Life and Times at Diamond U
Chapter I- The First Day
Today was the day. Peridot had woken up at 7:30 am exactly, eaten three and a half waffles (with strawberries, of course), double checked her luggage, and put on her fanciest overalls. She even tried on those sunglasses Garnet had bought her for her 18th birthday. She took all her bags downstairs and waited for the others to wake up.
"Wow, Peri, you're really on the dot today." Peridot chuckled as Amethyst walked out of her room.
"Didn't expect you to be up so early today," Peri said. Amethyst shrugged, giving a cheeky grin.
"You can't expect I would let my sis head off to college by herself, would you?"
"I certainly wouldn't put it past you," Peri replied, narrowly avoiding a chokehold from her adoptive sister, "You know, you could always come with me to college. I'm sure they could enroll you in time."
"As if! I'm happy for you, Peri, but college has always been your thing, not mine. Besides, someone has to stay behind to take care of-"
"STEVENBOMB!" Peridot looked up towards the sound and barely managed to let out a yell before her brother landed square on her face. Amethyst doubled over with laughter as Peri struggled to shake Steven off. Finally, Peridot pulled the young boy off and tossed him to Amethyst.
"You clod! You could have ruined my perfect college hairdo!"
"Wait… that's your perfect college hairdo? I thought you hadn't done your hair yet!" Amethyst replied, holding Steven as a human shield when Peridot ran at her angrily.
"Of course it is! Perfectly angular, combed to perfection, this is the mathematically ideal hairstyle!" Peridot exclaimed, running her fingers through her bright blonde triangular locks. Steven snickered, and Peridot shot him a dirty look.
"Peridot, your outfit is perfect, but what's that on your shirt?" he asked, pointing to the spot in question. Peridot looked down quickly, wondering what could possibly have ruined her outfit, only for Steven to flick his finger up into her face.
"Nyeeeh!" Peri screeched, which only caused Steven and Amethyst to laugh even more.
"What's all the ruckus down there?" a voice from upstairs called, and Steven and Amethyst reluctantly calmed down as Pearl walked down the stairs.
"Oh, Peridot. You look so sharp today! My little college girl, ready for her first day. I just never thought this day would come so soon…" Pearl started to sniffle, and Peri rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Pearl, I thought we agreed no waterworks until we arrived."
"Be nice to Pearl, Peridot. She put up with you for 7 years, after all." Peridot whirled around to see Garnet. She had a habit of appearing silently and without warning, but it never failed to startle Peri.
"S-sorry, Garnet," Peri said, bowing her head. Garnet smiled and patted Peridot's head.
"We're proud of you, Peridot. Diamond University is a great school, and you're going to do amazing there," Garnet said. Peridot blushed as Garnet brought her in for a hug. Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven ran to join, and Peridot found herself assaulted by loving embraces from all sides. Their group hug was interrupted by a honk from outside, and Peridot broke free and grabbed her bags.
"Come on, guys! Greg's here!" she ordered, opening the door and walking out to a large van. The window rolled down and Greg poked his head out the window.
"Hey, college girl! What do you want for the road, smooth jazz or hard metal?"
"How about neither?" Peridot said as she loaded her bags into the trunk. Greg shrugged.
"Best of Mr. Universe it is, then."
"No, please! Play the smooth jazz!" Amethyst lamented as she and the others got into the van. But it was too late. Electric guitar blasted from the speakers, and despite the protests, Peridot heard Amethyst singing along. As the doors closed and the van started moving, everyone was singing their hearts out.
As they pulled out of the driveway, Peridot looked out the window at their small house. It wasn't much to behold, but it had been her home for the last 7 years, the only real home she had ever had. Pearl and Garnet had given her a home and a family, and now, after she got through college with flying colors, she would finally be able to pay them back. Maybe she'd get a job at an engineering firm, or maybe she'd create modern art for a living. Then they could finally fix that hole in the roof and replace the worn-out drapes in the kitchen.
As Peri stared out the window and thought, her hands found their way to her pocket, where she always kept her faithful pipe cleaners. Like she always did when she was nervous, she started to twist them. By the time she noticed what she was doing, she had arranged the pipe cleaners into an image of the house. Shaking her head, she put them back in her pocket.
Stop focusing on the past, you clod. Today is all about the future, she thought. She looked away from the window and tuned in to the argument between Steven and Amethyst about which Lonely Blade character was the best. Those uncivilized peasants, she thought. Those two had never agreed to watch Camp Pining Hearts with her. Some people just couldn't appreciate true art, she supposed.
"We're here," Greg said, parking the van. Peridot's heart was suddenly pounding out of her chest.
Snap out of it, she thought, this is no time to get nerves. This is what you've been preparing for. Waving Pearl away as she tried to adjust Peri's overalls, she stepped out of the car and fetched her bags from the trunk. Amethyst yawned and stepped out as Peridot gawked at Diamond U. It was HUGE. There were three main buildings- a large, cubic, yellow hall, a blue hall with multiple stained-glass windows, and a towering white building between the two. Though the house was only fifteen minutes away from the university, Garnet and Pearl had never taken her to visit. They seemed to always have something else to do…
"I'll wait here for you guys. Good luck, Peri!" Greg yelled as Garnet shut the door.
"Let's go check you in," Garnet said, walking towards the white tower. Peridot briskly followed, the others not far behind. Peri looked around excitedly. The place was so alive! Students were rushing to their dormitories, saying goodbye to their parents, and looking for their friends. So much energy- this was Peri's kind of place. Peridot was so caught up in the excitement, she didn't notice that they had arrived at the tower until she walked directly into the door.
"Eurgh…" she groaned as Garnet opened the door for her.
"Steven, Amethyst, go in with Peridot. We'll stay out here," Pearl said, takin Peridot's bag and stepping to the side with Garnet.
"What? Why aren't you coming?" asked Steven. Pearl glanced at Garnet before answering.
"We, uh, know how embarrassed Peridot gets when we're around. Toodaloo!" Peridot, although curious, didn't have time for Pearl's antics, and dragged Steven and Amethyst in with her. Inside the white tower, they found themselves in a white room, and behind a white desk sat a receptionist with a noticeable scar over her eye.
"Hello, student. Would you like me to check you in?" the receptionist asked.
"Yes, please. My name is Peridot Crystal," Peridot said, giving a smile to the receptionist that was unreciprocated.
"Ah, yes. Here you are. We have you in Corundum Dorm, room 7152. Here is your key. Have a nice day," the receptionist said, handing a key card to Peri.
"All right! To Corundum Dorm!" Peridot exclaimed, running out of the building and rejoining Pearl and Garnet. Pearl examined a map of the campus, scratching her head.
"It looks like Corundum Dorm is right behind the Blue Wing. Wow, this place has changed so much since…"
"Let's go!" Peridot said, running towards her dorm with the others close behind. Finally, panting, she arrived at a large brick dormitory building. Rushing into the door, she searched frantically for her room as the others arrived with bemused smiles on their faces.
"Peridot, here it is," Steven yelled to her, pointing to a door. Peridot rushed to him but stopped right in front of the door. Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst joined them by the door, and Pearl handed Peri her bags.
"I know, I know, you want to set up your room by yourself. We'll be leaving, then," Pearl said. Peridot put the bags down and pulled Pearl into a hug. Pearl softly smiled and patted Peridot's head.
"You're gonna do great here," Pearl said, releasing the embrace.
"Yeah, you're a total rockstar!" Amethyst exclaimed, putting an arm around Peri's shoulder.
"Peridot." Peri turned to Garnet, who was giving her a huge grin.
"We're proud of you." Smiling, Peri picked up her bags.
"Okay, I'm ready. I'll visit every weekend and call every day," she said, giving everyone one last hug as they walked out of the dorm. Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the door and stepped into her room. And then she screamed.
"What is all this stuff!? It's so… disorganized!" she yelled, walking through a pile of clothes, manga, and books. Her roommate had clearly already made themselves at home. The one place not cluttered with rubbish was a tiny corner of the room containing a bed. As Peridot walked through the room, she noticed a tank containing a goldfish on one of the counters. Finally reaching the litter-free bed, Peri surveyed the room in dismay.
"Oh. You must be my new roommate," a voice said from the door. Slowly, Peridot raised her head, starting first with the sandaled feet, then to the sky-blue skirt, then to the turquoise crop top, and finally to the defined face, deep blue eyes, and messy cinnamon hair with blue highlights.
"H-hi there. I'm Peridot."
"Lapis. Lapis Lazuli," Peri's new roommate said, pointing to the fish tank "And this is Pumpkin."
"I see you've already… unpacked your things," Peridot said, a smile plastered on her face.
"Yeah, and I see you've found your section of the room."
"This is it?!"
"I need more space for when my girlfriend comes to hang out," Lapis said, shrugging apathetically.
"Sure, whatever," Peridot sighed, not wanting to start a fight with her new roommate. Lapis lay down on her bed and started to read a manga. Peridot reluctantly stood up and started to unpack her things. This is not what she expected her roommate to be like.
"Stay in your corner!" Lapis exclaimed from across the room as Peridot took a tiny step out. This was going to be a long year.