Camp Pining Hearts

Chapter 8

Peridot had never before felt blessed for having been assigned a cabin full of morning people—that is, until she was about to sneak out for the night. She and Amethyst had hurried to Pink Cabin following the dance, and by the time they got there every single camper was already in bed (some of them still wearing their formal wear).

"Aw," Amethyst sighed, tiptoeing into the cabin to inspect. "They all tuckered themselves out."

"Let's get moving, then," Peridot hissed as she reached forward to flip the light switch. The room went dark. "Before any of them wake up."

"Psh, you know they're all dead to the world until morning." Amethyst slipped out of the door that Peridot held open, who then made herself busy by closing it as quietly as humanly possible. As they crept down the porch steps together, Amethyst continued in a whisper, "I wouldn't be surprised if they slept right through Beach Day tomorrow."

Pink Cabin was closest to the entrance, so Peridot and Amethyst were the first pair to arrive at the designated meeting spot. It wasn't long until Sour Cream and Buck appeared at the other end of the main campground, at the bottom of a path that Peridot knew led to other cabins. As they approached, Peridot could see Sour Cream pull a small stack of plastic cards from his hoodie pocket, shuffling them around like they were playing cards.

"Here," he said, immediately handing one to Peridot. "It's really important that you don't lose that, I need it back after tonight's over."

After a single glance down at the plastic card—which ended up being an I.D.—Peridot had to stifle a laugh. "Uh, this says I'm forty years old."

"Yeah, well, it's my mom's," Sour Cream explained, an amused smile ghosting his face as he handed an I.D. to Buck. "Amethyst, you said you already got one?"

"Got it," Amethyst confirmed, pulling an I.D. out of her bra to show it off for good measure.

"This is never going to work," Peridot continued. She waved her new fake I.D. in the air in front of her own face. "This looks nothing like me, and there is a zero percent chance that I could pass for forty."

"Yo, no sweat," Buck said. "We've been there before. As long as you hand the bouncer a plastic card with a picture that has the same hair color as you, you're golden. Trust me."

Before Peridot could say anything else, Jasper and Jenny appeared. Sour Cream passed them both a fake of their own, pocketing the last one for himself.

"All right, I checked in with Sadie," Jenny whispered as she readjusted her dress, tugging it further down her thighs. "She's more than willing to make rounds and check on all the cabins around one o'clock."

"Wow," Peridot couldn't help but mutter. "That's astonishingly considerate of her."

Jenny nodded. "I know, I didn't even ask her to do that! I went to see if she wanted to come out with us. She said she didn't and then she offered."

"A saint among us," Buck said, nodding along.

"She needs a raise," added Amethyst.

"Listen," Jasper cut in. Only then did Peridot notice that her best friend was agitated, shifting from foot to foot and looking over her shoulder warily. "We'll toast to her once we get there. But—more important right now—has anyone seen Lapis?"

The group collectively looked out at a corner of the Temple, around which Lapis would appear if she were coming from Pearl's office. No one came, and nothing could be heard from beyond it.

"She should've been here by now, right?" Jasper asked. "She should've been here first."

"What," Amethyst said, "d'you think she got caught?"