Ezra In Beach City (Book 1)

Mirror Gem

At the Crystal Temple, Steven and Ezra were lying on the couch in the living room of the Beach House. Steven was talking to Connie on the phone while Ezra was playing a game on his K-Phone.

"What...? Why not?" Steven asked.

"Steven, I told you, I can't hang out today." Connie explained. "I have tennis practice. And then Mom wants to go out for a family dinner. But she said I could hang out all day tomorrow, and I can come over all the time now that it's summer vacation."

"What's summer vacation?" Steven asked.

"You know, when school gets out for the summer?" Connie replied.

"I've never been to this... How do you say— 'school'. How does it work?" Steven asked.

"Wait, you've never been to school?" Ezra asked. "Maybe you've been homeschooled."

"It's a place where you go to learn." Connie explained. "It's full of desks, chalkboards..."

"Hmm." Steven said.

"Books, maps." Connie continued.

"I see." Steven said.

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Shortly after, Steven began to assemble a pile of school equipment in the kitchen, with the help of Ezra and Pearl.

"Yep, it's all coming together." Steven said as he examined the pile.

"So, how do we begin our 'school'?" Pearl asked after she added a desk to the pile.

"Ugh... I... I don't know!" Steven stammered. "This is everything Connie told me. Why do I never ask follow-up questions?! Who will teach little Stevie now!?"

"Okay, let's go over the subjects." Ezra suggested. "There's math, English, science, linguistics? Maybe history?"

"Teach you?!" Pearl gasped. "Steven! If only I had known that's what you really wanted!" Pearl got up. "Twooooh!" She began doing the same dance as the teens did when Lars hung out with the Cool Kids. "Haaaaaah!"

Pearl's gem begins to glow, as she summoned a mirror from her gem.

"So, you've showed us a mirror?" Ezra asked.

"We found this Gem-powered mirror at the Galaxy Warp." Pearl explained as the mirror twirled in mid-air. "It can capture and display any event it's witnessed in all of Gem history."

The mirror landed in Steven's hands.

"It'll offer you everything you've ever wanted to know about your fellow Gems and our culture." Pearl continued.

"I must be incredibly important to Gem culture." Steven said as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

"It's just you in there." Pearl scoffed. "It hasn't even been activated." She cleared her throat. "Show us the Galaxy Warp."

The mirror did nothing.

"Show. Us. The Galaxy Warp." Pearl repeated, frustratedly. "Oh, come on!"

Pearl grabbed the mirror, but Steven was still holding onto the mirror and got lifted along.

"Whoa!" Steven laughed.

"I know you've seen it." Pearl said as she examined the mirror and sighed. "It is in pretty rough shape. It must finally be broken. What a shame."

"Doesn't seem broken to me!" Steven said as he admired himself in the mirror.

"Oh well. I guess that's the end of our school." Pearl said.