Chapter Text
As her phone fired off like a gunshot, Connie nearly jumped out of her skin. The sound had immediately startled her out of her entranced state caused by one of the many books beside her bed. She immediately lunged for her phone, praying that she wasn’t in trouble. As her warm cacao eyes scanned the screen, a furrow appeared between her brows.
Nobody had her phone number besides her direct family and people she was doing group projects with in school. So why was there an unknown number sending her four texts at a time?
As Connie unlocked her phone she was greeted with the joyously smiling face of a boy her age, probably around eleven to thirteen years old.
hi pearl its steven!!!!!!!!!! amy gave me ur number ! so i can text u on my phone i just got :3
[selfie pic]
check it out! it even has a camera!
now i can take pics of everyone together!
Fluffy, loose black curls fell in a halo around his pudgy cheeks and face. Two dark coffee shaded eyes absolutely sparkled at Connie from her phone screen, a perfect pair with the wide goofy smile and equally dorky peace sign he was giving the camera.
Connie studied the boy in confusion for a moment before swiftly typing out a reply to inform Steven that she was not who he thought she was.
I think you have the wrong number, my name isn’t Pearl
oh!! then what is ur name?
His response was immediate, as though he had been staring at his phone screen while awaiting the response.
Connie paused. She shouldn’t be giving random strangers her name, who knew what they could do with that information? Her parents had raised her better than that!
Sorry, I don’t think it’s safe to tell someone I don’t know my name
oh wow ur right!!
well then do u wanna be friends? we can get to know each other then u can tell me ur name!
im steven
Connie looked at her screen in slight shock. Friends? Why would he want to be friends with someone he had never seen before? Furthermore, why would Steven want to be friends with Connie of all people? All of her peers never seemed to stick around for too long. She had never had a real friend before.
That might be. I can’t promise I’ll tell you my name though, that’s top secret information I have to keep in case you’re a 40 year old creep or something
well i promise im only 13 !
How can I trust your word?
[selfie pic]
would a 40 y/o have skin as smooth as mine??
Maybe you moisturize?
idk how do i know YOURE not the creep??
I’m only 12!!
suresure sounds like somethin a creep would say
jk i believe u
are u a boy or girl btw?
So you can tell the CIA? Don’t think so buddy
noooo!!! just so i dont misgender u D:
A convincing alibi
I’m kidding, I’m a girl!
im sure u could tell from the pic but im a boy :3
anyway if ur not gonna tell me ur name i gotta make one up for u
You really don’t
no i definitely do, otherwise ill keep thinking of u as the girl who called me a 40 y/o
Okay yeah maybe something besides that
let me think…
do ur friends call you any nicknames?
No, I’m not that close with anyone.
OH MY GOSH THIS IS GONNA BE UR FIRST NICKNAME???
Yes???
oh no this is so much pressure
i gotta pick a rlly good one
How about Archimicarus?
is that from something?
It’s from a book I’m reading right now! It’s called The Spirit Morph Saga
ohhh ! i dont read very much but it sounds neat
still, archimicarus is a really cool name!!!! lets go with that :D
Alright!
so archimicarus, what do u do for fun?
I read books!
I like fantasy a lot but also really enjoy learning about the real world. Studying is also something I do to pass time
studying??? isnt that like, super boring?
Not when you’re me, I guess. I enjoy learning new things, so school is a perfect way to do that
Do you not like school?
oh im not in school right now
pearl mentors me at home, its super fun!
Oh wow! Homeschool always sounded interesting to try but my parents are way too busy to make time for that
Plus the social interaction is nice
i just hang out around my town usually to get my “social interaction”
its a rlly small town so everyone knows each other
Oh man, I’m jealous! We moved to a bigger city recently for my parents’ work and I miss the smaller town, even if we did live on the outskirts
big cities are so suffocating :( theres hardly any plants and u cant swim at the beach
For the rest of the evening, Connie and Steven chatted about everything from travel to food. It was strange, but the boy had a way of keeping Connie wanting to know more and to share more. Screw stranger danger, this was the longest she had been able to hold a conversation with someone besides her parents. Steven made talking feel so easy.
Even so, she made sure to not give away anything too personal. Although she was excited about making a new friend, Connie wasn’t about to throw away everything her parents had taught her about people on the internet, even if it wasn’t technically the internet they were messaging on.
Steven would have to remain a secret from her parents if she wanted to remain friends with him.
The next couple of days went by in a joyful blur for Connie. Though she did make sure to stay on top of her studies, that didn’t mean she was without distractions. In fact, every time her phone went off her heart would pound a little faster as the excitement shot through her. If she ever really needed to focus, she’d tell Steven and he would text her in 15 minute intervals.
It was going to be a shame when fall break ended. Connie wouldn’t be able to talk to Steven as much when school started up, plus she’d have to double down on the studying. However, she was almost certain he’d stay her friend throughout it. Afterall, why would he put in the effort now if he was planning on stopping later?
Connie was snapped out of her reverie by the ever faithful ding of her phone.
ARCHIMICARUS !!!!!!!!
LOOK
[selfie pic]
ISN’T IT AMAZING
Is that a backpack??
A CHEESEBURGER BACKPACK!!!!
all the different layers have a different pouch!!!!!!
i can fit so many things in it
Wow! That’s incredible!
What are you going to put in it?
EVERYTHING
A giggle escaped from the girl as she read the texts. Really, how was this boy so funny without even trying?
Connie compared their texting styles. Her’s was so stiff compared to his, yet she couldn’t seem to abandon the proper spelling and grammar she worked towards in school. Steven, however, seemed to type out whatever he was thinking with very little care of how it presented, as long as it was displayed with the same emotions that he himself was feeling. It was an interesting combo between them, but somehow it worked in their favor.
omg my ukulele can fit in it
You play ukulele?
oh yeah! rn im learning the bass, guitar, and drums
do u play anything?
Wow that’s incredible! I didn’t know you were so talented
I play violin, but I’m not the best at it yet
yet!! that means u will be
we should jam sometime!!!
we could be jambuds!
I’d love that :)
After that, her phone went silent. Connie debated if she should pick the conversation back up, but in the end she decided to leave it. After all, classifying the nomenclature of animals called for her unwavering attention if she wanted to have the biology assignment ready for turning in the next day.
Ten minutes went by before she heard anything from Steven. However, it wasn’t a text so much of an audio file titled “jambuds.”
“The sun is bright, our shirts are clean, we’re sitting up above the sea-- come on and share this jam with me!”
The higher pitched masculine voice that she could only imagine was Steven’s was accompanied by a few short ukulele chords winded together. He was good.
Connie couldn’t imagine how she’d be able to one up that. It was strange hearing his voice for the first time, but not shocking. It suited his features well.
She stood up from her desk and took her simple wooden violin out of its leather case. It had been a while since she played, but she had to try.
The chords were easy enough to master, she only had to mimic them from the audio clip. Finding lyrics was a whole other ballpark. Connie took about 20 minutes experimenting with different words before settling on her verse of the song. She had put a different twist on the word “jam” that she hoped Steven would appreciate.
“Peach or plum or strawberry, any kind is fine you see, come on and share this jam with me.”
She couldn’t help the nerves that wracked her as she sent it. She never liked recordings of her voice, and couldn’t believe she was sending it to someone she had never actually met before. But it wasn’t as though Steven would make fun of her, and he had sent his audio first.
A moment after the file was sent, her phone blew up in a cacophonous flurry of notifications.
OMG AAAA
ARCHIMICARUS U NEVER TOLD ME U COULD SING
ALSO UR VIOLIN IS AMAZING
TEACH ME TO PLAY PLSSS
WE’RE JAMBUDS 4EVER NOW
WE NEED TO WRITE MORE SONGS TOGETHER
RIGHT NOW
ok maybe not rn its getting late buT
ur so talented!! wow!
Steven! You’re making my phone ding so much!
im sorry!! im just so excited ur so good!
Thank you, but you’re the one who’s good! You did the beginning in 10 minutes!
but u played off it so perfectly!!
listen we’re both good together!
I agree
That was a lot of fun, we should definitely jam again :)
lets hope the jam fun… spreads!
get it?? because jam is a spread
That was horrible, but unfortunately I got it
awww come on it was creative! give me points for that at least
You can have one creativity point
hurray!! :D
But unfortunately the pun itself was worth -100 points that +1 only puts you at -99
nooooo!! D:
You’ll just have to try harder next time
ill do it
im gonna get up to +100 points
Good luck, you didn’t have a very promising start
rude!!!!
I think you’re just a bit jelly of how my amazing puns squeeze yours to a pulp
did u just
;^)
)^;
As the week came to a close, the pair were in the middle of discussing The Spirit Morph Saga and whether Steven should read them when there was a knock at Connie’s door. Priyanka, the young girl’s mother, walked in. Her lab coat was still hanging around her, signaling that she had just gotten off of work at the hospital. Connie must’ve been too preoccupied texting to have noticed the sound of the garage door opening.
“I sure hope you’ve been studying and not reading your books all day-” Her sentence was immediately cut off by the sight of her daughter looking like a deer caught in headlights, phone in hand. “Who are you talking to?”
“I- uhm, no one, I was just...” Connie stumbled over her words.
Priyanka frowned and approached her daughter. “Connie. Let me see.” She stuck out her hand.
The young girl’s face sunk. “Yes, ma’am.” She handed her phone to her mother, knowing not only what trouble she was in but also that she was about to lose the only friend she’d ever had-- and only had for less than a week!
Just as expected, Priyanka’s eyes grew angry with the force of a protective mother as she read back through to the beginning of the texts. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Connie, this is exactly what your father and I were afraid would happen if we gave you a cell phone. It was supposed to be for contacting us and for school purposes only. And now you go start talking to strangers?!”
“He messaged me first!”
“You could have told him no and blocked the number!”
“But-”
“No buts!” Priyanka turned the phone off and ran a hand through her hair. “I know you’re better than this, Connie. You’re grounded. I’m going to be setting up some new rules on this phone before you can have it back by the time school starts up again.”
As the woman turned to leave, she paused in the doorway. “I’m going to talk to your father about this so we can work out the details of your punishment. I’m disappointed that you would disobey us so easily.”
The door shut and Connie felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach. She desperately wished she could have messaged Steven goodbye and said thank you, but now neither of them would have closure. As much as she wanted to come up with a plot to get her phone back and message him, she knew Priyanka’s word was law and that she’d have the cell phone on her until the restrictions were put in place. She berated herself for a moment for not writing down his phone number in case this happened.
Oh well. Nothing good seemed to last in her life right now anyways, why should she have expected a friendship formed only through text would have stayed consistent?
Connie let out a sigh and flopped onto her bed. She reminded herself that soon, once she entered high school, she would be able to exercise a lot more freedom. But for now, she was stuck daydreaming about a life that was just out of her reach.