Steven awoke one day to the sound of a phone ringing. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he sat up and looked to his bedside table, where his phone lay, vibrating to the jingle. He picked it up and was met by a very familiar voice.
"Steven!" Connie sounded ecstatic on the other end.
"Hi Connie," Steven replied, happy to hear from his best friend. "What's up?"
"Steven, it's the first day of summer!" Connie cried. "Look out your window!"
Steven got up and walked over to his window.
"Whoa."
The normally empty beach was now swarming with tourists. Hundreds of them, ranging from babies and young children to adults and old people, could be seen sunbathing on towels, huddling under umbrellas or around coolers and portable radios, playing volleyball, riding bikes or ATVs, collecting shells, building sandcastles, and even walking dogs (Steven didn't even know they allowed those at the beach). Even from inside his house, Steven could hear the faint sounds of music and the screams and hollers of the beachgoers.
"Wow! It's like the world's biggest lawn party!" Steven said gleefully. He took notice of several tourists approaching his house. From the angle at which they were pointing and snapping pictures, Steven guessed they were admiring the giant Gem figurine carved on the front of the Temple. "Looks like I've got some takers as well." He turned his attention back to the phone. "Connie, you have got to come see this."
"Well, you're in luck," she replied. "My parents and I are spending a day at the beach and I was hoping you and the Gems could join us."
"Really?" Steven exclaimed. "That sounds awesome! Hey, you think maybe I can bring Peridot and Lapis too!"
"Sure, if you can actually get them out of that old barn," Connie chuckled. "We'll be there in about an hour. Hope to see you, Steven." The call ended.
Steven wasted no time in preparing for what was going to be an extremely fun day. He threw on some swim trunks, loaded his hot dog duffel bag with gear, and slathered on sunscreen. "Now, I've just got to get the Gems and… Dad!" He gasped and began rapidly dialing his phone.
"Hello?" Greg's voice came from the other end.
"Dad!" Steven yelled.
"Hey Schtu-ball!" Greg said. "How you doing?"
"Dad, it's the first day of summer and Connie's coming down for a beach day and we need you to be there with us!" Steven said this very fast into the phone.
"Whoa, Steven. Slow down," Greg said. "You and Connie are having a beach day?"
"Yeah, she's bringing her parents and we thought it would be great if I brought you and the Gems," Steven explained, more slowly this time.
"Well I can't pass up a chance to spend some time with my little guy," Greg said warmly. "Especially not on a day like this. You bet I'll be there. What about the Gems? Have you told them yet?"
"No, but I'm about to," Steven assured him. "Just bring your van and guitar and any cool beach stuff you have in that storage locker."
"Hey, I think I may actually have some old surf boards in there," Greg added. "I'll bring those too."
"Awesome! See you soon, Dad."
"Don't start the party without me," Greg said before hanging up.
"Okay, so both Universes are accounted for," Steven said to himself, "Now I've just got to find the Gems."
As luck would have it, the warp pad beamed and the Gems beamed themselves inside.
"Guys!" Steven exclaimed. "Where have you been?!"
"Oh, just an early morning mission," Pearl explained, nodding to the bubbled Gem floating in Garnet's hand. "Ooh, nice outfit" Amethyst said. "Heading to the beach?"
"Not without you guys!" Steven said. "Connie's bringing her family down to the beach, so I'm bring my family too. It's going to be one super-fun summer beach party!"
The three Gems exchanged glances. Steven put on his best "please" face and cupped his hands together for extra measure.
Garnet chuckled as she tapped the bubble away. "Looks like it's a beach day for us, Gems."
"Whoo-hoo, beach party!" Amethyst cheered.
"Well, I can't say that I didn't enjoy the last one we had," Pearl admitted. "Steven, we'd be happy to."
"Alright!" Steven tossed his duffel bag into Pearl's arms and headed for the door. "Can you guys get everything set up? I've gotta get Lapis and Peridot!" Before any of the Gems could answer, Steven slammed the door slammed behind him and hurried down the beach, headed for the barn.
"Come on!" Peridot grumbled as she banged on their TV, "Work, you stupid machine!"
"Peridot, you've been doing that for over an hour." Lapis was lying in her hammock, trying to read a magazine, "I don't think it's going to work."
"But Lapis!" Peridot whined. "How are we supposed to watch Camp Pining Hearts?!" Lapis shrugged, "We'll just have to ask Steven to find someone to fix it."
Peridot glared at their busted TV and gave it a kick, before falling onto her butt and crossing her arms. "Stupid, cloddy Earth tech," she pouted. "Making me miss my Percy and Pierre." Lapis chuckled behind her magazine.
At that moment, Steven rushed through the doors, panting from the heat. "Hey guys."
"Steven!" Peridot immediately cheered up as she jumped to her feet and rushed over to hug the boy. "Thank the stars you're here! Do you know how to fix a TV?!"
"Peridot, give him some space," Lapis pulled her off Steven and hugged him. "Hi Steven. What's up?" "Only the best day ever!" Steven exclaimed. "And you guys are invited!"
"For what, exactly?" Peridot asked.
"Well, what if I told you that instead of sitting around and watching TV all day, you could come with me and have an all-expense paid, once-in-a-lifetime, unforgettable…" Steven pumped his arms in the air in excitement. "day at the beach!"
The Gems glanced at each other in confusion.
"Connie's bringing her parents to the beach to celebrate the first day of summer," Steven explained enthusiastically, "and I thought it would be great if I could bring my family as well and we could all join her and have a really fun-filled, sun-filled beach party! I've already got Dad and the Gems on board, but I couldn't leave out you guys since you're family too and we never really do a lot of stuff together as a family, so I was hoping you could come and join us." His voice cracked as he collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. Lapis quickly summoned some water for him to drink.
"So…" Steven wheezed. "What do you say?" He once again put on his best "please" face.
For a moment, Peridot's face was neutral. Then, to both Lapis' and Steven's surprise, she ran over to the TV and kicked it over.
"Our battle is far from over, you primitive hunk of junk!" She ran back and smiled. "Steven, I'd be honored to."
Steven turned to her barn mate. "Lapis?"
After a moment of consideration, she chuckled again and said, "Well, I guess I don't have much a choice. Sure, I'll come."
"That's the spirit, Lapis!" Peridot said. "So Steven, will we be needing any equipment for this party?" "Well, Dad's bringing beach stuff from his storage locker," he replied, "so really all you guys need is swimwear."
"Oh, I've got that taken care of," Peridot said. She ran into the barn and they heard the sound of objects being thrown around. Moments later, she emerged, now wearing alien-patterned trunks over his normal outfit.
"Go on, admit it," She gloated, folding her arms in triumph. "I look great!"
Steven giggled. "Oh, it's definitely perfect. What about you, Lapis?"
Lapis stroked her chin in thought for a moment, before grinning and taking a step back. She began to twirl as her Gem and body lit up. There was a bright flash of blue light and Lapis reappeared. She now had on a large, white sunhat with a blue stripe and a pair of sunglasses. Her halter-top was the same, but her blue skirt had shrunk to knee-length.
"Is this good, Steven?" she asked, a bit uncertain. "I know it's not much."
"Are you kidding?" the boy exclaimed. "You look incredible! Right, Peridot? Peridot?"
Peridot didn't seem to have heard him; she was frozen on the spot, her eyes wide in awe at Lapis' new outfit. Steven snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Peridot?"
Peridot shook her head and turned her attention to the ground, blushing as she muttered, "It's nice." Bark! Bark!
The group turned to see Pumpkin emerge from a plank in the floor, panting as she ran over and rubbed up against Steven's leg.
"Oh Pumpkin," Peridot bent down to pet her pumpkin dog. "I forgot you were under there." Pumpkin jumped into her arms and barked excitedly. "Oh, I think she wants to go with us."
"Sure," Steven said, stroking Pumpkin on the head, "They never said anything about pumpkin dogs. And Lion needs a playmate."
"Let me just grab a few magazines," Lapis asked as she headed back inside. "And then I'll fly us there."
Steven could fill excitement growing inside him as he watched Lapis head gather up a beach bag while Peridot tried to control Pumpkin. Everything was going as planned so far. Once they got back to the beach and met up with Connie, it was going to be nonstop fun. He could hardly wait.