The task of navigation from home to school, once again, befell Joy. After the incident where the others got way too distracted by discussing one particular kid, this time, they knew — even if they didn't necessarily remember — that no matter their stance on their leader, she was the best one for the task.
By now, thanks to the diligent work of the foundries and factories in the deep mind, there were already quite a few processed memories of Riley's neighborhood to go about, making Joy's job much easier. However, it was no less captivating, and she still felt like playing the world's greatest video game — one where she was even temporarily tempted to leave the comms tablet behind and go for the big console.
That being said, once the scene transitioned from outside to the inside, Joy frowned. While most of the processed memories of the neighborhood were neutral, the same couldn't be said for the school's interior, and memories of that came in all sorts of colors, even a blue which the bright emotion didn't really want to see right now.
Perhaps the only remedy was that the building, as appropriate for the winter break, was still barren; the silence and lack of hustle and bustle was always appreciated when familiarizing yourself with an unfamiliar environment, and in addition, meant that no girls in skull tees could ever ruin Riley's day.
Such girls, if they ever existed, were still of primary concern to the mind as a whole, with them featuring in dreams being just the tip of the iceberg. Already, deliveries of boxes of ideas started coming in, and if the others cared to look, virtually all of them were about Bully Prime. Yet, until the Monday after the next one, they could probably be ignored.
As soon as Riley entered the hallway, though, the familiar teacher greeted her. This, at least, was a good sign, as perhaps, Riley and the teacher could form a bond stronger than any bully. However, that was yet to be seen.
"Ni hao! So, what do you say we learn some Putonghua?" the teacher asked.
"I mean, on any other day this would be an exciting occasion, but I suppose Riley doesn't feel like feeling that right now, and I still can't figure out why." Joy tried her best to reason, given that she wouldn't have the chance to dictate what Riley did first-hand.
"Looks like maybe you're out of a job, then." Anger suggested, alluding to a certain absence more subtly than yesterday.
Yet, Joy still knew better. "Just shut up," she retaliated, before beginning to instruct: "Fear, I suppose it's your turn."
"What? Mine? Okay, master..." Fear said, trying his best to comply, although he had to admit this new Joy terrified him. He spun the dials around and hit the buttons, and in time, the console's glow turned purple.
"Alright..." Riley said as she reluctantly followed the teacher to the classroom.
The sequence of hallways and doors was unmistakable, and the emotions could only conclude that the teacher led Riley to the same classroom where the party took place yesterday. Of course, now it was much cleaner, as a janitor also working at the premises presumably had cleaned it all up. It was for the better, they supposed, because no one wanted Riley to accidentally end up snacking during the informal lesson, or worse, ruin her notebook.
However, while the signs of the day were long gone, the memories were not. Though Joy had long stopped trying to recall memories for the purposes of navigation, the others would be forgiven for thinking that she hadn't, with everything, from the locking up in anxiety to the unreadable face of Bully Prime, coming to the forefront.
Yet, for the most part, Riley would need to put this behind herself and start the informal lesson.
For the day, Riley had packed really lightly. Inside her schoolbag, there were only five items: the two books that she and the teacher had previously retrieved, a single notebook, with a currently empty label, a pencil, ideal for writing on the notebook, and, of course, her favorite Chinese tablet, which she would never leave behind at any time. That being said, the emotions had agreed to never pull it out during the lesson so as to not look distracted, let alone be distracted.
YOU ARE READING
Inside Out reImagined
FanfictionSmack dab in the middle of puberty, Riley Andersen often feels as though she can't control herself. To one's surprise, though, five emotions inside her mind think very much the same; they just can't pull their girl's strings like they used to. As lu...
