San Francisco's blue sky enveloped the city below while the sun gazed down like a giant eye. It wasn't a giant eye - of course - so it really couldn't gaze, but if it was (and if it squinted hard enough), perhaps it would have seen three kids walking and laughing and talking to each-other. There wasn't anything particularly attention-getting about them: one was an average-looking girl with blue hair ties and a matching blue shirt on. Beside her, a boy of oriental-American descent had his hands in his hoodie, cracking a joke about his messy black hair (or, rather, comparing it to his other friend's even messier hair). The third friend blushed, insisting that his cap went well with that red mop above his eyes. It earned a snort from the girl, and a laugh from the hoodie-clad boy.

"Really, H," the brown-haired one insisted, "It's a style, man!"

"Is that what you call it?" the girl asked.

"Yes," the boy said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Yes, actually."

And so the trio continued on their journey, gently mocking each other, their laughter echoing off the buildings and sidewalks and passing cars. Slowly, their path took them further and further from the city's busy center and down to a quiet neighborhood. They rounded a corner and walked up to a house, one of many in a row. Their smiles faded slowly, each one thinking of the same exact thing: how long it would be before they got to come here again.

The messy-haired kid pushed his friend forward. "Go on, Jacob," he said, "You ring it."

"Hey, why me?" he asked.

"Because you're here the most."

"But... well, so?"

"So..." he said, adjusting his hoodie, "Riley's dad is... y'know... scary."

"Scary?" scoffed the girl with an incredulous grin.

"Yes, scary. Okay, not the scariest thing I've seen in my life, but... but he's still scary!"

"Oh, you're telling me! I-" the red head began.

Ding-Dong!

The two boys froze and spun around. The blue-clad girl had rung the bell for them, her smile bearing a slight hint of arrogance. They both hurried up the stairs, so as not to appear like they were dawdling behind out of intimidation or anything even remotely like that. They stopped behind their door-ringing companion, H adjusting his hoodie and Jacob pulling his cap back into place. Click went the handle. Everyone looked up. The door opened to reveal Mrs. Andersen on the other side, suitcase in her free hand. The boys' shoulders relaxed notably; while Mr. Andersen always seemed intimidating to them (a towering giant of authority) Riley's decidedly not scary mother was always disarming in appearance and not frightening in the least. She smiled and greeted the girl. "Hey there, Mary! You here to see Riley before we go, I take it?"

"Yeah, but it's not just me, Mrs. Andersen," Mary said, gesturing to the two behind her. They sheepishly waved as Riley's mom greeted them by name. After some minor pleasantries, she led them in and they followed her through the dining room, up the stairs, and up to Riley's closed door (adorned with pictures, posters, and drawings, signs of her life here in town). Many of the pictures had the trio that had arrived, goofing off and having fun with their friend from Minnesota.

Mrs. Andersen knocked. "Riley," she said, "You've got company!"

If Riley heard her, she didn't say anything. Her mom wore a puzzled look, then quietly opened the door and peeked in. The confusion evaporated as she saw Riley on the ground, drawing on some paper and listening to music loud enough for bits and pieces to leak out of the headphones. Her mom made a move to tap her on the back and let her know that her friends were here, but then stopped. A mischievous grin spread across her face as she recalled the game Riley constantly played with her friends. She stepped back, then made an 'after you' gesture to the three conspirators, who smirked in delight as they crept into their unsuspecting victim's room.

Their natural leader, the messy-haired Asian-American boy, gestured for the other two to take up positions on either side of Riley, while he crept up behind her, standing just to the left so that one step would move him into her line of sight. The group barely contained their giggles (not that such a noise would be heard over Riley's headphones), and Riley's mom had a struggle to not laugh as well.

"Alright, thanks again, see you later," came her dad's voice. He walked by whistling a tune to himself as he hung up his phone then pocketed it. The sight in the room caused him to stop and do a double-take. Just as quickly as he was caught off guard, he understood what was going on. He, too, was aware of the little game the four played. He set down his suitcase long enough to watch the prank unfold, sparing a second to wave at Jacob. Jacob's smile briefly flickered, but he waved back, then quickly looked away and at his black-haired friend.

Said friend mouthed, "Ready?"

Jacob nodded.

"Ready?" to Mary.

Mary nodded.

H threw up his hands, three fingers held up on each... Then two fingers... then one...

"Hi Riley!" all three shouted, suddenly jerking into her field of vision. Riley screamed and jumped back, pencil flying away. She stood frozen and caught her breath for a second as her wide eyes looked at the other three in her room. Just as quickly, her face broke into a grinning laugh as she said, "You guys stink!" They all came together for a group hug as Riley's Mom and Dad, still laughing, closed the door and left them alone.

Inside Riley's head, Joy was cracking up, supporting a panting, nearly-fainted Fear. "There, there," she said between chuckles, "It was just a joke, Fear."

"Y-Y-Yeah..." Fear said, eyes wide, "A j- a joke... heh."

"Not very funny," Anger muttered.

"Anger, Disgust, help this poor guy to the couch," Joy requested. The other two did exactly that as she continued, "I believe I'm needed."

She hummed happily to herself, cracked her knuckles, and put an idea bulb in.

Riley's eyes glanced over to the board game she'd been saving for this moment. She had bought it a while back, but the four of them never were in the same place at the same time (except school), so it was nearly impossible to ever play Apples to Apples, but now they had a chance! Before...

Before...

Sadness sighed heavily, her elbows resting against a lever as she recalled a memory: Dad letting Riley know that they'd be spending the last week of summer vacation back in Minnesota. It was a happy memory, but - given the circumstance - Riley felt a twinge of Sadness; she wouldn't see her Californian friends that entire time! Joy bit her tongue, wanting so badly to correct Sadness. She kept her peace, though. 'Calm down,' she thought, 'This is fine, it's okay... just hang on... calm down... don't do anything...' But her sugar-coated instinct was kicking in, and had a second longer gone by, she might have shoved Sadness off to the side.

"Riley, you okay?" asked the hoodied boy, arms in his pockets once more.

Just then the blue emotion moved back on her own volition. Joy breathed out a thankful sigh and then pressed a button.

"Yeah, H, I'm fine," Riley said, "Hey, you guys wanna play this?" she asked, running over to the board game and giving it a shake. Everyone agreed readily, much to Riley's (and Joy's) relief. They got to the floor, opened the box, shuffled, and dealt out the cards. They were there for an hour, at least, cracking up and giggling. The time went by minute after hilarity-filled minute, and by the end, not a cheek wasn't burning and not an eye was dry as everyone struggled to breathe normally after laughing so hard.

In Riley's mind, the same could almost be said for her five tiny friends: Joy, of course, was rolling on the floor, while Disgust wore a humorous grin. Anger himself was cackling in glee, and Fear chuckled. Sadness, however, didn't.

She didn't smile or laugh or giggle. She didn't have burning cheeks or worn out breath. No, she was standing there, despondent as usual.

Joy caught her breath, wiped a tear away, and then noticed. "Sadness?" she asked, her smile fading. The others noticed, too, all eyes following Joy's. "Sadness, what's wrong?"

Riley's bedroom door opened. They looked up to see their dad standing in the frame.

"Hey guys, sorry, but it's time to go," he said, "We've still got some packing to do, and we've got to cover quite a distance before we get to our hotel tonight."

"Awww," came the response from Riley, her friends, and her Joy.

"I know, I know," he said, "I'll, uh... I'll give you a few minutes to pack the game up." The door shut with a soft click.

"Well," Mary said, "darn."

Jacob nodded in agreement.

H began picking up his cards, and the others followed. Soon, the box was back to the way it was, nestled under Riley's bed. One by one, she hugged her friends and said goodbye. Was it a little rushed? Yes, but Riley felt a hot wave hit her heart, and she knew right where the heat would travel; into her tear ducts. She did not want her friends to see her break down and cry, so the farewells were a little briefer than usual. She led them downstairs, said goodbye as they walked back down the street, shut the door behind them, and then darted right back up to her room.

"Fear..." Sadness said quietly, "R-Remember what we talked... talked about earlier..." When the time had come to say goodbye, Sadness started pressing buttons. Once that happened, Fear had leapt off the couch and into action. He'd darted over to the core memories and took out one in particular, a shimmering blue ball of Sadness, with Riley crying in its center - that time in class, nearly half a year ago. He then had let it float up in the air (his purple hand prints briefly staining it) as Riley remembered the day she cried in class. Then it was off to the races; her purple friend had worked overtime, coaxing Riley to get farewells done in a timely fashion... you know, before the water works could heat up to full power.

Now that it was done, though, Fear was frozen at the console, hesitant to let go. Even after checking to make sure her parents weren't near, Riley was weary of crying.

"Fear," Joy said, gently pulling him away, "I think... I think it's time to... well..." she gestured at Sadness, and Fear reluctantly let his hands go limp. They all backed away, sitting down on the couch to let the teardrop-shaped emotion do her necessary job.

She began by pulling a lever.

The console reacted with a blue glow, and a corresponding little marble came into existence, joining its golden sisters on the shelves. Riley breathed heavily, and then cried. The salty tears trickled out of her eyes as if they were broken pipes. She flopped onto her bed. Quickly, the girl grabbed her pillow and buried her face deep within. Sobs shook her body, purging all the built-up raindrops from her eyelids.

Sadness recalled memories, all of them filtered blue. Riley thought about all the missed chances she'd had so far to hang out with her friends, all the lost opportunities... and how this summer was gone, never to return. By the time she got back to San Francisco, school would start again, and that meant less time to be with her friends, and - certainly - less time to hang out all day. There it went, gone like the tears in her pillow.

Slowly, quietly, the blue emotion let the lever return to its resting position. Riley's sobbing chugged to an eventual stop. She lifted up her head and looked at her pillow, covered in spittle, snot, and tears.

"Oh my gosh, seriously, Sadness?!" Disgust exclaimed. She wasted no time in nudging her aside to take over. Riley gagged a little and pushed the pillow back, contemplating how gross that was. "Sorry about that," Disgust said, "But it had to be done."

"No, it's okay... I-I'm finished, anyways," said her little blue friend, a faint smile confirming her sincerity. Almost inaudibly, she added, "Riley needed it."

Riley sighed and stared at the empty room's walls, just so recently filled with laughter, followed by muffled sobs.

Beep.

She looked down at her phone. It was a text from H.

You gonna be ok? :(

Joy and Sadness looked at each other, each wondering whether the other should act. It was Sadness who first stepped back with a nod.

Joy smiled and stepped up.

Riley sent a response immediately.

Yeah! :) C u guys n a week!