It had been three days since Disgust had officially given up. Her health had been slowly deteriorating since then, and the other emotions either didn't seem to care, or she was doing a better job hiding it than she thought she was. She thought at least Fear would express concern at her weak, lethargic state, but he never said a word about it.
Truthfully, Fear and Sadness had been slightly worried about her; apart from Joy, she was usually one of the hardest working emotions, but she had been staying in her room and keeping to herself more often. He hadn't really found a need to bring it up, though, and Sadness wanted to say something to her, but didn't want to risk another outburst.
Joy and Anger were still brushing her off as just being immature. After a while, though, they soon realized that piling on punishment and extra Dream Duties wasn't going to work. It was already past noon, and Disgust still had yet to emerge from her bedroom.
"Okay, this is ridiculous," Anger said, irritated, "Does she not give a whoop about Riley anymore or something? Why hasn't she been wanting to work?"
"I don't know, Anger," Joy responded, "This isn't like her. She usually makes sure Riley appears mature, so it doesn't make sense for her to be doing this."
Because of Disgust's absence, Riley had forgotten to wash her hair and brush her teeth that morning, and during gym class, while doing laps around the track, she had accidentally farted pretty loudly. Everyone had been relentless with their teasing, and after hearing yet another jeer from a classmate at recess, Anger had enough.
"That's it," he shouted, his head starting to spark, "It's time to give her a piece of my mind!"
As he stomped toward the ramp, Sadness quickly began to follow him. "Wait, Anger," she called after him, "Let's not be too hard on her."
Once Anger's shouts had faded slightly, Joy dejectedly plunked herself down on the couch, rubbing her temples. "This has got to stop."
"Tell me about it," Fear said, sitting down next to her, "This may not surprise you, but I'm kind of worried about her."
"I understand, Fear," Joy replied guiltily, "Part of me wants to be worried, too, but I'm more disappointed in her."
Fear sighed, "I wonder if anything's upsetting her."
Joy quickly rose from her seat when she heard a phone ring, and ran to the corner adjacent from the lockers where it rested. "Headquarters, Joy speaking," she answered.
"Joy, this is Doctor Julian from the Mind General Hospital," the doctor said, sounding slightly frazzled, "Listen, I really need to speak with Disgust. She was scheduled for an appointment three days ago, and she didn't show up."
"Well, Disgust is kind of...occupied at the moment," Joy replied, slowly digesting what she had just been told. "Wait a minute, why does she need to see a doctor?"
Before the doctor could respond, a clatter was heard in the Sleeping Quarters, followed by cries of, "Disgust!" and "Oh my gosh!"
…
Meanwhile, in Disgust's bedroom, she was curled up under the covers of her bed, breathing heavily and sweating. She realized that what she was doing was a mistake; she wasn't ready for this. She managed enough energy to grab her medicine, but then she saw her doorknob start to turn and brought the bottle into her hiding place as fast as she could, hoping she would be able to discreetly take a pill without anyone noticing.
She began to slowly unscrew the cap as Anger tore into her, yelling about how "this has gone on for too long" and she was "ruining Riley's life." Sadness had apparently decided to accompany him, and attempted to coax her out of her room in a more compassionate manner. Disgust could barely focus on what she was saying, however, both due to her concentration on her medicine, and because she was beginning to slowly drift out of consciousness.
"Disgust, please come out," Sadness said, "Riley needs you."
Suddenly, she and Anger noticed that the blanket was no longer rising and falling with her breaths.
"Disgust?" "Kid?"
As she fainted, Disgust lost her grip on the bottle, and the pills clattered to the floor.
"Disgust!" "Oh my gosh!"
"What's going on," Joy called from the main room. Anger quickly lifted Disgust's lifeless form, still wrapped in the blanket, off of the bed, while Sadness grabbed the pill bottle and ran out of the room after him, tears streaming down her face.
"Is everything okay," Fear added as they returned. When he and Joy took notice of the pill bottle in Sadness's hand, and their incapacitated coworker in Anger's arms, they both gasped in horror. It was almost a miracle that the Train of Thought was passing by Headquarters right at that second as Anger gestured toward the window.
"Hospital! Now!"