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On the main floor of Headquarters, nine colorful emotions gathered around the console. It was nighttime and after a busy day, their shift was coming to a close. The cool darkness of Riley’s room faded to black as the teen drifted off to sleep, causing the screen to turn off.
“And that’s a wrap,” Joy cheerfully declared. “Good work, everyone!”
The other eight emotions applauded as another great day finally ended. It had been about two months since the school year started, and three months since the five new emotions arrived. Though there had been some infighting at the beginning between the newcomers and the old guard, the ten of them already settled into a comfortable routine as nine of them operated the console with Nostalgia sneaking in now and again to reminisce over a recent memory.
“Fear, you’re in charge of dream duty tonight.” Joy reminded.
Though Fear suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, he refused to completely hide his disdain of dream duty. “Aye aye, Joy,” Fear sarcastically responded with a salute.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Joy responded, brushing aside the contemptuous tone. She leaned in and gave Fear a high five. Even he couldn’t help but smile at her infectious enthusiasm. She then turned her attention to the rest of the group. “As for everyone else, let’s get some shut-eye!”
“Yeah!” Anger agreed. He moved over to Joy and the two shared a high-five before walking off together.
Fear smiled as he watched his friends/coworkers make their way to the bedroom. Sadness and Embarrassment walked together, appreciating each other’s company. Envy bounced over to Disgust while Anxiety and Ennui trailed behind as the latter lethargically pushed herself across the floor like the bored noodle that she was.
“Good night Fear,” the emotions told him in near unison.
“Good night everybody.” Fear replied.
Once everyone left the main floor, he let out an exasperated sigh. He dreaded dream duty. Not because he was scared of the dreams, far from it. But because the dreams themselves were so insipid.
The scenarios were ludicrous, the plotlines were structured terribly, and the dialogue was laughable. But it was part of the job and he had no choice. But just because he had to endure dream duty didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun on the night shift.
Fear ventured in the kitchen to gather his nourishment of choice for the night. He made himself a fresh cup of coffee with cream and sugar substitute and grabbed a box of crackers from the cabinet. After placing the bowl of crackers on a separate chair, the purple emotion smiled contentedly as he relaxed in his seat. He was going to need all the comfort he could get for whatever ridiculous dream he would be forced to watch.
Fear adjusted his spot on the chair, propped his legs on the console, and crossed them. Taking a swig of his coffee, he glanced at the screen. “Alright, what trainwreck of a dream do we have in store for tonight?”
The screen projection turned on to reveal an abandoned grocery store. From Riley’s perspective, she scanned her surroundings. The green and white tiled floors were particularly dirty and a synth-pop song muffled from the loudspeakers. She then made her way through the pasta aisle.
“The grocery store, seriously?” Fear groused. He was used to dreams taking place in school or a haunted house, but his suspension of disbelief was already broken. “So what’s the big set piece this time? Haunted pasta sauce?”
Suddenly, a metal clang rang out. Riley turned around to find a can of Chef Boyardee’s on the floor. After a moment of silence, the can started to chase her around. Fear cocked his brow. Though he was thoroughly unimpressed with this dream scenario, he still felt a small spark of satisfaction in predicting the storyline.
“Eh, close enough.” Fear shrugged his shoulders, taking another sip of his coffee.
He continued to heckle at the screen as the dream played out on the screen. The rolling can of cheap pasta escalated into a swarm of floating shopping lists and a fleet of shopping carts.
“Are they even trying anymore?” He riffed with a disbelieving laugh.
A sudden vibration sound reached his ears. He elicited a shriek as he jolted in his seat. The curled nerve on top of his head stood as straight as a lightning rod. Fear exhaled. No one else should be up at this time of night, and he was certain that Nostalgia would not make this much noise when intruding on the main floor. The only possible source for the vibration was the special chair Joy brought for Anxiety after Riley returned from Hockey Camp-
Fear blinked in realization. He slowly swiveled his seat to find Anxiety, donned in her orange-and-white striped pajama gown and green slippers, lying down in her special chair. She wore a perturbed expression as her eyes were glued to the ceiling. There was no doubt that she was anxious over something.
“Anxiety?” Fear asked.
Anxiety’s eyes widened like a deer in headlights at the sound of her name. The moment she stared at Fear she began to panic. She banged the off button with her fist, stopping the vibrations. In great haste, she adjusted the seat to an upright position. Bolting out of the chair, she cautiously approached Fear, keeping her hands clasped together as she twisted her arms about.
“I’m so, so sorry Fear,” Anxiety fervently apologized. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your dream duty. I want to go to sleep, but I can’t because I’m so worried about Riley’s Spanish test. I want to help her a-and I’ve been debating on whether she should study a little bit more or not.”
Fear empathetically gazed at Anxiety. He knew what it was like to feel unprepared in the face of uncertainty. But it was both his and Anxiety’s obligation to do their part to keep Riley on her toes for the things she can and cannot see. They were kindred spirits in that regard. They both played their part throughout the week to keep Riley in check as she studied for the big test. Earlier in the day, she spent three hours studying; two hours at the public library, thirty minutes before dinner, and thirty minutes before starting her bedtime routine. Fear was confident that Riley had a strong handle on the material and that she could ace the test. He had hoped that Anxiety felt a similar level of confidence as well. But as stared at Anxiety, he could tell that her mind was plagued with varying ‘what if’ outcomes of what could happen if Riley did poorly on the test. But Anxiety tended to focus on the worst-case scenarios, which only fueled her uneasiness.
Anxiety began to pace around the room. “If she doesn’t pass the test, then this might snowball into horrific consequences for her academic future! Or her future in general!”
Fear’s heart broke as he watched her get caught up in her whirlwind of worries. Now he felt compelled to help her out. Though part of him feared that he would say the wrong thing or make things worse, he still could not stand by and watch Anxiety suffer.
He got up from his seat and cautiously approached her from behind. “Hey Anxiety,” he gently tapped her shoulder.
Anxiety jumped a little at the soft touch. Fear felt a moment of apprehension, feeling that he made a miscalculated move. “Sorry!” He apologized. But when she turned around, her expression was a mix of somberness and yearning.
Fear mustered the courage to keep going. He placed his hand on her shoulder once more, thankful that she welcomed the gesture. “I understand your concern, and you did your best to help Riley stay on track for her upcoming test, but she needs to get a good night’s rest for tomorrow and so do you.”
“I know, I know,” Anxiety replied hastily. “But it’s just that I feel so overwhelmed,” she admitted as she began to tear up. “I want to help Riley do the best she can, but I don’t want to overdo it and hurt her again,” her voice began to crack.
Fear sadly stared at Anxiety, even feeling himself tear up a little at how broken she sounded. “Come here,” he said softly. Opening his arms, he enveloped her in an embrace.
He gently rubbed her back in a soothing motion, hoping it would help. To his surprise, he felt Anxiety wrapping her arms around him, tightening the hug. She elicited a choked sob before burying her face into his chest.
Fear continued to embrace Anxiety as she dispelled her tears. He tried to come up with any comforting words, but he was drawing a blank. But then he decided it would be best to show that he cared through his comforting actions.
Soon enough, Anxiety’s heavy breathing eventually evened out and the tears lessened. She loosened her hold around Fear and slowly released herself from the embrace. Anxiety looked up at Fear, her green eyes now puffy.
“Do you feel a little better now?” Fear gently asked.
Anxiety nodded her head. “Yeah,” she confirmed, giving him a little smile.
Fear smiled back at her, glad to hear that she was improving. “Do you want to talk about some potential solutions for Riley’s studying?” He inquired.
Anxiety scrubbed the last of her tears from her eyes. “But what about dream duty?”
They looked over to the screen only to find Riley watching a group of leotard-clad dancers resembling cats performing an elaborately choreographed dance number.
“Well that took a bizarre turn,” Fear commented. He looked back at Anxiety and shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, it looks like the dream can take care of itself. You, on the other hand, are far more important.”
Anxiety smiled softly at the affirming words. Fear motioned over to her special chair. “Come on, let’s take a seat,” he said, giving her a gentle pat on the back. He sprinted over to his chair and dragged it over to meet with Anxiety who returned to her special chair.
Fear placed the chair across from Anxiety so they could talk face-to-face and sat down. “You’re good at coming up with plans, Anxiety,” he complimented, matching his hands together and pointing them at her. “So what do you think Riley could do in the morning to ensure that she’ll do great on her test?”
Anxiety moved her feet back and forth as she gazed at the floor. After a moment of pondering, she looked up at Fear. “Well…she could review the study guide on the car ride to school,” she began.
“A most wise course of action,” Fear confirmed.
“And she can read through it once more during homeroom,” Anxiety continued, sounding more confident. “Oh! And after the test, she can get a head start on her rough draft for the English essay that’s due in two weeks!”
Fear’s face lit up as he snapped his fingers. “Now that sounds like a surefire plan for success!”
Anxiety’s shoulders relaxed. “It feels good to have a plan.”
Fear smiled back. “It does,” he agreed.
But the smile vanished from her face, appearing apprehensive once more. Fear concernedly stared at her. “What’s wrong?”
Anxiety took a deep breath. She placed her hand on her other arm and rubbed it soothingly. “I’m…I’m sorry for interrupting your dream duty and burdening you with my problems.”
“Anxiety, you have nothing to apologize for,” Fear reassured her as he got up from his seat and moved closer to her. He knelt by her side. “And please don’t refer to yourself as a burden because you are a valuable member of the team.” Brushing aside his fears, he gently took her hand into his own. “But if you ever need someone to talk to, you can always come to me.” He said with conviction, despite his cheeks turning a darker shade of purple. “I care about you a lot and I want to help you. So if you feel overwhelmed, you can come to me and we’ll work through it together.”
Anxiety looked at Fear’s hand. Though her cheeks heated up from the surprising gesture, she savored the comfort he provided her with. She threaded her fingers in between his and gave it a gentle squeeze before smiling back at him.
“Thanks, Fear,” Anxiety said softly. “For everything.”
Fear looked down at “I’m happy to help,” he confirmed.
“So do you mind if I camp out on my special chair for the night?” Anxiety inquired.
“Be my guest,” Fear replied. He then thought of an idea that could help Anxiety fall asleep faster.
“You make yourself comfortable, I’ll be right back,” he gently told her while patting her hand before releasing it from his grasp.
Fear sprinted away from the main floor with a clear mission. He approached the bedroom and stealthily entered inside. Careful not to make any noise, he crept over to his bed and grabbed the essentials: a blanket, his favorite nightlight of the nine that illuminated his sleeping quarters, and his beloved teddy bear. With the items bundled in his arms, he returned to the control room, where Anxiety had already lit her lavender-scented candles and retrieved her sleep headphones.
Fear approached Anxiety with the precious cargo. He clutched the star nightlight and his teddy bear to his chest as he gathered the soft blanket before offering it to Anxiety. She graciously accepted the blanket and placed it over herself.
After plugging the nightlight on the wall, Fear approached her with the teddy bear. “I normally don’t do this, but tonight I shall bestow you with my nighttime companion.” He handed the teddy bear over to her.
Anxiety gazed at the adorable plush bear in adoration. “I will protect this precious creature with my life!” She declared.
“I hope that won’t be the case, but I commend the dedication,” Fear noted.
Fear went over to dim the lights and returned to the console. “I’ll do my best to keep my riffing to a minimum and use my indoor voice,” he told her as he brought his chair back to the console.
“Thank you Fear,” Anxiety said as she reclined the chair backward.
“You’re welcome,” Fear replied before turning his attention to the screen.
He continued to monitor the dream and was increasingly baffled by the story choices. Out of curiosity, Fear looked behind to find Anxiety fast asleep, clutching the teddy bear in her arms. She looked so calm and so…beautiful.
He smiled sweetly at her as the nerve on his head turned into the shape of a heart. Taking his hand, Fear pressed it to his lips and blew a kiss to Anxiety. “Sweet dreams, Anxiety.”
To his surprise, he caught Anxiety’s lips curving into a small smile.
The soft smile stayed on Fear's face as he swiveled the chair around to continue his job. Though the screen played out the ridiculous dream, the sight of Anxiety peacefully sleeping replayed in his head. He took another sip of his tea and smiled at the lovely sight.
Anxiety opened her eyes to find herself on the special chair. She looked down to find Fear’s precious teddy bear safely tucked in her arms. She instinctively hugged the bear while making a note to acquire her own emotional support plushie.
She looked over to see Fear propping himself up on the console, no doubt bored out of his mind from the mediocre dream. Anxiety cradled the bear in her arms as she stared at her kind coworker. Fear did so much for her last night and she wanted to return the favor.
Gathering the blanket and teddy bear, the orange emotion took off her sleeping headphones and slinked off her special chair. Once she stood up, she grabbed the nightlight and discreetly pulled it off the electrical socket. With Fear’s possessions bundled in her arms, Anxiety tiptoed away from the main floor.
She arrived at the sleeping quarters as the other emotions, save for Joy, were still in their slumber. Anxiety quietly moved over to Fear’s bunk. She plugged his favorite nightlight back into the outlet. Adjusting his pillow, she placed his teddy bear in place and tucked it in with his blanket. Smiling at her handiwork, she gave the teddy bear a couple of head pats before heading off to her bunk.
Anxiety quickly gathered her clothes from her drawer. She moved into the closet, got herself dressed, and made her way over to the kitchen.
As soon as she approached the doorway, she found a table filled with plates and a buffet of breakfast foods. Joy happily prepared scrambled eggs by the stove. The cheerful emotion turned around to find Anxiety standing by the doorway and smiled.
“Oh, there you are, Anxiety!” Joy said sweetly as she scrapped the scrambled eggs onto a large plate. “I noticed that you weren’t in your bed and got worried.”
“Sorry about that,” Fear replied as she cradled her hands together. “I had a little trouble falling asleep, but I moved over to the special chair.”
Joy looked relieved. “That’s good. And Fear’s dream duty didn’t distract you?”
“No, not at all!” Anxiety defended as she frantically waved her hands. “Fear actually helped me out last night by talking to me and being there for me when I needed it most.” She clasped her hands together. “And I want to do something nice for him.”
Joy smiled, glad to learn that Fear stepped up and helped Anxiety through her troubles and even more satisfied that Anxiety wanted to do something kind for him to show her gratitude. “Well, that’s very sweet of you, Anxiety,” She noted.
Anxiety moved into the kitchen and scoured through the cupboards. She looked through the various flatware until she spotted a purple mug. “Aha!” She cheered as she brought it out and closed the cupboard door. Anxiety turned her gaze over to Joy. “So does Fear prefer coffee or tea in the morning?”
“He normally drinks honey lemon tea,” Joy answered without hesitation.
“Great!” Anxiety cheered. She turned her attention back to the cabinets. “Now where are the teabags located?”
Fear propped his head in his hands, leaning on the console as he stared absentmindedly at the screen. Riley was now rowing a canoe with Bloofy and Pouchy as her companions.
“I have lots of items!” Pouchy happily declared. “Which one do you think will work the best? A basketball? An avocado?”
“A coherent script?” Fear tiredly riffed. Before Pouchy could offer the dynamite, the dream shut off. Riley woke up and turned to her alarm clock to find that it 6:00 AM. Her alarm would not go off for another half-hour, so she chose to lie back down.
“Oh thank goodness, it’s over.” Fear exhaled. Grabbing the remote, he pressed the button which sounded the alarm for everyone to come to the control room. He let out a yawn and stretched out his arms.
“Hi, Fear,” Anxiety called out as she popped up right next to him. Fear shrieked in surprise, clutching his hands against his chest and moving his chair backwards. Anxiety herself yelped and recoiled at the response. After realizing they unintentionally scared each other, they took a moment to calm down before apologizing to one another in unison. “I’m so sorry, Anxiety,” “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you-”
But after hearing their words overlap, they stopped to look at one another. After a moment of silence, Fear was the first to speak up. “Did you sleep well last night?”
“Yeah, I did, thank you,” Anxiety replied. “I, uh, want to give you something,”
She took him by the hand and helped him to his feet. Fear stared at Anxiety’s hand while she led him to her special chair. On the nightstand, he noticed two hot mugs of tea (one purple and one orange) sitting next to each other.
Anxiety let go of his hand and picked up the purple mug. “Here,” She quietly offered Fear the tea. Her eyes shyly darted toward the floor. “I...I wanted to thank you for helping me out last night.”
"Oh thank you, Anxiety, that's very thoughtful of you," Fear said as he gingerly accepted the tea. He inhaled the sweet aroma of the honey lemon tea and blissfully sighed. A good cup of tea was a splendid reward for enduring a long night of dream duty. But if was extra rewarding coming from someone he deeply cared for.
Fear looked at Anxiety. "So, are you ready to take on today?"
Anxiety grabbed her mug of green mint tea. "Yeah, I'm ready to put our plan into action."
The two shared a smile and clinked their mugs together.