Joy introduced Riley to all of the classrooms, one by one. Riley found herself immediately jealous of the kindergarten rooms—the floor was literally bouncy like a trampoline. She tested it out in one of the rooms herself, loving it instantly and wishing that every room could be that fun.
"Don't worry," Joy assured her, "every grade has its fun things!"
Sure enough, each of the rooms for the different grades, more numerous as the classes got more varied, had something special to them. 1st grade got books that had the words literally leap off the pages, 2nd grade had sparklers that formed words for the board when it was waved around, 3rd had teleportation pads to go from one room to the next, 4th grade possessed desks that had their own adjustable gravitation fields, and the 5th grade rooms had spheres with moving images lining the shelves, which Joy pointed out as being memory orbs.
Finally stopping at one of the fifth grade rooms, Joy peeked her head in and grinned, this one actually having an occupant. "Hey, Mr. Bing Bong!"
The shuffling of papers was heard as the occupant of the room lifted his head up, and Riley heard a joyful laugh.
"Hey, Joy, how's my favorite chatterbox?"
"Great! It's so good to see you!"
Riley could hear laughing and Joy hugging her old teacher. The part-emotion smiled softly. She recalled how she had referred to Joy mentally as Chatterbox before she had even opened her eyes—it seemed others shared that sentiment.
Taking a deep breeath, Riley hesitantly poked her head in, expecting to see another emotion, or at least someone similar-looking to Joy and her friends. But Bing Bong, it turned out, was a large pink creature with a long nose, a colorful striped tail, and a multicolored flower pin on his brown jacket.
"It's been 7 years since you sat in that seat up front, and I still remember the first thing you said was—"
"When do we get the free cookies?" Joy and Bing Bong both said at the same time, looking at each other with a laugh.
"So what brings you here, Joy?"
"Oh, my friend Riley's gonna enroll here!" Joy grinned.
"Riley?". Bing Bong arched his brow. "Is she new in town?"
"You could say that...". Riley ducked her head away just as Joy looked back at her. "Come on in, Riley!"
Riley suddenly felt shy—more than shy, more like anxious. Both Joy and Delight had assured her that Bing Bong was incredibly nice and wouldn't judge her for what she was. But what if he felt uneasy around her like everyone else did? She stayed hidden behind the doorframe.
"Riley, he'll like you, I promise!"
Only one way to find out...
Steeling herself for possible rejection and a look of fear, Riley stepped fully into the room, preparing herself to see Bing Bong flinch or look uneasy. But instead, he smiled in a way that reminded Riley of Delight.
"So you're Riley!". Without any hesitation he stepped forward and shook her hand. A gesture that Riley welcomed but felt incredibly stunned by.
He didn't flinch? He didn't gape at her? He didn't scream? He just... accepted her?
It was a new feeling. And a wonderful feeling.
He paused. "Wait a minute, you..."
Joy stepped forward. "Hey, remember the project my mom was doing in the lab that I told you about?"
"Oh sure, I remember, you'd visit R.I. every week, how's she—" Bing Bong then stopped, looking from Joy to Riley. The latter managed a small smile. "Wait a minute, you're..."
"Yup!" Joy grinned.
Bing Bong shook his head, his grin only widening. "Well, I was beginning to wonder if you were ever gonna wake up! So, you're called Riley now, nice name!"
Riley felt her cheeks actually heat up at the compliment.
"So, are you gonna be joining my class?" Bing Bong asked.
"I... I hope so," Riley said. "I haven't taken the Placement Test yet."
Bing Bong put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you're gonna do fine, kiddo! Just pace yourself and focus on what ya know!". He smiled warmly. "I'm sure you'll be sitting in here with everyone else before ya know it!"
Riley could only stare up at him, completely bewildered that none of the things she had expected had actually happened. And he even touched her! Hardly anyone else even wanted to poke her with a ten-foot pole unless Joy brought them into a "group hug" or whatever!
Maybe there was hope for a good social life in this place called school!
She felt her cheeks warm up, smiling sheepishly at Joy's former teacher.
"A-alright," she spoke in an almost jittery tone.
"That's the spirit!" Bing Bong said cheerfully. He turned to Joy. "I'll look forward to having her in my class if they place her there."
"That's what we're counting on!" the yellow emotion agreed. "I'm tutoring Riley to prepare for the test. The others are going to join in too."
The larger individual chuckled. "Anger and Disgust tutoring? And I thought I've seen everything."
Joy laughed. "Well, right now Fear and Sadness have stepped up. Anger and Disgust, well..." She played with her fingers, not wanting to admit that the latter two still didn't like Riley. "They're thinking of what to teach her."
"If I remember correctly," Bing Bong mused, "it was that Anger needed to be tutored in science back when I had him in my class." He grinned. "Remember that story I told you about the first time my class got to make their very first memory orbs?"
Joy smiled. "And you said Anger almost threw his across the classroom."
"You know, if I had been Ms. Stitch," he sighed, "I would have not let that slide."
"You were patient with him," Joy added. "And you knew it was going to be difficult the first time."
She glanced over at Riley. She had merely stood there, still stunned over the positive interaction so far.
"He got to lessen his temper enough to pull through the work," Bing Bong concluded happily. "After the third attempt, of course."
"No one's perfect," Joy laughed. "At least now he can succeed in work like his father does."
"Oh, yeah, Aggravation," the pink creature recalled glancing at Riley, "speaking of, he treating you okay? You don't have to stay at the lab anymore, do ya?"
Riley's mood began to deflate a little, and she lowered her head at the mention of the lab. She wondered just how many were aware of the so-called "mysterious project" people like Joy's mom had been working on? Did only Bing Bong know the details thanks to his association with Joy, or did everyone know? True, she had no idea what her actual purpose was (Anger's comment still being raw), but it couldn't be that bad to associate with someone who had started out as a mere object, right?
Joy noticed Riley's solemn look, quickly trying to come to her rescue and lift her spirits. "Aggravation was a bit of a hothead, but it's okay. Riley's staying at my house now!"
"Really? How's that working out?"
"Honestly," Joy looked over at Riley, "...it's awesome. It's like having a sister!"
Stunned by her words, Riley returned a little smile. Joy grinned before glanced back at her former teacher.
"Heard you're getting ready for college," Bing Bon stated. "You excited?"
"You bet!" Joy said happily. "Mom got my books and everything! I can't wait to start classes!"
"Any idea what you're major will be?" he asked.
"Well, I might become just like my mom," she answered thoughtfully, "but right now I'm going for Undeclared."
"That's fine," he assured, "no need to rush. GEs are the most significant ones you have to finish first, alright?"
"Got that right, Mr. Bing Bong!" Joy chirped, giving him a cheerful salute.
Bing Bong turned to Riley, his eyes affectionate, even his own trunk formed a grin at the end. "It's too early to talk college stuff with you, of course. Just enjoy the education you'll get right now, and soon you'll be making choices for further learning just like Joy did here. Heck, maybe you might even go to the same campus she's going to."
The secretly semi-emotion nodded at this, drinking in the ongoing attention he was lavishing her with. The feeling was simply incredible, and here she thought no stranger was ever going to give her the time of day. Mr. Bing Bong was giving her everything and more.
"I'll think on it," she admitted quietly.
"Well, don't think too hard on it!" he chuckled. "I mean, you're only...eleven, right?"
Riley nodded stiffly, nearly forgetting she was about seven years younger than Joy since they were about the same height.
"Yeah, way too young for you to start thinking about this stuff," Bing Bong smiled before turning back to Joy. "Anyway, I need to get to the office to inquire about those memory orb supplies I made. I'll see you another time, alright?"
"Sure thing," Joy replied.
He nodded before turning back Riley. "And as for you, an early welcome into our school, Ms. Riley! Good luck on your placement, hope to see you in my class!"
Riley felt her heart race, feeling almost euphoric that this had gone so much better than she dared to hope. She smiled wider, nodding to him.
"Alright, ladies," he said before heading off, "see you around!"
Joy waved like a leaf in the wind toward him, Riley's more slow and delicate. The latter's eyes remained widened as she watched him go. Soon they headed out of the classroom and toward the entrance of the school.
"Wasn't that a great tour?" Joy gushed. "And wasn't Mr. Bing Bong awesome?"
Riley's thoughts loomed over the pink creature himself. "He...he actually talked to me. Me! That's never happened before!"
"I told you he'd like you!" Joy laughed. "He's very accepting. Like me!" she mentioned as she pointed to herself. "I sure hope you'll get into his class. He's just amazing!"
"He really is," Riley sighed, almost in a dream-like state. "He's so nice..."
"That's why everyone loves him," Joy giggled. "Even Anger does."
Riley glanced at her. "Is it really true that he had a hard time making a memory orb?"
"Well, that's Anger for you," Joy sighed, shaking her head. "He has strength, but he lacks some patience. Often stubborn too. But we love him anyway!"
"Is memory making really that hard?" Riley asked, having a lingering doubt that she'd be able to do it.
"It can be at first," Joy replied. "But that's why we have teachers like Mr. Bing Bong helping us! And those memory orbs become a very important deal in our lives, especially for those who choose to be Mind Guides or Memory Archivists when they're older."
"Do you plan to be one?" Riley asked curiously.
"Hmm..." Joy pondered. "Haven't really thought about it. But then again both of those sound like fun. Although traveling like my dad is fun too." "She beamed. Maybe I could travel with my dad and train to be a Memory Archivist too. Then I'd actually get to stay on Terracordis."
"Could I travel with you?" Riley asked eagerly before she could stop herself.
Joy smiled and took her hand. "Of course! You're learning more every day, and Fear and Sadness are trying to open up to ya a bit so you're getting better at social interaction! I bet that if I decide to become a traveling scientist, we could travel through Terracordis together and see everywhere!". Her eyes sparkled as she spoke. "Now if I became a Guide, that'd be harder..."
Riley frowned, realizing what Joy meant. She remembered how Guides for humans didn't age until they returned to Terracordis. Riley didn't know how long humans lived, but if the human Joy would be a Guide for ended up living for decades, Riley could be older than Aggravation was now by the time Joy returned!
The thought wasn't exactly comforting.
Joy took notice of this instantly, gently tilting Riley's chin up so their eyes met. "Hey, don't worry. I know you're still getting used to the world, and you and I are BFFs!". She gently placed her glowing palm against Riley's pale one. "I'm not gonna leave you, okay? I promise."
Riley hugged Joy gratefully, a gesture which her best friend gladly reciprocated. She loved the yellow emotion more than anyone, and how much Joy had taught her, how much Joy comforted her when she was at her lowest.
She'd gladly follow Joy just about anywhere.
Joy put her arm around Riley and stretched her other arm in a wide arc. "Just think of it, Riley! We could travel to other cities, oceans, mountains, the snow on some of them is so amazing—"
Before Riley could ask what snow was, Joy suddenly let out an eager squeak and grinned at Riley, hurrying her toward the car, "That reminds me! I gotta take you over to see the ice rink!"
"Ice rink?". Riley asked as she got in the backseat and put her seatbelt on. More new words again.
Joy nodded vigorously. "You'll see, there's two things that you can try there, and one of them's another sport!". She turned to Riley. "It's a bit tough, but with your power I'm sure you'll do great! If your arms are as skilled at whacking stuff as your legs are, I think you'll ace it once you get your balance!"
Riley winced a little at the memory of what happened at the park, but felt better in that Sadness didn't blame her at all. Right now, Joy's words intrigued her. "What is it?"
"Ice hockey!"
A/N: Next chapter you can look forward to a bit of bonding between Joy and Riley as they try out what could be Riley's new forte. :) See you next chapter and remember to review!