Chapter 170

The guilt hit Lisa exactly three days after the Great Dinosaur Incident.

Apparently, causing an entire preschool field trip to be canceled was frowned upon.

Who knew?

Lisa was currently sitting in the principal’s office while Ruby sat beside her swinging her legs innocently.

Across from them sat several exhausted teachers.

Very exhausted teachers.

One teacher still looked traumatized.

Another had developed a nervous twitch whenever someone mentioned dinosaurs.

The principal sighed.

“We’ve never had a field trip canceled because children believed dinosaurs were waiting to ambush them.”

Lisa awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck.

“To be fair, birds are technically-“

“Lisa.”

“Right. Sorry.”

Ruby raised her hand.

“I didn’t mean to scare everybody.”

The teachers immediately softened.

None of them could stay upset at the little dumpling.

“It wasn’t your fault, Ruby,” one teacher said kindly.

Ruby looked relieved.

Meanwhile all eyes shifted toward Lisa.

Lisa shrank in her chair.

“…Fair.”

That evening, Lisa came home looking unusually serious.

Jennie immediately became suspicious.

“What did you do?”

“I have an idea.”

“Oh no.”

“A really good one.”

“Oh no.”

“A compensation field trip.”

Jennie narrowed her eyes.

“What kind of compensation field trip?”

Lisa smiled.

“The biggest one possible.”

Two weeks later, every parent in Ruby’s preschool received a message.

The field trip was back on.

But nobody expected what happened next.

When the buses arrived in front of the preschool, the children collectively lost their minds.

Instead of the usual small buses…

There were enormous luxury coaches.

Huge windows.

Comfortable seats.

Air-conditioning.

Built-in screens.

The children looked like they had just discovered magic.

“WHOOOOAA!”

Ruby bounced up and down.

“MAMA GOT BIG BUSES!”

The teachers stared.

The principal stared.

The parents stared.

Lisa grinned proudly.

“Go big or go home.”

Jennie face-palmed.

“You’re treating this like a corporate apology.”

“It IS a corporate apology.”

The surprises didn’t stop there.

When the buses arrived at the destination, every child froze.

A gigantic natural park stretched across the horizon.

Beautiful lakes.

Flower fields.

Butterfly gardens.

Walking trails.

Petting areas.

Playgrounds.

The place looked like something out of a fairy tale.

One teacher blinked.

“Wait…”

Another checked the reservation.

Then checked again.

Then checked a third time.

“It’s reserved.”

The principal looked confused.

“For who?”

The staff member smiled.

“Exclusively for Ruby Preschool today.”

The entire faculty screamed internally.

Lisa proudly crossed her arms.

“No dinosaurs.”

“Thank goodness.”

“Just ducks.”

The teachers collectively sighed with relief.

Jennie had taken responsibility for the food.

Nobody should have been surprised.

The woman prepared enough snacks to feed a small nation.

Tables stretched everywhere.

Fresh fruit.

Sandwiches.

Cookies.

Juice boxes.

Rice balls.

Cupcakes.

Mini burgers.

Chocolate milk.

Strawberry milk.

Everything was carefully labeled.

Everything was adorable.

Everything had little dinosaur stickers on it.

Jennie glared at Lisa.

Lisa looked away.

The children spent the entire morning running around the park.

They fed rabbits.

They chased butterflies.

They took pictures.

They laughed.

They played.

Even the teachers started relaxing.

For the first time since the incident, nobody seemed worried about dinosaurs.

Then lunch arrived.

And so did Lisa’s final surprise.

“Oh no,” Jennie muttered.

“What?”

“That smile.”

Lisa wheeled out several giant boxes.

Children immediately gathered around.

“What’s that?”

“Present!”

The entire preschool gasped.

“FOR US?!”

Lisa nodded.

“For all of you.”

The children screamed.

When the boxes were opened, hundreds of plush toys appeared.

Not ordinary plush toys.

Dinosaurs.

Soft.

Fluffy.

Round.

Cute.

Absolutely harmless-looking.

Each dinosaur wore a tiny beanie.

A tiny tag hung from every plushie.

The tag read:

SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION. LOVE, RUBY’S MAMA.

The teachers immediately started laughing.

The principal laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes.

Meanwhile the children were ecstatic.

“My dinosaur is green!”

“Mine has a blue beanie!”

“Mine is fluffy!”

“I LOVE HIM!”

Ruby received the biggest plushie.

A giant triceratops nearly half her size.

“MAMA!”

Lisa crouched down.

“Do you like it?”

Ruby hugged it tightly.

“I LOVE HIM!”

“What are you naming him?”

Ruby thought carefully.

Then she gasped.

“Dinosaur.”

Lisa nodded.

“Excellent name.”

Jennie buried her face in her hands.

By evening, the field trip had become legendary.

The children couldn’t stop talking about it.

Parents couldn’t stop thanking Jennie and Lisa.

Teachers finally recovered from the dinosaur trauma.

And every child went home carrying a dinosaur plushie wearing a tiny beanie.

As the buses returned to the preschool, Ruby sat beside her parents hugging Dinosaur tightly.

“This was the best field trip ever.”

Jennie smiled.

“I’m glad.”

Lisa smiled too.

“No more dinosaur panic?”

Ruby nodded.

“No more panic.”

Then she paused.

“Mama?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I tell everyone dragons are real next week?”

The bus immediately became silent.

Every teacher turned around.

Every single teacher.

Slowly.

Terrifyingly.

Lisa looked at them.

Then looked at Ruby.

Then looked at the teachers again.

“…No.”

The teachers burst into applause.

And for the first time in weeks, everyone felt completely safe.