AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hello everyone! As those of you who have been following my stories lately may know, I have been alternating between two stories these past few weeks: "Pieces of an Emotional Puzzle" and the Brickoli request by RoseEmbers99 called "Light My Fire".
Since one of these stories is nearing its conclusion soon, I have decided to start writing this new request which I was given a while ago by my good friend Orangebird124 about Riley going on a little shopping trip to a brand new mall with her parents.
I can promise you there will be lots of drama and excitement along the way, and although things will get pretty stressful for our young friend and her Emotions at one point, I can assure you that there will also be many laughs and family fun as well!
So everyone grab your shopping bags and wallets because we are about to go chopping…I mean shopping :)
Enjoy my friends :)
Svinorita.
Chapter 1 – Girls Go Chopping!
It was the middle of summer and San Francisco had been experiencing some of the hottest temperatures in decades over these past few weeks. Meteorologists where forecasting another scorcher today with temperatures predicted to soar well above 90 Fahrenheit with very little respite for several more days.
However, Jill Andersen had devised a little plan to try and beat the heat, at least for today…
She decided to take her family downtown to check out the grand new (and comfortably air-conditioned) shopping mall that opened last week! And since Bill's birthday was coming up in two days' time, not only would this be a great opportunity to escape from the oppressive heat outside, but she and Riley could also pick out some birthday presents for him while they were there!
Jill already had a pretty good idea about what they should get Bill for his birthday but in order to keep the surprise a secret, she would need her daughter's help…
It was now eight o'clock in the morning, and Jill had been trying unsuccessfully to wake up Riley for the past hour. Finally after her fifth attempt at visiting her daughter's room and getting a pillow thrown in her face, Jill's perseverance paid off when Riley walked into the kitchen a short time later with a massive yawn.
She was still dressed in her pajamas and rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she looked at her mother and mumbled sleepily, "What has gotten into you this morning Mom?! It's a Saturday and I was planning on sleeping in like most people do on weekends!"
Jill had her back turned to Riley as she finished making a cup of coffee for herself. She gave a soft chuckle as she stirred her coffee and replied, "You can sleep in some other time honey! I really need your help with something today…"
Riley slowly walked up to her mother with a curious look on her face.
Jill glanced down at her and explained in a hushed voice, "Your Dad's birthday is two days away and there's still so much to be organized! I want to cook him his favorite meal and bake a surprise birthday cake for him! In addition to that, I still need to color my hair and convince him to get a much-needed haircut, and we also need to find the perfect birthday present for him!"
Jill took a deep breath and gave Riley a little smile. "So I was thinking that today you could help me make breakfast and afterwards the three of us will go and check out that brand new mall that opened downtown!"
Riley was definitely looking more alert now as Jill placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and whispered, "Your Dad can get a haircut there and afterwards I will distract him by dragging him with me to the optometrist's to buy some new frames for my glasses, while you go down to the music store."
"I heard there are some books about the band AC/DC and I want you to get him one as well as an AC/DC t-shirt or CD he doesn't have yet." Jill's smile grew broader as she leaned in closer to Riley and whispered excitedly, "And while you're at it, could you try to find a CD by the rock band Deep Purple? Your father used to love that band just as much as AC/DC!"
Jill went slightly red in face as she added reflectively, "In fact, your Dad and I had our first kiss in his beat-up old Buick Skylark while we were listening to the song "Smoke on the Water…"
"Ew! Mom! Too much information!" Riley protested, shrugging off her mother's hand and looking away with a distasteful grimace on her face.
Jill shook her head and blinked a few times to clear up the nostalgic memories that seemed to have settled over her mind. "Oh, I'm sorry honey! I've been thinking about my youth for a few days now…"
Riley raised an eyebrow quizzically at her mother. Jill sighed deeply and said, "Anyway, as I was saying about checking out this new mall…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Riley interrupted her with unbridled enthusiasm. Her face was beaming with delight as she exclaimed, "Mom! Of course I'd love to go shopping!"
Riley's eyes flitted around the room excitedly and she started listing off all the things she wanted to buy without hardly pausing for breath:
"First of all, I need a new sports bag for my hockey gear! Then I need some new socks and sunscreen, and I'm all out of lip gloss too! I definitely need new t-shirts because my old ones are getting kind of washed-out and small! I want to check out some music too and my swim suit has a hole on the backside so that definitely needs replacing! I want to go to the bookstore and I really want to have some ice cream at some point…"
Suddenly Riley trailed off and went bright red in the face. She looked at the floor and mumbled sheepishly, "And I guess I'm going to need a bra or two…"
"Wow slow down sweetie! My head is already spinning!" Jill said laughing. "Just make sure you put together a list of all those things you need, because I already forgot most of what you said!"
She folded her arms and studied her daughter with a softly teasing smile. "The only thing that stuck in my mind was you saying that you need a bra!"
Right at that moment, Bill walked into the kitchen with a playful grin on his face.
"Jilly? Did I hear you mention that I need a bra? I don't think so!"
Bill chuckled and lifted up his shirt, showing off his stomach proudly as he declared, "I still believe I have a six-pack right here!"
"Dad! That's gross!" Riley complained with a mocking tone. But regardless, she walked openly into her father's outstretched arms and Bill gave her a big kiss on the forehead before spinning her around playfully.
Riley giggled in delight as her father gently released her and ruffled her hair lovingly.
Jill was watching the father-daughter bonding moment with a proud look on her face.
"Good morning honey!" She said as she walked up to her husband and kissed him on the cheek affectionately.
She reached out and wrapped an arm around Riley's shoulders as she explained, "I was just asking our daughter to help me with breakfast and then we can all go to that new mall that opened downtown for some retail therapy!"
The smile slowly melted from Bill's face and he stared at his wife and daughter questioningly. "Are you kidding me, Jilly?! Shopping is not therapy! It's the stuff nightmares are made of!"
Riley and Jill both looked bemused as Bill shook his head and insisted adamantly, "Shopping does nothing but boost stress levels! It makes you sweaty and cranky and above all it makes your wallet lighter!"
"Now, now honey." Jill said reassuringly. She reached out and touched Bill's arm, her brown eyes full of sympathy as she studied his face and offered gently, "You need some new shoes for work and besides, you seriously need to get a haircut!"
She ran her hand through her husband's messy brown hair and reminded him half-jokingly, "You're beginning to look a bit like a wild thing!"
"Oh?" Bill wondered as a mischievous smile crept across his face.
He turned his attention to Riley and pretended to growl like a bear before chasing her around the kitchen playfully. "GRR! That's me! Papa Grizzly Bear!"
Riley squealed and laughed as her father chased her around the kitchen table several times. "Dad! Stop it! We need to go shopping!"
She stopped and allowed her Dad to "catch" her. He wrapped her in a massive bear-hug and made growling noises whilst kissing her face affectionately.
After a few seconds, Riley slipped out of his embrace. Her blue eyes were full of eagerness as she insisted, "I need to buy so many things! Can we please go to the mall Daddy? Please?"
She batted her eyelashes at him sweetly as she spoke and Bill finally gave a big sigh of resignation. "I guess I'm beaten again! How can I possibly resist those puppy-dog eyes?"
Riley and Jill glanced at each other happily and high-fived.
"Awesome!" Riley exclaimed excitedly. Jill smiled and nodded at her husband in approval.
Bill gave a small smile in return before announcing in a serious voice, "But right now, this Grizzly is very hungry! So if you two are going to drag me shopping, you'd better make some food for me now!"
"Of course honey! We'll start on it right away!" Jill replied as she steered Riley towards the fridge encouragingly.
Bill stroked his chin before letting out a frustrated groan. "Darn! I need to shave if I'm going to be having a haircut today!"
With that, Bill turned and headed towards the bathroom reluctantly.
Jill waited until he left before saying to Riley quietly, "Okay sweetie! We are going to make an omelet for your Dad!"
She pointed towards a cabinet next to the oven and instructed, "Go get a chopping board and let's get started! Would you prefer to chop the onions or the mushrooms?"
"I'll chop the mushrooms Mom. Onions always make me cry…" Riley replied decisively.
She looked at her mother's face (particularly at her glasses), before adding helpfully, "Since you are wearing eye protection, I think you should chop the onions?"
"Ha, Ha, smart aleck…" Jill mumbled sarcastically.
And so, before the Andersen family went shopping, Riley and her Mom ended up doing some "chopping" for breakfast!
XXX
Meanwhile inside Riley's Headquarters, Disgust cracked her knuckles and stepped back from the console with a very pleased expression on her pretty, green face.
She raised her arms over her head and stretched like a cat before saying sassily, "Sorry to steal your line Joy, but that's what I'm talking about!"
Joy chuckled. "Did you enjoy yourself this morning Disgust?" She asked her green co-worker with a big smile.
"Oh yes! Immensely!" Disgust said as she watched Riley and her Mom preparing breakfast via the monitor with a look of unmistakable satisfaction. "We're going shopping and I know that I'm going to enjoy every minute of it!"
Disgust spread her arms wide and declared passionately, "I mean how awesome is this?! We've got a new mall to explore and apparently it's gigantic! What's not to enjoy about that?!"
Anger grunted from the sofa and quoted a famous line from Gone with the Wind without looking up from his newspaper. "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"
Fear was standing beside Joy at the console, a cup of tea in his hand and a very anxious look on his purple face as he offered nervously, "I agree with what Bill said! Shopping malls are what nightmares are made of!"
He took a sharp intake of breath before listing off all the perils associated with busy shopping malls he could think of. "I mean there's huge crowds that could trample you to death! And escalators that can get struck halfway between levels or plummet to the ground without warning! You can get pushed and elbowed and there's the constant droning of millions of voices which makes it feel like you're inside a massive beehive! You could get mugged or trip over and break something…"
By now Fear was beginning to hyperventilate. He was shaking so violently that he didn't even realize that he had spilt most of his tea all over himself until Joy reached out and gently touched his shoulder reassuringly.
Fear gave an involuntary shriek at the contact, his gray eyes wild as he looked down at his hounds-tooth vest and noticed the tea stains on his clothes and the floor.
He gave a deep sigh. "Just thinking about all the things that could go wrong at a shopping mall is fraying my nerves and giving me a headache! I need to make myself another cup of tea and hopefully get to drink it this time…"
Fear turned and headed into the kitchen quickly. Anger watched his purple co-worker from over the top of his newspaper before tossing it aside moodily.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I have to agree with Beanpole!" Anger turned his attention to the others and grumbled sourly, "I think I'll excuse myself to my room for the duration of this shopping expedition! I might end up blowing a fuse and short-circuiting my head if I am forced to sit through this!"
Anger started to march off in the direction of his room before pausing abruptly and changing his course towards the kitchen.
"Beanpole! Make me some coffee!" He ordered bossily as he disappeared into the kitchen to join his purple co-worker.
Joy and Disgust shrugged before turning to each other with excited smiles and giving one another a high-five.
"Actually, I think exploring this exciting new mall is a wonderful idea!" Joy admitted with a cheerful laugh. "I want to see all the cool stuff Riley is going to buy and there'll be lots of music playing from all those different stores!"
"I'm going to dance till I drop!" Joy stated happily as she did a few twirls out of sheer enthusiasm.
Disgust watched her yellow co-worker's antics with a contemplative frown. "Each to themselves I suppose!" She remarked with a dismissive shrug.
Then she ran her hand over the surface of the console admirably and uttered in a dreamy voice, "But Joy? One way or another, I think you and I are going to be glued to this console throughout the whole day!"
Joy stopped dancing and nodded ecstatically in agreement. "You're absolutely right there my friend!"
She suddenly glanced in the direction of the Mind Manuals where Sadness had been reading quietly this whole time.
"Care to join us Sadness?" Joy called out cheerfully.
Sadness poked her head out from behind the shelves where the Mind Manuals were stored. "Nah Joy. I think I'll go join Anger and Fear in the kitchen." She replied sullenly.
The blue Emotion put the Mind Manual she had been reading back on the shelf. Then she shuffled away slowly, adding in a bored voice as she passed by her two co-workers at the console, "There's a leaking tap in the kitchen sink and I'd rather watch the water dripping instead of that exhausting shopping trip..."
"Okeydokey then…" Joy watched her blue companion disappear into the kitchen before turning back to the console and looping her arm around Disgust's shoulders amicably.
"Looks like it's just you and me sister! Let's help Riley make the most out of this shopping adventure and ensure that she has the time of her life!" Joy exclaimed enthusiastically.
Disgust smiled and gazed at the monitor longingly. "Oh yes! That we most certainly will do!"