AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hello dear readers! I am really excited (but also a little nervous) to start writing this new story…

The message behind this story is "Everything is good in moderation!"

In other words, if we end up having too much of anything (even if it seems like a good thing) then is it beneficial? Or could it actually be harmful to some extent?

As you are about to see in this story, Riley's Emotions are going to find themselves in various situations where they can get a little carried away and as a result, we'll learn how their individual personalities can influence Riley's behavior as well as discover the possible consequences this could lead to!

So as you read through the story, I encourage you all to consider the following points:

What could happen if Joy doesn't learn to curb her enthusiasm sometimes? Can Anger discover the importance of controlling his temper? Will Disgust ever learn how to be less cynical and more accepting in her attitude towards others? Can Fear find a little bit more courage and not make Riley feel so insecure all the time? And does Sadness always have to be so miserable and pessimistic, or can she at least try to go with the flow?

Having said that, I'll be introducing Riley's Emotions to different scenarios that will create a state of super-excitement, raging anger, cynical disgust, extreme fear and depressing sadness. So let's find out what happens in each case…

Also each scenario will have consequences that will lead to the next emotional state of mind, so they are all interconnected in the end!

If that sounds a little confusing, I promise you it will become clear as we progress through the story and you'll see how each emotional response can trigger the next one and so on…

Okay, I think that explains the gist of the story and I hope you all decide to read on and enjoy putting together these "Pieces of an Emotional Puzzle" with me!

First of all, let's get really happy…

Svinorita.


Chapter 1 – Jumping From Joy.

It was a cold, rainy Sunday morning in San Francisco. Since it was early autumn, Jill Andersen was busy sorting through the family's wardrobe as she put all the summer clothes away for the year and started unpacking the winter changes.

Her husband; Bill, decided that he wanted to clean out his so-called "Man Cave." He was going through all his old documents and files and shredding the ones that were no longer of any importance as he tidied up and put everything in its proper place.

Meanwhile, Riley was upstairs in her room reluctantly catching up on some school assignments that she had been putting off for far too long.

And it seems that her Emotions were equally as unimpressed with the current situation their young host found herself in! It was probably little wonder that Sadness volunteered to drive at the console while Riley stared at the mountain of schoolwork in front of her with deepening despair.

But Joy would have none of it! In her opinion, there were better ways to spend the weekend than doing boring school assignments! She didn't want their girl to start falling into the autumn gloom, so she convinced Sadness to let her take over at the controls. Joy insisted that she knew the perfect way to spice things up a little and the other Emotions agreed that anything would be better than spending all day doing school projects, so they let Joy take the matter into her own hands...

Joy yawned as she watched Riley finish off her second assignment within two hours. When Riley started reaching for her history book to commence her next lot of work, Joy decided that enough was enough! That particular assignment wasn't even due for another three weeks and it could wait…

Seizing the objective, Joy started pressing multiple buttons on the console as a happy yellow glow spread over the controls and altered Riley's mood dramatically. Reacting to Joy's input, Riley perked up instantly and closed her history book as she went in search of some excitement!

First, she went to see what her mother was doing and she found her in the linen closet surrounded by piles of clothes. As Riley looked around curiously, she noticed that there were three distinct piles and when she asked her mom what they were for, Jill answered that one was for charity while the other two were divided into summer and winter piles.

Jill smiled at her daughter warmly and nodded at the piles of clothes around her that still needed sorting before asking, "Hey sweetie! Would you like to give me a hand with this? It would go much faster with someone helping me!"

Riley shrugged casually and replied, "Okay Mom, sure! I'll just go and grab something to drink first if it's alright?"

Jill assured her that it was fine and Riley made her way towards the kitchen. She ended up passing her Dad's "Man Cave" along the way and was surprised to hear loud music coming from the small room. Feeling curious, Riley walked in and found her Dad sitting on the floor going through his old record collection.

He smiled as he noticed her standing there and Riley nodded in acknowledgement.

"Wow Dad! Those are some pretty cool tunes you've got there…" She commented as she knelt down beside her father and started looking through his collection cheerfully.

XXX

Back in Headquarters, Joy was watching the monitor with a sense of burgeoning excitement.

"Perfect! I've got you right where I want you Little Miss!" She observed, rubbing her hands together in glee.

With a pleased smile on her face, Joy reached for a lever and pushed it forward.

"We'll leave the boring clothes sorting for when Disgust is on duty! Right now we're going to enjoy some music and have fun! It's time to sing and dance!" Joy exclaimed with finality as her enthusiasm flooded through the console and influenced Riley's behavior further.

A huge smile spread across Riley's lips as she looked at her father and asked amicably, "Hey Dad, what's this song we're listening to right now called?"

Bill chuckled and replied, "Oh that sweetheart? It's called 'Here I Go Again' by Whitesnake!"

"It's a pretty cool song!" Riley commented admirably.

She continued flicking through her Dad's records, nodding her head to the rock n' roll sound of the Whitesnake song.

She kept up a running commentary as she noted each individual record before putting it down and turning to the next one. "I see you've got some ACDC…of course! There's Twisted Sister…ah! And Kiss!"

She held up the latter record and remarked, "I know Kiss!"

"Can we play it next Dad?" Riley asked her father excitedly.

"Sure thing Monkey! Right after this song finishes." Bill replied happily.

"Cool!" Riley's voice went up a notch as her excitement increased. "Can you show me how you used to dance Dad?"

She tapped a finger against her chin, her expression turning thoughtful as she tried to recall what her mom used to say about her father's old rock 'n roll dance moves…

"What was that air-guitar move called again…head-banging? Mom said you used to be pretty good at it…"

Bill laughed fondly. He leaned in close to his daughter and whispered, "Of course sweetie! But we'll need to be careful so your mother doesn't see us! She's always lecturing me that I'll give myself an aneurism with those crazy dance moves!"

XXX

Inside Riley's Headquarters, Joy was clapping her hands in delight. "Yes! That's what I'm talking about! It's time to party! Let's dance and jump and be jolly and happy!"

She pushed a few more buttons on the console and positioned Riley where she wanted her. Then she pulled back on a lever and made Riley pause for a split-second before letting the fun commence!

Accompanied to the rocking sound of the band Kiss, Riley and Bill started dancing exuberantly as Joy did likewise. The yellow Emotion completely disregarded the bemused looks she was receiving from her watching co-workers as she launched into a series of wild jumps and cartwheels before mimicking Bill with some head-banging and classic air-guitar moves.

Joy was beginning to work herself into a state of wild exhilaration with every passing second! As she frolicked and danced past her co-workers, she called out elatedly, "Come on guys! Join me!"

Sadness struggled to keep track of her cheerful friend as she shot past her like a laughing yellow streak.

"No thanks Joy. I'm quite content to sit here and obsess over the weight of life's problems." Sadness replied with a disconcerted sigh.

Disgust was seated on the sofa, her feet propped up on a footstool as she waited for her freshly painted toenails to dry. She glanced up from her fashion magazine as Joy tumbled past her and scoffed, "Not now Joy! I've just painted my nails and they're still wet!"

Anger was sitting on the opposite end of the sofa from his green co-worker, his face buried in today's edition of "The Mind Reader."

"I'd rather exercise my mind right now, not my body!" He grumbled irritably.

Anger glanced up from behind his paper with a frown and added crossly, "So would you keep it down Joy? I'm trying to read here!"

Fear was watching his yellow co-worker with a worried expression, his whole body trembling slightly as he stammered, "Joy be careful! You're freaking me out with all that jumping and twirling! Please slow down before you hurt yourself!"

"He's right Joy! Every time you jump, I close my eyes! You're getting a bit reckless…" Sadness warned, her voice beginning to quiver as she fought back her rising sorrow.

"S-l-o-w d-o-w-n?" Joy asked in a dramatic slow motion voice. She gave a high-spirited laugh of delight and zipped across the room before coming to a stop in front of the console.

"I don't think so! In fact, I'm going to ramp up the excitement!" She pressed several buttons as the other Emotions looked on in dismay before declaring, "Today I'm feeling extra-happy and Riley and I are going to bop till we drop!"

She whirled around and regarded them all with jubilant grin. "You guys really ought to loosen up a little and join us, instead of moaning like a bunch of octogenarians!"

With that, Joy laughed and executed another ecstatic high jump.

XXX

Meanwhile, Bill and Riley really went to town with their fun! The music had been cranked up so loud by now, that the walls were shaking from the volume. Father and daughter were dancing and doing their best air-guitar impersonations and everything was going great…

Until Jill burst into the room with a huge frown of disapproval on her face!

She cupped her hands over her ears from the deafening sound of the music, her frown deepening as she zeroed in on her husband and shouted, "Bill! Have you lost your marbles?! The neighbors are going to start complaining! The music is too loud!"

"What's that Honey? I can't hear you! The music is too loud!" Bill shouted back at her, making no attempt to turn down the volume on the record player.

Jill growled in frustration and directed her annoyance at Riley. "And Riley! You said you were going to help me sort out the clothes! Instead I come here and find you and your father acting like monkeys!"

"But mom! What you're doing is boring!" Riley complained over the music.

She turned to her Dad and laughed happily. "This is more fun!"

With that Riley high-fived her Dad and both of them started singing along to the Kiss song blaring over the speakers. "I'm gonna rock n' roll all night…and party every day!"

Jill balled her fists at her sides and yelled in desperation, "Just stop it! Before one of you gets hurt!"

Bill waved off his wife's concern and shouted over the music, "Stop whining and come join us spoil sport!"

As the song ended, Riley and her Dad launched into their air-guitar solos. Riley was going for a spectacular finish. She jumped and swung her arm in a circular motion…and wound up slamming her wrist hard on the edge of her Dad's computer desk.

A searing pain shot up Riley's arm and she gave a sharp scream of agony, causing both of her parents to rush over to her in a panicked state.

"Oh sweetheart! Let me see…" Bill demanded. His face was wracked with worry as he took his daughter's forearm in trembling hands and inspected her injury carefully.

Riley had started sobbing as her Dad gently ran his fingers over her badly bruised wrist. A horrible gash had appeared at the spot where Riley's wrist had come into contact with the edge of the wooden desk and there was a trickle of blood flowing from the wound.

Bill did his best to comfort his daughter, his voice trembling slightly as he turned to Jill and said urgently, "Hurry Jill! Bring the ice pack from the kitchen!"

XXX

Inside Headquarters, Joy was in the middle of doing a high jump when she heard Riley's ear-piercing scream of pain. She lost concentration and landed badly on her left leg, severely twisting her ankle in the process.

Joy crumpled to the floor and joined Riley with her own screams of agony as she felt a blinding pain shoot through her leg. The other Emotions rushed to the console in an instant, the cries of pain coming from their host as well as from their yellow co-worker sending them into a fit of panic.

In the confusion, everyone started pressing buttons and pulling levers at the same time, their frantic input reflected in Riley's erratic reactions…

One minute she was crying as she felt herself overcome with Sadness and pain. "Ow! It hurts so badly!" She wept through streams of tears.

Then she became irate as she felt overridden by Anger. "How could I have been so stupid?! I have a really important hockey game this Tuesday!"

Suddenly her mouth twisted in a sneer of Disgust as she remarked, "Urgh! What am I whining for?! It serves me right! None of this would have happened if I had decided to sort out those clothes with mom instead!"

Then just as abruptly, Riley's eyes widened with Fear and she glanced down at her injured wrist in panic. "Oh no! What if it's broken?! How could I have been so reckless?!"

By now Jill had returned with the ice pack and Bill carefully applied it to Riley's wrist. After holding it there for several minutes, Bill asked her to try to move her fingers slowly.

Jill wept as she watched her little girl whimpering in pain as she wiggled her fingers stiffly, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks as the pain intensified.

"Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?! I told you something like this would happen!" Jill sobbed despairingly.

Bill's expression was full of guilt. He sighed and whispered regretfully, "I'm so sorry Jilly! I was such an idiot! I got so carried away in the moment that I acted irresponsibly…"

After a few moments of tense silence, Bill turned to his daughter and told her gently, "It doesn't appear to be broken sweetie."

He lifted the ice pack slowly off Riley's wrist. "Even the swelling has gone down a little and you can move your fingers, so that's a good sign."

Riley sniffled and nodded wordlessly. Bill gently drew her into a hug and said reassuringly, "If it still hurts by tomorrow, we'll take you to Dr. Mikkelsen so he can take a look at it."

Jill kissed her on the forehead and whispered, "I'll go get you some painkillers and then we'll rub some sprain ointment on the wound. Afterwards, I'll make you a sling so you don't move that arm too much and hopefully it will feel better by tonight."

Then Jill took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice level as she lectured, "I hope you learned your lesson young lady! They don't say 'everything in moderation' for nothing you know! Too much of anything, no matter how innocent it seems, is not necessarily a good thing!"

Riley looked up at her mother timidly and whined, "But I didn't do anything wrong! I was just feeling really happy and excited…"

Jill sighed and replied patiently, "True. But you were also being reckless and in your excitement, you ended up throwing all caution out the window! You didn't think about the consequences and that's why you got hurt!"

Riley averted her eyes to the floor guiltily, her shoulders slouching in misery. She felt her mother's hand squeezing her arm gently as Jill went on quietly, "I'm not saying that you shouldn't be happy…but if you don't hold your horses sometimes, they might stampede and cause some damage!"

Riley sighed and nodded slowly, her voice barely more than a whisper as she said, "Okay Mom. I get you. I admit that I was being reckless and silly and I promise that I'll be more careful from now on."

Jill gave the faintest of smiles and hugged her daughter gently. "Okay sweetheart. You can go watch some TV and rest that arm…"

She glanced over at Bill, her voice taking on a sharper edge as she concluded, "Because I'm not finished with your Dad yet! He is about to receive a refreshment course on responsible parenting behavior and since he likes loud music, we'll have that conversation in his study because I intend to speak very loudly just for him!"

Bill shifted uncomfortably and grimaced as he followed Jill out of the room and down the hall. Riley gave a deep sigh and made her way into the lounge room. She threw herself onto the sofa grumpily and mumbled, "Stupid idiot! You're definitely going to miss Tuesday's game now!"

XXX

Meanwhile in Headquarters, Joy was still sitting on the floor moaning as she rubbed her injured leg gingerly. "Ooh…Ow! Ow! What have I done?! Riley got hurt because of me!"

Fear was kneeling beside her and holding an ice pack against her swollen ankle. "Oh Joy…why didn't you listen to me?!"

Anger stood to the side, watching his yellow co-worker with his arms folded over his chest. "Ha! She never listens to anyone because she's stubborn and thinks she knows everything!" He scoffed bitterly.

Joy shot the red Emotion a defiant look. "Oh you can talk!"

Disgust regarded her yellow co-worker with scorn. "Joy, sometimes you should stop acting like a kid! If you had allowed me paint your nails like I suggested, this probably wouldn't have happened!"

"Come on guys, can't you see she's in pain?" Sadness pointed out sympathetically. The blue Emotion was kneeling beside her injured friend and rubbing her arm reassuringly.

"Is anyone going to help me take Joy to her room so she can rest?" Sadness asked softly.

Joy gave her a small smile of appreciation and squeezed her hand in gratitude. "Thanks Sadness."

Fear slowly removed the ice pack from Joy's ankle and offered kindly, "Here Joy, I'll help you. Put one arm around my shoulders and lean your other arm on Sadness for support and together we'll guide you to your room."

XXX

Once Sadness and Fear arrived in Joy's room, they gently helped ease their injured co-worker into her bed. Sadness applied some sprain ointment to Joy's ankle while Fear wrapped her foot in bandages before placing a small cushion underneath it for extra support.

Sadness volunteered to stay with her for a while in case Joy needed anything. The yellow Emotion thanked her for her help and compassion before slowly drifting off to sleep.

Just before Sadness left the room, she heard Joy say in a quiet whisper, "I'm sorry for being so reckless Sadness. I guess I need to curb my enthusiasm a little and learn how to manage my excitement better…"

Sadness nodded in agreement, a tiny smile tracing her lips as she replied, "Amen to that!"

Then she closed the door and left Joy to rest and recover while she rejoined the others in the main room.


Quick Note:

I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter as we discovered what could happen if we get too carried away in our excitement!

I also wanted to point out something about the image I used for this story…

I've decided that from now on, I'm going to create my own images (at least for some stories) instead of just using random images I have saved in my pictures folder. I thought it would be fun to take photos of my Fear plush and place him in different situations that reflect the theme of the story. In this case it's "Pieces of an Emotional Puzzle" so that's why I scattered some jigsaw pieces around him...

Sorry guys, but I only have Fear so I can't use any of the other characters! I'm just letting you know because he's going to be the star of the cover images for many of my upcoming stories from now on :)

Svinorita.