Only The Beginning...

[Kat]

A lithe blonde figure stood in the grand lobby room, staring up at the life sized T-Rex skeleton hanging above her head.

The room was set exactly as her grandfather's Museum Hall Lobby had been...there was even a red 'Dinosaurs Rule The World' banner hanging on the ceiling. It was just as she remembered it.

Minus the raptors.

Alexis Murphy ran a hand through her hair before tossing her Jurassic Park baseball cap back on her head, turning her gaze towards the door. After a short but sweet welcoming speech from herself and some key staff members, the visiting college students had just left the Museum Hall to head to their assigned rooms in the resorts. They had been filled in on would happen while they were visiting the park, why they were there, and what was expected of them. Hopefully they wouldn't be too rowdy...that was the LAST thing she needed...

The tours would start in a few hours -- for now, they would have time to unpack and relax. Then the 'fun' would begin.

[Nova]

One of the students straggled behind, her sharp eyes going up and down the lobby, every so often pausing on one of the many dinosaur skeletons. Ok, so she hadn't come JUST for the dinosaurs, but they were definitely way up on the list. She really wanted to talk to the engineers, get some in-depth discussion on the security and machines...Because she knew that it was pretty much the backbone of keeping this sort of park in order.
...That being said, she also wanted to inquire about the last two mistakes when it came to Jurassic Park, yet knew it was a touchy subject. She'd just have to find the right person to ask. Oh well, that'd come sooner or later. She'd be best just enjoying all the science while she could. Because a huge project like this...It packed a lot of science. And to be frank, she really loved it. She was just very grateful to be one of the lucky students able to come.
Krisandra was a serious student, that was for sure.

[Joseph Flint]

The throng of students made their way out, the majority of the crowd heading out through the doors while one man shouldered his way in. His attempts to avoid the majority of the people were in vain, and he found himself jostled about until finally they cleared out. He had given up attempting to push his way foreward, so as the crowd shuffled out he found himself standing in the doorframe, helmet tucked neatly under the crook of one elbow. A khaki colored jacket hung from his shoulders, all he wore of any sort of park uniform. His eyes were hid from the world by the tinted lenses of his sunglasses, which he removed with his free hand as he glanced back over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised up.

"Hoh boy...just CAN'T wait for this place to become public." he muttered sarcastically under his breath, chuckling to himself as he proceeded into the Lobby. As he did, his eyes fell upon the park owner.

"Hey Boss!" he called out, lifting up his free hand in a wave of sorts. He approached, casting another glance back over his shoulder. "Quick question. I have the chopper on the landing pad near the security buildings. I've completed my patrol, everything in order from a birds eye view, but if you were planning to do any arial tours I can gas it up and land it on a pad closer to the museum. What do you think?"

[Kir]

Among the throng was messy-haired Brent Raines, whose blue eyes widened at the rush of students and warped mind decided floods were for fangirls and highschoolers, neither of which was he. The concept of dinosaurs was interesting, but he wasn't an obsessed fanboy and still wasn't quite sure he believed any of this was real, between animatronics these days and having not heard of the parks past failed attempts at opening all the way in Nowhere, New York.

Allowing the flood to pass by and filter himself out, he slowed his pace and shortened his stride to let the majority trample in. He followed somewhat enthusiastically, deciding he'd wait until the initial bursts of energy simmered down and he was comfortable emerging among the group. He readjusted the strap of his bag over his shoulder from where it was knocked by the crowd, and attempted to practice patience. Such a foreign art...

[Kat]

Lex looked up as she was addressed, blinking as she tried to focus on what was going on currently, rather than her every pessimistic thought of 'what disaster could possibly happen today'. She made an attempt at a smile, folding her arms. "Hey, Joseph."

It was obvious that she was still nervous about this weekend's pre-opening...was everything ready and SAFE for guests...?

She realized she had been asked a question, and blinked a few times more, waiting for it to compute in her mind. Ah yes, the chopper... "Well...uh...I don't know..." she started, thinking back. Once upon a time, at her grandfather's park, choppers had been kept a distance from the dinosaurs...apparently they made the creatures anxious. Would aerial tours in noisy choppers be safe...? "You've flown over the actual zoo part of the park once or twice, haven't you? Have you noticed any sort of reactions from the animals?"

---

Outside, two girls were separating from the huge crowd of people heading for the resorts. One was Cerise Rae Morgan, a staff member of Jurassic Park, who specialized in field work. She went to the same school all the other invited students did...but she hadn't actually been on the campus in ages...and she was being filled in on EVERY little unimportant detail by her friend, Anna Jones.

"I told her she was going to be sorry, dating a geek like that, but did she listen to mwah? Absolutely not...I mean come on, when have I ever been wrong about dating advice? Or anything, for that matter. It's crazy not to listen to me..."

She wondered how the new batch of maias were doing back at the nursery...

"And I said, 'that sweater does not go with those shoes', and she said... Ceri? Are you listening?"

Cerise blinked, looking over at the blonde. "What? Oh, sorry...just thinking about some work I have to finish tonight...we just got this brand new batch of-"

"Wonderful. Oh there's Alison, she's here too you know. Hiiii Alison!" she called above the crowd, waving to some girl off mingling with another group.

Cerise sighed, shaking her head. Some things never changed...

[Joseph Flint]

Joseph slowed to a stop dropping his helmet down onto one of the desks about the lobby. He had seen more than a few men and women with expressions like hers. He could tell she was on edge, and he couldn't blame her. He didn't know anything of her experiences in the original park, but he did know how edgy he had felt around the dinosaurs at first, and he didn't want to imagine how a hoard of students would react. That in itself was bound to put pressure on the staff, but even more on the owner.

He lifted his head back skyward as he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the desk behind him. "Well...I wouldn't say once or twice, more like a few dozen times, once a day since I got here. I know its not required in the daily reports, but I like to keep tabs on all my favorite reptiles out there. Now, the closest I've ever gotten was around twenty feet off the ground the day I flew in. Someone up the chain of command must have forgotten to mention to me that I would be working with REAL dinosaurs, so I was a little surprised when I realized I was flying through a herd of the long necked buggers and not trees. The noise didn't seem to put them on edge, but the smaller creatures don't seem to like the noise too much." he lowered his gaze back down to her. "The chopper's blades can be feathered to cut down on sound, and if we're higher than twenty feet up odds are we'll be hard pressed to see any of the smaller dinosaurs anyways. So its just up to you."

He uncrossed his arms, picking up his helmet in both hands. "If not, I expect you will be busy with tours on the ground, but after things settle down I could take you up to show you the reactions of the dinosaurs to the chopper first hand."

[Kat]

Nodding slowly, Lex took in this information, going over the few options in her mind. Smaller dinosaurs would be hard to see either way, so aerial tours should probably focus on the larger creatures, and the scenery, rather than the smaller ones that could be better viewed from the jeeps on the land tour.

"Have the blades feathered. Better to be safe than sorry. And stay up out of reach of the dinosaurs - it's better to view the bigger ones from above, and let the landrovers take care of the little ones. I don't want the... rex... pulling your chopper right out of the sky." She wouldn't be surprised if it tried, given the chance... Ugh, the beast still gave her nightmares...

"And I do want to take a test ride, before you take any visitors out." Hopefully she would have some time later...maybe...

[KBRG]

Dexter had waited for the crowd to thin, mainly because he didn't want to go through the hassle of biting and scratching just to move. If you waited ten minutes, then the worst of the presses died down, and you could just stroll to your own room. He preffered the easy way to the hard. Why struggle when you could relax? Supporting that current theory, he laid his worn skateboard on the ground. The door was a good distance away, and walking that entire distance would be taxing. Normally he wouldn't care, but this was vacation. This was supposed to be the time he could kick back a little, cut some corners for once.

Jumping on the board, he easily propelled himself down the hall. People weren't an issue, he was adept enough at just skating down the hall. Anyone who got in the way was easily avoided through a shifting of the weight and a basic manipulation of the skateboard. Reaching the end of the hall, Dex suddenly felt angry eyes upon him. A janitor gripped a mop threateningly, and gazed murder at the student. A chill running down his spine, Dexter jumped off of his board, stomping down on the back. It flipped up and he caught it, then went to swing it up and over and around on his shoulder. Too bad it nearly took the nose off of a messy-haired male student (who if Dexter was omniscent, he would know the male as Brent).

Dark eyes widening slightly, he managed an easy grin.

"Sorry, dude! Didn't see ya there."

[Kir]

"Woah!" Brent's eyes bulged at the nose nazi board, leaning back just in time to dodge an attack that would cost him his face. He stopped in his tracks at that point, looking at the familiar face.

"Way to kill me. That's how I always make friends." Brent whipped a pencil out of his bag, holding it like a dagger to threaten an invisible person to his right, "And now we're gonna play video games and you'll like it and your internal organs can remain inside your digestive tract!" He snarled threateningly, then chuckled a bit, then returned the pencil back to his bag.

"But seriously, watch it dude." He shrugged, not really caring now that he wasn't damaged. The kid was familiar, just out of his knowlege. It would make sense, they did go to the same college. Brent was sure he'd seen him with his friends before, but never remembered caring to find out who he was. Tracing through his memory, it came to him.

"Hey, don't you always hang out with that hot chick, Layla something or other?"

[KBRG]

Dexter grinned and laughed a little at all the right times, expessially with the pencil. He didn't mind the light jabs the boy threw at him, it wasn't malicous after all. And it was a really bad error, to nearly smack another college boy in the face with a skateboard. That could be prosecuted and sued for these days.

At the mention of Layla being hot, Dex started a little, blinking in suprise. Another guy calling Layla hot? Not that it wasn't true, but to hear another guy reaffirm this to his face startled him a little. The easy smile turned slightly proud, to be such good friends with the girl this guy thought attractive.

"Layla Corinée? Yeah, we're pretty tight."

Speaking of Layla.... where did she go? He had walked in with her, but after that he had promptly got distracted by the sights and sounds and awe of being in Jurassic Park. Now he was at the other end of the hall, and she was nowhere to be found. A slight shiver ran down through his spine at the thought of what she would do to him when she caught up. She'd protected him from bullies since they were kids, but that also meant she got free reign to jump him whenever she felt like it. Oh well, it was Layla's fault for not paying attention and keeping up with him in the first place.

[Kir]

"Yeah, I figured I'd seen you around. Layla is...pretty noticible." He said, lifting his eyebrows for emphasis. Not that Brent was some stalker pervert and saying this out of sheer shallowness, but the girl did have a great rack...

He mostly referred to her nature, though. Layla was a one-of-a-kind girl. In classes with her he learned she had a strong voice and debated until she had nothing to debate anymore. Outside of classes, she ran wild among her friends and seemed more flamboyant than most of the gay kids he knew. She was... a character.

"Brent, by the way." He held out his hand, when flying across the room came the devil herself. She lept to land on Dexter's back, knowing very well he may topple with her weight matching his appearing out of nowhere and giggled madly as she did such.

[KBRG]

At the lift of his eyebrows Dex broadened his smile a little, to show he knew what Brent was talking about. She was certainly strong in her personality traits.

"Dex."

His hand had just brushed Brent's, when he was forced to yank it back to keep balance. Layla had found him it seemed.

Dexter let out a small yelp, staggering under the sudden weight that had landed on his back. Under a miracle of luck he kept a grip on his skateboard and didn't fall over. Instead, after nearly falling to his knees, he got his feet under him and got his legs straight. He didn't straighten his back all the way, that would be a fatal error, seeing as he would tip over backwards. Then again, Layla would cushion the impact... He instead leaned forward a little, hand on her leg to keep her on. While it would be a good opportunity to laugh at her, she was in a prime postion to use his neck as a hand-hold, and he didn't want to get choked today.

[Kir]

Layla grinned wildly, laughing loudly now to the continued death stares from janitors. She wrapped one arm around Dex's shoulders and neck and bent the other to mess up with his hair before letting all her weight fall to her butt as she slid off his back.

She skipped next to him, pulling her skirt back down where it belonged (normally, while piggy-back riding, your legs are too far apart for a skirt...luckily, Dex made a better wall than window. And black tights covered up cracks well.) and pranced to his side, "playfully" punching him in the shoulder.

"Idiot trying to slip away! Whatcha trying to do, get eaten by a dinosaur?" She laughed, not paying attention to Brent who was just watching the two of them (mostly the one with boobs) with an amused smirk. If they were so close, he figured he'd let them do their thing.

[KBRG]

"I didn't do anything! You're the one who was gone when I turned around."

He was now rubbing his shoulder, where she had punched him. She had this talent of making everything look playful while actually hurting him. It was probably going to leave a bruise, though you couldn't see through the fabric to his T-shirt. He let his hand drop, worry over it too much more and she would first make fun of him, then hit him again for kicks. He grinned at Layla, letting Brent insert himself into the conversation as he pleased. After all, they were all grown now. He didn't have to be the adult and introduce everyone to each other, they were all adults now. Well, that was the theory anyways. It probably wasn't exactly right... but manners could kiss his ass. He poked her in the shoulder as revenge for the punch, though didn't try to be forceful about it. That would be an open invitation for a tackle or kick, and he preferred to save that for a somewhat less crowded atmosphere.

"Plus I think any dinosaur that would eat me would see you somewhere in the background and if they had any brains they'd run the hell away."

[Kir]

To this, Layla burst into a wide grin, laughter bubbling out freely and loudly as was her style. Even Brent couldn't help but chuckle, and the fact he finally made sound brought Layla's attention to him.

"Oh, hi!" She said extending her hand with a smaller grin, "I'm Layla Corinée, Dinosaur Hunter Extraordinaire Unintentional aparently. And you?" The boy grinned.

"Brent Raines," he took her hand to shake, "Dinosagnostic, or something like that. But have fun hunting if they do exist after all."

"Only if they munch on my boy." She shook her hand with a smile.

"Shouldn't your boy be the one rescuing you from the big bad questions?" He kept holding her hand.

"Like why you big bad strangers like lengthy introductions and long handshakes? I think I can figure that out myself, Drooly." She smirked, sliding her hand free in his startlement.

"Oh, harsh." He said with an impained look, and turned to Dex, "Is she always this cruel to her public?"

She smiled, "Usually worse."