18For the next couple of weeks, classes at the academy continued.
Peridot and Lapis gave as much of their knowledge as they could in terms of 'Earthology.' Thanks to them, the other gems learned many unique things about Earth; things like coffee and what it does to Earth people when they drink it, rain, the idea of sleep, and how toilets are used as resting quarters.
In cooking class, Amethyst showed the gems how to make many different bizarre recipes such as jellybean and mustard smoothies, chocolate cake covered with powdered cheese, and ice cream sundaes covered with chocolate sauce and baked beans.
In combat class, which was the only time Fire Opal was interested, the gems were really sharpening their skills, with the exception of Navy and Coral.
And the gems couldn't go one lounge period without Sphene telling tale after tale about her 'magnificent combat exploits.'
Meanwhile, when she wasn't attending classes, Navy was hard at working searching the globe for any other refuge gems.
And although Pearl still had her doubts, she remained vigilant as the academy principal.
For the time being, things seemed to be going well at the Gem Academy. The gems had a place they could call home and newer ones were almost always guaranteed to join soon after.
One afternoon, the last class of the day was reaching its end with Lapis and Peridot showing the class more unique Earth objects.
The first one was an old record player.
"Now, can anyone tell me what Earth humans use this for?" Peridot asked to the class before she used the player.
Most of the gems weren't sure, but then Jade raised her hand.
"Yes, Jade?" asked Lapis.
"It seems to be a kind of device that humans use to record melodious harmonies," said Jade.
"Correct!" exclaimed Peridot.
The next object was a bar of soap.
Jade raised her hand again. "Is it animal fat that humans rub on their dead skin cells?" Jade asked.
"Yes, that is correct," said Lapis.
Jade correctly guessed the functions of all the Earth objects that the teachers presented, leaving Peridot and Lapis very impressed.
And with that, class concluded and the gems went to their dorms.
"Remember, at the next 12:00, we'll have Greg back for our lecture on the growth of human hair on the body," said Peridot.
Later on in the day, Iolite was playing with the tractor with Peridot in pursuit.
Meanwhile, Jade had been sitting down, reading through a bunch of books, using her magnifying glass when Onyx approached her.
"Hey, Jade," Onyx said.
"Hi, Onyx," said Jade.
"You know, you've been um...po-ning...the class in Earth Studies," said Onyx.
"Po-ning?" Jade wondered.
"I heard the Connie say it. It means to exceed better than others," said Onyx.
"Well, I wouldn't say that, but I have been learning a lot from these Earth books," said Jade.
Connie introduced Jade to books a few days after she came to the barn. She told her how earthlings learn many things in books and gave her a few of them to read. Soon, she got more into books and asked Connie for more. Eventually, she told her about libraries and how they held more books then she herself had.
Jade excitedly tossed her books one by one to Onyx, telling her about all the different things she had learned about Earth. The weight of the books caused Onyx to fall back, making the books fall on top of her.
Jade quickly grabbed a books for the pile that Onyx was buried under.
"You know, I've never been to one of these, 'libraries' before. If what the Connie said is true, there could be a lot of knowledge, more things about Earth for me to learn there! Maybe I should go. But I don't want to go 'AWOOL,'" Jade said.
"A-WOOL?" Onyx asked, emerging from the pile.
"Steven told me about it. It means, leaving without permission," said Jade.
"Well, why don't you ask Principal Pearl?" Onyx suggested.
"Great idea! Maybe she'll say yes. Then again, maybe she won't. I hope she does," Jade said, biting her lower lip and twiddling her fingers.
At Steven's house, Jade informed Pearl of her intentions with Steven next to her.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" shouted Pearl.
"I guess that's a no," Jade said softly.
Steven intervened. "Wait, Pearl. Why can't Jade go to the library?" he asked.
"She might draw too much attention to herself," said Pearl.
"But you and Amethyst and Garnet go out all the time. And so do Lapis and Peridot," said Steven.
"It's not that, Steven, not everyone is as accepting of gems as others. She may run into the wrong Earthling and that could cause problems for a lot of us," said Pearl.
"Then let me go with her. I'll keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't cause trouble," said Steven.
"Oh, I promise I won't...by the way, what is this...'trouble?'" Jade asked.
"It means you won't do anything bad," said Steven.
"Oh no, I won't. I promise I won't. If that's OK with you, I mean," Jade said to Pearl.
The principal was skeptical. They were already taking a big risk having so many gems in one place, but one going off could be just as big. Steven had to give Pearl his word that he would keep watch over Jade at all times and not let her out of his sight. Jade also had to promise not to wander off. Both of them gave Pearl their word and while reluctant, Pearl eventually agreed.
"Just don't be out too long," Pearl said with a sigh.
Jade and Steven gave Pearl a hug before they exited out the door.
Garnet approached Pearl. "You big softie," she said.
So with Pearl's permission, Steven and Jade headed off to the library.
"Steven, do Earthlings read in libraries all the time?" asked Jade.
"Mostly. When they do, they often read about important things like how far you could roll the world's largest ball of yarn," said Steven.
On their way, the two passed the Big Donut. Jade stopped to notice the giant donut on top of the building.
"Steven, why is that circular ship just standing there?" Jade asked, pointing at the donut.
"Huh? Oh, that's not a ship, that's a donut. This is the Big Donut," said Steven.
"Doonuuut..." Jade said before she jumped to the top of the building and climbed on top of the giant donut, observing it with her magnifying glass.
Meanwhile, Sadie and Lars were busy taking out the trash in the back when a noise caught their attention.
"Did you hear something?" Sadie asked Lars.
"Yeah, but 'what' is the question?" said Lars.
Sadie and Lars rushed to the front entrance where Steven was.
"Hey Lars, hey Sadie," said Steven.
"Steven, we heard a noise. It sounded like it was coming from the roof!" said Lars.
"And I think I know where it's coming from," said Sadie, pointing at Jade.
"Steven, who's that?!" asked Lars.
"That's Jade. She's from Homeworld," said Steven.
"Steven, I can't seem to find the buttons on this donut ship," Jade said, before she noticed Sadie and Lars.
"It's not a ship!" said Steven.
Concluding her observation, Jade jumped down from the building and approached Lars and Sadie. "Hello, I'm Jade," she said.
"Yeah, Steven told us your name," said Sadie.
"Oh right. Sorry," Jade said with a giggle.
Steven introduced Jade to his two friends. Out of curiosity, Jade began observing them with her magnifying glass. She zoomed in on Sadie's face and hair and looked inside her mouth.
"What are you doing?" asked Sadie.
"I'm analyzing you. I've never been up close with many humans before," said Jade.
Then she did the same with Lars, including caressing his back with her finger and rubbing his face with her hands, causing Lars to blush.
This made Sadie growl in annoyance as she pulled Lars away from her. "OK, I think that's enough analyzing," she said.
Steven apologized for Jade before he and she went on their way. Lars continued to blush much to Sadie's annoyance as she elbowed him on the arm.
Jade noticed this. "Steven, why is that human's face red? Is he hot?" she asked.
Steven looked back at Lars and then back to Jade. "In Sadie's eyes...yes," he said.
As the two continued, Steven was getting hungry. Luckily, the two walked by Beach Citywalk Fries which meant it was time for Steven to order his favorite food. Steven told Jade to sit on the nearby bench while he walked up to the front window and talked to Peedee.
Steven didn't even need to say anything, Peedee already had a bunch of fry bits waiting for him just in case. With his fry bits in hand, he came back to Jade who was rather curious as to what he was holding in said hand.
"Steven, what are those?" she asked.
"Fry bits," Steven answered.
Jade observed the fry bits intricately. She was just getting familiar with Earth's foods thanks to Amethyst's classes. Steven asked Jade if she wanted to try one. She obliged and took a bit from him.
"This...is...good. It's really good!" Jade exclaimed.
"Of course, it's nature's perfect food. Well that and marshmallow covered hotdogs," said Steven.
Jade took a handful of fry bits and quickly ate them, enjoying each one. Steven had to make sure there was enough left for him.
"Thanks, Steven. That was amazing. You know. I've been around this planet so many times for thousands of years and despite it all, I still find myself discovering new things. It's not like Homeworld. Nothing really changes there. Sure, there are new gems that come by, but other than that, not much else. I wanna learn as much as I can about this planet, whether it be at the academy or this 'library' of yours,'" Jade said.
"Well Earth has many hidden gems, no pun intended," said Steven.
"What's a pun?" asked Jade.
"I'll tell you later. In the meantime, we should get moving," Steven said before he and Jade moved on.
Steven and Jade were almost at the library when Steven spotted someone up ahead. It was none other than Jamie, the mailman.
"Hi, Jamie!" Steven said with a wave.
"Hey Steven," Jamie said as walked by.
Steven introduced Jamie to Jade who gave him a subtle wave. Jamie gave one back before walking off, for he had a lot of mail to deliver.
"Steven, what is a 'mailman?'" asked Jade.
"A mailman is someone who delivers mail which is what he's carrying in his bag," said Steven.
Jade was intrigued by this.
Steven prepared to head off with Jade in toe, but when he turned around, he discovered Jade wasn't with him. This caused him to panic. He had to find Jade and fast so as not to break his promise to Pearl.
As it turned out, Jade had followed Jamie on his delivery route. As he was delivering some mail, Jade looked into his bag. She took out a few envelopes and analyzed them thoroughly, even licking some of them.
Jamie turned around, noticing Jade's antics, and quickly snatched the envelops away from her. "Hey! I gotta deliver those, you know," he said.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I've just never seen a mailman before," Jade said before she pulled out her magnifying glass.
The gem observed him widely, from his face to his hat to his outfit, even going as far as to look inside his pants, much to Jamie's discomfort.
"Hey! Hey! Personal space much?!" he said.
"Well I personally came from space if that's what you mean," said Jade.
"OK..." Jamie said in response.
Jade had many other questions for Beach City's resident mailman. Why did he deliver mail? Why did he wear his uniform? Too many questions for Jamie to answer and that he didn't have time for.
Fortunately, Steven had found Jade and came over to pick her up.
"Jade! There you are! You shouldn't go running off like that!" said Steven.
After apologizing to Jamie, Steven took Jade and the two headed off, much to Jamie's confusion.
Steven and Jade finally arrived at the Beach City Library. Before they went in, Jade had some words for Steven. She found Jamie very interesting and wanted to learn more about him. Steven told her of Jamie's other talents such as putting on plays. Jade didn't know what a play was, but she was sure she would find out from a book in the library.
So with that, the two went inside and immediately, Jade was amazed. She had never seen so many books before and not just that, they had books on things she was dying to learn about. Her eyes widened with sparkles in them at what she had seen.
For the few hours, she skimmed through as many books as she could, each one providing something new for her every time. By closing time, she must've read over 100 books.
Before they left, Steven told her about library cards and how she cold use them to check out books. In no time at all, Jade had gotten her own card and checked at least ten books.
"Steven, this was fun," Jade said as she and Steven exited the library. "I can't wait to come back!"
"Glad you liked it," said Steven.
So with that, and Jade having found her new favorite place in Beach City, it was time to head back to the academy.
At Steven's home, Jade told Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet about her adventure. After bidding Steven a goodnight, she, along with Amethyst and Garnet, walked to the warp pad and warped back to the academy for it was couple of hours before the next set of classes started. There, they were greeted by the other gems.
Iolite was the first to speak. "Gems! Something terrible has happened!" she exclaimed. "Something bad! Something awful! Something terrible! Did I already say that? Yes I did! Something disastrous! Something-hey where'd you get all those books?"
"Oh, I got them from the library," said Jade.
"The library! THE LIBRARY! OF COURSE! WHAT'S A LIBRARY?!" Iolite asked.
Before Jade could tell her and the others about it, she was cut off by Garnet. "There's no time for that now. Iolite, what terrible thing has happened?" she asked.
"Fire Opal is missing," Iolite said nonchalantly.
Garnet and Amethyst gasped before looking at each other with concern.
