Peridot changed back into her normal attire while Lapis took a shower. After both those things where done they headed to bed. Lapis rolled over and asked Peridot.
"So what did you think of tonight?"
"It was AMAZING! Can you believe we're actually making friends?" Peridot responded.
"Me too, its just. " Lapis stuttered.
"Just what?" Peridot asked in a concerned voice.
"Its just they both have jobs and we don't. Don't you think its a little unfair they had to pay for our food tonight?" Lapis asked.
"I'll admit, it did make me feel kinda guilty." Peridot answered.
"I know you're not going to like what im about to suggest, but I think if we plan to lead an active social life we should get jobs. We can't keep bumming money off of Steven forever you know." Lapis said.
"But... But that sounds like work." Peridot replied.
"That's kinda the point Peri." Lapis said.
"But if we both get jobs all of our house work will fall behind and our little pumpkin dog would get lonely." Peridot pleaded with Lapis not to make her get a job.
Lapis let out a big sigh before answering "Alright. Only reason you're getting out of this one is because you're so cute."
Peridot blushed.
"Where are you thinking about looking for a job?" Peridot asked.
"I though about asking Laura when we go visit her this weekend if there are any openings at the coffee shop she works at." Lapis said.
They gave each other a goodnight kiss and drifted off to sleep. The next morning, when the pair woke up went into the kitchen and made themselves a breakfast of scrambled egg's and bacon. Peridot put some fertilizer in their pumpkin dogs bowl for his breakfast. While Lapis put their freshly cooked food onto plates, Peridot poured them both a glass of orange juice. They sat down at the table to enjoy their lovely meal.
"So, what do you think we should do today?" Asked Peridot.
"I was thinking we could go head over to Stevens and tell him about our new friends." Lapis responded
"Sounds great to me." Peridot responded.
The two cleaned their plates and took Their pumpkin dog our for a walk before flying over to Stevens. They landed on the beach, then walked up to and knocked on the door. Pearl answered.
"Oh, hello. What are you two up to today?" Asked Pearl.
"Oh we thought we would just come over for a visit." Lapis answered.
"Is everyone else home?" Asked Peridot.
"Sure are. Come on in and I'll make us all some tea." Pearl lead them inside.
Steven and Amethyst where sitting on the couch watching T.V
"What are you guys doing here? Don't you guys have art class on Fridays?" Asked Steven.
"It was canceled today. I got a text this morning saying that Mr. Anderson came down with a nasty cold." Peridot replied.
"Well at least you can hang with us now." Said Amethyst.
"We have some exciting news for the both of you. We made some friends!" Lapis announced to Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst.
"Wow really?! That's great! Who are they?" asked Steven.
"We met this girl named Laura at our art class and she introduced us to her boyfriend Tom." Said Lapis.
"They're both super cool." Added Peridot.
"I'm really happy for you guys. You're finally enjoying what human life has to offer." Steven said.
Pearl handed everyone their cup of tea.
"I've also been thinking about getting a job." Lapis said.
"Really? What makes you want to do that?" Asked Pearl as she took a sip of tea.
"Well, I realized that if Peridot an I want to go out and do things with our friends we would have to find a way to pay for it." Lapis answered.
"That's very responsible of you." Pearl remarked.
"Well it was MY idea." Peridot said.
"Sure it was." Lapis said in a jokingly sarcastic tone.
The group chuckled.
"Where are you hoping to get a job?" Asked Steven.
"Well, I thought I'd see if the coffee shop where Laura works is hiring." Lapis answered.
"I bet you could give us all the free coffee we wanted, right?" Asked Amethyst.
"Oh Amethyst, Knock it off. We don't want to get her fired." Pearl scolded Amethyst.
"I MAY be able to give you a free coffee every now and again." Lapis winked.
The group finished their tea. Steven helped pearl wash the tea cups. After said dishes where done the group decided to spent the afternoon playing board games and chatting. The board game they decided on playing first was Monopoly. They set up the game board and began playing. After a few arguments and disputes, Pearl took the win after a 45 minute game. Since Pearl won the first game, she got to choose the next one. She chose chess. Their was some protest from Amethyst and Peridot at first as they had no idea how to play.
"I can teach you guys. Its not that hard." Pearl said.
"Pearls a great teacher. She taught me." Steven tried to convince them to learn.
Peridot sighed then said. "Alright, but I still say she cheated during Monopoly."
"I guess I'll learn to then." Amethyst said begrudgingly.
Pearl first gave them the rundown of what all the pieces do and how they move. She then started to give them some basic strategy on how to trap the king. Teaching them basic opening strategy proved more difficult than Pearl thought, but they eventually got it down.
"Alright, I think that's all of the basic's. Now all you need is some practice." Pearl said.
"How about Pearl and I take the first match so that you can take some mental notes?" Asked Steven.
They all agreed and the match began. Steven made the first move. After a moment of thought Pearl responded. After an 8 minute game Pearl came out victorious.
"Not bad, but you still have a lot to learn." Pearl pointed out the mistakes Steven made.
The next game was between Amethyst and Peridot, the two beginners. They didn't take it too seriously as they where brand new to the game. Pearl gave them both advice during the game. After it was all said and done Amethyst won. The group of friends spend the next two and a half hours getting several chess matches in. Pearl came away with the most matches one and Peridot with the least.
"It's a stupid game anyway." Peridot said, visibly mad at her performance.
"Now sweetie, just because I beat you every match we played doesn't mean it's stupid." Lapis jokingly said.
The group laughed. Peridot didn't find the joke very funny, but couldn't stay mad at her friends for long.
"Do you guys wanna stay for dinner?" Asked Steven.
"We'd love to. If its no trouble that is." Lapis answered.
"It's no trouble at all." Pearl assured Lapis.
They all helped prepare the dinner. Steven and Lapis made the dessert. It was a chocolate pudding pie. Steven mixed up the chocolate pudding while Lapis prepared the pie crust. Amethyst and Peridot prepared the mashed potatoes. Amethyst washed and peeled them while Peridot mashed and mixed them. Pearl made the roast and noodles. After an hour of hard work their meal was complete. They sat down at the table and started to eat.
"So when's Garnet suppose to be back from her mission?" Asked Lapis.
"In a day or so." Pearl answered.
"I'll be glad when she's back. I miss her a lot." Steven said.
Lapis and Pearl only managed to eat one plate of food. Peridot and Steven ate two. Amethyst ate all of the food that was left.
"Thanks for letting us stay for dinner, It was delicious." Lapis thanked her friends.
"Yeah thanks. It was amazing." Peridot added.
" It's no problem." Pearl said.
"The pie you and Steven made was great. I wish you cooked for me more Lapis." Amethyst joked.
"Aww you're too sweet." Lapis thanked Amethyst.
All of them helped wash the dishes. Steven and Pearl washed, Peridot dried, and Amethyst and Lapis put away. It took no time at all.
"It's getting pretty late Peri. Are you ready to head home?" Lapis asked Peridot.
"Yeah, I guess so." Peridot answered.
"You guys will have to come and visit us sometime." Said Lapis.
"We will." Steven assured Lapis.
Peridot climbed onto Lapis's back and hugged her tight. The two took off flying towards home. They landed right in front of the barn door and headed inside. They where greeted by their pumpkin dog. Lapis picked him up and sat on the couch while Peridot went into the kitchen to get a treat for Pumpkin. She headed back into their living room, gave Pumpkin his treat, and sat down next to Lapis. Peridot turned on the T.V and put on their "Complete 2nd season of Camp Pining Hearts" dvd. They had watched all the seasons several times, but it never gets old to them. They chatted a bit while watching T.V.
"We shouldn't stay up to late tonight. We have to be at Laura and Tom's early tomorrow." Lapis said.
"I know. Are you as excited as I am for that?" Asked Peridot.
"I am. I'm also pretty nervous." Lapis answered.
"We got through the dinner alright, so we'll do great tomorrow." Peridot tried to reassure Lapis.
"I just wish we could do something to pay them back for having to pay for our dinner." Lapis said.
"We could make them something. We have a bunch of spare supplies in our storage area." Peridot suggested.
"I LOVE that idea! We should get started right away." Lapis suggested.
"Can't we at-least watch one episode?" Asked Peridot.
"Sure, but only because this is one of the best of the series." Lapis said.
"Well that's debatable, but I'll take the win." Peridot said.
After they finished watching T.V, Lapis sat Pumpkin down on the floor and her and Peridot headed into their supply room.
"Now what do you think we should make them?" Asked Peridot.
Lapis thought for a moment before answering.
"How about something to hang on the wall?"
"We could make an art piece! I've been dying to apply what we've learned." Peridot suggested.
"I love that idea!" Lapis seemed eager to get started.
They rummaged around there room for supplies. They found some spare wood, nails, screws, paint, glue, and glitter. They hauled the supplies into their work area. They turned on their power saw and Peridot started carving the wood. She carved a square plate out of the wood. She then engraved both Laura and Tom's name on it. She carved out an indent above the names. In said indent she carved two people. One looked like Laura and the other tom. After all of the carving was done she handed it off to Lapis to paint. The only thing that she painted was the people. She painted blue jeans on Laura and a purple shirt. She made sure the hair color was perfect blue streak and all. She painted Tom with a black shirt and cargo shorts. All they had to do now was let it dry.
"I think that's a job well done. Don't you?" Said Lapis.
"Yep, but I'm getting ready for bed. Its been a long day." Peridot said with a yawn.
Lapis agreed and they headed off to bed.
The next morning they got up early to prepare for the day. Lapis took a shower while Peridot made sure the paint had dried properly on their gift and put a hanger on it. After all of that was said and done she grabbed herself a quick breakfast of a blueberry muffin and a juice box. After Lapis was done with her shower, Peridot took a shower. After both Gems where squeaky clean they headed off to Laura's with gift in hand. They quickly found the house and knocked on the door. Tom answered.
"Hey guys. Come on in." Tom greeted them.
Laura was sitting on the couch. She was still wearing her pajamas.
"Sorry I'm not more cleaned up. I'm pretty lazy on weekends." Laura chuckled.
"We know how that goes." Lapis reassured Laura.
"Can I get you two something to drink?" Asked Tom.
"Sure." Both Lapis and Peridot answered.
Tom went into the kitchen, grabbed a couple soda's and gave them to Lapis and Peridot. Peridot and Lapis took a seat in the living room.
"We brought you guys a gift!" Peridot said as he handed Laura the gift.
"Oh my gosh its beautiful. I see you two have been paying attention in class." Laura said.
Laura got up and hung the lovley gift on the wall. She kept thanking and thanking Lapis and Peridot.
"So how have you guys been?" Asked Laura.
"We went to visit the other Crystal Gems yesterday." Lapis answered.
"We played board games and had supper with them!" Peridot excitedly told them.
"No monster's yesterday huh?" Asked Laura.
"Thankfully not." Lapis responded.
They both finished their soda's. Peridot took the empty can's out to the kitchen and disposed of them. She headed back to the living room and sat down next to Lapis once more.
"Do you guys want to watch a movie or something?" Asked Laura.
Both Lapis and Peridot thought that sounded fun. Laura opened the cabinet and started looking through her dvd collection. She eventually decided on "The secret world of Arrietty" by Studio Ghibli. She put the movie in and pushed play. Meanwhile, Tom was in the kitchen making popcorn for the group. He made sure to put extra butter and salt on it. It may not be the healthiest snack, but it is sure tasty. Everyone took their seats and the movie began. Lapis and Peridot had never seen the movie before so they where super excited. The movie lasted 94 minutes. After it was over Tom got up to use the bathroom.
"So, what did you think?" asked Laura.
"I thought it was great!" Lapis answered.
"IT WAS AMAZING" Peridot was enthralled with the movie.
"I'm glad you guy's like it. I'm a huge animation fan. It always warms my heart to see other people enjoy animation." Laura said.
"Before I forget I need to ask you something. Are their any job openings at the coffee shop where you work? I'm thinking about getting a job." Lapis asked.
"We are really low on help right now. I'll put in a good word for you. Chances are you'll get the job. I'll give my boss you're cell number." Laura said.
"Thank you SO much." Lapis said eager with excitement.
"May I ask you why you want a job all of a sudden?" Laura asked.
"I felt awful that you guys had to pay for our food the other day." Lapis confessed.
"It was no problem." Said Laura.
"Still, I don't want it to happen again." Lapis said.
Tom came back from the bathroom.
"Do you two want some lunch?" Asked Tom.
"What kind of question is that? Of course I do!" Peridot said.
"Now Peri, don't be rude." Lapis scolded.
"We would love some. If its no problem of course." Lapis added.
"Its no problem at all." Tom ensured.
They all headed out to the backyard. Earlier in the day before Lapis and Peridot arrived, Laura and Tom
laid out some steaks to thaw. They where ready to be grilled. Tom fired up the grill while Laura, Peridot, and Lapis took a seat in some lawn chairs. Tom got to cooking. It took a while for the steaks to get done as Tom wanted to make sure they where all well done, just like everyone wanted. Laura headed into the kitchen and grabbed them all a can of soda, some plates, and some steak sauce to dip their steak in. She headed back outside and handed everyone their drinks. Peridot quickly opened hers and took a sip.
"Save some for the meal." Lapis encouraged.
"But I'm thirsty now." Peridot whined.
"No need to argue you two. The food is done." Laura said as she handed them their food.
They quickly chowed down on their food. It was delicious. Everyone ate their steak very quickly. Peridot was done first. She was naturally a quick eater but she was even faster since it was so good. After everyone else was done, Lapis and Peridot took their dishes into the kitchen and washed them.
"Thanks for helping out, but you really didn't need to." Laura said.
"It's the least we could do." Lapis responded.
After the dishes where cleaned and put away they all headed into the living room.
"Well I think it's time we got out of their hair Peri." Lapis said.
"No need to rush off." Laura said.
"We have to get some house work done today." Lapis said.
"We probably should do some to." Said Laura.
"You two should come over to our place next weekend!" Peridot suggested.
"That sounds like a great idea." Laura said.
Lapis told Laura their address and she wrote it down in her phone.
They said their goodbyes and then headed home. They where nowhere near as nervous as they where at the dinner. They realized it would be a slow process, but they would eventually be full members of human society.