When Words Run Out of Time

After a week of poring over every book I could find on neurology and brain maps, I finally have a plan. A real one. Something concrete that I can stand in front of these people and present—something that will ease their anxiety, calm their worries, and show them that I'm not just making this up as I go along.

I had everyone gather here in this same room, where I'm going to tell them about the idea I had and the plan I came up with.

I feel that same excitement as when the idea first entered my head as I stand before them, just as I did before.

The tingles are gone, and the "dissolving" incidents haven't happened since that first time. But there's still something... off. A faint, constant buzzing in the back of my mind—a sensation so subtle you might think it's imaginary, but there enough to remind you that whatever's happening, it's not over yet. We've barely scratched the surface.

Everyone seems to have calmed down a bit, but still seem restless, as the anxiety might not be as fresh but is still very present.

I've prepared a PowerPoint presentation, and have my laptop perched on a wooden podium often used as a prop or by the Speech & Debate team. As I connect my laptop to the Smart Board (we call it the dumb board, though, because it tends to glitch and not do what we want it to), I mentally run through my imaginary script so that the words are ready on my tongue.

Once I'm ready, I stand in front of these 14 people. What a group they are. My sister, who keeps rubbing her face and skin, Lex, my cocky best friend who doubles as the very bane of my existence, and Jaiden, yet again curled up in His Corner™, to name a few. I clear my throat to make sure they're paying attention.

Inhale, exhale. Here we go.

"We all know the Pixar movie Inside Out, right?" I ask. Everyone nods. "And even if we haven't seen it, we all know the plot, yes?" More nodding.

"Good. A quick recap, in case you forgot; the two emotions, Joy and Sadness, are accidentally sent from their headquarters to long-term memory, which they go through and visit other parts of the mind as they try to figure out how to get back. Long-term memory consisted of hundreds of huge shelves, with hundreds of thousands of memories, which were depicted as these little spheres you could pick up and hold and, if you swiped them, you could replay the memory." I've been clicking through the slides of my PowerPoint as I talk, showing screenshots from the movie as well as the memories I described.

"Now, you may be wondering why I'm bringing this up-"

"Yeah," Lex interrupts, then stares at me silently as everyone else laughs before he starts laughing too. I can't help it. I join in.

"Sorry, continue," He says once the laughter has died down, still chuckling to himself. I roll my eyes before I start talking again, secretly glad for the moment of lightheartedness. We could all use that at a time like this.

"In order to explain why such a movie is relevant, I'll need to explain some things first," I say, clicking to the next slide. "Had to do actual scientific research for this."

I click to the next slide, which holds several different brain diagrams. One in particular has each part of the human brain labeled and highlighted in different colors.

"The human brain is split into various sections, each dedicated to specific functions. For example, the occipital lobe–" I point to an area in the diagram that is highlighted with blue. "Is located at the very back, and is for vision." I point to another area, near the center of the top, highlighted orange. "Sensory cortex, for senses. Is everyone getting that?"

They nod, and I wait another moment to be sure before continuing.

"Now, let's talk about where we might fit into all this," I say, pointing to an area near the front of the brain highlighted in pink. "This is the frontal lobe, responsible for executive functions like planning, organizing, and problem-solving. It's also where thinking happens. And considering we're all a product of imagination, it seems safe to assume that we exist somewhere in this part of the brain."