Amethyst fell onto the couch the moment they entered the apartment.
“That was…” she paused. “Amazing.”
And it had been, especially after Steven showed up and made things ten times less awkward. They had finally gotten around to actually ordering pizza, and once she was no longer struggling to say a single word, Lapis and Peridot had rejoined the table as well. Amethyst had just meet her sisters. Real, actual, biological sisters.
“You shouldn’t have been nervous,” Peridot sat herself next to Amethyst. “We told you it would be fine.”
Lapis snorted. “You said nothing helpful.”
“I was extremely helpful!”
Amethyst nudged Peridot with her foot. “No, you weren't.” She sat up. “But who cares about that because I have sisters now.” She flopped down onto her back again. “And Steven invited them to his party, and they’re coming.”
“So?” Lapis sat on the other side of Amethyst. “You like them.”
Amethyst threw her arm over her face. “I do like them. But Steven invites everyone. Which means they’ll end up meeting everyone.”
“We met everyone.” Lapis said.
“You are my girlfriends. These are my sisters. Somehow, that is worse.”
“Tell them not to come,” Lapis suggested.
“I can’t tell them that!” Amethyst moved her arm. “I want them to like me!’
“Then let them come.” Lapis said.
Amethyst groaned.
Amethyst scanned over the cars gathered around the house as they drove up. Lapis was stuck at work, so it was just her and Peridot. She was slightly relieved to see that it didn’t look like any of the Deitz girls were here yet. Maybe something had come up and they would be able to come at all. She shook her head. Lapis and Peridot were right. She wanted them here. She wanted to hang out with them. And if that meant them meeting every single person in Beach City… then that would have to do.
“Amethyst!” Steven was on the porch, dressed in an truly hideous Hanukkah sweater. He ran down to the street as Amethyst and Peridot got out of the car.
Steven grabbed one of Amethyst’s and Peridots hands, tugging them inside. “Your sisters are coming, right?! I was telling Pearl and Garnet about it and they think it’s really cool-”
Amethyst laughed, pulling Steven off their arms. She ruffled Stevens hair. “Yes. They’re coming.”
The house was already half full of people. Holiday music was playing and Amethyst recognized as something Greg had written. She was a tad impressed Steven had convinced Greg to actually let him play it. There was food and decorations all around, and Steven had been sure to pull out plenty of extra chairs.
Steven grinned, “Yes! They were so cool! Do you think they’ll want to come to more stuff? Cause I can make sure to invite them next time-”
“Slow down” Amethyst urged, “Let’s just see how this goes, alright?”
Peridot had gone off and was talking to Pearl about something. Amethyst was slumped on the couch with a glass of punch. She wished there was alcohol but Steven insisted parties were more fun without it.
“Hey, mini.”
Amethyst looked up. She sat up straight, almost spilling her cup when she saw Kaylee standing in front of her, dressed in a leather jacket.
“Hey! When did you guys get here?”
Kaylee sat herself on the couch next to Amethyst. “About five minutes ago. Steven showed up and insisted on introducing us to everybody. I told him I had to use the bathroom and slipped off. Cause I don’t feel like personally meeting every single person here.”
Amethyst looked around at the crowded room. “Steven throws pretty big parties.” She took a sip from her cup. “Did you call me Minnie? Like, the mouse?”
Kaylee laughed, “Like you being short.”
“I’m not that short!” Amethyst argued even though it was clearly a lie. She was shorter than any of the Deitz girls, and shorter than most of the other party guests as well. She didn’t argue against the nickname. She was thrilled that Kaylee had decided to give her one.
“So,” Amethyst said after a second. “What’s being a security guard like?”
“Boring mostly,” Kaylee shrugged. “I mean, even in Empire City people don’t steal as much as you’d think. Mostly I just end up dealing with lost kids.”
“Does that happen a lot?”
“Couple times a day. I think they always come to me cause I’m one of like, three girl security guards in the whole place.”
Amethyst considered that. “At least your bathroom isn’t crowded.”
Kaylee burst into laughter. Amethyst felt another thrill.
Kaylee leaned back as the laughter subsided. “Man, I wish we found you sooner.”
Amethyst hoped having sisters would never feel normal. She liked it this way, as though every single interaction with one of them was the most amazing thing on the planet. She liked it feeling special.
“How did you find me anyway?” Amethyst asked.
“We started looking a couple years ago,” Kaylee said. “Then Jay saw a newspaper article about the wrestling tournament you were in and decided you kind of looked like us.” She shrugged and nudged Amethyst with her shoulder. “We dug around and now here we are. At the Hanukkah party for our little sister’s brother.”
Elle suddenly sat herself next to Amethyst, followed shortly by Gina and Jayna. Gina grabbed a stray chair and pulled in in front of them, while Jayna took the place next to Kaylee.
“Why is everyone you know named after a rock?” Elle asked.
“Everyone I know is not named after a rock!” Amethyst argued,
Elle began counting on her fingers. “Let’s see, your name is Amethyst, you’re dating two girls named Peridot and Lapis Lazuli. Steven just introduced us to Pearl, Garnet, Fluorite, Rhodonite, Ruby, Sapphire, Padparadscha-”
“Wasn’t the girl you fought in that wrestling tournament named Jasper?” Jay interjected.
“Fine,” Amethyst relented. “I know a lot of people named after rocks. In my defense-” she added. “Ruby and Sapphire’s weird family naming conventions are not my fault.”
“Your last name is a rock too.” Gina added.
Amethyst groaned. “I can’t win this can I?”
“No,” Jay said. “You can’t.”
The party was finally ending after a couple hours. Amethyst had spent most of it talking to her sisters in the corner, occasionally joined by Steven or Peridot. By now, almost everyone had gone home, including the Deitz’s who said they wanted to get back to Empire City before it got too late.
Amethyst was in the kitchen with Pearl, helping her put away the leftover food. Amethyst snapped the lid onto a container of cookies.
“Hey, can Peridot and I take these?”
Pearl glanced over, busy rearranging more containers in the fridge. “You might as well,” She stood up straight and shut the fridge. “There’s too many leftovers just for Steven.”
Amethyst set the container aside so she wouldn’t forget it. “Thanks.”
“Steven introduced us to your sisters.” Pearl said suddenly.
Amethyst turned around to look at her. “What do you think?”
Pearl was silent for a moment. “They seem like lovely girls.”
“They’re amazing,” Amethyst said, unable to keep herself from smiling. “I like talking to them and having them in my phone and-” She looked out to the living room where Garnet was helping Steven take down the streamers he had hung up. “I like having them to come to stuff like this too.”
Pearl nodded as she put away unused paper plates. “I’m glad.”
“Hey, Pearl?”
Pearl hmmed as she turned back around. “Yes?”
“Did Rose know I had any family?”
Pearl pause in the middle of gathering up the bowls and platters they had used. “There… there wasn’t a lot of information about your birth family. Rose thought that-” she set the dishes in the sink- “If there was someone who could have been taking care of you, they would have been. She thought about looking a few times- but she wanted to wait until you were old enough.”
Amethyst nodded slowly. “You think she would be glad I found them now?”
There was another second of silence. Then, “Yes. I think she would be.”
I have come up with a possible theory as to how gem formation works. A basic formula for it is:
Mix of diamond esssence + Appropriate rock + Trace minerals = Gem!
For example: amythests are a purple colour, so a pink and blue diamond essence mixture is injected. They are a type of quartz, so a Silicon Dioxide based rock, such as granite, should be used. Ta da! An amythest!
Organic gems can be created using the same basic process, with a few alterations. Ambers use the same process, but instead of rock, they are injected into trees.
Pearls, specifically, are made not using diamond essence, but narce essence. Narces are the only gems other than the diamonds capable of producing essence that will create gems. The essence is then injected into a specially dug hole in an underwater kindergarten. Ta da! A Pearl!
Finally, trace elements. They are used to change the features of a gem. An example is Amythest 8XJ, whose iron deposits near her injection site caused her curly hair.
