It was the present day and Lapis was now fourteen years old. She was asleep all snug in her bed which was being bathed in the glow of the early morning sun.
"Lapis." Blue Diamond called from downstairs. "Wake up, dear. It's the first day of school."
The teenage girl stirred in her sleep and she fought the urge to fall back to sleep as her eyes slowly opened. Then, she sat up and yawned while she stretched her arms.
"Lapis?" her mother repeated.
"Yeah, coming Mom." Lapis replied, fully awake.
Upon jumping out of bed, she got in a quick shower; then put on a blue sundress and gold sandals. And right after brushing her teeth and hair, the young girl rushed downstairs to join her family at the dining table.
"Good morning." Lapis greeted her parents and older brother.
"Good morning, Lapis." Steven said back.
"Breakfast is on the table, dear." Blue Diamond notified.
"Thanks, Mom." the teenage girl told her mom as she sat down to a hearty plate of pancakes and hashbrowns.
"Morning, cutie." Greg greeted his daughter. "Are you excited to go back to school?"
"Well, I don't have a lot of friends." Lapis answered between bites of food. "So it's not like anyone's looking forward to seeing me."
"Maybe that will change today." her father winked.
"I hope so." the young girl said half-heartedly.
"Speaking of school, we'd better get going before we're late." Steven alerted his little sister as he swallowed the last of his breakfast.
"Right." Lapis nodded, finishing up hers and giving her dad a hug. "See ya, Dad. Love you."
"See you later, kids." Greg relied.
"Have a good day, sweetheart." Blue Diamond said as she gave her daughter a goodbye kiss on her forehead.
"Bye, Mom." the teenage girl said as she grabbed her backpack and followed her brother out the door.
The high school that Lapis and Steven went to wasn't too far from their house so they could easily walk over. When they got there, they entered the front lobby which was jam-packed with other kids. Not long after that, a supervisor allowed everyone to go to homeroom.
"Think you can get to your homeroom on you own?" Steven asked Lapis.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." the young girl answered.
"Alright." Steven said, giving his sister a quick hug. "See you soon."
The two siblings parted ways and Lapis dodged her fellow school goers to get to her homeroom. Just then, the sound of two senior boys laughing stopped her in tracks. She saw a pair of bullies taunting a trio of short girls.
The first girl had light green skin, forest green eyes, glasses, and pale chartreuse hair. She wore a green T-shirt, cargo shorts, and lime-green high-tops.
The second girl lilac colored skin, indigo eyes, and pale lavender hair that was tied up in a ponytail. She wore a purple short-sleeved hoodie, stonewashed shorts, and white skater shoes.
The third girl had light pink skin, pink eyes like rabbits, and light red hair in two heart-shaped buns. She wore a white tank top, a dark pink skirt, and light red maryjane shoes.
"Looks like we've got us some fresh meat." one of the bullies joked.
"Ugh, why are you so oddly colored?" the other asked in disgust. "Are you from another planet or something?"
Normally, Lapis would steer clear from bullies like those boys to avoid having the heat turned on her instead. However, something inside her told Lapis to do something. After all, she knew exactly how it felt to be bullied. This wasn't her first rodeo.
So, she marched over to confront the obnoxious bullies.
"Hey! Leave them alone!" Lapis scolded the boys. "Who are you to tell these girls that they're weird just because of how they look? Imagine if someone walked up to you and said, 'Why do you have gross piercings and tattoos? Are you a criminal?' How would that make you feel?"
The two boys were left completely speechless.
"That's what I thought." she rested her case. "Now go bother somebody more worth your time."
The bullies walked off and in that brief moment, Lapis had no clue as to what came over her. She never had that kind of confidence before.
"Thanks." the green girl said.
"No problem." Lapis told her. "And don't worry about those guys. They have brains the size of pinheads."
The three short girls chuckled at her comment.
"So, did you just transfer here from another school?" Lapis asked. "I've never seen you around here before."
"Yeah, we're kind of new to these parts." the purple girl answered.
"New to this part of the world in fact." the pink girl added.
"Oh, I get it." Lapis caught on. "You're foreign exchange students, aren't you?"
"Sure, let's go with that." said the purple girl. "My name is Amethyst. And these two are my friends Peridot and Spinel."
"I'm Lapis Lazuli." the blue-haired girl introduced. "Nice to meet you. I hope you feel at home here, minus the rude welcoming committee."
"Hey, Lapis!" a boy's voice chimed.
Lapis whirled her head around to see a familiar, handsome teenage boy coming her way. The boy had lightly tanned skin, brown hair, and deep brown eyes. He wore a teal T-shirt, denim jeans, and red-and-white sneakers.
"Jamie." Lapis stuttered in awe. "Wow. Y-y-you look g-g-great. Did you g-g-gain a growth spurt over the s-s-summer?"
"A little bit." Jamie answered.
Jamie was a boy that Lapis became friends with in elementary school. Of course, it wasn't until she was seventh grade that Lapis started falling in love with him. Now, his handsome presence made her self-conscious and sent tingles through her body.
"It's really good to see you again." her crush continued, snapping Lapis out of her dreamy stupor.
"Uh, you too." the blue-haired girl replied quickly and self-consciously.
That was when the first bell rang.
"I gotta get to homeroom." Jamie told his friend as he about to walk off. "I'll see you in class, okay?"
"Okay." Lapis said, waving to him in a romantic daze.
"Who were you talking to?" Peridot cleared her throat.
"Um, I don't know what you mean." the blue-haired girl replied, her eyes darting about.
"That boy." Amethyst said bluntly.
"Jamie is just a boy that I've been friends with since the first grade." Lapis explained. "And then, he became my crush when I was in seventh grade."
"Ooh, you love him." Spinel said schemingly. "You should tell him."
"Come on, like he'd ever feel the same way back." Lapis disagreed. "Anyway, I have to go. Hopefully, I'll see you guys in class."
And with that, she made a mad dash to her homeroom.
Later that day, Lapis and Jamie met up on the sports field just as school was letting out. They mostly caught up and talked about what they did over the summer.
That was the two bullies from this morning faced them. And this time, they had an extra tall boy to back them up. He was your standard senior jock and captain of the school's football team. He was also at the top of the list for the school's biggest bullies. He easily overshadowed Jamie and Lapis.
"My boys here told me that you stood up to them this morning." the jock said to the teenage girl. "That was a big mistake you made. I think you need to be taught a lesson."
Lapis felt her fear rising as the jock came closer. She had no idea how to stand up to this mountain of a bully.
"Leave her alone." said Jamie, protecting his friend. The young girl blushed at his actions.
"Stay out of this, shrimp." the jock ordered, pushing the skinnier boy out of the way. "You'll live longer."
"Jamie!" Lapis cried out.
"Now, what do you have to say for yourself, princess?" the bully asked in a threatening tone.
The blue-haired girl was angered and scared of the towering jock at the same time. As a result, she screamed like she was watching a horror movie. A great burst of blue magic exuded from Lapis. Spinel, Peridot, and Amethyst who were close by also saw the display of power.
Meanwhile in another realm, a pair of ghostly gray eyes opened as the owner of them sensed the awakened power of the blue-haired girl.
After her screaming settled down, Lapis saw that the bullies were blown back with looks of fear on their faces. Jamie was a little blown back too, but his facial expression was more surprised than scared.
"Oh no." Lapis said, covering her mouth with both hands. "Did I...? I'm so sorry."
Then, Lapis fled from the scene sobbing with tears flowing down her face.
The three girls watched as the taller girl tearfully ran home. They were completely dumbfounded by what they just witnessed.