[Joy & Sadness] That moment when you want to say 'please stop invoking Murphy's Law...'

[isadrag]

Joy may not have actually asked 'what could happen' when they got that new console installed, but if there was one thing they all had learned by that point, it was that if something can go wrong, it's probably going to.

That's what they were for though, right? To help Riley through any troubles she went through in her life.

Unfortunately, it's something completely different when the trouble is history repeating itself - this time, however, Sadness wakes up one morning to find herself... not in her room. Not even in Headquarters. ... And nowhere in the Mind World. Instead, she was lying on something rather soft, and green, and leafy...

Grass. She was lying on grass. But grass didn't exist in the Mind World! She slowly tried to sit herself up, if only to try and see where she was... and saw a building in front of her. With multiple kids staring at her from in front of it.

The sign read something about a Middle School.

School. In the human world. With actual people staring at her. Staring down at her hands, they were still blue... and she was still wearing her sweater... but she was human-sized too?

Whatever the kids were thinking, they started covering their mouths and giggling, which caused Sadness to back away a little, putting her hands together and lowering her head a bit. They thought she looked funny, didn't they? Oh, this is bad... This is so, so bad...

Was this really a dream? Or was it reality? Were any of the others here? What was going on...?

Comments

[isadrag]

She has pretty great memorization skills, it's true. The path was winding as they went through the streets of the city and it got darker, and it almost seemed like they were going in circles... but Sadness was confident they were getting close.

[letssaveourgirl]

It's good that Sadness is sure, because Joy is a little less sure, though she keeps that to herself. "This city has a lot of hills," she notes, because she's a little tired, she won't lie.

What? It's been a big day.

[isadrag]

"We're almost there. Just another right... and a left... another left and a right..."

She looks over to Joy. "It's a bigger city than it looked from Headquarters..."

[letssaveourgirl]

It is. And perhaps they missed a few turns somewhere? Joy doesn't know.

But by seeming chance, there's the pizza parlor! Joy has never been so glad to see a pizza parlor as she is to see this one. Just a little bit to go! Uphill of course, but still!

[isadrag]

It's strange. Usually by now Sadness would just... give up, be too sad to walk. But she was determined to get herself and Joy to their destination. What they would find where Riley's house was... she didn't know. And she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

But whether she wanted to or not, it was the only lead they had. So, onto the final stretch they went!

[letssaveourgirl]

Holy ... cow ...

That is a lot of hill. But here they are! At Riley's house! And there are lights on and everything! That seems reassuring, doesn't it?

"We should just ... " Joy starts, feeling just that little bit hesitant suddenly. "... knock on the door. Right?"

[isadrag]

"R-right." There was nothing more they could do than knock. She looks over at her friend. "Are you ready?"

Cause once they knocked there was no going back.

[letssaveourgirl]

There's no choice, really. Sadness and Joy are kid-sized and not in headquarters anymore, so something needs to be done, right?

Right.

With one hand in Sadness's, Joy uses the other to knock on the door.

[isadrag]

Sadness squeezes Joy's hand, both to help comfort her friend... and comfort herself that Joy's there. Was Riley there? Or was it someone else...?

Footsteps. She heard footsteps. Any second now, their question was going to be answered...

[letssaveourgirl]

Joy's mouth drops open when the door opens, too. It's not Riley, but Perry!

"Oh, hi!" she all but gushes out. "Wow! We thought someone else lived here, but here you are! Isn't that great? Hi!"

Nudging her glasses up her nose, Perry blinks at them. "You came to see me?"

[isadrag]

On the one hand, that means Riley really isn't here... which could be a good or a bad thing.

On the other hand, it was Perry, who they knew (kind of), which was a definite plus. So all in all, it was still a positive thing, right?

"Hi, Perry." She offers a small smile, before nodding. "We... we need a place to stay for the night..." Sadness figures getting right to the point is the best option.

[letssaveourgirl]

Oh, geez. Joy winces a little.

"... you don't have a place to stay?" Perry's eyes are impossibly wide. "I need to ask my mom. Come in, okay?"

She steps aside, letting Joy and Sadness in before shutting the door and scooting out of sight to talk to her mom.

[isadrag]

"O-Okay..." Sadness walks in with Joy, messing with the collar of her sweater a little bit. She lowered her voice a little. "S-Sorry... it was better to go ahead and ask instead of stretching the truth..."

[letssaveourgirl]

"You two don't have a place to sleep?"

They hear it before they see Perry's mom, her face concerned. "Where are your parents, girls?"

Oh, dear. That is a difficult question.

[isadrag]

... Immediate karma rounding back on Sadness for saying stretching the truth was bad. Welp, she got the conversation this far...

Thankfully, she was the better of the two to do this. She scrunches her face up a little, looking sad, before speaking. She talks about how Joy's her sister, and their parents are gone - in a vague sense - and that they started going to the school to make friends and try to make it on their own in the city, but they were too young to do so. She sniffles some and wipes a few tears from her eyes, because the truth is too complicated to explain, and the story she's telling is sad even if it isn't true for the two of them.

[letssaveourgirl]

"Oh, girls," Perry's mom says, "well come in. Come in! Have you had supper? We'll get you taken care of. Don't you worry about a thing ... "

Joy gives Sadness's hand a squeeze. That was quick thinking! And while she doesn't like lying either, it's really, the only way to go here. What a relief!

[isadrag]

Sadness sighs in relief when Perry's mom isn't looking - she wasn't sure that was going to fly. But it was a far better choice than trying to explain the truth - after all, how would their emotions react to it?

"Th-Thank you very much, ma'am," she replies. They actually hadn't had any food since school.

[letssaveourgirl]

"Yes, thank you," Joy says, rebounding and smiling brightly. "You have such a nice house!" And there is nice food! Crackers and cheese which taste delicious. It allows her to relax; all that they have experienced in this day is finally catching up to her. She's tired!

[isadrag]

Crackers and cheese was far, far better than the food they had at school. All in all, the day turned out pretty good. Both of them got through the day working together, despite the hardships school and being alone in the city brought onto them.

Sadness... is definitely tired too. But she's trying to keep a smile on her face. Just a little bit longer, until it's time to sleep.

[letssaveourgirl]

They are given as much as they need or want, and glasses of milk too. Then they are tucked up into Perry's room in blankets and pillows on the floor. They can hear Perry's parents talking in hushed tones down below them, but for the moment, Joy just closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "It's going to be okay," she tells Sadness, sure somehow, despite all the chaos of the day.

[isadrag]

As far as she knows, she isn't sure it'll be okay. But that's part of the reason she puts so much trust in Joy, isn't it? Joy knows what optimistic things to say to help her feel better. Her confident words cause Sadness to smile a bit, and she says in return, "Yeah... I know." She doesn't know for sure, but she knows that things will be as good as they can possibly be, so long as they work together like they have been.

Tomorrow is another day.

But they have each other. They'll be okay... right?

[letssaveourgirl]

Yes, they will. One way or another, they'll figure it out.

As they start to fall asleep, Joy keeps Sadness's hand in hers. As long as they're together, they'll be all right.




[that might be a good fade point? This has been fun!]