The green gem reached up to her hair, pulling down a few blonde strands over her gem. She quietly scurried
into the bathroom, peering into the mirror. The strands of hair hung over her gem, covering most of the green gemstone and hiding the crack. 'This should do...I guess...'
Peridot sat against the wall on the cold tile
floor, not wanting to walk back. She felt exhausted, too tired to stand. She just sat, alone, wondering about the latest memory.
The next morning, all gems had already left
for the farm. Peridot had heard the door the the house outside open and slam shut not long ago. She hadn't bothered to get up. She didn't want to go with them, she felt drained. It's not like they really needed her anyway. The Pearl had enough intelligence
to build the drill on her own and the others didn't need her help. They could handle this without her, maybe even do better without her help. 'I'm useless..what help could I provide?' Was the excuse she repeated over and over in her head.
The green gem was too lost in thought to hear
the bathroom door crack open.
"Peridot?" A familiar voice asked. Peridot
didn't have to look up to recognize it as Pearl. The green gem could see a reflection of the white one's face in the mirror out of the corner or her eye. She stared at the other gem's concerned expression warily.
The tall gem took a few steps forward, there
was a quiet creak as the door closed. "What are you still doing here? Everyone left.." Her tone was filled with confusion and slight curiosity.
Peridot didn't speak. The words seemed stuck
in her throat. The green gem's mouth hung open as she tried to force herself to say something. The only words that escaped her lips where a faint, "I'm sorry..." It was barely more than a whisper.
"For what?" The concern on Pearl's face deepened.
Her worry for the smaller gem was clear.
"Everything." Peridot croaked, her voice cracking.
it sounded dead, lifeless.
Pearl sat down beside her and Peridot shifted
uncomfortably, turning away from the other gem. She looked down at the floor, focusing on the line of grout between two tiles.
"Peridot..what's wrong?" Pearl asked, confused
and concerned by the green gem's behavior. She had never seen her like this before.
The smaller gem shook her head slightly as
she stared at the grout. "Go away." Peridot ordered, though her tone wasn't angry or annoyed. It was sad, choked up, even scared. "Just... leave me alone. You can work on the drill without me." Her words were a lie. There was still a small part of the gem
that didn't want Pearl to leave. That didn't want to be alone.
"We need you, Peridot! You posses a lot of
knowledge on the cluster! You know exactly what we need to destroy it!" Pearl argued quickly.
Peridot crossed her arms, focusing even harder
on the ground to keep herself from looking up. She barely noticed as a mumbled statement tumbled out of her mouth. "I'd prefer if the cluster would just hurry up and kill me..." It was true though. She may be scared by the monstrous fusion that sat in the
very core of the Earth, but she didn't care anymore.