Templeschool

1. The Big Idea

Twoie sighed into Steven's pillow for the 5th time that hour. His hands were dangling off the foot of Steven's bed, as he barely paid attention to his character on the TV screen. Steven didn't seem to notice Twoie's lack of effort in the fighting game they were playing as his sigh went unnoticed. Don't misunderstand; he loves hanging out with Steven, but the two have been playing Lonely Blade for hours now, and he was bored.

The Gems were off doing stars knows what. Originally, Twoie planned on going to the library to research anything Gem related in the hopes of finding another way to get home, but then Steven had asked if he wanted to hang out for the day. One look at the puppy eyes the boy made and Twoie knew he couldn't say no.

"Woohoo!" Steven flopped backward on the bed; the controller raised in the air in victory. Twoie dropped his controller to the ground and mustered the strength to push himself up from where he was lying on Steven's bed.

"Steven, can we do something else now? I don't think my eyes can take looking at a screen any longer." He rubbed his eyes with his palms. How on earth had he been able to stand that for hours as a kid? Is it weird that he feels so old now? Steven sits up, face slightly frowning while he sets his controller down on the bed.

"Sorry, I didn't realize we'd been playing so long. We could make lunch and have a picnic? Or go to Fryman's and eat fry bits?" Stars lit up in his eyes, and he lunged forward, grabbing Twoie's face in his hands. "I know! Let's go to Fish Stew Pizza! I have enough VIPizza cards from them to get us both free pizzas!"

Twoie smiled and rolled his eyes as he gently pulled Steven's hands from his face. "Alright. Let's go then." He headed downstairs to put his jacket on while Steven gathered the cards from his bedside drawer. Once the two were ready, they began their trek into town.

It didn't take long for them to reach Fish Stew Pizza. The line wasn't long, but Twoie did not want to wait in line to talk to Kiki. He decided to grab a table while Steven ordered for them. It was pretty awkward for him to talk to the residents of Beach City. People would become confused and awkward every time Twoie was introduced as Steven's older brother, who was visiting from Ocean Town. It was easier not to interact with them as often instead. Steven finally made his way to their table and sat down."What should we do after we're done eating? We could go to the arcade or the movie theater?"

Twoie hummed in contemplation at Steven's question. He really didn't want to go to the arcade or the theater. Both would probably involve him staring at a screen again. 'I just wish there was something I could do every day that is more long-term. I'm getting sick of doing nothing but games and TV in my spare time.' Steven frowned slightly at Twoie's lack of a response.

"I could always text Connie and see if she wants to hang out with us at Funland?" Steven went to pull out his phone, but Twoie shook his head before he could. "Connie has that big test tomorrow, remember? Maybe when she's done with school for the week."

Steven sighed and propped his head on his hand. "Oh, yeah. I forgot." He closed his eyes for a second before chuckling. "Do you remember when we tried to make our own school? Pearl helped us gather all the stuff Connie said schools have, and we met Lapis!" His smile turned sad. "I wonder how she's doing trapped under the ocean."

Twoie sighed as he remembered how much it hurt knowing Lapis was stuck under the ocean as Malachite. He needed to find some way to cheer Steven up, but how to do it without more electronics? That's when it hit him. A grin formed on his face, and he tried to act nonchalant, "You know... I used to be a teacher." That was all he had to say for Steven to smile at him with stars in his eyes. "You were a teacher? What did you teach? Did your students like you? Who did you teach?"

At that moment, Kiki came out with their order. "Hey, Steven! Hey, Twoie! Here's your order, one pepperoni, and one cheese pizza." She set the pizzas down in front of them. "Anything else I can get you two?"

Twoie and Steven thanked her as they shook their heads. Kiki smiled and went back to work. "Okay, Steven. I can't say too much, but I can tell you that the Gems and I were able to reverse corruption eventually. Afterward, the gems needed to learn how to live on earth, so I started a school for them."

Steven couldn't contain his excitement. "You mean we'll be able to save everyone in the future?! That's awesome! Why did you stop?" Twoie flinched at the question. He looked down at his plate to avoid the confused and, now, concerned look on Steven's face at his response.

"I-uh... I realized I didn't-um. I just didn't like graduation." Twoie tried to hide his discomfort, but Steven could tell it was bothering him. "A-anyways, ha-ha, I just brought that up because I could always homeschool you. You know... if you want me too."

Steven's frown flipped like a switch. He immediately stood on his chair and leaned over the table in awe. "You want to homeschool me? That would be awesome!" He flopped back into his chair and stuffed a slice of pizza into his mouth. "We could find all the stuff again for a classroom! You'll be Professor Universe!"

Twoie choked on his pizza. "P-Professor Universe? Steven, professors, are people who teach at colleges. You don't have to call me anything different." He couldn't keep the big grin off his face, though. His younger self was so adorable at times. If he were to teach, though, he would need to go to the library and get some books. He'd also need to test Steven to see what he already knows.

"Tell you what, after we finish eating, let's go to the library. I need to get some books for you, and then we can go home and make sure we have everything we need for class. Then, if we still have time, we can go to the arcade or the theater. Sound good?" Steven nodded and rushed to finish his pizza. He couldn't wait to get started.