The Backpack
Each of the crystal gems had their own way of dealing with the fact that I knew who they were. Pearl looked fearful and pulled Steven away from me. Amethyst looked at Pearl and snickered, and then looked to Garnet for her analysis. Garnet remained silent for at least a minute. She only said one word: "How?". I looked at each of them and explained that I wasn't from their version of Earth. They were a well known television show where I was from. The moment Steven heard this, he cheered and started channel surfing on his television. I smiled and told him that they weren't on T.V in this world. He didn't seem to care- he just kept searching. I talked with the other 3 gems and told them that I had no idea how I got to their world, but I was happy about it. Garnet excused the 3 gems and took them into a room in the temple. I assumed that they were discussing me and whether or not I was a danger. I still wasn't able to walk very well, but Steven turned off the television with a discouraged look and came over to me.
"What's your name?" he asked. "It's Alex." I replied. He bombarded me with questions, and eventually he asked me about the backpack. I had completely forgotten about it up until this point. He grabbed it for me and I immediately explored its contents. I found my phone in a plastic bag along with some earbuds and a charger. I found a picture of my family, and I found a few sets of clothing. There was a note inside as well. It read:
If you are reading this then you have survived the landing. If you haven't yet, look in a mirror. There should be one in the front pocket of this bag. Good luck.
There was no signature. All that was left was a symbol- three triangles. I found the mirror exactly where the note said it would be, and looked at myself. Where before there was nothing. I now had a gem. It was a pale blue. It was located in the same place that Amethyst had hers. My face was unchanged. My long brown hair was in knots from washing up on the beach. I looked at my face for a while, seemingly analyzing each freckle and eyelash. I smiled at myself reassuringly, and returned the mirror to its pocket. Steven was trying to get into my phone. I grabbed it from him playfully and dropped it back into the plastic bag, and then into the backpack. I told Steven that I was tired and needed to rest. He immediately backed away and headed to his room, but not before handing me one of his books to look at. I put in my headphones and listened to some of my music. I drifted away in a sea of my own thoughts.
Steven's Point of View:
I was careful to not watch Alex sleep. I hate it when people watch me sleep, so I figured I'd treat her the same way. I couldn't help but wonder what she was listening to. I peeked over at her phone a few times but I couldn't make out what the title was from upstairs. Before I could explore further, I heard the temple door open. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl all entered the room, silent. They looked at Alex and decided not to disturb her. I hopped off of my bed and went down the stairs in an effort to understand what was going on. I followed the three gems out to the beach, where they were talking in whispers.
Pearl was the most worried, saying "What if she's a danger to Steven? We can't take that risk! We need to... dispose of it." Amethyst responded, "We don't even know who she is! By that logic we should 'dispose' of you too." The two begin arguing. Garnet steps in and tells them that no one is being disposed of. I decided to tap Garnet on the shoulder. She looked at me and I said "What's going on?" She sighed and explained to me that we don't know if Alex is a danger to us or not. I looked at her, puzzled, and said "I know who she is! She brought a backpack with a note in it! I don't know who it was from though. She has lots of cool stuff in there! A picture and a phone and she's listening to some song inside right now! I bet if you ask her she will show you." Garnet pauses and says "We can try.". Pearl grumbled in the background. Something about safety. I ran back into the house to wake up Alex.
Alex's point of view:
I was scrolling through my Spotify, looking for songs that I had previously saved onto my phone. I didn't have service to download new music. These songs may be all I get. Before I could select a new song to listen to, the front door opened. All of the gems walked in. I pretended not to notice. I figured that they were talking about me and I didn't want to get involved. I kept scrolling through my songs. I jumped when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I pulled out my earbuds and turned around, seeing that Pearl had been wanting my attention.
"Did you hear anything I said? I've been talking to you."
"No," I replied, "I was listening to music. Don't you see the earbuds?"
"What are earbuds?"
I sighed and asked her to get to the point. Garnet told me that she needed to see the contents of my backpack.
"What for?" I asked.
"Steven told us that you have a message inside it. We need to read it."
I tossed the backpack to her and informed her that it was in the large pocket. All 4 of the gems gathered around to read the few sentences scribbled onto a crumpled piece of paper. When they got to the sign at the bottom, they gasped. They talked amongst themselves; something about homeworld. I knew from the T.V show that the triangles were a sign from homeworld. I figured that they knew just as much as I did, so I kept quiet. They wondered aloud what the mirror had to do with anything. I stepped in.
"If I may, I know exactly what the mirror meant. I have a gem now. I didn't yesterday, but I do now."