A/N: And here we shall get a bit of bonding time with Riley and Joy, and maybe a hint of future friendship on the horizon!
Disclaimer: Cartuneslover17 and I own Terracordis, but not Inside Out.
The next day, Joy got to work on helping Riley with her next big task: preparing her for school.
Joy watched patiently as Riley focused on the equation in front of them. Seated at the dining room table, they were now onto the math portion of her learning and did as simple as they could. Before that they had conducted some basic learning. They went from a simple toddler's book right to the point Riley was given something at a higher elementary level. The vowels still needed some work, but she was improving on words.
Delight provided her with old flashcards Joy used when she was preparing for her first elementary year. It was basic additions and subtractions, and Joy decided to save multiplication and division for another time because math was a bit harder. Of course, it was hard for anyone, so she hoped Riley wouldn't push herself.
Riley was aware of Joy watching her as she furrowed her brows, tapping her fingers as she gazed at the problem for the umpteenth time. She knew some numbers were higher or lower than others, but not much beyond that.
"Okay..." Riley breathed. "Five plus four is..."
Joy nodded at this, eagerly awaiting any answer from Riley. She loved tutoring, and should Riley struggle, as her best friend she would be there to amend it. They had already studied the math portion for the last hour, and so far Riley has only made a few mistakes.
Riley swallowed. "T-ten?"
Joy smiled at her assuringly, shaking her head. "Actually, it's nine. But you were close!"
The blonde sighed as she placed a hand over the equation, almost as if it was mocking her for giving a wrong answer. Joy was not kidding when she said math was hard, but Riley couldn't even answer a simple problem correctly. A toddler could probably figure this stuff out! Joy noticed this and reached out to pat her shoulder.
"Hey, relax," she spoke, "you're doing really well."
"Yeah, but what will the school think?" Riley responded nervously. "I mean, this test will determine how I might get in, and where I'll be placed. You already mentioned about where the 'special' people go..."
"Oh, right..." Joy said sheepishly. "Still, you're kind of special is more special than they are, of course. But I'm pretty sure you'll do well in the test."
"How can I if I can't even solve something you learned before my age?" Riley asked, feeling more discouraged.
Joy gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Hey, just give it a bit more time. We still got a lot before we have to take you to the school."
"Honestly, this test is the least of my worries..." the part-emotion mumbled.
"Aww, you're still worried about your future classmates?" Joy cooed. "Come on! They'll love you!"
"Haven't you seen how people look at me?" Riley sighed.
"They just never seen anyone like you before," Joy assured her.
"And what about what your friends said about me?"
The reminder of last night boiled into Joy's head once more. She kept her inner tension to a minimum, forcing out Anger's cold words. Since abandoning the ambulance yesterday, she hardly mentioned anything to her friends. Mainly because she didn't exactly want to call them. It wasn't that she hated them for what happened or anything, especially since Sadness was a victim to a soccer ball in the face. But that didn't stop Joy from feeling upset about how they all dealt with the situation.
She honestly felt the most disappointed in Fear. He was the more sensitive one of both him and Anger. And yet, in his own subtle way, he made Riley feel all kinds of hurt. Worse, he blamed her for what happened to Sadness. Joy knew Sadness never even showered accusation on Riley, the others did. It pained the yellow emotion even more that Fear had actually sided with his beliefs that Riley was dangerous.
And so Joy didn't phone them. They could go ahead and call or text her if they wanted, but she probably would save those for another moment when Riley wasn't at her lowest. Especially since the events of last night still frightened Joy.
"Okay, let's try a new equation," she instructed before pulling out another card. "Here we go."
Riley glanced over at the card. It was a five standing above a three. There was that short line right next to the latter number. She squinted her eyes at this, counting it all in her head.
"Okay, I remember this..." she said to herself as she scanned the problem. "I know this answer!"
"Just take your time," Joy told her. "Don't push so hard, your brain is functioning alright."
Riley rubbed her forehead, trying to get the answer to arise in her thoughts. The numbers were mocking her once more, but she would not let them conquer her this time!
"Five minus three..." she began. "Five minus three is..."
Joy waited nervously, biting her lip.
Finally, Riley got it. "Five minus three is two!"
The light surrounding Joy lit up intensely. "That's it! You got it!"
"I got it!" Riley exclaimed excitedly. "I actually got it!"
"Good job!" the yellow emotion said, rubbing her arm. "See? You're doing well!"
Riley beamed, feeling very proud. Maybe she could get this math thing down after all.
"Alright, that's enough math for now!" Joy announced as she gathered the cards and stacked them to the side. "Let's study a little history for fun!"
"History?" Riley repeated.
"You know, learning about what happened in the past and stuff," the other girl responded before taking out a light textbook that appeared quite old. "Here we go. One of things mom told me to read to you."
"What's it about?" Riley asked.
Joy read the cover. "Hmm...it's called Humanity."
Riley arched her brow curiously. "What's humanity?"
Joy remembered how Riley was "part-human" as well as part emotion. HEr mom didn't elaborate much further, but Joy knew that it had something to do with their firm overseeing of the trips that some emotions took as Mind Guides.
But as for why Riley had been created, that was something that was kept firmly under wraps, both to their children and every research article she had looked up. Whatever it was, only the members of the Council and their spouses knew it.
It must be for a very special reason, no matter what Anger said. Riley was special.
Still, she'd have to learn at least some things about Earth eventually.
Joy noticed Riley was staring at her expectantly, and she quickly focused on explaining to her friend. "Humanity is a race that lives on a world called Earth."
"What's Earth?"
Joy flipped through the book, trying to find a good page that would explain it to Riley in a way she could understand.
Suddenly, Riley put a hand on the page, stopping Joy from turning the pages. The page showned pictures of humans. They had appearances that were more or less the same structure, but there were attributes that Riley took notice of instantly.
The humans... they didn't glow. They weren't bright. There wasn't a speck of particles on their skin or hair. They weren't composed of unusual, varied shapes and forms.
They looked like her.
Riley drew back a bit. She looked from Joy to the book. "...They're like me.". Her band dropped a few percentage points. She glanced at her friend in disbelief. "I-Is... Is that what humans are like? I mean, what I'm like?
"Wellll..." Joy paused, wanting to ease Riley into what was known about her nature. "Yes and no. You're part-human part-emotion."
Riley looked carefully at the book, a sigh escaping her. That explained why she didn't look like anyone from Terracordis, why she was like a colorless thing that stood out in a world of vibrancy. Why everyone regarded her as being so strange and scary.
It was like meeting a being from another world.
Joy quickly got up and held Riley's hand. "But just because you look like them doesn't mean you're not one of us!". She put a hand on Riley's shoulder. "You may look like them, but you're Terracordian, through and through.". She smiled. "We haven't even tested out your full potential yet, and at school you'll probably get to make a memory orb!". She beamed. "And trust me, it's impossible for humans to create memory orbs the way we can. You'll see!"
Riley gave Joy a weak smile. Giving that physically she looked basically human, she wondered if she had any of the proper emotion attributes in terms of ability. But Joy always inspired her confidence. And she felt like she belonged in this world.
Joy was right. Human-looking or not, Riley belonged here.
Riley took a deep breath, looking from the book to Joy. "So, what's Earth again? And where is it?"
Joy flipped through the book again, searching through it and giving Riley a basic version of what it said as she pointed to a diagram, comparing the placings of Earth and Terracordis. "Well, try to imagine a sort of curtain in the sky that separates two things. On the other side, there's another world that's kind of like ours, just populated by humans."
"Oh..."
And since they're more matter-based, they have more gravity."
"Gravity?"
"So everything's heavier," Joy advised helpfully.
Riley looked perplexed at the idea. "So if you tried leaping in the air there you might barely get off the ground?"
Joy grinned broadly, the aura around her growing brighter. "Exactly! Now you're getting it!"
Riley looked carefully at the picture in the book. "Has anyone ever gone there?"
"Sort of." Joy smiled softly at the inquiry. "Though humans feel and interact just like we do, sometimes we decide to offer a human extra help. So, when a person is just being born, some emotions will volunteer to transfer into their minds and act as their emotions to guide them. They're called Mind Guides... think of having a helper in your head that always tries to give advice."
Riley found the idea both comforting and a bit scary. "How long do they stay?"
"The whole human's lifespan," Joy said. "And since they become linked to the human they're in, they age slower." Her smile turned almost sad. "So it gets kind of confusing depending on how long the person lives. Someone who has a parent become a Mind Guide when they're a kid might appear to be their parent's age by the time they get back."
Riley frowned. She recalled how even though she had met both of Disgust's parents, she had never seen Joy's dad. That combined with the sad smile on Joy's face had her guess something was up. "Did your dad become a Mind Guide?"
"Huh? Oh, no, he told me he thought about it when he was around my age," Joy said, her smile becoming a bit more chipper, "but he decided not to. He's on a business trip studying the connection between human and emotion stuff." She lightly touched the book before grinning. "He should be back in a few months.". She paused, glancing at Riley. "You want to see a picture of him?"
Riley nodded eagerly.
Joy pulled out her phone, flipping through the photos until she finally came to one, showing it to Riley. "Here we are!"
Riley tilted her head to look at the picture. Joy was standing on what looked like some sort of white, solid ground, a stick in her hand. On one side of her stood Delight, and the other, a man who stood a little taller than Delight, his dark blue eyes seeming to sparkle and sporting scruffy purple hair.
So this was Joy's family...
"You all look so happy..."
"We were," Joy said. "That was when we were playing hockey together." She grinned. "Maybe the four of us can play a game together once Dad gets back!"
Riley had no idea what hockey was, but she nodded anyway. Spending time with the closest thing she had to a family was more than welcomed.
"Anger's mom and Sadness's dad are Mind Guides though," Joy added, putting her phone away. "They're on Earth now."
The happier mood faded, and Riley bit her lip. Was that a reason why Anger's reaction toward her was so hostile, despite first trying to be cordial to her upon first meeting? Because he felt bitter about his mother being on the world that had been partially used to make Riley?
Joy knew it didn't excuse his behavior at all, but remembering that caused her internal displeasure toward him to be slightly cooled down.
Riley paused, her mind a whirlwind of questions. "Has an emotion ever gone there and interacted with humans?"
Joy couldn't help but chuckle lightly. "As far as we know it can't happen. An energy-matter transfer would be really complicated and kinda beyond us thanks to their world not being like ours. That energy lack is also why everything is kind of dull-colored there."
"Like me?"
Joy gave Riley a sympathetic smile, noticing her friend looked disheartened. And Riley feeling sad was the last thing she wanted. "Riley, you're still made partially of the same stuff as we are. Your emotion nature will find a way to show itself and shine through!"
Riley looked Joy carefully in the eyes, as if searching for any sign that Joy wasn't being sincere and finding none. "You promise?"
Joy leaned over and hugged her tightly. "I promise." True, Joy didn't know exactly how much of Riley was capable of having some non-human feature—hopefully memory orbs being one aspect—but there had to be something. Her initial name acronym was Radiant Intelligence after all, and humans were far from that.
She recalled that the Council had mentioned something about an "emergency defense mechanism", but hopefully, whatever it was, there would never come a time where Riley had to unleash that.
Peeking over from another room, Delight felt a pang at her own heart. Her daughter was always there to help Riley, always there to comfort her and explain things.
But the human world filled Riley with questions. She felt like she belonged here, with them, like she was meant to be a citizen of Terracordis.
It broke Delight's heart that eventually, going along with the project, Riley would have to leave. But Riley was so dependent on Joy that she almost couldn't.
If she left, given how fragile her emotional stability was, there was a chance that Riley might die of despair soon after.
Maybe there would be a bright side to this. Maybe somehow Riley would be able to keep contact while resuming life on Earth. After all, they couldn't just send Riley there with no guidance. There had to be some way they could keep contact with at least someone here. And Delight couldn't think of anyone better than her own daughter to help her be adjusted to life.
Joy was already doing great with that, even if she had no idea what would eventually happen to Riley...
Joy would be severely heartbroken once the inevitable truth came out about Riley's true purpose. She would do everything in her power to pull her friend out of this. But Aggravation would not have it. They had taken a long, difficult time collecting the particles from the human world in order to create Riley. It was a mission that was to either go or automatically fail.
Delight was determined to make sure that the days Riley had left with Joy would be her greatest. Which is why her deepest wishes were to be granted, like school. Having a best friend was a first wish come true, followed by simply exploring the world they lived in, now was the next step.
It would most definitely prepare her for her new life once she went to Earth.
Taking a deep breath, Delight shifted from her hiding spot and made herself present before the girls. Plastering on her usual grin, she waved to them.
"I baked cookies," she announced cheerfully. "How about taking a little break, hmm?" She turned to Riley. "I'm very proud of how you're doing, sweetheart. You'll do even better at school!"
When Riley smiled at her, Delight could feel her heart crumble a little more. She doubted Riley would be smiling for long once Aggravation dropped the bomb on both her and Joy. But for now, she was under Delight's custody, and Delight refused to allow the reality that was the mission to take over.
She watched as Joy merely dropped the book with a loud thud on the table before she and Riley hurried into the kitchen. Delight was fortunate to still have it after all these years. She had a feeling it would prove useful in the future, and it did a wonder on Riley.
Not to say Earth was bad or anything, but unlike here, so many things could happen there. And most were not exactly good. Not only that, the color would make even the brightest person depressed. While Riley was pale and possessed no actual sparkle, she shone much more than any human Delight has studied in that world. Each of them were studied through their Mind Guides, and, honestly, Delight felt that a few still needed some improvement. Riley needed direct guidance, and this is where Delight was sure her daughter could step in as long as Riley was here on Terracordis.
Because she was what made Riley happy.
Peering into the kitchen where the girls were grabbing handfuls of cookies, her flesh warmed as they kept talking and leaning toward each other. As if they've known each other forever and Riley had been born 11 years ago, rather than just days ago. They were simply inseparable.
Not for long...
Laying atop her bed with the TV on, Sadness rubbed her cheek where the ball hit her. The pain had decreased since yesterday, the stitches were working okay, her fracture had been fixed, and the blue color was slowly coming back to her face.
She hoped to never experience anything like that again. Even while being part of the volleyball team, not once had she ever been hit. Well, there was a first time for everything. She was surprised she didn't start sobbing after the harsh impact.
At least her friends were there for her. Well, most of them—neither Riley nor Joy had been present when she woke up in the hospital. She felt saddened when Fear told her Riley had stayed behind for certain reasons (which was because of Anger, obviously), and Joy rushed out of the ambulance to go after her. Sadness hoped both were alright, and she hoped Riley wasn't being hard on herself for what happened.
None of them had expected what had happened. There was always something difficult about sports every once in a while, even painful. What Riley had done had been a complete accident, and Sadness never put it against her. Although Anger had a say about it...
He didn't even have to blow his top to prove how peeved and bitter he had been about the ordeal. Sadness already felt that he desired no further intentions involving Riley. In fact, Fear and Disgust were right behind him on the idea. As for Sadness, while she and Riley haven't exactly hit it off, she still thought she was alright. Not exactly at BFF level, but more like compatible acquaintances.
She heard the soft tone of her cel and glanced at her bedside. Reaching over to claim it, she swiped across the screen the moment she saw Fear's name pop up.
"What is it, Fear?" she crooned, rubbing her cheek.
At the other end was the usually jittery voice of her friend. However, this time he sounded more jittery than he usually was. It could have been two things: his caution about something random...or Joy.
"Um, has Joy call you are anyone else yet?"
Yup, she was right.
"Um, no," the blue emotion responded. "Something wrong?"
"Just wanted to see if she was ever going to call any of us back," he said timidly. "I mean, it seems like now we have to call her because of...well, you know..."
Sadness rolled her eyes. "You're still afraid of Riley?"
"I'm not afraid of her!" Fear protested.
She listened in as his voice fell a few tones lower, as if all his breath was slowly coming down in a sigh.
"I'm terrified," he admitted.
"You don't still believe Riley hurt me on purpose, do you?" she asked.
"No," he spoke. "Not anymore..."
"Fear," Sadness began, "Joy is her only friend right now. You heard what she said that Riley needs others to support her. I may not exactly be her friend, but I'm willing to take a shot. But you guys..." She sighed and pinched the ridge of her nose between her glasses. "I can't imagine how she reacted if Anger said anything."
For a moment she thought she heard a deep gulp on the other end. And then heard Fear lightly playing with his fingers, a special trait of his when he was uncertain.
"I believe a lot worse than any of us can think," he breathed.
"Did you even call Joy?"
"No...because I was afraid she'd hang up on us again."
"You know she's busy."
"But too busy for her best friends?"
"Riley is a huge responsibility. It's like taking care of a puppy."
"Well, this one might not be far from housebroken..."
"Fear!" Sadness exclaimed. "That's rude!"
"I didn't mean to say it like that!" he quivered. "But she still needs some work, I guess."
"And that's why Joy is always with her," Sadness pointed out. "At least unlike most of us she's always so committed. You and Anger would give up before the job even started."
That honestly hurt. But Sadness did have a point...
"Look, my show is about to be on," she said in a tone that could have resembled Disgust's, "so it's up to you if you want to call Joy or whatever. Let me know when we can hang out with her again. And Riley." she added in a stiff tone.
Fear felt the question mark that was his hair curve at the idea. "S-sure..."
With that, Sadness hung up first, and Fear placed his phone dad as he sat on his bed. Glancing up at his dresser, there stood a few photos of him with his friends. He always stood next to Joy. And sometimes she would either hold his hand or even wrap her arms around him while the pictures were being taken.
He'd do anything to have that again. Although Riley was like an unfair trade right now...
"Think you're ready for more adding and subtracting double-digits?"
"I think so..." Riley found Joy's grin contagious, even though math was becoming both easier and more intimidating the more they worked on it, hour by hour. It was one thing having an idea of numbers that were greater or less than others, at least some below 100 thanks to her armband. But adding and subtracting one from another? How did people figure out that insanity?
Joy had done it though, so the part-emotion hoped it wouldn't be that hard. And at least she was getting better.
"Good!". Joy shuffled the flashcards in her hands before pulling out one. "Let's see how you do with this!"
Riley looked at the card in front of her, with a 53 on top, 21 on the bottom, and a little dash next to the second number. She frowned a bit, drumming her fingers on the table. She knew that Joy might encourage her to take her time, but teachers wouldn't be so lenient. If she took too long, she might not even reach first grade level, and 5th would be an impossibility.
She wasn't gonna let that happen.
She focused on the numbers, remembering what Joy had taught about subtracting the individual digits. After a moment, she answered a bit nervously. "T-Thirty-two?".
"That's exactly right, you got it!" Joy was beaming, giving her friend a high five which only caused Riley's mood to improve. "Now, how about we try—"
A vibrating noise suddenly interrupted from the other side of the table. The pair glanced over at it.
"Hold on, Riley," Joy said. "Let me just...". She hurried over to retrieve her phone, and frowned when she saw the name: Fear.
Had it been a week ago, she would have eagerly picked up the phone and chatted for an hour. But after what happened, she really didn't want to talk.
But she decided she'd give him a chance.
Telling Riley that she'd continue in a couple minutes, Joy went into the side room and answered with a sigh. "Hey, Fear."
She could hear Fear yelp on the other end of the line, as if he had been surprised she answered. "J-Joy! Hey, um, I wanted to call about, you know... earlier."
A frown flickered across Joy's face.
"Dad told me what happened with... Riley.". Even seemed the name seemed to unnerve the purple emotion.
"He did?" Joy's tone was a bit cautious. Maybe Panic had at least got Fear to understand. But the way he said her name didn't give her much confidence.
"Yeah... I didn't know it was that bad—"
"She nearly died because of what happened!"
From the other room, Riley cringed.
"I know, but Dad and I were talking... and me and Sadness... and...". Fear swallowed, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "Maybe we could hang out again with you soon? AndImeanyouandRiley."
The last sentence was said in a rush, as if Fear was fighting to get the words out, but Joy heard every word.
He sounded both desperate and reluctant at the same time. Joy was not surprised. After all, it was usually he who would call at last-minute, practically begging for her to come back to them. It amazed her that he was willing to make a "sacrifice" just so they could be together again. She had to admit it was sweet that he was willing to lower his scrutiny just for her sake. And sort of Riley's.
On the other hand...
She glanced over her shoulder, wondering if Riley had heard anything. The last thing either of them wanted was to have a repeat of yesterday. It still peeved Joy about what Anger had said, and even an optimistic person like her would not let it go that easily. He had a lot to make up for if he wanted to win not only Riley's favor but Joy's again. Not that the yellow emotion hated him or anything, but she was still vividly upset with him and the others.
She gazed at the phone for a moment. She could practically hear Fear's heavy breathing on the other end, nervously awaiting an answer.
"You know what?" she finally said. "Maybe we can try this again."
There was an exhale on the other line, followed by the sound of hands being wrung with tension.
"That's...that's great," Fear murmured, trying to sound excited.
Joy help back a sigh. "But I don't know if Riley will think the same way."
She could practically hear his heart plummet to the floor at those words. But he knew as much as she did that words were usually very affective for a while, and Anger's had done a number on Riley.
"Could you at least talk to her about it?" the purple emotion asked carefully. "I mean, I know we weren't the best, but we can still try, right? And I'm sure Anger didn't mean what he said."
Joy almost wanted to scoff at this, but she held her tongue. "Okay, I'll talk to her."
"G-good..." Fear stammered, his voice on the edge. "Just let me know. After that, it's up to you and Riley what you want to do. And we'll do it."
Joy had to smile at this. Still sensitive as ever, even when he was obviously scared.
"Okay, Fear," she said softly, "see you."
"Bye, Joy..." he murmured almost breathlessly before hanging up.
Shutting off her phone, the yellow emotion hurried back to where Riley was. Much to her relief, she was busy looking over cards on the table, the history book right beside her as well. Very committed to her work, just as Joy thought.
Putting on her best smile, she slowly approached the other girl. Riley looked up, her face brightening as she held up a card.
"I think I'm getting even better at the subtraction portion!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I managed to subtract fifty-three from eighty!"
Joy nodded at this. "That's great, Riley."
The blonde's smile faded as she noticed a flicker of uncertainty in her friend's tone. "Is something wrong, Joy?"
The yellow emotion didn't think she would suspect anything. But it was now or never as Joy took a deep breath, then joined the seat beside Riley's.
"Riley," she began as casually as she could, "Fear called me."
The color about vanished from her face as Riley gawked at her. Lowering her head, she averted her gaze, feeling discomforted at the mention of any of Joy's friends.
"It's nothing bad," Joy assured her. "He's really sorry for what happened, you know."
Riley glanced at her, doubt evident in her eyes. "Are all of them sorry?"
Joy realized she had forgotten to ask Fear if Anger even regretted what he said. But speaking of the red emotion sent some sort of bitterness into her thoughts. Especially since Riley seemed to be the most upset when mentioning him.
"Sort of..." Joy said uneasily. "Maybe?" She smiled sheepishly as Riley continued to look unconvinced and even more reluctant. "Look, Fear said that he and Sadness are still willing to try and bond with you."
Riley's eyes rose at the mention of the blue emotion. "Sadness? Is she alright?"
"She's doing fine," Joy promised. "And she knows it wasn't your fault."
Although a bit comforted by this, Riley still clung to her doubts. "They're all still afraid of me, I just know it."
"But they're starting to understand you," Joy encouraged. "I mean, they know what an awesome sporty girl you are. When they see what else you're good at and what you like, they'll be able to find something in common."
She reached over and placed a hand on her friend's. Riley stiffened before looking up at her.
"Please, Riley?" Joy asked softly. "I promise, I will make sure nothing bad happens. And I'll make sure Anger doesn't do anything that'll hurt you."
Riley still looked unsure, but she trusted Joy—as long as her best friend was around, she hoped things would be alright. "Maybe we could go, um, visit Sadness?"
Joy smiled at the idea. At least there was some potential bonding opportunities. Maybe there was hope after all.
"I'll call Fear and see what he thinks," she offered. She then looked over at her friend and noticed she was shifting through the flashcards, trying to figure out which one to try next. "And after that," Joy started to grin in a way that she did when she got excited, "maybe I could take you over to Epiphany Elementary."
Just as Riley had been about to pull a card out from the pile, what Joy said caused her to nearly drop the stack in shock, just barely managing to catch them before they spilled everywhere. "What?! But the test isn't for a few more days!"
Joy laughed lightly, the good-natured tone in her voice encouraging Riley a bit. "Not to take the test, just to show you around!"
"B-But the other kids—"
"Riley," Joy said, putting a glowing hand on her friend's, "Knowing from experience, kids tend to stay away from school until the school year starts. The only ones that'll be there are the teachers, and then I can show ya around so you don't get lost!"
Riley looked down a bit, thinking. She'd have to face the teachers eventually, and it would be better to know her way around the school on the first day rather than standing out further by not knowing where to go. She looked at Joy and nodded. "Okay."
"Great!" Joy exclaimed, clapping her hands. "I'll go call Fear and Sadness and let them know."
A/N: Well, hopefully there will be a bit of a chance for Riley to bond with Fear and Sadness! :)