CHAPTER FIVE: Luncheon With an Expert

The jeep stopped in front of a large building made of what looked like bamboo sticks and organic materials, but it was probably just for show, Tim thought to himself as the car's brakes screeched loudly. The actual building was probably made up of some concrete, or something sturdy like stone to keep it from being destroyed in a storm. The car's doors opened slowly and the voice on the radio continued to talk.
"Thank you for riding the Jurassic Park tour. Please come again. On your right you will see a large building known as the Visitor Center. Here you will find gift shops, a lavish dining hall, and entertainment. The food is prepared by some of the world's finest chefs and cooks, and served to you promptly after ordering. Please enjoy your stay and watch your step as you exit the vehicle."
Tim hopped out of the jeep and stepped aside to let his sister and Dr. Grant get out beside him.
Dr. Grant tilted his hat up to see the building better.
"Well," he started, shielding his eyes from the setting sun. "They certainly spiced up the place. The last time I saw a dining hall in Jurassic Park, it reminded me of a flying saucer in disguise."
Lex laughed.
"I'm hungry," she said, her stomach growling silently. "Let's go eat."
They had to walk up a bunch of stone steps leading up to the circular building, being careful to watch their step. The building was enormous! It had at least five floors and probably a hundred windows. One wall was just a pane of glass to look out of, and for people to look in. Staff walked briskly by in white uniforms, glancing out the window as they did. Lex smiled as one worker waved to her from the second floor. It was rather inviting. She actually wanted to have a fun time at the park now.
The large door opened automatically as they neared it. Probably motion activated, Tim thought. And as the doors opened, they all smiled at what they saw and heard. They were entering a rainforest. It was magnificent! A rainforest inside, Tim thought to himself happily. He could hear birds chirping and jungle noises. It was all so new and refreshing compared to the Park's original Visitor Center where all you saw was bones strung up to the ceiling.
Lex giggled as a monkey on a leash dashed out of a side path. A man dressed in white smiled at them.
"Hi," he said, stopping to greet them. "You must be Dr. Grant."
He shook Dr. Grant's hand.
"And Tim and Lex?" he said as he shook their hands as well. He was a young man, and Tim couldn't help but notice his sister blush as he took her hand into his. He had a head of neatly combed brown hair, and looked as though he had just gotten out of college. "Welcome to the visitor center."
"Thank-you," Lex said, hurrying to walk beside the young man.
"Who, might I ask, are you?" Dr. Grant asked as he walked beside the man, leaving Tim to walk behind them down a path into the 'jungle' display.

The man smiled, showing a row of perfectly white teeth.
"I'm Doctor Stetson. You can call me James, if you like. I created this whole rainforest on paper. And, here it is. Before your eyes is the work of many people. It took us months to come up with a good enough design for the Visitor Center's Lobby, but we came up with it."
"We?" Dr. Grant said, giving him a confused look.
"Oh, yes," James said, the tiny monkey leaping onto his shoulder. "My crew and I. We run Jurassic Park. Now, anyway. We were asked by Mr. Hammond to design a new look for the park. A look that would seem inviting and stray from the original." His voice trailed off as though he were searching for the word. "Dinosaur look. I think it would frighten people. But, we don't have to worry about that. As you have seen, Dr. Grant, at your speeches; people want to come to the park. There's so much publicity towards it. It's a wonderful park, I can assure you. And quite safe."
"I would hope so," Dr. Grant said, eyeing Lex who was giving James dreamy stares.
"Oh, it is. The rides are certainly safe -"
Dr. Grant cut him off.
"It's not the rides that I'm referring to."
Tim frowned. He felt really left out of the situation because he was trailing behind them. He hated being treated like a kid. He wasn't one any more. He could be included in conversations. He groaned as his sister asked James a question.
James laughed.
"Oh, I'm single."
Tim rolled his eyes. His sister was hitting on their guide! It wasn't funny. It was stupid and wrong. The guy was probably four years older than her.
Suddenly, he spotted something.
It was in the fake trees. He heard a low growl as if something was being aggravated. He stopped, sure that none of his colleagues would notice if he wasn't there, and peered into the trees to see if he could spot the animal that was being bothered.
Suddenly, he spotted something terrifying. Men in white lab coats were rolling a cage, (Tim was sure it was a cage), covered up with a white sheet through a trail in the woods. The creature in the cage was growling loudly now. The men didn't seem to care about this. Tim was wondering what in the world they could be transporting in the cage when something unexpected happened.
The cage tilted slowly onto its side and almost fell over, causing the two men pushing it to stop and hold it up. Then, they jumped back as a large claw tore at the white sheet. The scary part about this claw was that it was covered in scaly skin and had one giant hook-like talon attached to it.
Tim stumbled back, terrified at what he just saw. Was it real? Could they really have a Velociraptor in the park?
A hand suddenly fell down onto his shoulder and he cried out.
"Woah, Tim -" Dr. Grant said as he spun Tim around.
Tim found himself breathing hard.
"I just saw -"
But when he turned, the men were gone as well as the cage.
"You saw - what?" Dr. Grant asked as Tim looked into the trees.
"I'm sure I saw it," he said silently to himself.
"Tim! Hurry up! We're going to be late for Dinner with Grandpa!"
Tim turned away from the trees reluctantly and followed Dr. Grant down the path towards an archway, ending the forest of trees and starting a well lit corridor with tan walls and mirrors in expensive frames hanging on them.
"This is the hallway towards our Dining Area," James started. "Here, this room is able to seat 300 people. We've made sure to keep it low key and traditional. There's a chandelier and fancy carvings as well as some bamboo trees scattered around."
They found themselves walking onto a large balcony, followed by some red-carpeted stairs with gold trimming. The room they saw beyond the balcony was enormous. A glass dome was situated on the center of the ceiling, allowing natural light to accompany the chandelier lighting. There was the sound of classical music and Lex smiled as she spotted a buffet of food waiting for them below.
They descended the stairs, staring in awe (even Dr. Grant), at the lovely room.
A large table was awaiting them, laden with every type of food they could possibly imagine. Foot-long subs; soup, every kind you could want with steam rising up from the large bowls of it; ice cream, Lex's favorite, chocolate; cookies; cakes; salads; and Jell-O, molded into a dinosaur form at the center of the long table.
Dr. Grant grabbed a plate and began serving himself some chicken legs and roast beef. This, perhaps, wasn't so bad after all, he thought to himself. Tim grabbed a bowl and dished out some ice cream. Blackberry Pie was his favorite flavor. Lex grabbed a plate and took some salad, sure to put a mountain of croutons on top. James didn't grab anything except for a black olive which he gave to his pet monkey who ate it up in small nibbles thankfully.
"Your monkey is so cute!" Lex said, crouching down with her plate to admire the tiny creature.
The monkey stopped chewing its olive and snatched a crouton off of her plate, jumping back onto James' shoulder, shoving it into his mouth.
James smiled.
"This is Sylvester. Him and me have been partners for a while."
He smiled as the monkey made some squeaking noises.
"Shall we sit down?" he then suggested. They all took seats together at a round table, and began eating immediately.
"So, what exactly do you do for the park, besides designing things?" Dr. Grant said as he swallowed some mashed potatoes with a sea of melted butter on top.
"I'm the expert on wildlife here."
Dr. Grant gave him a questioning look, and James smiled. "Not the Dinosaur expert." he replied to the stare. "Here at Jurassic Park, not only to our animatronic dinosaurs inhabit the island, but actual wildlife does as well. We've got hundreds of species of bird on the island now, not to mention lizards, insects, and snakes."
Lex gulped at the mention of snakes. She hated snakes.
"So, I hope you are all enjoying yourself, but I have duties to attend to."
And with a quick farewell, James got up and left.
"What a heart-throb!" Lex said as she put her fork down.
Tim sighed. He was surprised when Dr. Grant did too.
"Keep it to yourself, Lex," Tim said with a frown on his face.
"Well, he is really nice," she replied. Then a smile broke out onto her face. "Do you think we'll see him again?"
"I wouldn't doubt it," Dr. Grant said, cutting a piece of roast beef off and moving it up to his mouth.
"I love this place now. And, you know what I heard?" she went on.
Both Dr. Grant and Tim looked up now.
"There's a roller coaster!"
"You're kidding!" Tim said happily.
"No, I'm not!" she said happily.
"When did you hear this?" Dr. Grant asked with an interested look on his face.
"When you two were looking at the trees on the path," she said, spearing some lettuce with her fork. "By the way," she looked up at Tim slowly. "What were you looking at in the trees?"
Tim was about to tell her his suspicions, but then decided not to.
"Nothing," he said, lowering his eyes to his plate.
It would be best not to get anybody upset while we're on the trip, Tim thought to himself. The rest of their dinner was eaten in silence, and Tim almost thought he heard the growl of the creature again.