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Inside a frigid indoor ice rink, thirteen-year-old Riley Andersen carefully laced up her skates. Her breath made puffs in the chilly air as she checked the tape on her hockey stick. She fastened her helmet and pulled on a thick pair of gloves.
The San Francisco middle-school girls’ hockey championship game was about to start. Riley’s team, the Foghorns, was up against the Sea Lions. It was one of the biggest games of Riley’s life—and she was ready for it.
In Headquarters, the central control tower of Riley’s mind, her Emotions were getting ready, too. Joy, a sunny yellow Emotion with bright blue hair, stretched from side to side, limbering up for the big game. Joy was always front and center for Riley’s happiest moments—like now, playing hockey. Riley’s other Emotions stood by, preparing for the moment when Riley would need them. Anger, a stout red Emotion, straightened his tie. Disgust, a green Emotion in a crisp dress, filed her nails. Soft, blue Sadness polished her glasses. And pale purple Fear adjusted his bow tie. The five Emotions had been with Riley since the earliest moments of her life—together, they were Team Riley. And over the next hour, she would need each and every one of them.
Now Joy stepped up to the console in the center of Headquarters. The console was a control panel filled with buttons that the Emotions used to help steer Riley. On the screen above the console, the Emotions watched everything through Riley’s eyes.
As the Foghorns began their warm-up laps, Joy pulled on a headset. Joy loved announcing the games in Riley’s mind. Plus, she was the best at cheering.“This is Joy, coming to you live in Riley’s mind, and we’re expecting a great championship today with the Foghorns!”Joy exclaimed.“Riley fans, get up on your feet and make some noise!”
Inside Headquarters, confetti cannons fired around Joy. Outside in the stands, the crowd roared. Riley’s parents sat right in front, cheering as loudly as they could.“Let’s go, Foghorns!”they chanted. An air horn blared. Game time!
“Bring it in!”Riley called to her teammates. The Foghorns circled up, putting their gloved hands together in the middle. Riley flashed a metal grin.“Foghorns on three!”she said.“One, two, three!”
“FOGHORNS!”the girls shouted. Riley skated out to the center of the ice, facing off for the puck drop. The referee lifted the puck and dropped it between the two hockey players. For a second, it seemed to fall in slow motion. The puck hit the ice. Riley sprang into action. Game on!
“Now it’s time to greet your Team Riley!”Joy cheered.“Playing in his thirteenth year, and fresh from the penalty box... it’s Riley’s Anger!”
“Lemme at ’em!”Anger growled, stepping up to the console. Stout, red Anger was Team Riley’s go-to on offense. As he pounded his fist on the console and grabbed two levers, the console turned red. Anger’s head began to heat up as he drove. With Anger at the helm, Riley charged down the ice. She dodged the Sea Lions’ defender and slapped the puck into the net. Score!
A memory sphere rolled onto the shelves in Headquarters. The shelves were lined with brightly colored balls, each one containing a memory of a single moment in Riley’s life. Each memory sphere’s color matched the emotion Riley was feeling at the time. In many memories, the colors melded together, reflecting a swirl of emotions.
As the game went on, pale purple Fear hovered near the console, studying his safety checklist. His main job was to keep Riley safe, and he took it seriously.“Helmet, pads, gloves,”Fear said, crossing each one off the list.“Safety checklist is complete. It should be nothing but smooth sailing from—AHHH! LOOK OUT!”Fear’s clipboard went flying. He grabbed the controls and frantically tapped buttons just in time to keep Riley from colliding with another player.
“And that’s Fear, keeping Riley on her toes,”Joy said with a grin.
“We gotta get our mouth guard, people!”Fear wheezed.
With Fear driving, Riley skated over to the bench. She picked up a mouthguard and popped it into her mouth.
Disgust gasped, shoving Fear aside.“No-no-no-no! That’s not ours!”she cried, pressing a button on the console.
Riley instantly spit out the mouthguard. Gross!
“And that, folks, is the infamous Disgust! Glad to have her on our team!”Joy cheered.
Disgust stepped back with a nod, her job done. She smoothed her dress and checked her tidy hair. The emerald-green Emotion liked to look her best—even in the middle of a hockey game.
Back on the ice, Riley tore after the puck. But as she reached for it, her stick connected with another player’s skates. The referee’s whistle shrilled.“Twenty-eight, Andersen, tripping!”the ref shouted.
“Oh, no... we got a penalty,”blue Sadness said, taking over. The console turned blue as Riley unhappily skated over to the penalty box.
“And bringing up the rear—you know her, you love her, the one the only... that’s right: Sadness is in the house!”Joy announced.
Face-down on the console, Sadness waved a tiny pennant.“Yay.”
As Riley sat out her two-minute penalty, the Emotions took a much-needed break. So much had happened in the past two years. So much had changed! Riley had turned thirteen. She’d grown several inches and gotten braces (with extra rubber bands). She’d graduated from middle school. But through it all she’d always been the same great kid.
Joy stepped over to the window to admire Riley’s Personality Islands. Located just beyond Headquarters, the islands looked like tiny theme parks. Hockey Island. Family Island. Goofball Island. Honesty Island. And biggest of all—Friendship Island. Joy loved all the islands, but Friendship Island was extra special. Riley hadn’t known a soul when her family moved to San Francisco. But now she had Bree and Grace.
Breonna Young was the Foghorns’ goalie. Tall and lanky, with thick black glasses, Bree was loyal to her core. Grace Hsieh was a tiny goofball with a heart of gold. From hockey to homework, the three girls did everything together. Joy wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. But as she’d grown, Riley had become more than just her friendships and personality. She was also made up of her beliefs, which were formed by her memories. She had beliefs about school ( homework should be illegal ), bands ( Get Up and Glow is the best ), and her BFFs ( I make great friends ).
Those beliefs were a part of the Belief System that sat beneath Headquarters. In the Belief System, each belief was represented by a string. The belief strings ran all the way up to Headquarters, where they intertwined to form the biggest change of all: Riley’s Sense of Self. In Headquarters, it looked like an amazing sculpture—a beautiful combination of color and light. The Sense of Self was Riley’s guiding light, the thing that helped her make good choices. It was the Emotions’ masterpiece.
Joy paused to admire it now. She plucked at it and heard Riley’s voice: “I’m a good person.” Joy sighed happily. What wasn’t there to love about Riley? She was exceptional and kind and super smart. She was good with animals, and—
A noise blared, jolting Joy back to the game. As Riley exited the penalty box, she glanced at the scoreboard. The score was 3–3, with only seconds left on the clock.
Sadness gasped.“We’re tied!”
“How are we gonna score in time?”cried Disgust.
Joy pulled out a box filled with light-bulb-shaped ideas.
The other Emotions reached in the box and grabbed ideas.
“We use our slap shot,”said Fear.
“We charge the goalie!”shouted Anger.
Then Joy pulled out an idea.“Don’t worry. Riley’s got this,”she told them, plugging the idea bulb into the console.
The Sense of Self glowed and hummed. It accepted the idea.
Sure enough, as the players took their positions, Riley leaned over to Grace.“Thread the needle,”she called to her. Then Riley looked at both Bree and Grace. The girls nodded to each other.
In Headquarters, the Emotions were glued to the screen.“C’mon, Riley,”Joy whispered.
The puck dropped. Riley pounced on it. She feinted left, then passed it behind her to Bree in the goal. Bree ricocheted the puck off the wall, sending it back to Riley. With only six seconds left on the clock, Riley raced toward the goal, on a breakaway. The crowd rose to their feet as she tore up the ice. The Sea Lions defender swooped in. But Riley was expecting it. She passed the puck between her legs to Grace, who was right behind her. Grace swung back—and slammed the puck into the goal. Score!
In Headquarters, all the Emotions jumped up and down, cheering.
The buzzer blared. Game over! The crowd went wild! On the ice, Riley, Bree, and Grace launched into their goofy celebratory dance.“Awooga!”they hooted, pumping their fists and shaking their hips.“Awooga! Awooga!”
“And the Foghorns win the championship!”the announcer declared. Grace threw her arms around Riley. Bree zoomed in and tackled them both. Seconds later, the whole team had joined the dogpile.
As Riley and her friends tumbled together laughing, a shiny new memory rolled into Headquarters. Within the memory sphere, the girls’ happy moment of victory played over and over. Joy smiled. This one was a keeper.