Beach City's Lost Files

Chapter 2: The River

1B
The School for Gems
Chapter 2: The River

Steven and Connie hopped off the school bus with smiles on their faces. As the rest of the class exited, they put on their sunglasses and gave each other a high five. Today, they were going on a class canoeing trip. Of course, they'd taken their canoe safety class way back in September, so they were all set.

"Everyone in the afternoon group, follow me!" The physical education teacher called, his hand raised in the air. Steven, Connie, the three crystal gems, Jasper, and Lapis and Peridot all followed him over to the truck which held the canoes. With little effort, everyone was put in groups of three ( except for Steven and Connie, of course ) and had to carry their canoe down to the water.

The two of them had a hard time hauling theirs seventy metres down to the bank. The other groups each had at least one strong person. However, Steven and Connie were quite cooperated. Instead of complaints, they laughed and encouraged the other on.

Finally, they were down at the water and were trying on life jackets. Connie zipped up her own, and since Steven was sort of new to this, she helped him with the buckles and such. Once they were both in life jackets, Steven threw up his arms and said, "Safety Buddies!"

Connie giggled, then pushed their canoe into the water and soon they were in. As they pushed off, Steven tried to tune out Peridot's voice ("I don't know the first thing about canoeing!" "Great, I'm stuck with the person who practically tried to kill me!" "You're lack of intelligence is driving me insane!" ). She'd only been at the school for about two or three days and Steven already knew what kind of person she'd be. It was a shame Lapis had wandered away from him and the crystal gems, but even more so that she'd begun hanging out with a pessimist.

"So, Steven, did you finish reading that book series I told you about?" Connie asked, snapping Steven out of his preoccupied state.

"Oh, yea!" He said, chuckling awkwardly. In fact, Steven had read it twice. If Connie could read books like that, then so would he. "I read it twice!"

Connie widened her eyes a bit and chuckled. "Wow, I didn't know you were that good at reading!" She exclaimed, resting the paddle on her lap for a moment.

"Yea! I figured I might do it because you seem to read books twice as much as I do!" Steven said, shrugging.

He then brought up another subject, "Now I get to ask questions. Did you watch Crying Breakfast Friends yet?"

Connie shrugged. "I don't know, it just seems like a weird show about crying inanimate objects."

Steven widened his eyes in surprise. "Oh! Umm, I don't really like that show, anyways," he said quickly, returning to his job and steering the canoe down a smaller path, away from the others. There were boundaries, and Steven and Connie were both aware of this. They weren't allowed to go past the rose bush.

Connie raised an eyebrow. "But, I thought you loved that show. You literally talk about it every day."

Steven shook his head. "I'm past that now," he stated.

They continued on, the scenery getting a lot prettier. It was a sunny day, the sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. The trees bordering the river would occasionally cast shadows on the water. The surrounding shrubbery an trees were becoming more and more frequent, and soon enough, it felt as though they were winding down a river that cut right through a forest.

"How are things at home with your dad?" Connie asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh, you know, pretty normal. My Dad's been getting more and more customers lately, and just yesterday, someone asked him for an autograph!" Steven explained, getting more and more enthusiastic.