"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." –Mark Twain
Growing Up
Chapter 1: The Friendship Bracelet
Watching Riley grow up was a multi-colored revolution: there were blasts of sun-bright euphoria, moments of dark, dismal heartbreak, nail-biting anxiousness, advancements that championed her person, and regressions that humbled her. Throughout this kaleidoscope of emotions, each course of action was carefully weighed to see what was in her best interest: Riley was the center of the universe. In Headquarters, there were constant, lively debates between her emotions, which consisted of rattling off all positive and negative outcomes, no matter how likely or far-fetched they may be.
"Do you really think we need the umbrella today?" Disgust questioned, quirking an eyebrow as she stared at screen, which showed Riley was looking at the bin near the front door, which held her umbrella.
"Of course we do! What if it rains?!" Fear's gaze settled on each of the other four emotions in turn, panic etched on his face, "You all heard the weatherman last night! He said there's a twenty percent chance of showers, which means there's a twenty percent chance that we'll be rained on walking to the bus stop!"
"That weatherman doesn't know what he's talking about. When was the last time he was right?" Anger huffed, rolling his eyes and looking away from Fear, back to the screen.
"He was right about those strong storms we had in the spring! Remember how scary it was when the power went out?" Fear shuddered as he recalled the memory. Riley had been working on her homework past dark and had a difficult time finding the doorknob when the lights when out.
"Ew, yeah, that's when we found out how much dust was actually in our room. Remember tripping over our hockey stick and falling? Our pants were covered with dust," Disgust said, sticking her tongue out slightly, face scrunching up, "Dust is so gross."
"Guys, guys! Come on, twenty percent is WAY less than half. We'll probably be inside if it rains, anyway, so we won't need the umbrella. Besides, even if it does rain when we're outside, it's not a big deal! Rain's neat!" Joy said, a wide grin on her face as she bounced on her heels, "We don't need the umbrella! Take a chance!" She exclaimed as she pushed up a lever on the console, which glowed yellow and caused Riley to smile and turn away from the umbrella bucket. A yellow memory orb rolled down the chute, coming to a stop on the wall which housed a few other yellow orbs.
"I'm headed to school, now, Mom!" Riley called over her shoulder as she grabbed hold of the doorknob.
Her mother looked out from the kitchen, a jar of baby food in hand ("Ew, carrots and broccoli," Disgust sneered and stuck out her tongue, "What is wrong with Max? He should know broccoli is poisonous!"). "Have a nice day, monkey!" Riley's mother called before airplaning the food to Max who giggled happily in his highchair and clapped his hands.
Riley smiled a little and rolled her eyes before heading out the front door. Another yellow orb aligned on the wall and Family Island glowed.
As Riley closed the door behind her and started down the street, Fear pointed up towards the top of the screen and shivered, "Look! Do you see that?"
Sadness seemed to brighten up for just a moment, "Oh, those grey clouds look so gloomy. Maybe it will rain."
Joy waved her hand in dismissal, "Nah! Those are nowhere near dark enough for. . ."
They all watched as a single water droplet fell directly in the center of the screen. Riley flinched, squeezed her eyes shut, and blinked hard as she quickly reached up to rub the raindrop out of her eye. She then turned her gaze up at the sky as more droplets began to fall, "Oh no," she said quietly as Fear pounded on a button at the center of console, which caused a purple orb to slide down the chute onto the wall.
Joy quickly pulled him back, "Woah, hold on there," she started, pushing a lever on the console, "It's just a little rain. Look!" she pointed to the screen as Riley took off her backpack and held it over her head like a makeshift umbrella. She quickly took off sprinting down the street towards the bus stop. When she arrived, she stood under the overhang and panted slightly, "We barely even got wet! Yes!" Joy cheered and twirled around, watching another yellow orb find its spot on the wall, which caused Fear to sigh in relief.
Disgust scrunched up her nose as she quickly reached over to pull a different lever, "It better not have messed up our hair," she said, watching the screen. Riley reached up to flatten the top of her hair as she looked at her reflection in the metal panel of the bus stop.
Anger rolled his eyes, "Oh, that would be a tragedy," he said sarcastically.
Disgust glared over at him and flipped her hair over her shoulder, "It would be: frizzy hair is so not cool." Once a green orb stopped in its place on the wall and Riley was satisfied that her hair wasn't too messy, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and waited for the school bus.
Five years had passed since Riley and her family moved to San Francisco and she was now comfortable enough to call it home. She made friends, joined the local hockey team, and even had a part-time job at an ice-cream shop. Being in her Junior year of high school, she had just started looking into possible colleges, including Minnesota State University, which she was excited about, because it would bring her back to the state she grew up in.
"Let's see that one again!" Joy exclaimed, plucking an orb from the core memories and projecting it onto the screen. The memory showed Riley and her parents touring the University: Riley was all smiles and excitement during the campus tour, while her parents looked on proudly, "Oh, I can't wait to live in the dorms and earn our degree!"
Fear wrung his hands together, withholding himself from pressing the button on the console, "But what if we don't make friends? What is the University doesn't accept us?!"
Anger huffed and sat down in one of the chairs, "They better accept us. Riley has good grades and would be great on their hockey team."
Disgust smiled a little, "Not to mention that we look great in maroon and gold!"
Sadness sighed, "But what about Mom and Dad? We'd be so far away from everybody; there'd be no one to help out with Max."
Joy took the memory down to stop the projection and returned it to the core memory container, "Yeah, but guys, you know Mom and Dad said that we need to follow our dreams, wherever they may take us! Max will be fine! We can call Mom and Dad on the phone and video chat with them every day!"
As Riley boarded the school bus, Joy took control, greeting their friends and finding their seat. Disgust shrugged her shoulders slightly, her thoughts still on college, as she walked away from the console. She went over to the windows at the back of the room and stared out at the Islands of Personality, which included the newly-founded "College Island." Disgust still wasn't sure what to make of the idea of going away to college: leaving their family and friends and focusing all their energy on studying for the next four years. Yes, she knew it would open many doors in Riley's future, but it was a little unnerving not knowing which doors would be opened. It was a huge step that she thought Joy and the other emotions were taking much too lightly. She sighed and rested her head on the cool glass, closing her eyes for just a moment.
Life moved so fast; their little girl had grown into a woman in the blink of an eye, and here they were: going on like nothing had changed, when it had. They had survived their first boyfriend, first breakup, first time driving a car, and first paycheck. Life was moving way, way too fast and in no way seemed to be slowing down. And what bothered Disgust the most was that they were all growing up, too, even though sometimes the others acted like it was just Riley that was growing up. Over the past few years, Disgust felt like something was changing within herself: she was unsure what it was, but it was something that caused her to take the lead at the console less frequently.
"Hey, Disgust!" Joy called, which caused the green emotion to snap out of her trance and look back at the others who were still standing at the console staring at her, eyebrows raised, "We need you for this one."
Disgust looked up at the screen to see Riley's best friend, Mackenzie, holding up a few different colored bracelets, "I made you one! Which one do you want?" The red-haired girl asked Riley as she held out three braided bracelets: one was maroon and gold, the second was lime green and yellow, and the third was blue and dark grey.
Disgust stared at the screen, the other emotions watching her anxiously and whispering about which bracelet was the prettiest and would look best on Riley. Disgust pursed her lips slightly, thinking about each one, college, the future, and growing up, before hesitantly reaching out and tapping two fingers against the center console button. "Thanks, Kenz. This one's nice," Riley said, her hand passing over the bracelet sporting her dream University's colors to the blue and grey one.
All the emotions turned their eyes from the screen to Disgust, who was intently staring up at the image of Riley tying the bracelet onto her wrist.
"What the heck was that?!" Anger yelled, steam rising out of his head as he pounded his fist on the console.
"Ooh, that one's pretty. It reminds me of rain and tears," Sadness said, unfazed by Anger's outburst as she reached out and lightly placed her hand on Disgust's arm. Disgust didn't say anything; she just pursed her lips and walked away from the console and out of the room.
Joy looked between the others, confused, "Huh, I figured she's at least choose the green one," she said before shrugging her shoulders, "No matter! It's so nice that Mackenzie made us a friendship bracelet!" She cheered, pressing a lever forward, which caused Riley to give her friend a hug.
While Joy and the other emotions were distracted by the show of friendship, which caused Friendship Island to glow brightly, Fear watched as a green and blue orb slid down the chute, quickly followed by a yellow one, and lined up on the wall, looking thoroughly out of place.