"Left. A little to your left . . . No, your other left . . . That's up . . . That's down . . . That's diagonal- Look, do you want me to do it instead?"
Sarah watches Vivian teeter back and forth on a metal ladder. She nearly loses her balance and grabs the banister she is decorating with panic, dropping eight purple ribbons in the process. When she's steadied herself, she takes a deep breath.
"Sarah, do we have to hang these things?"
"Of course we do," she says matter-of-factly, "Purple is my favorite color. Let me try. I have better balance."
"I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself."
"I know, but I'd prefer if this chore didn't end with you breaking your neck."
Vivian rolls her eyes and reaches out to tie a ribbon around one of the poles.
"This would be so much easier if I had hands . . ."
Sarah shrugs.
"That's what happens when you end up as a herbivorous dinosaur, I guess. Just be glad that you're not a stegoceratops or something."
Vivian snorts.
"Oh, yeah, like you'd understand. You're a reptile."
"So if I slap you, will it be in cold blood?" Sarah retorts.
Vivian laughs so hard that she makes the ladder shake. Suddenly, it falls out from beneath her, and Sarah has to think fast to avoid disaster. She runs over and catches Vivian, supporting her with wobbly knees for a few seconds before giving in and being smooshed by a rather large dinosaur rump. Once Vivian is on her feet again, Sarah groans and peels her face off of the ground.
"You know, one of the disadvantages of us being different species is the fact that our sizes don't quite match," she mutters as she rubs her snout in pain.
"You calling me fat?" Vivian asks somewhat defensively.
"No, just . . . full," Sarah replies, making a round gesture with her paws.
Vivian snorts in offense.
"Well, I'm not as fat as Claire."
Sarah rolls her eyes.
"Vivian, sometimes I think you look for opportunities to put her down."
Vivian grumbles and crosses her arms, sitting back on her haunches.
"Claire was a bitchy boss. I'm sure you had to put up with her once or twice."
Sarah smiles nostalgically.
"Yeah. She threatened to fire me for bringing a crossbow to work."
Vivian nickers like a horse.
"Exactly! She was completely unrea- Wait, a crossbow? Christ, Sarah, that sounds dangerous!"
"In the wrong hands, yes," she replies breezily, "I was always careful, though. Really, I ought to have gone into something other than mosasaur training. I had so many unused skills . . ."
Vivian props up the ladder, ready to try again.
"Yeah, you must have lived one hell of a life before coming to Jurassic World."
Sarah shakes her head as she holds Vivian steady.
"Naw, I just tried a lot of things. I couldn't stick to one hobby, because they were all so interesting. I guess that makes me 'diversified' or whatever."
"Would it be appropriate to comment on the fact that you're a hybrid prehistoric reptile?"
Sarah smiles.
"It's not exactly a secret . . ."
Vivian manages to tie a purple bow around the banister. She stares at it pensively, then looks down at Sarah.
"You know, sometimes I wonder why you're so happy all the time."
Sarah laughs.
"What's wrong with being happy?"
"Nothing," Vivian affirms, "Only everyone else who ended up as an animal is sad about it."
"Not Vic. Not Mr. Masrani."
"Vic is a pansy and Mr. Masrani is freakishly optimistic. But Zara and especially Claire are unhappy about the whole mess."
Sarah quirks the corner of her mouth uncertainly.
"Well, Zara's doing better now that she has someone who loves her unconditionally, and Claire is miserable for a lot of reasons."
"Like what?" Vivian asks.
"Well, she has low self-esteem, for one thing."
Vivian scoffs.
"Are you kidding? She presents as an arrogant bitch."
"It's a defense mechanism," Sarah states flatly, "She may seem confident, but if you really watch her, you can tell that she's not. She's always avoiding mirrors and she's constantly examining herself like there's something wrong with the way she is. On top of that, she gives Owen these 'why are you still with me' kind of looks. It's sad, really."
"That they're still together?"
"That she's so self-conscious," Sarah says impatiently.
Vivian frowns.
"Come on. Don't tell me that it isn't weird that Claire and Owen are still together. They aren't even the same species anymore . . ."
"That's a hypocritical thing to say, and you know it," Sarah scolds.
Vivian snorts angrily and slides down the ladder, forcing her to back up.
"Who cares if it's hypocritical? Their relationship is gross."
Sarah gives her a serious look.
"Vivian, listen to yourself. They love each other, and you're putting them down. Doesn't that strike you as even a little bit unfair?"
Vivian tosses her head angrily.
"You think that criticizing them counts as discrimination?"
"Yes."
"And how do you know what discrimination even is?"
"Because I lived it."
