Back at the Temple, things did seem to be going down hill for another Gem and her troubles. Inside the Beach House, the only two Gems there were, for a lack of a better word, forsaken Gems of the CG: Pearl and Peridot. Both Gems had gone through a rather rough time since this 'Cluster' thing got started, but Pearl had gone through a bit worse of a time when compared to Peridot. Yes, Peridot's punishment was longer (and she was stuck with her collar and leash still), but Pearl still had her own dangerous trouble with her cracked Gem. Being punished that way was simply horrible for her, and it easily showed as she tried to just do some of the dishes. She would normally do this quick, but her cracked Gem deeply affected her accuracy and precision, even after it had healed up (effects lasting a little longer, you see). She was stuck doing them a lot slower than normal, and some of the dishes even kept slipping out of her hands, falling into the sink time and time again. Peridot tried to help a little bit, but her own efforts weren't helping the overall idea out. The one who wasn't forsaken here was Star Quartz, who was sitting comfortably on the couch nearby.
"Ok, gently, gently," Pearl quietly said, trying to get another plate from the dirty dishes to wash up. She got it, but as she tried to wash it with a sponge, her previously cracked stone made itself known again, and her grip started to slip! worried, Pearl tried to keep it from falling, and Peridot tried to catch it too, but eventually the plate ended up shattered on the floor. Judging from the floor, this wasn't the first time this happened. In fact, this was the twelfth dish that shattered at her feet.
"AH! I can't do this," Pearl finally said, walking away from the sink in frustrated defeat. Star saw the mess, and went over to clean it up, as Peridot went over to Pearl.
"Come on, Pearl, cheer up. The cluster's been bubbled, and the others ... tolerate. Us. Now," Peridot said, trying to be supportive. But even Peridot's own tone didn't seem to be making Pearl all convinced. Pearl looked down to her hand.
"I hope so," Pearl simply sighed. she wasn't in the mood for sharing the details of the problem. What detail other than the cracked Gem punishment needed to be said anyway? Just as Star finished up cleaning the broken glass ...
"ROAD TRIP!"
Emerald's back, and apparently happy with himself. Of course, this wasn't the best time for his cheery mood, and he was quick to notice the rather depressing state of everyone.
"Oh ... Uh, this a bad time?" Emerald asked.
"It kind of is, Emerald," Peridot sneered. Before Emerald could go off, Star took notice of something in his hand, which looked like a little brochure, or pamphlet.
"What's that?" Star asked, looking at the object. Emerald followed her starry eyes down to the pamphlet, and presented it right to Star Quartz's face.
"Oh, just a little place I thought on bringing some of you Gem pals over to. Seriously, you all had been working like mad on this cluster business, thought you should take a little break," Emerald said, ready to go off whenever they were. When he looked to Pearl though, it was quick she was not in the best condition to just run off.
"What's with you?" Emerald asked.
"If you must know, Pearl's still trying to get over her Gemstone being cracked," Peridot informed, getting it through Emerald's head.
"OH! Ooo, Pearl, ouch. Had a bad fall from a Gem beast, or what?" Emerald asked, cringing a bit on hearing it.
"... Well. One did show up," Pearl just said, but she didn't go any further than that.
"We don't need any of your jokes, Emerald," Peridot quickly warned.
"Hey, hey, trust me, you won't. You're not the only one in this room who knows what a cracked Gem feels like," Emerald said as he placed a hand on his own Gemstone. Emerald knew better than any of them did about what it was like, remembering his own experience running around with his own Gem with a crack in it, including when he first met the Crystal Gems. At the very least, they're spared of his teasing this time. Yet, the idea of a vacation might be better than it sounds. ...
"Where is this place? Emerald?" Pearl asked.
"Oh, just some time over in the country, but I don't think you -"
"No, no, no. Why don't we go there, with you?" Pearl decided.
There was a pause for a moment.
"You Pearl?" Emerald said, pointing to the Gemstone.
"I'll be alright. ... not like I can do much, anyway," Pearl sighed. It was probably for the best. Emerald took it into some consideration, and after a bit, he came to his conclusion.
"Well, you know what? Heck, let's do it. You better watch that little gem of yours though."
"I'll be fine."
~~~~~~
With the night looking bright, Pearl, Peridot, Star, and Emerald were off on their way to this place that Emerald had in mind for their vacation. As far as transportation went, Emerald had that prepared thanks to some bling he got from his job, just managing to get enough to earn them a car. Who knew? The car itself Emerald put together had the basic look to a green bentley convertible. A bit older and tacky, but functional enough to get the car going. It was some trial and error, but after some consideration, Peridot and Emerald both took turns in driving the car, since Pearl couldn't risk grabbing it while driving, and Star had no clue how to drive.
Their drive took them further out of town, and soon the summer weather started to come around with the heat. With the top down, it wasn't much of a bother for the Gems as they drove along. However, while the weather would be fine for them, Emerald still took time to stop to gas up their ride at a roadside gas station. With Star waiting inside the car, the others went on inside the gas station for a bit. As far as appearance goes, Pearl had to improvise over her outfit, and used her own ribbon to go over her stone like a headband. Just enough to hide it well, and may actually keep it safe. Soon, Peridot walked over to Pearl and Emerald with some candy bars and chips.
"OK, we got some snacks for the road, now for some human beverages," Peridot said, heading to the cooler.
"Since when were you so into food, P? I expect that from Amethyst," Emerald asked.
"My experience on Earth has given me time to experiment with some of their consumable substances," Peridot explained.
"Never paged you as a food connoisseur, but, whatever," Emerald shrugged, as he was given a chocolate bar. The options the gas station had were varied from alcohol drinks to kid juice bottles. Pearl would help, but she didn't want to break anything in here. Sure, her gemstone may be alright, but the effects were still hanging around a bit longer than she liked.
"Hey, Peridot, give me one of those juices. I feel like drinking tonight," Pearl said.
"You, Pearl? Oh, here you go," Peridot said, tossing an apple juice can to her. Pearl got it, just enough so it stayed in her hand rather than on the floor. As Pearl tried to open her can, Peridot looked over to Emerald.
"So, Emerald, what's this destination about?"
"Oh that. I found this sweet place over in Keystone. It's wide-open, a bit rough, but vacant lots are everywhere. Last time I was there I found some sick places for skateboarding," Emerald explained.
"None of us brought any of those things."
"You got the metal bending, I got the earth know-how, we can work something out."
At this point, Pearl finally got her can open, the scent of Apple hitting her pointed nose. It took Pearl a bit, but eventually she took a sip from her juice can. Pearl only got about two sips down before her eyes glanced over to the exit, hearing it automatically slide open. Emerald and Peridot didn't pay too much attention, but when Pearl saw who was there, her eyes shot open and enough for her to even spit out her juice.
They weren't the only ones who stopped by this gas station. She looked fairly tall, about as tall as Garnet, and her body was thick as well. Not fat like Greg, but still a bit of meat on her body. She had toned skin, and her long, scruffy hair was pink, hanging off the side of her head. As for outfit, she had a sort of street look going for her: a white sleeveless shirt, a camo sweat wrapped around her waist, and piercings on her cheek and lip. Her eyes had a cool look to it, and she walked past the trio, Pearl watching her the whole way in silence and awe. Her drink did end up slipping out of her hand, landing at her feet. Only then did the two green Gems see Pearl, the tall Gem not even noticing, and watching the eye candy. Emerald followed her eyes to the only other person in the place aside of the cashier.
"Oi, Pearl, you still with us?" Emerald asked, trying to get her attention. Pearl snapped back to reality after a few blinks.
"Oh, sorry. It's just I ... never knew humans came with pink hair," Pearl stated, looking back to the other girl. The other girl went to get some snacks of her own, and after a bit Emerald got it right away, confirming it with a nudge and a wink to Pearl.
"See something you like?" Emerald teased. Pearl blushed up.
"Uh ... I'm fine," Pearl stuttered out. Emerald knew she wasn't telling the truth.
"Come on, Pearl, you got love-bit, I know it. Why else are you getting so freaked out?"
"I-I'm not freaking out!" Pearl snapped, her face blushing blue. Emerald started getting smug with her, leaning against the wall next to her.
"K, then go talk to her. I mean, she's right there," Emerald decided. It was one way to prove if Pearl was shooting nonsense or not. But Pearl was a little reluctant to just go right up to her straight away. Still, maybe she would get a little lucky with her. Pearl looked down to her hand. So long as they didn't give her any trouble, she should be okay.
"Ok," Pearl simply said. With her nerves up, Pearl began walking over to her, Emerald and Peridot glancing to eachother as she left. Seems this Gem was going to give it a try.
It didn't take long until Pearl found herself right next to the girl, the human at the point checking her snacks before she would be taking off. Pearl tried to think of something to say, but she wasn't doing too well. Looking around, she did see a few stacked cups next to her, so her hand went and tried to get that. A casual drink to tie things over. However, her hesitance started to pull the stack out rather than just one cup, and it started to topple. Pearl tried to recover, but it was no use, one of the cups bouncing off of the other girl.
"I ... uh ..."
The girl didn't pay her much mind, and just simply walked out of the gas station. Well, so much for that shot. Pearl had her chance, and it didn't work out too much. The girl walked on outside with what she had, and Peridot and emerald moved back over to Pearl.
"Eh, well, better luck next time, P. Come on, let's get going," Emerald decided, having enough already to get going.
Pearl, Peridot, and Emerald went on outside from there, Pearl's little girl already up and gone, as the trio got to the car. Star Quartz simply sat there in her seat still, watching the others take their seats. At first, it was a bit awkward for Pearl, the Gem feeling stupid for her little act earlier. Before they could even go. ...
"... That human girl looked familiar. She looked like Rose Quartz," Star finally said. That just made Pearl blush up even more.
"Wait. OOHHH. So that's what that was about," Peridot concluded, Pearl feeling even more embarrassed as Emerald started to drive off and away.
"No no no. Look, I'm done thinking about the past. from here on out, I look to the future. I'm a new Gem who likes to socialize with humans."
"Is that what that was?" Emerald commented. Pearl felt a bit annoyed.
"You weren't over there by the cups! I could've talked to her, the timing was just wrong."
"That and you knocked all the cups over," Emerald teased. Pearl flustered and looked out the window after that.
"... What's wrong? That did happen. Didn't it?" Star asked, only making Pearl more flustered up. A reminder was not going to help her get through this embarrassment. Still, Peridot adjusted the car head mirror to see her.
"Pearl, don't worry about it. Let's just go and try to enjoy the vacation," Peridot decided. It'll still be a while yet until they reach Keystone, so Pearl might as well do so.
~~~~~~
So after that little encounter, they were all off on their way towards Keystone. It was a good thing neither one of them actually needed sleep, as they were driving literally the entire night. With the ride came time to just think, and Pearl honestly had her own mind in a bit of a wrap. This new girl just showed up from nowhere, and all of a sudden she found herself acting like nothing but a goof. Needless to say, she had never felt this strongly for someone before. Or at least, not in such a long time. The next morning showed that their vacation was slightly delayed: rain begun to come down. They drove down the road with the top up this time.
"Emerald, you wouldn't happen to have any shelter for this precipitation, do you?" Peridot asked, a hand feeling the rain coming down just outside her car window. Not a good thing to happen on any vacation.
"Don't sweat it. I think there's something up ahead," Emerald said, pointing ahead as he drove to it, and indeed there was. Up further ahead looked like a building of sorts, and one a bit out in the middle of nowhere too. They all just saw the sign for the border of Keystone, just what they hoped to see, but what they also saw was a two-storied building right next to it. Guess the place expected wary drivers from Delmarva like them. Just seeing the place alone said to them that they're heading for a motel, outdoor swimming pool included. Though with the rain, none of them really wanted to go swimming anyway. Just wasn't the right weather for it.
"A bit ... vague," Pearl said.
"I'm down for it, let's check in," Emerald said, parking in their lot and getting out of the car. With nowhere else to go, Pearl and Peridot got out of the car, though Star Quartz still stayed in the car despite the rain outside. In fact, Star Quartz felt very content in where she was over actually getting out and joining the others, much like the gas station.
Emerald, Pearl, and Peridot only needed a minute or two before they got to their room for the day. As any motel would, the room was your typical bedroom with bathroom within the same place, much like the hotel room Peridot stuck in back in Bayburgh with Ruby, Sapphire, and Steven. And as before, the room was only for a little while.
"OK, not too bad. We'll just hang out here until the rain stops and be off on our way. We don't have much further to go now," Emerald promised, already getting comfortable in one of the beds. They might as well.
"OK, so what now?"
.......
"Percy, how could you?! Pierre deserves better than that!"
Well, Peridot found something to pass the time, along with the others, and that was Camp Pining Hearts. Who'd of guessed that a marathon of Camp Pining Hearts leading up to the season finale would be going on right now. Peridot's eyes were locked onto the Television, holding a pillow from the bed in front of her as she peered over it. At least Peridot was enjoying it one way or another, but Emerald and Pearl were bored more than anything. In fact, Emerald looked ready to fall asleep.
"How many more episodes does this marathon have?" yawned Emerald. Pearl didn't have much clue why humans were so deep into these sorts of shows. Sure, some may like it bit by bit, but she could never get this level of devotion to something like this. Anyway, Pearl looked around the room for a bit, but only then did she begin to notice that they all weren't there. Emerald and Peridot were there, sure, but Star Quartz wasn't anywhere in the room.
"Anyone seen Star?" Pearl asked.
"She's right - ... wait, where is Star?" Emerald wondered, looking around and not finding Star anywhere. Peridot was a little too deep into her show to even pay attention to them, as both tried to find where Star had gone off to. None of them had noticed this for a while, and who knew what happened? Eventually, Pearl and Emerald both decided to look out back to the car. They never saw Star since they parked the car, so they both checked that out. However. ...
"Where'd she go?"
Yep. When they looked, turned out Star Quartz was no longer in there! At first, both Gems were a bit worried. Where could've Star gone to? No one really told her much about security, so who knows what could've happened to her? Emerald and Pearl went right to the car in the middle of the rain, going right to the doors and windows, but neither of them could really see Star Quartz inside anywhere. Not in the front seats, nor in the back seats. Both Gems didn't stay out too long to check any further and went straight back to their room, a little wet but still wondering where Star Quartz had ended up.
"Peridot we got a problem," Pearl said firmly.
"What do you mean, Corley? ... Does that mean anything to you? ..." Peridot said in a dazed voice, eyes glued to the show.
"PERIDOT!" Pearl yelled, making Peridot fall off the bed in a yelp.
"What?! Wha - what?" Peridot said, her head under a covers. She quickly got them off as the other two confronted her.
"Star Quartz wandered off on us, I thought you brought her in," Emerald said.
"I thought you brought her in!" retorted Peridot.
"Why me? You're her mother," Emerald pointed out.
"No I'm not! ... Oh. No, wait, uh ..."
*knock**knock**knock*
Their confrontation was cut short by the knock at their door. Lucky they got that before bickering could erupt between Peridot and Emerald. Then again though, who would be knocking at their door in this weather? It took a bit, but Pearl eventually got to the door to answer. With Peridot and Emerald looking on, Pearl herself only needed one look outside to suddenly fluster up. Standing just at the door was Star Quartz, the Gem quietly standing out there, slightly wet from the rain with a little glean as well. However, it wasn't exactly her that Pearl was surprised about, but rather the girl Star Quartz was with. This wasn't any staff worker, nor just any random girl just stopping by, but instead it was the girl. The girl from the gas station, the Rose Quartz humanized counterpart! A surprise naturally, but Pearl ... well ...
*SLAM*
Well, Pearl just slammed the door on them. Ok. Both girls outside looked a bit confused on Pearl's reaction. The mystery girl glanced to Star, who just shrugged. ... Yeah, not a good showing. Again. Seeing Pearl freak out coming in surely got Peridot and Emerald at attention.
"What're you doing? Is that Star?" Asked Peridot.
"Yes, but, I-It's that girl again, she's right outside," Pearl quietly said, having her back to the door and looking pretty freaked out, her hands gripping onto the door as her face remained blushing blue. What were the odds that the exact same girl from the gas station would just pop up in the same place as they were?! Pearl was not prepared for this, but then again who would be?
"What?! The same girl from the gas station?" Peridot realized, just for Pearl to nod her head.
"Then why'd you slam the door in her face?!" Emerald yelled.
"I don't know!" Pearl replied, sounding defeated. Emerald, hand to forehead, went over towards the door.
"Out of the way, P, I'll handle it." Emerald took control and basically pushed Pearl aside before she could cause anymore trouble. Pearl kept her mouth covered and sweating a storm as Emerald handled it. Honestly, Pearl wasn't paying too much attention to what was exactly going on, and the longer it went on, the more that Pearl was worrying. She didn't know what to do. Should she go back and try again, or just sit there and regret? It took Emerald a few minutes of chit-chat, but eventually Star Quartz came in with Emerald, and the mystery lady was off and walking away. Didn't matter either way apparently.
"... Hello, everyone."
"Ah. Hi Star. Well ... where were you?"
"In that lady's room. ... She's a nice lady. She mentioned something about another twig lady and how she toppled cups on her way up here. ..."
Twig lady? Is that was she called Pearl? And the fact she even brought up the cups just didn't help her out much, and Pearl just sat down in defeat. Her other chance to actually do something, and she couldn't even utter a single word. Oh brother.
"A twig lady. Well, so much for that second chance," Pearl sighed.
"Chill out, you'll get another chance when we get there," Emerald assured her, smiling, though that didn't make Pearl feel much better.
"How do you know?"
"Because get this: she's going to the same spot we are! Apparently there's a little shredding contest she's signed up for and it's going on there."
"W-WHAT?!" Pearl gasped. Did it make her feel better? No, but it did make her freak out. The odds of running into her the second time at all was a bit of a long shot, but to have both heading right off to the same location was a shot in a million! No doubt she really was going to get her third chance again, no matter if she wanted it or not.
"W-Well what do I do? She's going to be there, I'm going to be there. Oh, do I look okay? M-Maybe I should try and bulk up or something? Oh, what am I gonna tell her?!" Pearl tried to comprehend things, but Star Quartz stepped over to her, and for a moment she just stared into Pearl's eyes. It took just a little bit, but Pearl eventually started to relax a bit.
"Thanks, Star," Peridot said, as Emerald went over to Pearl.
"Okay, first off: 'twig girl' is not an insult, you're fine as you are. Secondly, it'll be a while before we even get there so you'll have time to work your stuff out."
"Can't believe I'm saying this, but he's right. Perhaps this human acquaintance is a more open-minded individual. She didn't seem like she was insulting your physical form with that statement, right Star?" Peridot added, Star just nodding. Perhaps the trio were correct about that. If she wasn't as open-minded, her first encounter probably would've gone worse than it did. Pearl took that in thought, and eventually a smile got onto her face. In fact, she may have an idea in mind.
"I think it's my turn to drive."
~~~~~~
Well, the ride over to their destination took pretty much the whole day from there, but eventually they did finally reach their next spot, where Emerald had planned and wanted to get to from the very start. The group of Gem vacationers arrived over in a more secluded area within Keystone, over in one of Keystone's towns. Them, and Pearl's mystery girl were off and parking on a gravel parking lot. According to the number of people there for the moment, especially with the amount of skateboards and roller blades on them, they were at the right spot. Speaking off, the place where this contest was going to be was at a skater park, though this one didn't seem to be too popular, with a number of cracks in the cement, and some having weeds growing. This didn't seem to be much of a bother for many of the competitors for the contest, most of these humans being rather punkish and/or gothic in appearance. Hardcore typical far as they know. Their parking spot placed them right in front of the skater park, seeing that their mystery girl had already arrived and lined up for the contest judging by her motorcycle parked already by the time they got there.
"Now, now, I didn't do that bad," Pearl insisted, as they all got out of the car.
"Pearl, I know you're trying to impress, but seriously, that was bad," Emerald made clear. He looked a bit frazzled with Pearl, along with Peridot, as Star remained slightly surprised more than anything.
"We did not do that terribly, Emerald, your car is still in tact and functional," Pearl made clear, which was true. As they began to go in, Star took a moment to tap Pearl on the shoulder, looking confused.
"That human was pretty friendly. I wonder if we can play again soon," Star commented, making Pearl a little more embarrassed.
"Eh, let's not."
"Why? Didn't you like showing how well balanced you were on that line he made in the road?"
"LET'S. JUST. GO," Pearl insisted, her face blushing more blue. nothing like a little police test to put even more embarrassment on herself and effect of her cracked gemstone recovery.
So, after that little reminder, they were all there and lined up inside the skater park. Even if the contest didn't start off yet, there was still some people practicing their skills before the contest would start, some people going around on their roller blades while others practiced their skills on their skateboards. The skater park basically had the main gist when it comes to skater parks and what one could do within them: half pipes, bowls, skater ramps, that sort of thing. And there was no shortage of any of them, giving many a trier plenty of time to practice with plenty of room to do it in. Pearl, Emerald, Peridot, and Star all saw a number of these people doing their own game around, Pearl observing this practice with some intrigue.
"So, what exactly are they doing?" Star asked, looking to Peridot.
"Well, I think the correct term is ... skateboarding."
"The street term is shredding it, but yeah. Check out those skills out there!" Emerald added in, as one of the skateboards did a pretty good flip between ramps right in front of them. Pearl took a look around herself, and soon enough she found the particular mystery girl over nearby, practicing her own skills on the contest with her set of roller blades. Seeing the girl perform her own bit of neat tricks with her roller blades was a pretty cool thing to see, at least for Pearl.
It was then she got to thinking. Each time so far, she'd been pretty much screwing up: first meeting the girl and she stumbled on the cups. Second time, she slammed the door in her face. And you know what they would say about the three strikes, but then again, if she could get it right this time ...
.......
"Whoa, whoa, what?!"
"I'm going to try this contest," Pearl repeated to them. And it was a little late to say no, since Pearl was holding her little ticket in hand to enter anyway. Pearl didn't exactly get their approval on the matter though.
"Look, Pearl, I don't have any doubt that you can probably ... maybe do this, but, maybe you might want to chill after 'you know what'," Peridot suggested, Pearl knowing well what she was referring to. Pearl's hand met her Gemstone, but she took one look to the mystery girl to fully make up her mind.
"I'll be fine, really."
"Well at least get some gear, you can't go out like that," Emerald suggested.
"Emerald, you know that our bodies are much more durable than these humans. A simple fall of one of these ... "skateboards", won't harm me very much."
"No, that's the rules," emerald pointed out, a thumb aimed at a sign nearby. The sign simply said 'Safety first', and showed a number of shoulder and knee pads, along with a helmet. Well, convenient really, and something Pearl didn't notice when she got her ticket.
"Oh."
~~~~~~
Time ticked on by and as the night drawed near, the contest was close to beginning as well. Star, Emerald, and Peridot took a seat over by the designated seating area, which was mainly made up of some bleachers that were set up earlier that day for the show to start. A number of people were already seated, and the trio all sat together over in the middoe of the crowd. That way to see the show a bit better. Lights were set up for maximum view of the show.
"Alright, dudes and dudets, welcome to the shredding contest you're all waiting for! You ready for some rad tricks?" the announcer said, the crowd ready to go. The trio of Gems only wondered if Pearl will be alright overall, actually able to see her in the line up. Pearl ... didn't look like she belonged, to be honest. All the punks and tomboys, and here she was not looking close to it. In fact, she looked stiff as a stick standing there, trying to look as natural as possible with her roller blades in hand, which she decided to do over the typical skateboard. She wasn't the only one with roller blades in this contest, but they had a disadvantage compared to skateboards, which Pearl's mystery girl had with her. Pearl looked to her, the girl not exactly paying attention to her at the moment, a few people between her and Pearl.
Pretty soon, the contest started, and people were showing off their stuff. First few were basic skateboards, and performed their tricks for the crowd. Each one was pretty basic: half-pipes, 360 spins, so on so forth. The roller bladders before Pearl did their luck in the contest and held their own in their turns, though not as well as the skateboards and their results. They each had their varying scores and skills, some better than others of course, and then it was the mystery girl's turn. Pearl peered around the others to see her go, and soon the girl went right off on her skateboard. This gal knew her stuff, and it didn't take long until she was going along the path and showing off her moves. She started with some basic moves before heading to the bowls, and then did she go all out in her moves. Her moves in order appeared to be a set of 360 spins, a japan air move, and her final move being a backflip and frontflip combo! Not too shabby.
"Dang, she's good," thought Pearl. Once she was finished, the crowd applauded her, and she moved off past the remaining contestants. Suddenly, the mystery girl took a glance to Pearl, giving a smile of her own as she passed. Pearl could only blush as her reaction to it, the mystery girl walking away and chilling out until the contest would be over. Pearl needed to amp up her game in order to get this girl impressed.
"Ok, Pearl. You may have ... a few troubles in the past, but this is your moment. You can do this. you have plenty of time to work out your strategy in this game," Pearl thought.
Then the line moved.
"OH MY! We're moving already! OK!"
Pearl took her step forward, not realizing how quick it was going. Pearl only had so much time to get herself all set and handled, and with only two people in front of her, she needed every second of it. Emerald, Peridot, and Star watched the show continue, though they were more wondering about what Pearl was going to do. Each one of the contestants went on and were off before Pearl could realize, and before she knew it, she was next. SO FAST!
"Ok, here we go," Pearl sighed, going onto the main field. Pearl took a moment to check her surroundings over what she had going for her.
"Good luck, Pearl!" called Emerald.
"Don't fall!" added Peridot.
All Star did was give Pearl a thumbs up. At least Pearl had an audience and some supporters. Pearl saw the top of a ramp, and moved into position, putting on her roller blades to start things up. Pearl had no idea what she was doing, but looking back at the girl again, she needed to give it all she had.
Pearl gave a deep breath, and looked over at the area. Well, it was now or never, and there was no turning back now.
"Off I go!" Pearl said, going down the ramp. On her roller blades, normally she'd be in full stride but the slight effect of her stone didn't make the moving any easier. Pearl got out of the bowl, but everyone could see that Pearl was having a little bit of trouble balancing, and not going anywhere fast. Pearl can't impress anyone at the rate she was going, so she tried to get herself moving faster.
"OH, please let me do this. ... Think, just image something different ..." Pearl told herself. Imagining herself on roller blades wasn't suiting her, and while she did gain speed, she had to think of something else. Pearl thought it over more and more, and finally she got the image right in her head. ...
Next thing the audience knew, Pearl went from rollerblading to ice-skating, and Pearl was gliding along the ground on her rollerblades.
"What is she doing?" Peridot wondered, scratching her head.
Those watching weren't sure what she was doing exactly, but whatever it is, it improved over what she had been doing. Many of Pearl's starting tricks seemed to mirror the famous Swan Lake ballerina dance, Pearl making good speed on her rollerblades as she did so. The first five moves went on without incident, Pearl imagining the iconic music playing in the background during her act.
After those moves she went on faster towards a railing nearby, and rather than grind on it, Pearl did a sort of balancing act on it, performing some more iconic moves from Swan Lake on. She even made a few backflips on it, landing perfectly before rolling off and gaining her speed. It seemed her gemstone was healing up nicely if she was pulling these moves off without a hitch.
That was just her second act too! The crowd surely wasn't expecting a act of ice skating when they arrived there. Anyway, Pearl set her targets a bit higher, and went to the largest ramp amongst the set there is. This part had to impress, and Pearl was in the zone. The Gem gained speed as much as she could towards the ramp, and she soon found herself skyward, straight up. Then came her final act: the second she got off the ground, she went straight into a spin: a high speed corkscrew with arms wide open. This made her look like a spinning top in the air, amazing the crowd. Pearl kept her eyes closed during this part so she wouldn't end up dizzy, and allowed pure instinct to take over. She continued her spinning in the air, and once she landed for a bit more. Even if she was on rollerblades, she looked like she was on ice and she didn't slow down in any moment. She finally made her finish with a standard ice-skating pose, arms up high over her head, and both feet aligned with one another.
Her act was complete.
Pretty soon, the crowd gave their applause to her, Gems included. Clearly, a good result came out of Pearl's attempt.
~~
"HOLY SMOKES, Pearl, you did amazing out there!" Said Peridot, the Gems meeting up soon after the contest with Pearl holding the winning trophy. Any roller bladder who could do even half of what Pearl did deserved it. Things had chilled out from the contest (which was no contest thanks to Pearl), and the Gems met up over back at the parking lot.
"Yeah, you killed it out there! A rollerblading rebel!" added Emerald.
"I've been a rebel for six thousand years," Pearl remarked smugly, which was technically true. The others chuckled.
"Eh well anyway, looks like you got your gem fully healed up," said Emerald, leading to Peridot chuckling.
"No, no, you're confused: she got her gem fully healed AND won this human contest in the art of 'shredding'," Peridot correct, still making Pearl feel pretty good with herself.
"... There's that girl again," Star suddenly noted. Sure enough, when they all looked, there was that same mystery girl standing over by her motorcycle, fiddling with her phone for a little bit. They were going to head back, so if there was a time to finally talk to her, it would be now. Looking to her face, Emerald could see Pearl's intention from a mile away.
"OK, Pearl, we all know you're cool. Just ease into the whole socializing thing, ok?" Emerald advised, but Pearl felt more confident now than before.
"Hold this, Star," Pearl said, Star Quartz holding the trophy for Pearl as the Gem started walking right over to her.
"Wait, Pearl, you should start smaller! Talk to a nerd!"
"Emerald," Peridot groaned.
So, Pearl started her approach and went right over to the girl, starting off her little conversation with a basic handshake. She looked almost robotic with her presentation. On the surface, at least to Emerald and Peridot, it wasn't entirely a good start to a conversation like this.
"A handshake? You're starting with - oh wait. Wait, she shook it, ok," Emerald said, seeing how the girl shook Pearl's hand. Soon, the trio saw that the two started talking to eachother, and by the look on Pearl's face, it was a decent one. The girl then started to chuckle a little alongside Pearl.
"Is she laughing at her, or with her?" wondered Peridot.
"Wait, they're finished," Emerald said. The conversation lasted a little bit, but Pearl felt a bit better about it one way or another, as the trio if Gems caught up with her.
"So, how'd it go?" asked Peridot.
"I asked her about her hair, and then she asked how I colored mine. I told her, "My appearance is just a conscious manifestation of light." and she said, "I know how that is." although, heh, I highly doubt it. Oh! And then I added, "By the way, I saved your planet, and your species, and you're welcome."
"And did it go good, or ...?"
"Not very much. She rode off after giving me some sort of code," Pearl answered, presenting the code to them. However, this code presented a simple message: S. 301-555-0189. When Emerald saw this, he was amazed.
"Pearl, it went great! You just got her phone number!"
"But ... I don't have a phone."
"SO? We'll get you one! and anyway, you just went on about manifestation of light and got her number like nothing! You know how lucky that is? You rock, Pearl!"
And looking at the phone number there, Pearl felt that she did indeed rock.