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“Lapis! Lapis! LAPIS!” Peridot’s shrill voice echoed off the walls of the barn, snapping Lapis right out of her relaxed state.
“Yes, Peridot?”
“You promised you’d let me teach you to use the Twitter today!”
Lapis rolled her eyes. She had completely forgotten about the promise she made her roommate the day before when Peridot wouldn’t stop bugging her. It was a perfect breezy day and all Lapis wanted to do was sway in her hammock and pet Pumpkin.
But she knew that Peridot wasn’t going to let it go, and deep down she didn’t want to upset Peridot. So she pulled herself out of her hammock and went to find Peridot.
She found her sitting on a paint can by the barn entrance. As Lapis approached, Peridot looked up excitedly.
“Come. Let me introduce you to the Twitter!”
Lapis plopped down in the grass beside Peridot, shading her eyes from the sun and looking out into the garden.
“What exactly is ‘the Twitter’?” Lapis asked.
Peridot shoved the metal rectangle she was always on into Lapis’ lap. Lapis looked down at it skeptically.
“Steven showed me how to use it. It is for expressing one’s thoughts and feelings—like a log! And sometimes people will follow you and respond with their own logs. Though, the only person who responds to mine is Steven.”
“I don’t need to express my thoughts or feelings,” Lapis said.
Peridot narrowed her eyes at Lapis and scoffed.
“You spent thousands of years trapped in a mirror, only to soon after being rescued spend months trapped at the bottom of the ocean fused with that complete clod, Jasper, and now you live in a barn with me on Earth as traitors to Homeworld. You must have at least one thought or feeling you’d like to express,” Peridot argued.
Lapis groaned and looked away from Peridot. She didn’t want to think about her time trapped in the mirror, much less write about it. Thinking about her fusion with Jasper was hard for her. There were still times she could swear she saw Malachite when catching sight of her reflection. Ask for living on Earth with Peridot—it could certainly be frustrating, but she had learned to accept it. Moreso... she had learned to love it. She liked Peridot’s company. She liked Pumpkin. She liked Steven. She liked watching Camp Pining Hearts and making meep morps and playing that jingly circle Steven called a “tambourine.” It took her a long time to adjust to the life she made here, and sometimes she still had to beat back the bad memories of her multiple imprisonments that crept up into her mind. But she was getting better at being able to overcome them. Normally, it was due to Peridot distracting her. Peridot often did things for Lapis.
She was a good friend and a good barn-mate. Peridot made Lapis... happy. Lapis wanted to do the same for her.
Lapis picked up the metal square and squinted at the screen.
“What do I do?”
“I already made you a profile, see? I made your username ‘it’s_lapis’ and included a little image of a wave! All you have to do is click here and then type what you’re thinking.”
Lapis stared at the tiny box that appeared. It read “What’s Happening?”
“This asks me ‘what’s happening?’ Should I answer that?” Lapis asked.
Peridot chuckled.
“You can if that’s what you would prefer to log about. I, myself, feel like complimenting on how this fine weather is affecting the growth of our corn.”
“Perfect. I’ll just say that,” Lapis said, beginning to type.
“Hey! No! That’s my answer for the Twitter. Think of something else!”
Lapis erased what she had started to write and looked up at the sky, a deep frown setting in her face.
“Ugh! Forget it. If you don’t want to do this, it’s fine. Just go back to your hammock,” Peridot said, reaching for her metal rectangle. Lapis pulled it to her chest and protested.
“No, hold on, it’s just… hard for me sometimes, okay?”
Peridot’s face softened and she looked as if she wanted to say something but resisted. Instead, she rested her hand on Lapis’ shoulder and took a deep breath.
“I understand. Take your time. I’ll go play that ‘go fetch’ game with Pumpkin and give you some space.”
Lapis watched Peridot walk out into the corn field with Pumpkin eagerly following behind her. Lapis thought again of the endless attempts Peridot makes at making Lapis feel better. Whether they always succeeded or not, Lapis was always touched. Ever since that first day when Peridot had tried to give Lapis a gift and failed miserably over and over, Lapis learned that Peridot only ever had the best intentions.
Lapis quickly typed something out and went to show Peridot.
Lapis found Pumpkin first, running towards her, or rather towards the ere of corn that had landed a few feet in front of her. Pumpkin swallowed it whole.
“No, no, no! You’re supposed to bring it back to me!” Peridot shouted.
Peridot noticed Lapis and perked up.
“Oh, Lapis! That was faster than I expected. What was your first log on the Twitter?”
Lapis didn’t say anything but handed the metal rectangle to Peridot. As she waited for Peridot to read what she had wrote, she looked down at the grass.
On the screen, Peridot read
“Peri is the best.”
Peridot’s mouth twisted and tears welled in her eyes.
“Are you…crying?” Lapis asked.
“No!”
“I think you are.”
“You’re crying!”
“No. I’m not.”
“Okay, fine! I seem to have produced some tears after reading your log. It was…sweet.”
Lapis smiled, a small blush appearing on her cheeks.
“Well… it was sweet of you to want to show me the Twitter. Thanks, Peri.”
Peridot blushed now, and crossed her arms across her chest.
“Thanks for what you Twittered.”
Lapis leaned down and pressed her lips to the gem on Peridot’s forehead, causing a soft glow to emit from it.
“You’re welcome.”