Chapter 2
Food Lion
"You will go inside. We will stay out here."
Garnet was incredibly insistent.
Pearl was less than enthusiastic. "Normally I would be completely up to this, but I was at least planning on having someone go with me…" As much as Pearl was willing to complete this task, she had secretly hoped that one of the other gems would handle Lion's food when the appropriate time showed itself. Garnet looked into the distance.
"Take Steven with you."
"What? Me?"
"Yes you. I don't think it would be a good idea to leave Amethyst by herself…or lead her into a store full or perishables."
Amethyst glared at Garnet. "Psshh. Whatever." She was clearly frustrated that trust was not available among her friends.
Garnet looked down at her. "You lost our trust at the pet store."
Amethyst's expression turned to horror. Sometimes she thought Garnet could not only tell the future, but read minds as well.
"I don't need to read your mind Amethyst. Your just very…hmmm…predictable." Garnet smirked at Amethyst's shocked face.
"Garnet, why don't you and Steven go? I'll keep an eye on Amethyst!" Pearl rebutted.
"Mmmm…no." Garnet was well aware how much control Pearl had over Amethyst. All she could think about was how the rest of the day had played out.
"You are a good candidate anyway Pearl. We could use some extra food around the house and you don't normally overspend."
"That's because she doesn't EAT. She never buys enough!" Amethyst interupted. "How is she even supposed to know what the good stuff is? She never tastes anything she buys!"
"I know enough!" huffed Pearl. "I have done extended research on healthy human diets! Vegetables! Whole wheat-"
"-candy?"
"No Steven. Not today."
Steven pouted. Knowing Pearl, she would probably get something exotic. Last time she had brought back an entire bag of something called "kiwano" because it was "on sale". Steven stuck out his tongue. If it hadn't been for his dad's cooking he would have starved that week. He recalled that Amethyst got so desperate she ate the bag that the fruit had come in.
"You and you alone must do this. I'm counting on you Pearl." Garnet looked toward Pearl with trust.
"I'll…I'll try my best." Pearl didn't want to seem weak in front of Garnet.
Garnet continued: "Steven!"
"Yes?"
"Make sure she doesn't buy anything weird."
At this comment Pearl seemed to be on the cusp between rage and perplexity. Steven quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her through the automatic door.
What Steven didn't realize is that Pearl had never bought meat before…not raw meat anyway. Greg normally provided his son with enough animal protein to satisfy several people. Most of the "meat" she bought had been processed. Pearl knew processed meat was not as good for humans, she really did. The sight of obvious carnage just made her feel horrific. During her shopping trips, it had gotten to the point where food even AROUND the meat cooler at the store was purposely avoided.
Pearl and Steven approached the meat department with haste. Steven wanted to look at the other goodies in the store and Pearl just wanted to leave as fast as possible. The thought of having to handle the husk of something that had once been so ALIVE made Pearl incredibly uncomfortable. It went against all of Rose's principles. Steven saw the look of uncertainty on her face.
"You okay Pearl?"
"FiNe-ErNgH…" Pearl tried to compose herself and was terribly unsuccessful. Her nerves were shot. She felt light headed.
"I'll hold the meat, if you want. I'm used to barbecuing with dad."
Pearl looked down at Steven, incredibly thankful that he had hit the problem on the nose. She was too dizzy to create words, so nodded instead.
The meat counter came into view. Any color that was in Pearl's face disappeared completely. There were chopped up parts and pieces of all sorts of creatures. Fish that had been sliced in half- their bones and red muscles exposed. A baby cow had been nearly diminished to a fine paste. Various shellfish lay limp in piles. Multiple crab legs had been ripped into halves. A pig haunch sat on its side, a sad state of its former self. A dead fish stared, it's eyes unblinking in the glass case-
The next thing Pearl remembered were her eyes opening. The lights on the ceiling were harsh, and she squinted to see. Steven was over her- his face looked panicked. She could see his mouth moving- but could not hear anything. Slowly other humans became more defined-and the sound slowly came back.
"p-rl…pearl…PEARL! OH MY GOSH ARE YOU OK?!"
"huhwah?" Pearl attempted to answer but failed to create words.
"You just fell over! Does your head feel alright? You must have hit it pretty hard…"
Pearl now noticed that she had caused quite a spectacle. A horde of people began to approach her. Some had a worried look on their face, others only seemed empathetically curious. She sat up- probably quicker than her body would have preferred. Her head began to spin again. She wobbled slightly.
"Just relax Pearl! I'll go get Garnet!" Steven ran from the scene as fast as he could. A large man with the store's logo on the pocket of his shirt approached her.
"Mam, do you want me to call an ambulance? Would you like a glass of water? It might make you feel better-"
"-I'M FINE! Really…" Pearl interrupted the man and quickly attempted to calm herself. The last thing in the world she wanted right now was a glass of water. As the sound of footsteps became ever closer Pearl turned to the source of the noise. She could see Steven and Garnet running toward her. The gem felt slightly ashamed that she had not been able to complete this simple task. She stared at Garnet, incredibly embarrassed.
"PEARL! Are you okay?" Garnet saw the look on Pearl's face, her gaze turned to the crowd. "Show's over. You can all move along now." Garnet attempted to persuade the crowd to leave.
The worker responded: "But, this woman could be seriously hurt! What if she-"
Garnet turned to the man and put her hand on his shoulder. She gave him a glare that he mistook for a somewhat angry one.
"She will be fine. I've got this." Garnet patted his shoulder. The man walked away briskly and slightly frightened.
"Garnet! I am SO sorry I don't know what came over me." Pearl was on the brink of tears.
The red gem was sympathetic: "No Pearl I'M sorry. I saw this as a possibility, but the percentage was so low I didn't think anything would come of it. I blame myself." The red gem was clearly upset with her own decision. "Why don't you go outside and get some fresh air. I'll take care of this."
Pearl nodded. She was thankful that this awful nightmare of a situation was going to be fine. She got up slowly (and still slightly wobbly), before heading toward the exit of the grocery store.
Steven ran outside in a panic. Both him and Garnet sprinted back inside. Amethyst was now alone.
She stood in an awkward state of shock for a second. The purple gem had no clue why there was such a din coming from the store.
Amethyst did not see what was going on inside, but she DID see something else- an opportunity!
She spotted a slightly hidden door on the side of the building. It had a small red sign with white letters that said "Employees Only" on the front.
She figured that if she didn't get caught by any of her friends, she wouldn't get blamed. Amethyst opened the door. A light shined from her gem and faded. Where she once stood, there was now a purple mouse. The new animal scurried into the building, licking it's chops. The large door slammed behind.
Pearl staggered out the front door, and found a bench near the entrance. She sat down and closed her eyes. She didn't hear Amethyst. Was the purple gem with Garnet? She couldn't remember. She must have been…yes…definitely. Pearl's head throbbed.
Garnet turned to Steven. "I guess it's up to us now."
"Yeah…will she be okay?"
"She'll be fine."
Garnet held Steven's hand as they finished the journey to the meat counter. A hefty butcher stood behind the counter chopping at a red, wet piece of meat. He was so busy with his work that his didn't notice the duo staring at him.
As the two of them waited patiently, Steven spotted a tank full of something.
"Woah! Garnet! Look at this!"
Inside the tank sat several sad looking lobsters. Their claws were held tightly closed with various colored rubber bands. "Do you think they will find good homes? They're soo cute!"
As Steven looked at the creatures, Garnet's brow furrowed.
"-and I'll name you Dr. Claw, and YOU Henry!" Steven finished naming all the lobsters in the tank. "See? Now that all of them have names, they will be best friends forever!"
Garnet made a strange sound that represented a mix between a weep and a cough. Despite this, she kept her composure. Another small metallic bell on the glass case caught her attention. She was reminded of the first one that had appeared earlier.
"Steven, why don't you ring the bell?"
"OH! Right!"
Steven smacked the bell repeatedly. The rings filled the entire area. The butcher walked over to the small child and chuckled with a deep laugh as he scooted the bell away from Steven's reach.
"What can I get 'cha?"
"Meat please!"
"What kind of meat?"
Garnet butted in. "Antelope."
The butcher roared with laughter. The sound echoing through the aisles. Several fellow shoppers who passed by stopped to see where the loud noise had come from. Despite her lack of enthusiasm, the man smacked his leg and pointed at Garnet. "I like you guys! It's always nice to get people with a good sense of humor! Now, what can I REALLY get you?"
Garnet gave the man a cross look of annoyance. Steven decided to butt in. "Some steak please!"
"AHHH! Now you're talking! How much would you like?"
Steven looked at Garnet. She replied: "All of it."
"BWAHAHAHA! What is with you? Trying to make an old man's day?"
"You are not old." Garnet thought about her own age. She had seen parts of the American Revolution, and the Civil War, and the World Wars…she suddenly realized how many battles she had witnessed. She wondered why fighting seemed to be such a big part of all cultures.
"Ahh. That's nice of you to say. You guys are alright."
Steven decided to take the reins. "Actually we DO need a lot of meat. We're having…erm…a big party! Yeah! That's believable!"
"Well, all righty then! If it's a big party you want, then a big party you shall have!" The butcher walked to the back room, and re-emerged with the largest slab of meat Steven had ever seen! If the animal was still alive, it was probably about the size of two goats.
"WOAH! What IS that?" Steven was clearly impressed.
"I haven't cut it yet. Came in this morning. We don't get a lot of people wanting this much meat, but once in a while they want stuff like this...for barbecues or luaus or other big parties-like yours! It's cheaper to buy it pre-cut like this anyway."
"We'll take three." Garnet nodded.
"WOW! That's going to be some party I bet'cha!"
Unfortunately, the man only had one large side of beef in the back. He satisfied his customers with fourteen additional large blobs of eatable animal. "That there's a baron stake. It's the biggest cut I can give you that isn't attached." The man tied packaging paper onto all the purchases so that they wouldn't leak.
At this point, the entire cart was filled to the brim. Garnet nodded with satisfaction. This would certainly be enough-for several days at least. "Steven, would you mind grabbing what you need as well? I don't think anything else will fit in this cart."
Steven whooped, and ran off to get something awesome for the week's breakfast. Garnet stayed put.
"Did you need anything else?" The butcher asked curiously.
Garnet made sure Steven was out of sight before leaning in to the butcher. She sternly whispered: "How much for the lobsters?"
The purple mouse waddled around the storage room. She quickly chewed the corners of various cracker boxes and snuck inside. This creature worked quickly, making sure to nibble all the boxes from the back so that no one would catch her. Any carton that was attacked was left much lighter. For a while the mouse contemplated eating the boxes as well, but figured their contents were much more delicious than the containers.
Suddenly, an employee walked through the same door that the mouse had used. The door slammed, and with a frightened squeak, the small creature hid underneath a pallet of toilet paper.
The human sat and began playing with his phone. The mouse relaxed slightly, and began to clean her crumb-riddled face with her little paws. She would have to wait until this person was gone before risking moving around again.
Garnet waited at the checkout line, her large purchase catching the eyes of everyone nearby. Steven staggered next to her a few seconds later- his arms filled with stuff he probably shouldn't eat in excess. Garnet glared at him sternly. She predicted indigestion, as well as a stern talking to from Pearl. Steven saw her expression, and answered her look by making his eyes as large and cute as possible. She sighed, and figured if nothing else it would serve as an important learning experience about eating correctly. Steven smiled and piled his stuff on the treadmill along with the meat. A giant mysterious brown bag had also appeared among the pile.
"Garnet? Is that bag ours? What is it?"
"A surprise."
Garnet smiled as the boy's eyes lit up.
The transaction was much smoother this time, and the two of them happily walked out of the store with their purchases.
Garnet quickly bubbled up all the groceries (except for Steven's surprise) before Pearl could see any of the junk food she had been coaxed into buying. She held the mysterious brown bag, and found an exhausted Pearl lying on a bench nearby. The white gem had found a cool wet cloth and had draped it across her head. Steven looked at the cloth in confusion.
"Probably had it stored in her gem." Garnet answered Steven's inquisitive face. He nodded in agreement. Pearl always stored lots of different things for serious medical situations in her gem. She was always very well prepared.
"Pearl!"
The sudden shout from Garnet stirred Pearl into focus. The cloth fell off her face and she quickly rubbed her eyes in pain.
"How are you feeling?"
"Oggg…better?"
"Where's Amethyst?"
Pearl looked at her in terror "I thought she was with YOU!"
"Hmmm." Garnet let out an annoyed groan.
The human texted someone on his phone. He laughed stupidly as another text returned. The purple mouse waited impatiently. This kid had been sitting on the same pile of boxes for over 30 minutes already.
"AMETHYST! AMEEEETHYST!"
On the outside of the door the mouse heard Steven calling her name.
"Come on Amethyst…I wanna go home. I got lots of stuff I think you'll like! Please Amethyst? Don't be mad…"
The mouse felt guilty. She didn't want to upset the boy, but didn't want to get caught either. What could she do? Certainly her gem friends would get angry if she walked out the front of the store. Amethyst cooked up a plan. She waited until Steven's yells droned away.
A faint purple glow emitted from underneath the pallet. This immediately caught the attention of the employee, who turned quickly from his electronic device.
As Amethyst had mentioned earlier, she had a special place in her heart for misunderstood critters. She could relate to them on a personal level. She especially liked stuff that freaked out Pearl, such as rats and…
"SNAKE!" The human bounded up in fear as a two-foot Spiny Bush Viper emerged from underneath the pile of toilet paper. It was her favorite breed, and she found it surprisingly cute despite its deadly history. The human contorted with fear and quickly ran toward the exit as Amethyst hissed at him with warning. In less than a minute the teenager ran out the door in a panic, the snake close behind. While the employee kept running into the horizon, the deadly creature stopped in the surrounding parking lot.
The snake, now alone and outside, suddenly glowed brilliantly. Where the reptile had been, Amethyst now stood once again. She fell over on her side laughing hysterically, holding her sides. Humans were so easy to fool!
The gem suddenly remembered that she needed to find Steven and the others. She turned the corner of the building and faced her family, grinning smugly. "You losers looking for me?"
"AMETHYST!" The three yelled in unison.
"Where were you?!" Pearl put her hands on her hips.
"Oh…you know…around."
Garnet gave her a menacing scowl.
"Yup! Just hanging! That's what I do! Totally not getting in trouble or anything. NO SIR."
Amethyst looked up at Garnet who didn't seem the least convinced.
"…Let's head back to the house. I'm getting tired anyway." Amethyst yawned and began walking toward the beach.
As the gems approached the temple. Garnet stopped on the shore. "I think it's time for your surprise Steven."
"Oh boy! Oh boy!" Steven shook with excitement.
Garnet handed him the large bag which was surprisingly heavier than he had initially anticipated. He tore open the bag unable to contain himself. "OHMYGOSH! Lobster buddies!"
"Lobster buddies?" Pearl looked at her fellow gem, confused.
"It's a long story." Garnet replied.
Pearl looked into the bag which was crawling with life. "What are we going to do with all these lobsters?"
"Let's eat 'em!" Amethyst's mouth watered at the thought of having cooked lobster.
"NOOOO! Don't hurt them!" Steven hugged the bag desperately.
"Hmm. What do you think we should do with them Steven?" Garnet already knew what his answer would be.
"Well, I don't want to keep them locked up in a cage or anything. I already have Lion as a pet…OH I KNOW!" Steven looked toward the ocean.
It took some time to get all the rubber bands off the claws of all the animals. When the lobsters were ready, Steven tipped the bag over, and the creatures crawled toward the sea. "Goodbye friends! Be free!"
The lobsters soon disappeared into the waves. Steven turned and embraced Garnet. "Thanks. I think they're much happier now!"
"I know they are."
Steven and Amethyst ran toward the temple to see who could get there first. Garnet looked toward them and smiled. Pearl approached her.
"Garnet, I hate to ask this, but how much did you spend?"
Garnet's smile turned into a serious grim. "You don't want to know."
Next Chapter:
Lion in the Laundry
Thought you guys would like me to add something amusing- just because:
Interesting things I unintentionally learned while researching for this chapter:
~How people transport live lobsters from a grocery store (they sometimes use styrofoam boxes too)
~What a Kiwano is (Look it up! It's a VERY weird fruit-thingy)
~One of the largest cuts of steak you can order from a butcher is called a baron. It basically…like…a large wad of meat.
~That gigantic piece of meat that Rocky fights is typically called "a side of beef", although an uncut slab of meat is also affectionately called a "carcass" by butchers
~Spiny Bush Vipers are adorable. They have special scales that look like feathers!
I also would like to give a shout out to all the awesome people that decided to review and watch this story! You guys are the best!