, she swivels her phone to face Roxie and Dave as they continue their speech, which you now realize you hadn’t been listening to.
You pick up on Roxie’s words, “As our first campers, we’ve lined up exclusive behind-the-scenes tours of Jurassic World.”
There are varying shouts of eagerness, along with Ben’s whines of fear. Roxie goes on to list the various activities you’d all be taking part in before the dark-skinned boy to your right cuts in to shout:
“Dinosaurs!?” His hands are suspended in front of him, balled into fists that shook with fervor.
After a beat of silence, he puts his hands in his pockets and stares down at his shoes. You reluctantly pat his shoulder, offering a small smile when he turns towards you out of confusion.
Lucky for you, he smiles back because that would’ve been really awkward if he got creeped out by you touching him or something. You let out a relieved breath from the positive interaction.
Roxie picks up from where she was interrupted, “Yes…” She spares a brief glance at the clipboard in her hands before continuing. “...Darius, plenty of dinosaurs.”
“So, ready for an adventure?”
Brooklynn doesn’t miss a beat and immediately responds, “Absolutely!” She looks towards her phone and seems to be a bit dissatisfied at something before turning her eyes back towards the two adults. “But I’m gonna need that speech a little shorter, and really try to lean into the majesty of this place.”
Roxie and Dave stare at the girl with furrowed brows before Dave chuckles and claps his hands together.
“Okay, we’re going now. Let’s get the seven of you to camp!”
Ben slowly raises a hand in an almost robotic motion, “Uh, there are six of us?” He looks over the group to make sure he isn’t wrong before turning towards the red shirt wearing adults.
“Wait.” Dave pauses to count heads, verbally announcing names to check off a figurative list.
“Dino-kid, Track-star, Internet Girl, Wordsmith, Barfy, Texas.” Everyone gives differing reactions towards the nicknames. He gave you a positive one, at least.
“He’s right. Where’s seven?” Dave looks around, as if the teen would suddenly appear out of thin air.
Roxie checks the board, most likely for a name, and then scoffs.
Soon after, the sound of a helicopter’s rotor blades whirring enters your ears, and you rush to cover them. Number seven really did appear out of thin air, huh?
A grown man hops out, opens the door, and hops back in. Roxie holds a hand out, gesturing towards the aircraft with a well-deserved snarl. Your group all shields their eyes from dust once again, and you hope this doesn’t become a common occurrence. Your glasses can’t keep getting dirty because of people’s dramatic entrances.
Once the dust clears, you spot a confident-looking guy stepping out, wearing a purple collared shirt and carrying a blue case of luggage. He even sported some black sunglasses, extra much?
“Greetings, my dudes. Kenji is here, so let the party commence!” He walks towards you all, confidence practically radiating off of him.
Roxie sputters at the dust remnants, and it doesn’t help that this so-called Kenji throws his luggage at her before saying, “Put this in my room.”
“So, what’s your deal?” He asks Darius after pulling his sunglasses down in an exaggerated manner.
He’s then promptly shoved to the ground by his own luggage, which was thrown at him by none other than Roxie.
“Okay, let’s go!” She announces, after dusting her hands off.
Texas climbs onto the trunk of the car Roxie had driven there, while Track-star skillfully jumps over the short wall of said trunk and plopping down next to the other girl.
Ben unwillingly sits near the edge, next to cowgirl, though you usher him away from it because you didn’t want to sit near Brooklynn or Kenji; who were going to sit on the opposite side, since your side was full.
“Thanks.” Ben mutters, and you nod.
Brooklynn poses and snaps a photo, and Dave pats your side of the truck to an unknown rhythm until he reaches the car door. Darius sits down, facing Brooklynn, likely planning to start a conversation before Kenji intrudes by sitting between the two. He even goes as far as putting an arm around Darius’s shoulders despite the annoyed face the poor boy is making. The engine starts, and everyone screams as Roxie speeds up. Darius buckles his seat belt, causing a chain reaction of seat-buckling.
“I hope you got my mom’s note. I don’t do well on windy roads.” Ben nearly shouts, twisting his body so that he could face the road that the car’s driving on.
Your face twists with a grimace as he gags, “Really?” You ask, almost out of annoyance, but you can’t really blame him for having such a weak stomach. He spares you a fleeting look of guilt before hurling, and you grip the back of his jacket because you’re not just going to let him fly out of this speeding car.
“What’s good, Brooklanders?” the internet star says, starting a video as she points her phone to the road and then her own face. “It’s your girl Brooklynn coming at you from the best place ever: Camp Cretaceous!” She throws an arm out, gesturing towards the passing trees.
“Like and subscribe to join me as I unlock: Jurassic World!” She stops and looks at everyone in the trunk, giving you a bad feeling. “Okay, I need you all to say who you are and a little about yourself.”
There it is, your bad feelings never fail you.
“And action!” She points her phone at Darius.
He sputters, “Oh! Um…” He thinks for a moment before continuing. “I beat this awesome VR dinosaur game. I’m Darius by the–”
“I’m sorry,” the cowgirl interrupts. “I just can’t believe… you’re Brooklynn!” The pink-haired girl smiles at the attention.
“I’m Sammy Gutierrez, total Brooklander!” Sammy grabs hold of Brooklynn’s hand and shakes it with all her might.
She shoots finger guns, ending it with the imitation of gunfire.
She seems to realize that she didn’t fully introduce herself, and she suddenly stops. “Oh, also, my family supplies all the beef for the parks, and that’s how I got here.”
“Great to meet you, Sammy.” Brooklynn grins.
Darius looks around, trying to spot confusion on anyone else’s face before asking it himself, “Um… What’s a Brooklander?”
“Oh, that’s just what my online followers call themselves.” Brooklyn explains.
“Uh, all 27 million of us.” Sammy imitates gunfire again. Kenji’s eyes widened in interest.
“27 million? The last time I checked, it was 25 million.” You say unintentionally, causing Kenji’s already widening eyes to almost bulge out of his head with your contribution, and he excitedly shakes Darius.
Brooklynn furrows her brows at you, opening her mouth to say something before she’s cut off by Track-star, who you should really ask the name of.
“Yep, that’s why she’s the only one who gets to keep her cell phone. She’s famous.”
Kenji butts in, “Hold on. Rich…” He points to himself, “... and famous?” He turns his hand to Brooklyn.
“Oh, meant to be.” He snatches her phone out of her hands before leaning against her and taking a picture of the two of them.
Ben’s still throwing up, and you’re still holding onto the back of him. While he takes the attention of practically everyone by grossing them out, Brooklynn takes her phone back from Kenji.
Suddenly, the car comes to an unexpected stop, nearly causing Ben to slip straight out of his seatbelt if it weren’t for your hold on him. You both grimace, and he slithers back into his seat while you finally release your strong grip on his jacket.
“Urgh, thanks… again,” He pauses, staring at you as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
You take a few seconds to realize he’s waiting for you to give him your name. “Oh! Uh, no problem. It’s y/n, by the way.”
He nods, smiling as happily as one can when you have bile coating the insides of your mouth. “Thanks again, y/n.”
He then turns to ask Dave what’s going on, holding his stomach while doing so. Hopefully, they have some Tums or something at the actual camp.
“Nothing you need to worry about.” Dave assures, though it’s not very helpful with the following sentence. “But you should all definitely stay in your seats.”
Ben whimpers, and of course, as soon as Dave says that everyone gets up and crowds around your side of the trunk to see what’s happening.
You unbuckle and observe the adults, watching as they wave around electrified sticks with caution.
Ben continues to whimper. Whether it’s out of fear or stomach pain, you’re not sure. However, you don’t take your eyes off the only adults in the area until Darius hesitantly whispers something you can’t quite make out.
You turn to look at Darius, then in the direction he’s staring, and see some bushes rustling. You slowly grab a hold of the trunk wall in preparation to jump out if needed. The bushes continue to rustle, becoming more violent, and Darius keeps trying to gain the attention of people other than you.
It’s only when something jumps out, and Darius shrieks, that you jump out of the car trunk and watch as everyone else tumbles out or attempts to. Though when the screams stop and you realize the culprit of it all is a little compy, you sigh. Then, you turn around and watch as Ben slips in the damp dirt while trying to get onto his feet.
This goes on for about 10 more seconds until it’s awkward on both ends, and you grab him by the hand and forcefully pull him up. “Tha–”
“Third time. You can’t thank me anymore, Ben.” He squints his eyes at you out of befuddlement, then squeals when Roxie pounces on the compy that had been standing on Darius.
She aptly wraps the small dinosaur in a blanket, patting it before delicately placing it in a cat carrier.
“Crisis averted.” She says smoothly. She then places it in the car’s backseat. “These things are always getting out of their enclosure.”
Darius climbed over the head of the trunk and gasped, “A real live Compsognathus!”
Kenji scooted into his seat, huffing at Darius’s enchantment. “Oh, please. It took a blanket and a cat carrier to catch it.” He sighed. “Boring!”
Darius gives him a deserving side eye, “Scared you pretty good.”
The rest of the group giggled at the Dino-Boy’s counter, including yourself. Brooklynn took a picture of Kenji’s surprised expression, most likely for her blog. Kenji furrowed his brows at Darius in return.
The ride kept on with peace, at least until the car reached the Camp Cretaceous gate, and everyone praised the design with sounds of amazement. You were worried though, sure this was fun, but they couldn’t seem to keep their dinosaurs in check. That worries you.
Your thoughts were interrupted when you noticed everyone hopping out of the car. Seems like you reached your destination. You look up and immediately let out a gasp, seeing a humongous tree house that looked like it was 50 feet in the air.
“Seems safe from dinosaurs, at least.” You turned to your left, seeing Ben still in the trunk. You huffed.
“It looks like mushrooms.” And the conversation was officially over.
“Hey, Brooklanders, check this place out! Is this not the most amazing place you have ever been!?” Then the loud voice of Brooklynn drew your attention. Already recording another video for her channel.
Kenji intrudes as he walks into the camera frame, “If you think this is cool, you should see my dad’s penthouse in the main park.”
Brooklynn deadpans before lighting up, seeing a girl she had gotten nothing out of yet. “Yasmina!” Oh, so that was her name?
You watch their interaction for a bit before walking off to explore. You assumed you wouldn’t die immediately by walking away from the group for now. You nudge the circle made of short, wooden trunks with your shoe; looking up when you feel a tap on your shoulder.
“Hey,” it’s dino-boy. “Um, not really an important thing, but I wanted to say thanks. For… patting me, y’know? Sorry, that sounds weird, actually.”
You stare in silence for a few seconds, before realizing he expected you to respond. “Oh, it’s fine. Like you said, it’s not an important thing. I just kind of felt bad.”
He made a face. Oh, that might’ve come out wrong. “I mean, it’s reasonable to get excited by dinosaurs. They’re cool, right?” At this, he smiles brightly.
“Yeah! They’re awesome. I have so many books on them, figures, MOVIES!” He gasped, almost as if he didn’t know he had these things, before apologizing. “Sorry, if you couldn’t tell, I just really like dinosaurs.” He rubs his neck sheepishly.
You kick at the wooden stubs again. “Nah, it’s fine. I don’t mind you going off about them. I have a bunch of books on them, too.”
He raises a brow. “Really? What kind?”
“Just encyclopedias, some stories, the usual.” Despite you brushing it off, Darius gets excited either way.
“So cool. Maybe we could exchange books sometime. If we’re even on the same continent.”
You snicker, thinking about being dinosaur pen pals with a teen you just met.
“Sure.”
You jump when Dave suddenly yells, “Listen up!”
You look his way, noticing the lazily thrown luggage. Did he really just toss those in any random direction?
“Announcement time from your co-head counselors.”
“Psst, still not a thing.” Roxie quietly adds, before continuing on her own, seeing as Dave wasn’t acting seriously.
“Okay, everyone, there are some ground rules to cover.” She quickly lists them off, “Curfew at 8:00 p.m., and lights out at 9:00 p.m. sharp.”
“What?”
“Lame.”
“Fine.”
Ben does this stupid-looking fist pump thing that makes you chuckle.
“This is for your safety,” Roxie assures. “We are in a dinosaur-filled jungle.” You could understand that with or without her Australian accent. Was it Australian, though? You could never really tell.
“You must always keep your distance, or you could be seriously hurt, if not worse.” You can see Kenji sulking in the corner. Honestly, how old was he to be acting the way he has?
“Define worse.” Ben says in exasperation.
He’s ignored in favor of Dave pointing upwards, stating the obvious. “Cabins are up that-a-way.”
Yasmina then shouts, “First one there gets top bunk!” She pushes right past Kenji, as if he wasn’t even there.
Then everyone else races past, though despite this, you keep your speed at a minimum since you couldn’t be bothered. There wasn’t that big of a difference between top and bottom bunk. You’d probably fall right off the top bunk, anyway.
You briefly look back, watching as Darius runs up to the truck. You wondered if you should follow him, but ultimately decided that it’d be weird to do that and went where everyone else had.
You pause once more when you feel a rumbling, and then hurry to meet up with everyone else.