Steven was extremely excited. More excited than the time the gems had taken him to the pool, or the time Pearl had let him have a cookie cat and a donut, or the time his Dad had given him his first ukulele. He was so excited because today he was going on his very first fieldtrip.
Well, his very first school fieldtrip. The gems were always taking him to new, otherworldly places; wanting to explore the world with him. Greg drove around the entire state, working to get parts for the car wash or for the van-he often took Steven with him. But this would be different than all the other trips.
Because he was going to be riding on a bus with all his school friends. Mrs. Song, the school teacher for the first and second grade of Beach City's underfunded elementary school, had explained to them last week that the school board had had enough money to take them to the zoo. Beach City didn't have a zoo, but City Town did.
"We'll ride on a big yellow bus to City Town. Then we'll go to Stephen R. Sugar's City Town Zoo and Aquarium. We'll get special access to lots of animals and fish. After the zoo, we'll get to eat at Quartey Park and have ice cream." Mrs. Song explained. "Then we'll come back home on the same yellow bus."
Peedee's hand had shot up faster than a rocket. "When do we leave and when do we get back? Cause I gotta help my Dad with the fry shop."
Mrs. Song had smiled patiently. "I was about to get to that Mr. Fryman. On this blue paper is all the information you and your parents need to know. All you have to do is get them to sign the paper to give you permission to come. And if any of your parents want to volunteer, all they have to do is check this little box."
Steven had run all the way home, running so fast that even Peedee couldn't keep up with him. He had skidded into the house, sliding to a stop right in front of Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, who were all seated on the couch. He had been so out of breath that Pearl had thought he was having trouble breathing.
"Oh, Garnet what if he developed that human lung disease? The asthma?"
"In a few hours P.?" Amethyst asked, squatting next to Steven who had collapsed onto the floor. Steven thrust the paper into Amethyst's face with a wheeze and a smile. Amethyst didn't read it, just handed it to Pearl. Pearl read it in flash.
"A field trip to the zoo?" Pearl said aloud. Garnet leaned over Pearl's shoulder and read the paper as well. "In City Town? But that's so far away! And on a school bus? Those don't have seatbelts."
"A zoo is where you go eat meat right?" Amethyst asked, idly sticking one of her fingers up her nose.
"A-uh…a zoo has f-f-food." Steven panted. "We-we're g-g-gonna g-get food after though."
"A zoo is a place that humans entrap animals of varying species that the public is allowed to visit for an outrageous price." Pearl explained, sitting Steven up and handing him to Garnet. "I don't know why you want to go there. We see animals all the time."
"But not elephants!" Steven shouted. "Or zebras. Or monkeys. Or…or LIONS!"
"We see that stuff on TV all the time though." Amethyst mumbled, rolling her eyes.
"But that's different." Steven whined, sipping the juice Garnet had handed him. Garnet wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned his little fan on. She squatted in front of it, holding Steven right next to it.
"Thanks, Garnet."
"No problem."
"We buy you ice cream all the time." Pearl muttered, crossing her arms. "Greg gets you a popsicle every Sunday."
"But this is different, Pearl!" Steven groaned.
Even though Steven had tried his best to explain it to the gems, they didn't really understand his enthusiasm or his desire to go. They did all of the things Mrs. Song talked about all the time. His Dad had gotten it though. As soon as Steven had told him, his Dad had almost been more excited than Steven.
"Wow, you're very first field trip!" Dad had exclaimed. "And to the zoo too. Well of course you can go! Ah, man you're gonna have so much fun!"
Steven had carried back the signed paper with an excited skip in his step. There hadn't been a moment in the past week where he hadn't been talking about it. To anybody who would stop and listen. To Nanefua, to the mailwoman and Mr. Smiley-sometimes ever tourists. Even when he was at home; after Pearl would tuck him into bed, he would turn to MC Bear Bear and whisper into his sewn on ear about the exciting day to come.
And now, it was finally here. Steven was so excited, that he had woken up at 6:30 am and had been bouncing on his bed for nearly half an hour. From his bed, he could see his neatly folded outfit for the day. The school had provided them with plain, white t-shirts that they had decorated themselves. Steven had drawn a lion on the front of his and even put lots of sparkles on it. On the back, the teacher had helped him print in big, neat letters his first and last name.
Despite being entirely and utterly excited to put on his shirt, he didn't. He had promised Pearl earlier that he would wait until after she made breakfast to put it on (apparently he was a messy eater).
"Peeeearl!" Steven yelled, bouncing off the bed and landing heavily on the floor before bumping down the stairs. "Garneeeeeeet! Ameeeethysssst! Come on, wake up!"
He approached the temple door and banged his fists against it while stomping his feet. Where were they? They had been excited to see him off and they had even planned on walking with him to the bus.
He knocked again and again and again and again and again and again.
He huffed and pressed his ear against the door. He didn't hear anything inside-no voices or water or bubbling molten fire.
"If you guys don't get up t-t-then I'm just gonna walk all by myself." Steven shouted, his fist rigid at his side. "And e-e-even though you pr-promised y-you would walk w-w-with me and that w-we would eat breakfast t-t-together."
His lips pouted and he furiously wiped his eyes. This had been happening a lot lately. It seemed as though the older Steven got, the less and less time the gems had for him. There had always been missions, but Pearl or Garnet or even Amethyst would still be there when he woke. He knew that being six years old had meant that he was sorta responsible enough to be in the house all by himself now.
He knew not to touch the stove, or the fireplace, or open the door to strangers, or take a bath with too much water-there was an incredibly long list of things that Pearl and Greg had compiled.
And he knew big boys were brave and they could walk places all by themselves and they didn't need their most favorite people to see them off to their very first field trip. The gems were busy saving the world-he knew that. The world was full of other little boys and huge awesome monsters that needed saving and defeating. He couldn't always have them by his side. He knew that they wanted to be with him, but he couldn't help but a feel a teeny tiny bit lonely.
He got dressed. He stood on top of his stool in front of the mirror, standing on the tips of toes to brush his teeth and hair and wash the sleep from his eyes. He got a frozen pancake meal from the freezer and watched it lazily spin itself warm. He ate it slowly and without much joy. Pearl made real pancakes that were thick like slices of cake and she would often put a whole bunch of strawberries and blueberries and fresh cream on it.
Garnet didn't really eat, but sometimes she would eat a dollop of cream off her fingers while listening to Steven rant about his most recent crazy dream. And Amethyst would shove a whole stack in her mouth in one bite, more than often getting some on him and in her hair. Pearl would watch him eat and hum while she cleaned up and chastise Amethyst about her detestable mess.
He waited after he finished, wiping some of the sticky, processed syrup from his face. He swung his legs, eyes glued to the temple door and the warp pad. Maybe they were just late? Or perhaps they really were sleeping? Amethyst slept all the time-maybe Garnet and Pearl needed a nap now too.
He reluctantly grabbed his backpack and the envelope that carried his lunch and souvenir money. He made his bed before he left-he didn't want Pearl to feel as though he wasn't being responsible just because she wasn't there to make him do it. He slowly stumbled down the stairs, stretching each step for as long as he could before standing next to the door. He gripped the door knob, but didn't dare turn away from the warp pad.
Maybe they were on their way right now. Maybe they had just finished beating up some huge monster and were warping back to walk down with him right now.
Or maybe they weren't coming at all.
Steven slammed the door shut with as much force as he could, watching the frame of the door shiver in its latches. He ran down the steps, tears blurring his vision. He ran towards his Dad's carwash, pumping the drowsy right from his veins. He didn't turn to look at the house again.
Who needed them anyway?
A/N: Oh My Goodness! There are 202 freaking reviews! There are 202- *gasp*-goodness gracious I can't breathe. Lots of internal screaming and quiet freak out (don't want to scare the new roommate). THANK YOU! I really can't express how thankful I am for you guys taking the time to review. As a person who deals with a lot of anxiety talking to people-even on the internet, I really appreciate the 202 reviews each and everyone of you left. Each one brought a smile to my face-even the super short ones.
I'm beyond thrilled, and even though I don't always reply to them I have read every single one. I'm happy that my own joy has brought you happiness and maybe helped you through bad times-cause I know your reviews have certainly helped me through some dark times.
I hope you enjoy this chapter-it's been in the works for weeks but I only just got the inspiration to finish most of it. Thanks for all the favorites, follows and reviews!