AN: And here's chapter two!
LapisLazyli
Are you at the right building now?
PeriTech
I think so. Big glass roof, right?
LapisLazyli
That's the one! I'm at pool 2-C. I can't use my phone when I'm on duty, so you're on your own from here on out, kay? ;)
PeriTech
Gee, thanks. :p
Peridot looked up from her phone and at the structure in front of her. When she agreed to meet Lapis at her workplace, she didn't know that the other girl worked at the local community center as a lifeguard. The two had texted for a while and Peridot had let Lapis talk to Steven over the phone the previous night. She assumed that the emotional spillover had led to the arrangement. Peridot sighed and walked through the doors and over to the front desk.
" Hi, I'm looking for pool 2-C?" she said. The teen behind the desk was obviously uninterested.
"Probably an intern." Peridot thought. The girl snapped her gum and fiddled with her name tag that read " Jenny Pizza " in large blue letters. She raised a finger towards the vague direction of the pools.
" Follow the signs." she muttered, tapping away at her computer. Peridot half-heatedly said "Thank you" and walked towards the pools. She placed her satchel down and removed her shoes and socks. She mentally praised herself on remembering to wear her waterproof arm and leg prosthetic covers. Not that she planned on going in the pool, she just hadn't wanted to damage the expensive mechanics. She wasn't very good at swimming anyways, and usually sunk right away in deeper water. Even though her family was fairly wealthy, she still had to be careful with her artificial limbs, as her mother disapproved of such reckless behavior.
Peridot walked out onto the pool deck, marveling at the sheer size of the place, the glass walls stretching from floor to ceiling. The shallow pool was full of young children taking swimming lessons. The deeper pool was in a separate area and fairly empty. Peridot walked over and spotted Lapis sitting on the lifeguards chair. She waved and smiled slightly when she got a wave in return.
"What's with me? It's not like she's my friend." Peridot thought. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice the large pool toy Frisbee speeding towards her head. The hunk of foam collided with the back of her head with a wet " THUNK " noise. The impact wasn't particularly painful, but the force was enough to throw her off balance, and she fell forwards.
She had a split second to emit a sound that was a cross between a swear and a squeak before she landed in the water. She tried to hold her breath as she sank towards the bottom of the pool, but panicked and let out a cry for help, bubbles spiraling towards the surface. She felt overwhelmed at the water rushed into her mouth and nose, her vision blurring, flailing limbs ceasing their movement.
"This is it. This is where I die. This is where my story ends. God, I have so many regrets." thought Peridot as she hit the bottom of the pool. Her eyes began to close slowly. She could faintly see the blurry figure of someone swimming towards her, their blue hair shimmering under the water, but she lost consciousness before she could piece together who it was.
Peridot came to slowly, feeling the floor tiles underneath her, realizing right after that someone's lips were touching hers. The pressure shifted from her face to her chest as whoever was above her preformed CPR. Peridot shuddered suddenly and coughed up water, gasping desperately for air, held down by a hand on her shoulder.
"Easy there. Just hold still, kay? You almost drowned." said a familiar voice. Peridot blinked the water out of her eyes and looked up at the girl above her. Lapis smiled back, looking relived, and dripping wet.
"Thank goodness I got you out of there in time. Another minute, and..." Lapis fell silent as they both thought of what could have happened to Peridot. Time seemed to blur as Peridot was moved from the pool deck to the infirmary by the staff. Lapis had to finish her shift, but promised to come back later. By the time Peridot could focus again, she was lying in a small bed, wrapped in a towel with a nurse nearby.
She stayed there for almost a half hour, staring at the ceiling, thinking about her current situation. She needed to get her arms and legs dried off as soon as possible, but she didn't want the nurse to get all uppity about the mechanical parts and mess something up. Her attention snapped back to reality as her phone buzzed. She slowly reached into her bag and saw that she had a text from Lapis.
LapisLazyli
How're you doing? My shift's over but the nurse wouldn't let me into the infirmary since I'm not family. Stupid rule. If you ask nicely they might let me see you for a bit though. Let me know, kay?
Peritech
Well, I'm alive, and that's saying a lot. I'll ask the nurse if she'll let me see the person who saved my life. If I play to her sympathies, it shouldn't take too long.
LapisLazyli
I'm not sure if I should be scared or happy. You really are something special, miss Diamond.
PeriTech
I try to do my best. ;)
LapisLazyli
XD You do that.
Peridot looked down at her phone in minor disbelief.
"Did I really just send a winking emoticon to someone I barely know?" she thought. She shook her head and focused on the task at hand. A few minutes, some fake tears, and one emotional speech later, Lapis walked into the room. The nurse left them alone and promised to be back in a little bit. Peridot smirked.
"I told you it would work." she said smugly. Lapis smiled back at her and raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed you did." she said, walking over to the bed and sitting next to it.
"So, how are you feeling?" she asked, looking concerned again. Peridot sighed.
"Soggy." she responded, earning her a laugh from Lapis.
"Well, soggy or not, I'm glad you're okay." said Lapis. She smiled and Peridot couldn't help but smile back.
"I'm only okay because of you." she said. "Speaking of you, can I get your help with something?"
"Sure, what it it?' asked Lapis. Peridot sat up in bed and reached down to her right knee. She pushed on either side of her joint and held it for ten seconds. A " Kachunk! " sound came from the limb as she pulled slightly and the lower half of her leg came away, leaving an exposed metal joint behind it.
"Well? Are you gonna help me with this, or not?" she said, smirking. Lapis looked stunned.
"Your legs are mechanical?" she said. Peridot nodded.
"From the knees down. Arms too, from the elbows, and that's what I need your help with. I am not trusting that nurse with something this important."
"So, you're trusting me?"
"Well, it's that or waiting until I get home, and I already got one leg off." she said. Lapis nodded, though she looked a little uneasy. Peridot gave her a reassuring smile.
"Look, it's not that hard, see? You press on both sides of the joint, hold down for ten seconds, and then pull. Easy.' she said, demonstrating with her other leg. Lapis reached over and tentatively pressed on either side of Peridot's left elbow.
"You have to press harder than that." said Peridot. Lapis obliged.
"Great, just hold that, and... pull, gently!" she said as she heard her arm detach. Lapis tugged on the arm and almost dropped it when it came off.
"I did it!" she exclaimed happily.
"Indeed you did. Now, do the other one." said Peridot. The second attempt went much smoother. Lapis stared in awe at the separated limbs that were now sitting on the bed.
"Wow... that's so... can I say cool?" said Lapis.
"You can, though most people say " weird " or " sorry ". Not like it was their fault." said Peridot.
"If I may ask... what happened?" inquired Lapis. Peridot gave her a sad smile.
"Nothing happened. I was born like this." she said. Lapis nodded again. The two stayed quiet for a bit. The silence was broken fairly quickly when the nurse walked back in and saw that Peridot was missing four of her body parts.
Explaining the situation took a while, and by the time the nurse had calmed down, Peridot's sister had come to pick her up. Lapis said goodbye and left, but not before she got a picture of Peridot to set as her contact icon. Pearl walked into the room, still in costume from ballet class, bag slung over her shoulder.
"Would that blue haired girl by the bus stop be your elevator friend by any chance?" she asked, a small smirk on her face. Peridot blushed slightly.
"Very funny Pearl. And yes, that was probably Lapis." she said. Pearl's smile only got wider as she helped Peridot into one of the infirmary wheelchairs.
"I knew she was your friend. You normally wouldn't care about someone enough to voluntarily talk to them more than once." she said, pushing the wheelchair down the hall. "She was the one who saved you, right?"
"How did you know?"
"The nurse told me when they called the house. You're lucky that mother's at work. She would have freaked out for sure." said Pearl.
"They called you?" said Peridot, surprised, as she thought such information would have gotten to her. Pearl nodded.
"They wanted to contact family. Jasper initially picked up the phone, but then Amethyst took it, and..." Pearl trailed off mid-sentence as a small blush rose on her cheeks.
"I know that Jasper is Lapis's sister, but why would she be at our house? And who's Amethyst?" asked Peridot.
"They're just some friends that came over to study. That's it." snapped Pearl, ending the conversation. Peridot could tell by the embarrassed look on her sister's face that she was lying, but decided to not press the issue. They made their way to the car and Peridot shuffled into the backseat.
"May I have at least one of my arms back?" she asked. Pearl nodded and helped her attach the prosthetic. Peridot reached into her bag and began texting as Pearl drove them back home.
Peritech
Hey. On my way home. You?
LapisLazyli
Same. Do you want to meet up again tomorrow?
Peritech
My apologies if I don't feel like taking sinking classes again.
LapisLazyli
LOL. How about I go to where you work instead?
Peritech
Sure. I'll text you the details later.
Peridot wondered for a second about the fact that she had agreed to meet with Lapis again. Most people she texted had stuff for class. She didn't have anyone she considered a friend. Well, maybe Steven,but he was just a kid. And Pearl was family. She didn't count. Peridot sighed again and looked out the window, allowing her thoughts to drift, barely focusing on the view.
"What are you doing to me, Lapis Lazuli Quartz?"
AN: And that was chapter two! I hope you enjoyed it! I'm sorry if there's errors, I'm not the best editor.