The next few hours passed, and after the second Topaz gave his microphone hunt a rest. Diamond came out by that point and handed him his mic as if he’d just found it, but both Quartz and Sapphire knew he had hidden the whole time to make them suffer. They smiled a little too sweetly at him, and Sapphire suddenly offered to make some lemonade, staring at Diamond intently. Diamond nodded awkwardly along with Quartz but Topaz just said he wanted a cookie and nothing more. She nodded to all of them with that too sweet smile and walked to the kitchen. “Hey Quartz, wanna help me?” She asked with a kind smile, but her eyes gleamed and were more intense as if speaking to him. He followed her into the kitchen, and they both closed the door leaving Diamond and Topaz in silence. After thirty minutes of light chatter from the kitchen, and Diamond nervously awaiting what was to come, Sapphire emerged with a tray with glasses of lemonade on it along with a plate of homemade cookies. She handed Diamond his glass first, then Topaz, Quartz, and finally herself. They all took a sip, but Diamond waited. Quartz said something about the lemonade tasting very good, but a little limey. He saw this as his turn to take a sip, and put his lips to the glass. Topaz looked at the glass with half-squinted eyes, and then put his hand on it.

“Stop.” He said rather loudly and everyone looked at him. Sapphire and Quartz just smiled while Diamond looked confused. Topaz pulled the glass from Diamond’s hand, stuck his fingers inside the glass, and rubbed his fingers together. “Grainy… Powder-like, but grainy, non-dissolvable…” Topaz muttered under his breath, but everyone could hear him in this silent room. His eyes widened and he looked over at Sapphire and Quartz. “You two are horrible! Slipping sleeping pills into Diamond’s drink!?” Diamond looked at Topaz taken aback. How had he known? Then he looked angrily at Sapphire and Quartz who half-smiled and then dismissed themselves. Diamond grabbed at Sapphire’s shoulder, but she suddenly became a fox and darted through the doorway in a fiery cocoon. Quartz, having had his sadness get the best of him, walked past Diamond briskly and through the doorway. Diamond grabbed at him, but he felt himself only touch some kind of watery substance, like a wall of bubble or something. He frowned and turned back to Topaz. “Wow… Thanks bro.” Topaz smiled, nodded, and escaped through to his room.

“I’m tired, I think I’m going to bed…” Diamond looked at him confused and then knew why he was tired. He caught Sapphire and Quartz’s heads around the corner of the main hallway leading to the front door, snickering insanely. He looked at them angrily, and slipped a playing card out of a pouch on his belt. He threw the card like a Frisbee at them, and ended up catching one of Sapphire’s flailing strands of hair as she retreated back into the hallway.