Lake Gem~A Lapidot Story

Chapter 26: Date Night~Part One

Peridot's POV: First Person

What the hell kind of sandwiches do people like? Trick question -- sandwiches suck.

I, personally, planned on packing quite a few things. But one problem stood in my way. I can't cook that much food last minute. That's why I employed help.

"I can't believe we're doing this all an hour before you're going out," Pearl said, annoyed. Around ten minutes ago I had called her and asked for help making the food. She obliged, but not without complaining.

And that's the long story on why I'm not packing sandwiches.

"I'm sorry," I answered sarcastically. "Sue me for wanting the food to be fresh."

Pearl sighed. "You're lucky I'm helping you." She leaned down to pick out a few pots and pans, setting them on the stove.

"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes. Pearl shot me an irritated look, so I corrected myself. "Seriously though, thank you."

Pearl scowled, but I knew she took it to heart. If I knew one thing about Pearl, it was that she loved to help.

We planned on making quesadillas, pasta salad, popcorn and chocolate chip cookies. You may think a whole hour is a good enough time-frame. But you're forgetting one thing -- I never plan ahead. Meaning we have to go to the grocery store and get everything.

After rummaging through my pantry and finding what we needed, we both hopped into my parents' Tesla and quickly drove off. I focused on driving while Pearl focused on writing a list.

The store's parking lot was almost deserted, probably because it was 10:09 P.M. We quickly ran inside the store, almost tripping over each other.

We started to nervously shuffle through the aisles, knowing we had a small time frame to work with.

"So, what do you plan on doing?" Pearl asked. I shot her a confused look.

"Um, cooking?" I answered.

Pearl shook her head. "No, Peridot, I mean what are you doing for Lapis?"

"Oh..." I rubbed the back of my neck, embarrassed. "I want to take her to the beach and set up this picnic. There's gonna be music and everything." I attempted to wiggle my eyebrows, and failed. "It's going to be fucking romantic."

"It's not going to if you use that language," Pearl said, pointing at my mouth. "Plus, what are you going to use for a light source?"

"What are you, my chem teacher?" I mocked. "Pfft, light source."

Pearl sighed. "C'mon, Peri, you guys need to see."

I scratched my head, thinking. Finally I answered, "Yeah, you're right."

Strutting over to another aisle, Pearl walked at a pace I had to jog to keep up with. When we arrived, she picked something off of the shelf and handed it to me.

Looking down at the packaging, I laughed. "You want me to use these cheesy fake candles?"

"It's your best bet," she answered. After a quick trip to a large battery stand, Pearl returned with a twelve pack of AA batteries. I sighed and stuffed them into the cart.

As we were shopping, a sleep-deprived employee walked up to us and announced that we would have to leave soon.

"Wait, what time is it?" Pearl asked, slightly alarmed.

The employee, whose name-tag read 'Mark', told us that it was 10:25.

Pearl and I made eye-contact. "Oh shit."