The sky is clear and bright, the sun has fully risen in the sky, and seagulls are flying around calling to each other in the air. When Pearl leaves her room for the day she goes upstairs to check on Steven but he's not there, in the warp dome, or bathroom. She stands in the living room frowning with her arms crossed across her chest.
"What's up P?" Amethyst asks as she enters the house from her own room.
Pearl gestures up the stairs, "I went to check on Steven, since he slept all day yesterday, but he's not home." she says, concern lacing her tone.
"Well with how he's been lately I wouldn't be surprised if he got up early to go catch up on what he missed at Little Homeschool." Amethyst shrugs while making her way to the fridge to slap together something questionable for breakfast.
Pearl sighs, but agrees. Their young charge has become such a workaholic as he's grown up. She decides to get some donuts to share with Steven when she sees him later. As a reward for all his hard work. As soon as the Big Donut is open, Garnet joins Amethyst and Pearl. All three Crystal Gems head down, buy a dozen of Stevens favorite donuts and head to Little Homeschool to find him before classes start. At Little Homeschool the gems look around for Steven. They check the small office they asked Bismuth to build so he would stop bringing so much work home, Peridots Greenhouse, Lapis' Morp Gallery, Bismuth's forge, and find him nowhere. They're standing in a group around the central warp pad when a loud noise catches Amethyst's attention. She turns and sees Lar's Sun Incinerator taking off from where it had been parked behind Spacetries.
She points at the departing ship "Hey guys, maybe he's over by Spacetries saying goodbye to the Off Colors." she suggests. Garnet and Pearl agree that's a possibility so the three of them take what little time they have left before teaching their classes to see if, maybe, Steven was saying goodbye and enjoying some delicious cupcakes.
When they get there, they ask Blue Lace Agate if he was there, but she shakes her head, and goes back to baking. They all frown in concern, but have no more free time. They have classes to teach, and will have to worry about finding Steven later, if he doesn't show up on his own during the day.
Afternoon arrives, classes are finished for the day, and still no sign of Steven. The Gems search Little Homeworld and the Beach City boardwalk once more before regrouping back at the temple. As the sun moves slowly to the horizon, they're on edge. This just isn't like Steven, to disappear without telling anyone. If he's taking the day off to enjoy the perfect weather, he would have told someone, or at least he'd have kept his phone with him. Pearl paces the open area between the living room and kitchen one arm around her waist, her hand on her chin. Amethyst sits on the couch kicking her legs back and forth while staring at the coffee table, and Garnet leans against a support post with her arms crossed.
"Has anyone tried calling him?" Garnet speaks up.
"Oh!" Pearl pulls her phone from her gem, quickly finds Steven's contact info and presses the call button. She holds the phone near her ear but far enough that the others could hear it ringing, and hopefully hear Steven when he picks up.
As it begins to ring, they all hear the sound of Steven's ringtone coming from his room. Garnet and Pearl exchange glances as Amethyst runs up to Steven's room and comes back down holding his phone and looking crestfallen. She had hoped it meant he was back home and just hanging in his room.
"That's it, I'm calling the others." Pearl feels panic beginning to set in as she calls Greg, Connie, Bismuth, Peridot and Lapis. She gives them each a short explanation and tells them to meet at the beach house.
Garnet keeps leaning on the support post, lips pressed tightly together, quiet.
It takes some time for everyone to arrive; Connie had to warp in on Lion during a study break; Greg was in a nearby town with Sadie and Shep, so he had to drive back to Beach City; Bismuth had some work in the forge to finish, and Lapis had to help Peridot finish watering the plants in the greenhouse. Once everyone has arrived, they all make themselves comfortable around the house's main area. Greg and Connie sit on the couch with Amethyst, Bismuth stands near the door, and Peridot and Lapis sit on the chairs by the dining table. Pearl looks at everyone gathered, and gives them a more detailed explanation of what's going on.
"Steven is missing. He wasn't feeling well, so he slept all day yesterday, and I checked on him several times during the night. So he was home then, but this morning, however, he wasn't here when I got up for the day." She goes on to explain how they searched for him around Little Homeschool, and a little around Beach City before and after their classes, but saw no sign of him.
"When I tried calling him, Amethyst found his phone upstairs." She points to Steven's phone resting on the coffee table.
Everyone is silent for a moment, taking in the information and trying to remember when they last saw Steven, Worry begins to fill the air of the house. After a few minutes of silence Garnet straightens from where she'd been leaning, the early evening light glinting off her star shaped glasses.
"We need to look around Rose's fountain." she says, adjusting said glasses. Everyone nods in agreement and, with looks of determination, heads for the warp pad.
Garnet stops Amethyst before she joins them, "Bring some of those chips Steven likes."
"Uh, okay?" Amethyst quickly searches the cupboards and snatches up a bag of Steven's favorite flavor Chaaaaps. She then runs to join everyone on the warp pad. A bright light, and the sound of chimes fills the room as they warp to Rose's fountain.