Steven Universe Of The Creek Chapter 21 Jam Buds In Creek Daycare

The group arrived at the Creek Daycare, where Jessica was playing on her own without the other kids. Angel Jose had been keeping an eye on the kids since they’d arrived at the daycare this morning. He heard everything from Jessica’s point of view of what happened to her brothers, even if she didn’t go out into the storm last night. When the owner of Creek Daycare took notice of Craig and his friends, he immediately took notice of the pink lion by their side. He rushed up to the group in a microsecond which took them by surprise.

“Craig.” Angel Jose walked up to Craig. “No pets allowed in the Creek Daycare.”

“Thanks for informing us but…he’s not my pet.” Craig pointed at Lion.

“He’s my pet.” Steven filling in. “But sure, we'll keep him away from the daycare.”

“You must be Steven Universe.” Angel Jose smiled. “Jessica told me about you along with the spread of information going around in the creek.”

“If you’re worrying about him turning pink, don’t worry, it won’t happen here.” Connie added.

“We’re only here to check up on Craig's sister.” Sparkle Cadet said.

“Today was a wild turn of events.” Kelsey replied.

“Seems you had a marathon of episodes today.” Angel Jose placed his hands on his hips. “I’m sure there won’t be an episode of chaos here.”

“We'll make sure of that.” Steven replied as Angel allowed the group inside the daycare.

“Jessica.” Craig called as he witnessed his sister playing with her stuffed animal, Small Uncle.

“Craig?” She turned her attention, while noticing Steven and his girlfriend by his side.

“You’ve been playing with your stuffed animal alone?” Steven wondered.

“Yes…” She lowered her head. “Though I knew you were staying. Bernard told me when I woke up.”

Steven wishes he would try to patch things up with Bernard later, but he’s unsure if he’s gonna handle being around him if he’s willing to spend a day with him. Especially since he has a big pink lion which could scare him by chance. “Do you want me to play with you?” He offered.

“I would, but it feels awkward that you’re here instead of being a hundred miles away.”

Connie then walked up to Jessica which took her by notice. After listening to Steven’s story upon arrival with Lion, the only option she has is to give comfort to the ones who are involved in the situation. She leaned down to Jessica’s level, placing her hand on her face.

“It’s never a bad thing though.” She smiled. “I’m Connie. I was Steven’s Jam Bud when we were children, stopping corrupted gems.”

This caused Jessica to smile a bit. “I guess it’s not really a bad thing to have company from him.”

Connie then took notice of Jessica’s stuffed animal. “I didn't really have company before I met Steven. Your stuffed animal’s good.”

“Thanks. He's my favorite stuffed animal.” She handed Small Uncle to Connie as she got back up on her feet.

“Do you always play with it?”

“Yes, I always take it with me almost all the time.”

“I had stuffed animals when I was young, mainly when Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl weren't around.” Steven added. “Believe me, I never knew I was that lonely back then.”

“You were also lonely?” Craig asked.

“Them being the protectors were more important than taking care of me unfortunately.”

“Seems you being alone is almost how I’m feeling right now.” Jessica replied. “Minus my family stopping corrupted gems. If I knew what a corrupted gem is.”

“Don’t worry Jessica.” Craig smiled. “If there were a corrupted gem here, the creek wouldn’t be safe for any of us.” He then placed his hand on her shoulder. “Then again on the plus side, you would’ve seen what Steven’s really capable of. Including Connie.”

As Connie gave back Jessica’s stuffed animal, Kelsey continued to eye Connie's scabbard on her back. She really wants to see her in action with her sword, but in a time like this, very unlikely.

“You know that shield that he showed you yesterday?”

“Yes?” His sister nodded.

“He actually teleports it out of thin air!” J.P. smiled as Steven used his powers, revealing his shield, catching the attention of not only Jessica, but also the other kids, including the owner who reacted the moment he saw the shield.

“Oh no! No! No!” Angel Jose jumped into the daycare. “No weapons allowed!” Just when he took the shield from Steven, it disappeared in a flash. “What the?”

“Sorry, it was part of my powers but I wasn’t gonna harm anyone.” Steven replied.

“Just because I agree with others that you’re less harmful, doesn’t mean you’re allowed to show kids weapons.”

“He’s right.” Sparkle Cadet said. “Not really a great idea to do that here.”

“Hey, is that a sword?” He pointed at Connie’s sword. “I draw the line of that, give me that sword!”

“NO!” Kelsey jumped in front of Connie which took her and others by surprise. “She won’t use it here at all, don’t take it away!”

“Kelsey, the kids would see that. They never ignore curiosity.”

“Please, her sword’s a one of a kind!”

“She didn’t even show it to us.” Omar replied.

“It’s still one of a kind!”

“She’s right but don’t worry, I’m not gonna use my sword here.” Connie replied.

“No weapons involved.” Steven filling in.

“We’re keeping the kids safe.” Craig added.

Angel Jose took a deep breath while being as nice as possible, despite the rules he made at the Creek Daycare. “Okay, just make sure you don’t say anything when they ask you about it.”

He went back outside of the daycare as Connie looked down at Kelsey. “Thanks for helping me out but…you’re getting a little too excited.”

“She’s that into you being a sword fighter.” Craig replied.

“Maybe after we’re done here, can you give me sword fighting lessons?” Kelsey asked. “I would really appreciate it.”

Connie bites her lip, remembering she didn’t come over for sword fighting lessons. “I don’t know about that.”

“Connie, we didn’t know you would be coming but, it’s probably gonna be the only time you’re ever gonna be here.”

“Craig, even if I’m willing to stay longer, it’s only for an emergency for Steven. With you having pink eyes, I don’t know what’s gonna happen next.” She then leaned down to Craig’s level. “Also, giving a kid sword fighting lessons won’t make a difference. I may know how to fight with a sword, but I’m still in college studying.”

“I would probably stay in college rather than being a sword fighter.” Jessica replied.

“True, but the point I’m trying to make is there was always a serious situation which always involved a battle.” She then turned to Kelsey. “If we had our enemies that involved the gem war itself, maybe I would train you.”

Kelsey looked down on the ground. She didn’t want to be greedy, but on the other hand, she may never get another chance to be trained with an actual sword fighter. Craig saw the disappointment in his friend, but with everything he went through over the last night, she wouldn’t resist if it was Connie out there fighting.

“Steven will be around for the next few days.” He turned to Connie which she turned back. “The thing with that is, we don’t even know if he’s ever leaving due to…what you said about pink eyes.”

“Obviously.” J.P. commented.

“But my friends had fun hanging out with him and Kelsey didn’t get a chance to do an activity with him.”

“I’ve been thinking about what place I wanted to go since we’ve been doing that today but since you’re here, I couldn’t help myself.” Kelsey replied.

Connie admitted she grew a liking to Craig’s friends, which is always the price of checking up on Steven. “If you can find a place that feels like we’re practicing, I might reconsider.”

“Thanks.” Kelsey smiled. “I would show you my Super Secret Book Club but-”

“We have a few hours left Kelsey.” Craig replied. “I might want to take Steven to at least one more place before we head home.”

“How about I pick the next location?” Omar offered. “Or at the very least, have Steven met one person I’m aware of?”

“Okay then.”

“I was gonna say if she was interested…and willing to come over tomorrow.” Kelsey lowered her head.

“I saw her doing a book cover at the library days ago.” Steven smiled. “But that’s up to you.”

“If I have the time tomorrow night, I’ll come over.” Connie smiled. “Then again, I missed what it’s like being in a book club before I headed to college. Been working on my studies triple time, and I haven’t read a book since.”

“You will like my book, Fire & Ice. I just finished the cover yesterday.”

“I would think of something to take you but, let’s just say Small Uncle doesn’t want to come back to the specifics of the Creek.” Jessica said.

“Big time.” Craig agreed. “Is there anything else going on with Benard when you last saw him?”

“Her girlfriend took him to her place along with friends to calm him down. He might be back home at sunset.”

“We still need to inform the parents…who didn’t notice me staying there overnight.” Steven remembered. “As if it wasn’t enough for me, making sure everyone’s okay with me around.”

“Hey, at least there’s no negativity here.” Sparkle Cadet smiled.

“But I can’t avoid it tonight.”

“I’ll make sure they won’t take it hard.” Craig replied. “We should probably go now to where Kelsey wants to go.”

“And after that, we should do my thing.” Omar added.

“Yeah, I’m gonna go out spreading more positivity. It was nice knowing you.” Sparkle Cadet said, lifting her hand up.

“Make sure you check on anything suspicious. That’s the least amount of positivity we need.” Connie said.

“As in, preventing negativity.” Steven shook Sparkle Cadet’s hand. She left the Daycare as the group’s ready to leave with Kelsey taking the lead.

“I’ll also help tonight if you need it!” Jessica called.

“Thanks!” Steven called back.

“You’re not gonna help out?” Craig turned to Connie.

“I would, but I really need to sleep on time to get ready for tomorrow. Plus.” She pointed at Lion. “They won’t allow him inside.”

“And I’m sure Bernard would have a panic attack if he saw him.” Steven added.

“Okay, just me, you, Jessica, and my parents in my house tonight.” Craig replied. “We need to have you stay for at least a week.”

“You think that’s enough?” J.P. asked.

“I don’t want to go too far, he may have to find another apartment.”

“Let’s not focus on tonight, let’s just enjoy what’s left of the day.” Steven said. “Is the place we’re going to feel more wisdomic?”

“It’s what I need when it comes to swordsmanship.” Connie added.

This gave Kelsey an idea for what location she and Connie can go to. “Maybe there is a place full of wisdom.”