Author's Note: Hey there. Real quickly, I wanted to address a few things.
First of all, I wanted to say thanks to everyone who is reading along as I update. This is fun, and I'm very happy with this response! I really want this fanfic to succeed and do well, and I'm grateful that everyone's been enjoying it so far.
Alright, secondly, someone (whom I can't respond to, since they were a guest reviewer) noted that this covers emotion-overlap similar to a graph found online. Naturally, my curiosity was piqued, so I went and checked the graph out. When I saw it, and compared it to some of the upcoming chapters...
Well, I noted that there are several differences between interpretations. Actually, most of the emotion combinations you see in that overlap graph are named differently than what I've got in my fanfic (example: Melancholy in the graph is called Bittersweetness in this fanfic), and some are very much different.
Here's what I wanted to say on that, to clear up confusion: the graph is fantastic, but I'm not using it to come up with my emotion combinations (heck, I didn't even know such a thing existed until you mentioned it, if you're reading this). Everything you see here is 100% made up based solely on my own thinking and reasoning; I'm using my own logic to come up with these things.
That being said, I think both my fanfic and the graph (which - might I add - is not an official source; it's fan-made) are equally viable.
For example - you could feel Curiosity as a mix of Joy (the eagerness to see something new) and Disgust (self-loathing at doing something you know you shouldn't be). However, if you're curious about something that's not guilt-inducing, then you'd be feeling strictly Joy. Or, heck, if you're curious about something that's got you nervous, you'd maybe feel a mix of Joy and Fear. What I'm trying to say is that each emotion can actually give different types of influence, and - therefore - each emotion combination can be made of different emotions. Conversely, two emotions could cover more than one type of feeling.
What I'm getting at is simple: emotions are flexible. That's one thing I've discovered as I'm writing this fanfic. Emotions can cover a wide variety of feelings, which is really interesting and makes for creative writing.
So, please don't be disappointed when future chapters come: not every emotion will be made in this fanfic (there are just wayyy to many ways to interpret the combniations, contingent on a plethora of factors), and not every combination may be interpreted the way you would want it or the way that fan-made graph would interpret it. That's okay, though; I firmly believe these emotional combinations are very flexible, and - as a result - open to many different interpretations of mixed emotional influences.
Anyways, enough rambling from me. I said what I wanted to say, to make sure there isn't confusion in future chapters. Have a nice day!
The yellow sun shone down on the open expanse of highway that ran through the land like a river. The occasional car moved up and down this long asphalt spine; there was a semi truck, with its big red front and a corporate logo painted on its side. There was a pizza truck, flying like a rocket down the road, and - behind that - a small yellow vehicle driving smoothly along in the cool afternoon air.
Inside said car, its three occupants were occupied with various tasks at hand. Mr. Andersen had his eyes on the road and his hands on the wheel, contemplating where the next turn would be. His wife sat next to him, consulting a digital map on her phone that would take them to their destination. This left their daughter, Riley, in the back seat - bored out of her mind.
Inside said mind, five emotions were equally bored.
While Anger reread the same newspaper, whose headlines boldly declared that nothing was happening, Disgust redid her hair for the fifth time that day. Across the room, Fear was barely awake, staring into his untouched, long-cold tea. Sadness was lying face-down near his feet, not crying nor sobbing, but snoring. The boredom was even taking its toll on Joy, who was slouched over the console.
Riley glanced out the window and at the passing semi truck. "Buy N' Large" it declared.
"Hey, guys," Joy said. Her excitement was usually a roaring fire. Now it was a whimpering, flickering candle of a thing. "That truck has an 'N' on it..."
Silence replied to her, telling her that nobody cared.
Well, total silence didn't reply. Joy did get a half-sarcastic "Yay," from Disgust.
"Let's keep a look out for 'O' next... we might do the full alphabet five times today..." Joy said. Her failing enthusiasm flickered and died with a yawn.
Then, silence kept talking and the trip kept going at what might as well have been a snail's pace.
Riley wasn't sure when she dozed off; it was one of those bland mental states where you're not really asleep, but not really awake, either. It's where you can't escape the boring nothing that's happening all around, and not even a whisper of a dream arrives to entertain you. Just blackness, and a mix of blurry colors and images of endless highway, fading in and out and blending together in an incoherent mush.
Her dad took a glance at her in the rear view mirror, and warmly smiled at the sight.
"Asleep still?" his wife asked.
"Out like a light," he said to Mrs. Andersen. Then, after a brief pause, added, "You're right - this visit is just what we needed."
"I completely agree," she said. Then, pulling up the map again, "Okay, we're about a mile out of town, so where's the hotel we're staying at? I'll punch in directions so we can get our unpacking out of the way."
"Oh," Mr. Andersen chuckled, "No hotel; I've called some certain people, and, well..." his voice trailed off into a knowing grin. His wife did a double-take and gasped, a smile forming on her face.
"You're kidding!" she said, "They're okay with us..."
Mr. Andersen replied with another laugh. "Okay with it? Heck, they brought the idea up; they practically begged me, so - well - there we have it."
"Does Riley know?" Mrs. Andersen whispered, glancing back at their sleeping daughter.
"Not yet," her husband replied, "Do you wanna tell her?"
His wife contemplated it, then leaned back in her seat. "I know what to do. Riley, wake up!" she said, "We're here, monkey!"
"What?" Riley said, yawning and sitting up. As she rubbed her eyes, her mother repeated herself.
"We're finally here!"
Riley became completely alert at that.
Inside her head, all her emotions snapped to attention. "Finally!" Disgust and Anger said in unison.
Their exclamation caught Fear by surprise. He jolted, spilling his tea. "Whoa! Aww... my favorite tie, too..." He quickly darted up to the bedroom to grab a new one, nearly tripping over Sadness as she woke up.
"Huh? Wha...?" She mumbled, adjusting her crooked glasses as she stood again, "What's going on?"
"We're finally here!" Joy shouted, running around the control panel like a happy little puppy dog, "Yay! We're here! We're here! We're here! The car ride's nearly over, guys!"
The gold emotion wasted no time in pressing a button, and the whole thing blazed yellow. A bright, happy memory rolled into existence, one of the few impressions of that day. Up until that point, not much had happened to leave a lasting emotional influence, but that all changed when her hometown's sign drifted past the car window.
Riley's smile was as bright as that memory, a grin wider than it had been for a while. Nostalgia rushed over her like a wave; there was the park where she climbed that tree two years ago! There was the pizza place where she celebrated her tenth birthday! There was the lake, its surface watery and wet, where she used to play hockey with her friends in Winter's crisp air. There was the road that led to her old house.
Her Sadness nudged a button at that. "Aww, I miss that place," she said. Joy patted her back.
"There, there," she said, "Why do you think we packed our posters? We'll at least make the hotel room look like our old bedroom!"
"Ugh," Disgust said, "I remember the nicest hotel this town had, and - quite frankly - I'd rather be under a bridge."
"Hey!" Anger said as he folded up his newspaper (headline: "BACK AT LAST!"), "Good point. Ask pops where we're staying."
Disgust nodded, and gently nudged a switch.
"So..." Riley said hesitantly, dreading every hotel she'd seen in town (none of them exactly looked like five-star inns), "Where... uh... where are we staying?"
"Hang on, Monkey..." her dad said enigmatically.
She was confused.
Fear returned, adjusting a fresh bowtie he'd put on. "Alright, what'd I miss? Sorry about the wait," he said, walking to the controls with the others.
"Dad's being... weird," Disgust said. The others faintly nodded in agreement. Even Joy wore a confused expression. Fear nervously eyed the screen, then gasped.
"That's the last hotel! We just passed the last hotel!"
Sure enough, the car turned off the highway, leaving the busy street behind. That hotel vanished into the distance with it.
"How do you know?" Anger asked.
"It's only been a year; trust me, I haven't forgotten this place yet, and that is the last hotel in town! Are... are we staying in the car the whole trip?!" Fear panicked and slapped a control.
"We're not staying in the car, are we?" Riley nervously asked.
"What?" her dad asked.
"No, sweetie," her mom laughed.
Riley was about to ask again what they meant, but then heard a beep come from her phone. A new text message. Now, where did she put that thing? She fiddled around, Anger getting more and more impatient the longer Riley had to look in her bag. "Come on, phone!" he shouted, nearly grabbing the controls. Just in time, they saw it, and Anger backed off. Riley picked up the phone. She unlocked it and looked down at the text from Meg:
Hi! ^^
Riley was confused. She quickly typed in, "What? Srry, confused." with a puzzled emoticon.
Beep.
Look out ur window, silly!
Riley's head jerked up.
The car was pulling into Meg's driveway. There, on the front porch, was her friend, waving excitedly and grinning ear-to-ear.
Emotional lightning struck Riley, and she was numb for a second, even as her dad pulled to a stop and shut the car off. Her fried brain tried putting two and two together as she saw her father get out of the car. He was chuckling as Meg's own dad walked out. The bigger, bulkier man gave him his signature heavy-handed smack on the back. "Long time, no see, man!" he said with a grin.
She looked at her mom, who just got done hugging Meg's mom. "Did you know?" Meg's mom said.
"I had no clue! He didn't tell me until we got to town! How have you been?"
"How have you been? Oh, here, let's help you with your bags..."
They were giggling and laughing as they walked around to the back of the car.
Tap-tap-tap. Riley looked out her window. There was Meg, face pressed up against it and still waving her arm like a helicopter blade. Riley unbuckled and got out, still uncertain as to what was happening. "What... what's..." she said.
"You're staying with us all week!" Meg said excitedly.
Riley's eyes jolted fully open again.
Inside her head, all the emotions were awestruck. Joy, of course, was the first to do anything.
"Oh my gosh! We're staying at Meg's for the week?!" she squealed. She leapt in the air and landed on top of the control panel. The bubbly little creature then started doing a happy jig. She pressed every button she possibly could, smiling uncontrollably. More gold orbs rolled in.
"Uh... m-maybe you should get off the-" Sadness suggested, but Joy jumped over her head and raced over to the puzzle pieces that made up Riley's daydreams.
"We can play tag, go hang at the hockey rink, ride bikes... Ooh! Is that one place with the slushies still open?! Please say it is! Oh my gosh, we need one of those now! And we can watch that new movie, and go hang out at the oh my gosh this is gonna be so fun!" Joy came racing back with an overflowing mound of those little pieces clenched in her arms, spilling out and trailing behind her. She dumped them unceremoniously onto the floor and began picking them up and putting them in.
Sadness noted that Mom, Dad, and the others were unloading the bags, and it would be mean if Riley didn't offer a helping hand. She gently prodded her in that direction.
So it was that, as they unpacked and got settled, Riley and Meg were shooting ideas back and forth constantly, thinking about how they'd wind up spending that week.