Chapter XVI

Great Outdoors

"Camping, camping, camping!" Steven ran around in excited circles, chanting the words over and over. The gems stood by the van whilst Greg packed.

"Are you sure you guys don't want to bail out while you still can? I know gems aren't really known to be the outdoors-y type." He placed the final bag in, raising an eyebrow at multiple chip bags that spilled over. Amethyst.

"Yes, yes. We thought we'd see what all this "camping" business is about, since Steven seems so eager to go every year." Said Pearl with a flick of her wrist. In all honesty, she hadn't a clue what camping was, and hoped it would be some form of educational expedition of sorts.

"Okay then, well, I packed two tents. They're a little small and well-worn, but practical enough." He shut the trunk and called for Steven to get in the van. "You'll be sitting on one of the gem's laps for this journey, bud."

"Okay!" Steven was scooped up by Garnet, who managed to squeeze into the back. Pearl hated sitting at the front, seeing Greg's check-engine light on was enough to send her into a frenzy, not to mention the obnoxiously loud music that blared into her face. Amethyst scrambled next to Greg, grinning, and looking through all his old CD's to play.

"Roadtrip!" Shouted Steven, somehow managing to pump his arms in the air amongst all the gear in the back row.

It was a two hour drive to the campsite which was situated in a pine forest. It had a lake, toilet facilities and free parking – "What more can a man ask for?" Thought Greg.

They parked, signed in, and made the short trek to their allocated spot which was fairly isolated by a thick circle of bushes. With the help of Garnet, they managed to drag out all the camping gear from the crowded van.

"Where exactly do you sleep? This is just a few logs and a firepit, I don't see how we're meant to have a decent trip is Steven can't sleep anywhere." Said Pearl, she looked at the space with puzzlement. "Do we have to build our shelter, is this a survival experience?"

"Sort of." Greg shrugged and scratched his neck awkwardly, "We have tents which acts as our shelter, and I brought some canned food to have dinner by the fire. This is just a little vacation to have a change of scenery and to teach Steven new things."

"What kind of things? I don't see anything of use to him here, unless you count fighting wild animals – I have a small sword for him, he could pract-" She was cut off by a laugh from Greg.

"No no, like fishing and putting up a tent. It's harder than it looks!"

"Hmmph" Thought Pearl, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, "Nothing a Pearl can't do."

Greg and Steven began to set up their tent, with the latter attempting to hammer in some pegs. Greg managed to set the ropes straight and put the poles together, and set Steven inside to fix them up. After no more than ten minutes, their small, green tent was up a ready to be slept in.

A few metres away, adjacent to the Father and Son duo, the gems were having trouble putting up theirs.

Pearl was looking at the crumpled instructions, finding it almost impossible to read due to all the coffee stains on it. Amethyst was hammering in random pegs, at the same time trying to kill numerous ants that scuttled by. Garnet was inside the actual tent, laying down straight like a board and trying to decipher how humans slept liked this, in such a deflated living space.

Greg laughed, and showed them the proper way to do it, whilst Steven narrated what he was doing to an agitated Pearl.

"It's that easy? How can a human do that but I can't?" She huffed, and went to get the stuff that Amethyst had packed.

"Amethyst! Why is our only bag filled with human food?"

"Oh uhmm, about that P," Amethyst smirked, "I thought we'd need some food for the road y'kow?"

"Yes, because you really needed 45 bags of chips for a two day trip." Pearl sighed irritably and tossed the bag to her.

After a hearty dinner of canned beans, some smores and orange juice, everyone started to get ready for the night. Greg and Steven waved goodnight and got into their sleeping bags. The gems tried to cram into their little tent.

"Amethyst, move over!" Pearl elbowed the purple gem away, in the process she accidently kicked Garnet in the face. Sorry Garnet!"

She grunted in response, and sat crouched with her knees up to her chin. After much wriggling and climbing, Amethyst finally managed to squeeze in next to a disgruntled Pearl, who was almost falling out the tent door if not for the zipped interior. Amethyst fell asleep in no time, and no one could tell if Garnet was because of her shades, but she lay still nonetheless and made no sound at all.

Pearl lay awake, restless and uncomfortable, she felt claustrophobic inside the small space. No amount of excessive elbowing could stop Amethyst from snoring, Pearl swore she was doing it on purpose.

With a tired sigh, she crept out of the tent and walked a few metres away to sit down on the grass. Her gemstone was illuminated a little by the moonlight as she gazed up at the stars wantonly.

"I wonder how Homeworld is doing with us." She whispered, "Was it enough?"

"Pearl?"

She turned around with a start, only to see Steven rubbing his eyes lethargically. He was still in his sleeping bag, which was wrapped around his shoulders. The cold air made him shiver a little, and he carefully trod over to her in the darkness.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked, sitting in her lap.

She hugged him tightly, trying to stop his shaking. "Some gems don't sleep."
"Oh." He decided not to question it for now, he was too tired. Relaxing into her hold, he followed her gaze into the night's sky. "The stars are pretty tonight."

"Yes, they are. They're so much clearer here compared to Beach City. I suppose theirs no other lights interfering." She sighed a little again, nestling her chin into Steven's nest of hair.

"You like them a lot, don't you?" He asked.

"Yes, so did your Mother." Tears glazed over her eyes, there was so much that she wanted to tell him, but couldn't muster herself to think of the past.

Steven clutched Pearl's hand, he could hear the sadness in her voice. He didn't know much about his Mother, but knew how much she meant to the gems.

"Now whenever you look at the stars, you can remember that she did too." He closed his eyes and snuggled into his sleeping bag a little more. "I'm sure that the stars remember her."

"Yes." Pearl looked down at him and gave a small smile, a silent tear ran down her cheek, concealed by the darkness. "Thank you, Steven." It fell on almost deaf ears, but Steven managed to mumble something in reply before falling fast asleep.