>gertrude carefully organized her papers into her bag
>the bell had just rung and class was over
>most of the students had vanished the second the chime sounded
>by the time she had stood up she was the only one in the classroom
>as she made her way to the door, the teacher held up a hand
>"ms gertrude, do you have a moment"
>the lumbering Deinosuchus froze
>anxiety bubbled in her gut
>this had to be about the assignments they had turned in yesterday
>no doubt the teach was going to tell her what a rotten job she did
>she mentally sighed in resignation
>no sense in delaying the inevitable
>"yes Mr. Iakadan?"
>she trundled over to his desk
>the Ptero gave her a warm smile that eased her fears a bit
>"I'd like to talk to you about the assignment you turned in"
>the fear came roaring back
>"what about it?"
>she tried to ask calmly
>her insides squirmed
>'here it comes' she thought miserably
>"I really like it."
>Gertrude blinked
>"h-huh?"
>"you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals I've been teaching. And you clearly tried to implement what we've been covering in class into the assignment"
>the croc couldn't believe her ears
>Mr. Iakadan....liked her drawing?
>"I do think there is some room for improvement. Like I said, you have the fundamentals down but that will only carry you so far. If you don't mind, I'd like to make some tips to help you get better."
>he said warmly
>"I-uh..." Gertrude nervously fidgeted with her hands
>he couldn't be serious, could he?
>there's no way she was actually as good as he was saying
>'he's probably just humoring' me she thought
>"T-thank you, Mr. Iakadan. But you don't need to do that."
>He gave her a curious look
>"Why not?" the ptero asked
>gertrude tried to not let the embarrassment show
>"I mean, I've seen the art some of the other students make. They're way better than me. Your time is better spent helping them"
>It hurt but Gertrude wasn't one to hide from the truth. no matter how painful
cont