Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Friday was everyone's favorite day, just behind Saturday and Sunday, and of course, that also included the children. The last bell rang, and now over fifty kids from some state primary school, were dashing towards the nearest candy shop. Everyone knew it was better to move aside to avoid getting trampled by the mob.

The small and humble, yet charming family shop was soon flooded with yelling kids, greedily trying to grab anything they could:

"Me first!"

"Gum! Gum! Gum!

"Sizzler! I want a Sizzler!"

"A Squelchy Snorter!"

"C'mon give me some jelly beans!"

"Me! Me!"

It was barely understandable with so much noise clashing at the same time, but Bill, the candyman with slicked hair, and a striped red and white shirt that looked like candy cane, knew exactly what to do.

"Calm down, calm down, children! No one will go home with their hands empty! He said shutting them down a tiny bit.

"Let me guess!" After thinking for a second, he quickly got up a ladder and picked up several chocolate bars "A triple cream cup for Christopher... A Squelchy Snorter for Otis... A Sizzler for June Marie..."

"And what it's going to be today, Mr. Winkleman?" Bill eyed the kid who kept asking for a different candy every day

"I don't know, got anything new?" He asked

"Sure! And I bet you're going to love this one..." Opening a drawer the candy man pulled out a thin long chocolate bar (that was no bigger than a regular Wonka bar, it just had two rows instead of four) "This is Wonka's Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight!"

The little boy was gaping, he couldn't believe it "It's so big! How does he do it?"

"My dear boy!" Bill acted as if he was offended "Do you ask a fish how it swims? Or a bird how it flies?"

"No?..." The kid was confused

With a cheeky grin, he continued "No sirree, you don't! They do it because they were born to do it. Just like Willy Wonka was born to be a candyman, and you look like you were born to be a wonkarer!"

The kids giggled in excitement as life couldn't be sweeter. No matter, if it was to celebrate or to forget the sorrows, the guilty pleasure of sugar, was always there for kids and grown-ups: Chocolate bars, cotton candy, gumdrops, fudge, marshmallows, licorice, taffy, sugary gum, candy cane, peanut butter cups, jelly beans, gobstoppers... Just thinking about it made this meek and shrimpy black boy, dressed in unfitting old rags, drool like a mad old dog.

The ten-year-old was Charlie Bucket, our protagonist, and there he was, outside of the shop staring and the great slabs of chocolate piled up high in the windows, with his nose pressed against the cold glass. The fact that he couldn't buy even a single one of those bars was pure torture, but he couldn't stop looking.

"Oi! Come along, Charlie; you're late!" Called a voice from the street across, startling the boy

Charlie turned around, recognizing the voice "Oh, hi Mr. Jopeck"

Soon he brushed his candy thoughts aside and ran towards Mr. Jopeck's kiosk, opening his old sewn-back-together bag so the man could put the newspapers inside. As Mr. Jopeck went back to work, Charlie meekly poked his arm

"It's payday, sir"

"You're right" the man chuckled awkwardly, reaching for a six-pence in his stand and paying the boy "There you are!"

Charlie smiled and thanked the man, putting the money in his pockets and then running fast, as fast as he could, to deliver the paper around his rather poor neighborhood in London

"And say hello to your father!" Mr. Jopeck yelled, hoping the kid heard him

Charlie was, literally and figuratively, quick on his feet, as the local paperboy he was used to running and knew the best routes by heart, but given how happy he was now, he did It even faster. He ran through the market, dropping the newspapers on everyone's bags, he ran around the nice expensive houses, using all his strength to throw the papers over the tall metal doors, he ran to the church, the park, the main street... He ran, ran, and ran. And finally, the work was done.

It was evening when Charlie was walking back home, but even in dim light, the enormous chocolate factory of Mr. Willy Wonka was still visible. It wasn't simply an ordinary enormous chocolate factory, it was the largest and most famous in the whole world, and what a tremendous, marvelous place it was: It had huge iron gates leading into it, and a high wall surrounding all, colorful smoke belching from its chimneys, and strange whizzing sounds coming from deep inside it. Outside the walls, for half a mile around in every direction, the air was scented with the rich smell of melting chocolate.

While walking right past the gates, the little Bucket walked very very slowly, using every single second to hold his nose high in the air and take long deep sniffs of the gorgeous chocolatey smell all around him. Oh, how he loved that smell, and what would he give to be able to go inside the factory and see what it was like? Of course, it was all an impossible dream, but every kid needs something to wish for. It was unbelievable such a wonderful place could exist, let alone within sight of a tiny, old wooden house. It truly was the heart of the neighborhood, the city, or the country even.

That house at the edge of the town was the Buckets’ one, the whole family: Joey and Gina Bucket, their only son, Charlie, and the four grandparents lived together. Anyone could tell the house wasn't nearly large enough for so many people, and life was extremely uncomfortable for them. There was only one room, with a big bed in the middle of it, an improvised kitchen, a small table, and an old dresser with a TV on top. The bed was given to the four old grandparents because they were so old and tired (Grandpa Joe and Grandma Josephine on the right side, Grandpa George and Grandma Georgina on the left)

Charlie's "room", which he shared with his parents, was in the attic, with an itchy hay bed on the floor, and a few art and craft projects he made over time. In the summertime, this wasn't too bad, but in the winter, cold draughts blew across the floor all night long, and the Bucket parents put a shivering Charlie between them trying to keep him as warm as they could.

Mrs. Bucket was making their usual watery cabbage soup while whistling a melancholic melody. She was sixty years old, but the stress made her look even older. She wore a hat because her hair started to fall off, and had massive bags under her eyes. Still, she always kept the caring and tender smile that once made Mr. Bucket fall in love.

As soon as they heard the door opening, the four grandparents raised their heads as high as they could, just like moles getting out of their tunnels. To their disappointment, it wasn't Charlie, it was Mr. Bucket. Not that they were unhappy to see the man, but the night in those neighborhoods was anything but kid-friendly.

Mr. Bucket was as old as his wife, Charlie's mother swears he was a very handsome bachelor, but what a peculiar sight of him we had. The safety equipment in his old workplace wasn't good enough, and the chemicals gradually took a toll on Mr. Bucket's skin, leaving him covered in ugly, painful, and swollen orange spots. Mrs. Bucket insisted for a very long time that he should leave that job, and after a while he did, he now worked in a toothpaste factory, where he sat all day long at a bench and screwed the little caps onto the tops of the tubes of toothpaste after the tubes had been filled. He had a smaller pay, but at least his condition was getting better.

"Where's Charlie?" He asked while closing the door "I got something for him"

"He's not here yet, dear," Mrs. Bucket answered, watering the soup even more to be able to serve everyone. "I'm starting to get worried..."

Of course, Joey was worried too, but he didn't want to make the family panic. He gently hugged Gina from behind and kissed her neck

"If he's not back in ten minutes, I'll go and look for him"

The bed springs screeched, followed by a groan. Grandpa George was trying to get up, but his daughter quickly came to his side and tried to make him stay in bed

"Please, Dad. Don't do anything crazy"

George didn't listen, his arms trembled and he could barely sit. "As soon as I get my strength back, I will get the family out of this hellhole!"

"Last time you tried it you fell to the floor and almost split your pelvis in two, please be careful. You need to rest, and Charlie needs the four of you to be there for him"

Gina's words managed to make him stop, muttering things under his breath in frustration.

"He works too hard for a little boy, he should be riding a bike, catching some butterflies, or whatever kids do these days!" Grandpa Joe let out

"I know, I know, Dad" Joey lowered his head in shame "It's just that with my salary alone it's not enough, we need more money!"

"Please, don't argue" Grandma Josephine tried to get between her son and husband "We need to keep it together"

"Sorry, Mom. And dad, things will get better, I don't know why, but I can feel it" Mr. Bucket calmed down and tried to be as supportive as he could with his parents

Grandpa Joe was often the most optimistic of the grandparents, but seeing his boy work at such a young age hit him hard "Thank you, Joey, I'm just worried for Charlie, he deserves better, and I wish I could help him"

Then what they needed happened

"Hi, I'm home!" Charlie quickly opened the door, and soon any anxiety in the small house was overshadowed by the positivity of the boy.

Grandma Josephine and Grandpa Joe's wrinkled faces light up with smiles of pleasure

"Wake up, now" Surprisingly, Grandpa George was always very soft and delicate with Grandma Georgina, who was sleeping before

Mr. Bucket started filling the bowls with soup and serving them to the elders, as his wife quickly threw herself on Charlie's arms, kissed his forehead, and eyed every single inch of his body to make sure he wasn't harmed

"Charlie, are you okay? It's very late and you had us worried" she asked a bit more calm, seeing he was alright

"Mom, it's fine..." He complained a bit ashamed "I'm sorry for scaring you I didn't want to, I was working for Mr. Jopeck..." Then he remembered something "Oh! And dad, he said hello"

"We're so proud of you, Charlie" Mr. Bucket pat his son's back firmly but carefully

Then Charlie went to his grandparents' bed and gave each one of them a small hug and a kiss on the cheek, making sure he wouldn't harm his fragile loved ones.

"Good evening Grandma Georgina, Grandpa George, Grandma Josephine, and Grandpa Joe" he called each one of them as he got to their side.

Every one of these people was at least ninety, as shriveled as prunes, and as bony as skeletons, laying huddled in their one bed with their old gowns and nightcaps.

Grandpa Joe was the oldest at ninety-six, and by extension, the most delicate and weak, he was very tall, with not a single hair on his head, and a pair of beady black eyes that would shine in excitement when he told his youth stories, as if he regained his energy.

Both Grandma Josephine and Grandma Georgina were ninety-four, grandma Josephine had long white hair and a big nose that got crooked over time. She looked like a witch, but she wasn't like one, she was caring and motherly. Grandma Georgina was a small granny with big glasses and a toothless gummy smile, Charlie barely remembers when she wasn't "gone", but she loves them all.

Grumpy Grandpa George was ninety, the youngest of the grandparents, unlike Joe, with thin and white hair, and eyebrows that connected on his nose bridge, he also lost one of his arms in World War, he was a pilot back then, but he didn't want to talk about it.

When Charlie saw the bowl in grandpa Joe's hands his smile faded, he took a spoonful of it and looked in disappointment and disgust.

"Is that your supper, Grandpa?" He asked

The old man was taken aback "Well, it's yours too Charlie. I can give you mine if you're hungry"

The boy groaned and went back to the table to look in his bag "I'm fed up with cabbage water! It's not enough!"

"Charlie, that's all we have!" Said grandma Josephine

"What did you say, little boy?!" Said grandpa George

Then Charlie showed a big loaf of bread to the whole family "How about this?"

"Charlie, where did you get that?" Asked his father in shock, blinking repeatedly

"It's my first payday!" The boy explained excitedly

His mother eyed the bread in amazement "This is great Charlie, we'll have a real banquet" Then she started cutting it for everyone

"Grapes?" Asked Grandma Georgina absentmindedly, with a big smile

"No Grandma, but when I can, I will buy you grapes, the most juicy grapes in the whole world" Charlie held a penny in the air to prove it, and sure he ended up doing it later on.

Charlie gave the rest of the money to his parents, half to Mr. Bucket, and half to Mrs. Bucket, and even if their food wasn't much, it was an improvement over their usual supper, and they celebrated it. Like always, after having his watery cabbage soup, Charlie sat on the floor in front of his grandparents' bed to listen to their stories, and his parents were preparing the bed for later. That hour before bedtime was the favorite moment of every Bucket, especially the poor old grandparents. Their little boy was the only bright thing in their lives, and his evening visits were something that they looked forward to all day long.

"Mr. Wonka made a new chocolate bar, but it looked like the same regular bar, just chopped in half and stacked one on top of the other. I don't get it" Charlie said confused

"Ah, Mr. Wonka," said Grandpa Joe, raising himself a little higher on his pillow, "That man is a genius, the most amazing, the most fantastic, the most extraordinary chocolate maker the world has ever seen!"

"It must be believed to be seen... Or was it the other way around?" Added grandma Georgina

"Didn't you know that, Charlie?" Cried Grandma Josephine "Your grandfather used to work there when he was a young man, he always brought me the crunchiest caramel apples"

Charlie let out a sheepish chuckle "Well, I knew he was very famous, and that his factory was huge, but I didn't know that about grandpa..."

"Wait" the old man made a pause. "You mean to say I've never told you about Mr. Willy Wonka and his factory? Never?"

Charlie thought about it to see if maybe he just forgot, but then he slowly shook his head

"Good heavens above! I don't know what's the matter with me!" His over-the-top cry made Charlie laugh a bit

"Will you tell me now, Grandpa Joe, please?"

"I certainly will! My grandson can't go around without knowing this"

Grandpa Joe was so excited, he almost looked young again. He was a storyteller, he always wanted to be a writer, and well, he technically was, he wrote several books, but finding a publisher wasn't easy, not if you didn't have money and power, so he had to look for other more profitable jobs — Hence his work for Mr. Wonka. Needless to say, Charlie loved his tales, he read every single one of them.

"Not again…" complained Grandpa George "I can't believe you told us over a million times, but always forgot to tell Charlie!"

Grandma Georgina frowned "No, he didn't, I've never heard that story"

"Georgina, he told us about all this ice cream and marshmallows last week" explained Grandpa George

"Ignore them, they can get a bit nutty" Grandma Josephine chuckled while addressing Charlie

Then Grandpa Joe pat the bed a few times before talking "Sit down beside me on the bed, my dear, and listen carefully"

"Oh, what a man he is, this Mr. Willy Wonka! Did you know, for example, that he has himself invented more than two hundred new kinds of
chocolate bars, each with a different center, each far sweeter and creamier and more delicious than anything the other chocolate factories can make!"

"Perfectly true!" Exclaimed Grandma Josephine. "And he sends them to all the four corners of the earth! Isn't that so, Joe?"

"It is, my dear, it is. And to all the kings and presidents of the world as well. But it isn't only chocolate bars that he makes. Oh, dear me, no! He has some fantastic inventions up his sleeve, Mr Willy Wonka has! Did you know that he's invented a way of making chocolate ice cream so that it stays cold for hours and hours without being in the refrigerator? You can even leave it lying in the sun all morning on a hot day and it won't go runny!"

"But that's impossible!" said little Charlie staring at his grandfather, imagining how amazing it would be to buy one of those ice creams and keep it for a month

"Of course it's impossible!" cried Grandpa Joe. 'It's completely absurd, ice cream is made of ice, and ice always melts. But somehow Mr. Willy Wonka has done it!"

"Quite right!" the others agreed, nodding their heads. "Mr. Wonka has done it".

"And then again," Grandpa Joe went on speaking very slowly now so that Charlie
wouldn't miss a word, "Mr. Willy Wonka can make marshmallows that taste of violets, rich caramels that change color every ten seconds as you suck them, and little feathery sweets that melt away deliciously the moment you put them between your lips. He can make chewing gum that never loses its taste, also sugar balloons that you can blow up to enormous sizes before you pop them with a pin
and gobble them up" he emphasized his words with as many gestures as his weak body could make.

"Oh, and his eggs! His wonderful eggs! Mr. Wonka himself let me test this one before It was out in the market"

"What was it? What was it, Grandpa?" Charlie wanted to know everything about the factory

"Lovely blue birds' eggs with black spots on them!" Grandpa Joe yelled in excitement "But that was only the beginning! when you put one of these in your mouth, it gradually gets smaller and smaller until suddenly there is nothing left except a tiny little pink sugary baby bird sitting on the tip of your tongue"

Grandpa Joe paused and ran the point of his tongue slowly over his lips. "It makes my mouth water just thinking about it," he said.

"Mine, too," said little Charlie, his stomach still growling even after supper. "But please go on."

While they were talking, Mr and Mrs Bucket, Charlie's mother and father, had
came quietly into the room, and now both were standing just near the stair

"Tell Charlie about that crazy Indian prince," said Grandma Georgina "He'd like
to hear that one".

"You mean Prince Pondicherry?" Asked Grandpa Joe, before bursting into laughter

"Completely dotty!" said Grandpa George.

"But extremely rich," said Grandma Josephine.

"And what did he do?!" asked Charlie eagerly.

"Listen," started Grandpa Joe, "Mr. Wonka told me this story long ago, it's true, as true as It can be." Warned the man before explaining.

"Prince Pondicherry wrote a letter to Mr. Willy Wonka and asked him to come all the way out to India and build him a colossal palace entirely
out of chocolate."

"Did Mr Wonka do it, Grandpa?"

"He did, indeed. And what a palace it was! It had one hundred rooms, and everything was made of either dark or light chocolate! The bricks were chocolate, and the cement holding them together was chocolate, and the windows were chocolate, and all the walls and ceilings were made of chocolate, so were the carpets and the pictures and the furniture and the beds; and when you turned on the taps in the bathroom, hot chocolate came pouring out"

At this point, Grandpa Joe tried his best to imitate the character's wacky voices and accents.

"When it was all finished, Mr Wonka said to Prince Pondicherry: "I warn you, though, it won't last very long, so you'd better start eating it right away."

"Nonsense!" shouted the Prince. "I'm not going to eat my palace! I'm not even going to nibble the staircase or lick the walls! I'm going to live in it!"

"But Mr. Wonka was right, of course, because soon after this, there came a very hot day with a boiling sun, and the whole palace began to melt, and then it sank slowly to the ground, and the crazy prince, who was dozing in the living room at the time, woke up to find himself swimming around in a huge brown sticky lake of chocolate." He finished explaining.

Little Charlie sat very still on the edge of the bed, staring at his grandfather. Charlie's face was bright, and his eyes were stretched so wide you could see the whites all around.

"Is all this true?" The boy asked. "Or are you pulling my leg?"

"Charlie! Didn't you listen to me" Grandpa Joe faked being offended "Of course it's true! Ask anyone and they will tell you"

Charlie looked at his other grandparents without saying a word, but they knew exactly what he was about to ask.

"It's True," said Grandma Josephine

Grandpa George then nodded

"What?" Grandma Georgina was lost

"And I'll tell you something else that's true" Grandpa Joe leaned closer to Charlie and lowered his voice to a soft, creepy, secret whisper. "Nobody ever goes in… And nobody ever comes out."

"In where? From where?!" Charlie didn't understand a thing.

"I was talking about Wonka's factory, of course!" The old man ruffled Charlie's hair

"But what about the workers?" Asked Charlie "All factories have workers, right?"

"They indeed do, all factories have workers streaming in and out of the gates in the mornings and evenings" Grandpa Joe introduced a new part of his story "except Wonka's! Have you ever seen a single person going into that place — or coming out?"

Little Charlie looked slowly around at each of the four old faces, one after the other, and they all looked back at him. They were friendly smiling faces, but they were also quite serious. There was no sign of joking or leg-pulling on any of them.

"Well? Have you?" asked Grandpa Joe again

"I… I don't know, Grandpa," Charlie stammered. "Whenever I walk past
the factory, the gates seem to be closed."

"Exactly!" said Grandpa Joe snapping his fingers

Charlie was confused "But there must be people working there, Mr. Willy Wonka can't do everything by himself"

"Not people, Charlie. Not ordinary people, anyway"

"Then who?"

"Ah-ha… that's one of the many mysteries of the factory. You see… Mr. Willy Wonka's cleverness never stops surprising us.

"You see, Charlie," he said, "Around thirty or forty years ago there used to be thousands of people working in Mr. Willy Wonka's factory, it was around half of the town, and I was one of them. One day, all of a sudden, Mr Wonka had to ask every single one of them to leave, to go home, never to come back."

"But why?" asked Charlie, saddened. He couldn't be certain, but he had the strong feeling that that played a big part in his family's current situation

"Spies" Grandpa Joe lamented

'Spies?'

"Yes Charlie, spies. All the other chocolate makers, you see, had begun to grow jealous of the wonderful sweets that Mr Wonka was making, and they started sending in spies to steal his secret recipes. The spies took jobs in the Wonka factory, pretending that they were ordinary workers, and while they were there, each one of them found out exactly how a certain special thing was made."

"And did they go back to their factories and tell?" asked Charlie.

"They must have," answered Grandpa Joe, "because soon after that, Fickelgruber's
factory started making an ice cream that would never melt, even in the hottest sun.
Then Mr Prodnose's factory came out with a chewing gum that never lost its flavor
however much you chewed it. And then Mr Slugworth's factory began making sugar
balloons that you could blow up to huge sizes before you popped them with a pin
and gobbled them up. And so on"

"I was there when it happened, walking towards Mr. Wonka's office to show him something, I don't remember what it was" Then he imitated Wonka's voice "This is terrible! I shall be ruined! There are spies everywhere! I shall have to close the factory!"

Grandpa, you sighed and looked down in disappointment "Poor Willy Wonka went rogue and tore his silky mustache off"

"But he didn't do that!' Charlie said, "He still makes candies to this day!"

"Oh, yes he did. He told everyone that he was sorry, but they would have to go home. Then, he shut the main gates and fastened them with a chain. And suddenly, Wonka's giant chocolate factory became silent and deserted. The chimneys stopped smoking, the machines stopped whirring, and from then on, not a single chocolate or sweet was made. Not a soul went in or out, and even Mr Willy Wonka himself disappeared completely. Months and months went by," Grandpa Joe went on, "but still the factory remained closed. And everybody said: I miss Mr. Wonka. He was so nice. And he made such marvelous things. But he's finished now. It's all over."

"Then something astonishing happened. One day, then days after the closure, thin
columns of white smoke were seen to be coming out of the tops of the tall chimneys
of the factory! People in the town stopped and stared. "What's going on?" they cried.
"Someone's lit the furnaces! Mr Wonka must be opening up again!" We all ran to the
gates, expecting to see them wide open and Mr. Willy Wonka standing there to welcome
his workers back"

Grandpa Joe was so excited and proud, but his face completely changed with Charlie's question

"But you didn't get your job back, didn't you?"

"No, no one did. The great iron gates were still locked and chained as securely as ever,
and Mr. Wonka was nowhere to be seen, but the factory kept working, you could still hear the machines whirring again, and you could smell the melting chocolate in the air!"

Grandpa Joe leaned forward and laid a long, cold, and bony finger on Charlie's knee, and
he said softly, "But most mysterious of all, Charlie, were the shadows in the windows
of the factory. The people standing on the street outside could see small dark
shadows moving about behind the frosted glass windows."

"But shadows of whom?" said Charlie quickly, he didn't know if he was curious or uneasy

"Everyone wants to know, it's clear someone is working, but we have no clue of how, or what is doing it. No matter what, I trust Wonka, he always knows what he's doing"

"What is clear is that the factory was running," Said Grandpa Joe "and it's gone on running ever since, for these last ten years. What's more, the chocolates and sweets it's been turning out have become more fantastic and delicious all the time. And of course now when Mr Wonka invents some new and
wonderful sweet, neither Mr Fickelgruber nor Mr Prodnose nor Mr Slugworth nor anybody else can copy it. No spies can go into the factory to find out how it is made."

"But Grandpa, who?" cried Charlie, "who is Mr Wonka using to do all the work in
the factory?"

"Nobody knows, Charlie"

"But that's absurd! Hasn't someone asked Mr Wonka?"

"Nobody sees him anymore, remember? The only things that come out of that place are chocolates and sweets. They come out through a special trap door in the wall, all packed and addressed, and they are picked up every day by Post Office trucks."

"But Grandpa, what sort of people are they that work there?"

"My dear boy," said Grandpa Joe, 'The chocolate-making world doesn't always make sense; it doesn't need to. We know only one thing about them, they are very small" he closed one of his eyes and left a small space between his thumb and index, as to say they were tiny "The faint shadows that sometimes appear behind the windows, especially late at night when the lights are on, are those of tiny people, people no taller than my knee"

Little Charlie was amazed, a lot of ideas crossed his mind: were they very short people? There was a dwarf in town, but he wasn't that small. Children maybe? No, Mr. Wonka was a good guy, he wouldn't force children to work. Could It be that the candyman made his workers himself? He was a magician after all. What about robots? He heard his dad talk about how some factories started replacing workers with robots. Yeah, it was probably that.

"Charlie, dear," Mrs. Bucket called out from where she was standing down the ladder. "It's time for bed. That's enough for tonight"

"But, Mom…" Charlie pouted

"Tomorrow, my darling" insisted his mother

"It's okay, Charlie," Said Mr. Bucket "Grandpa Joe won't go anywhere, you can talk more about Mr. Wonka in the morning"

Sunday wasn't anything out of the ordinary, the Buckets had their bread and margarine breakfast, and then, after helping his parents wash the dishes and clean the house, Charlie had time for one of his little hobbies. Remember that Mr. Bucket had something for Charlie? Well, it was a defective toothpaste tube cap. When those pieces turned out wrong he could keep them, and for Charlie Bucket it was the closest thing he ever had to legos.

Using the caps, the boy was able to make little figurines, since his family couldn't buy glue, he used a lighter to melt the pieces together. So far he has made a dog, a tree, a few stick people, and a cute little gnome that was his favorite. Now he was trying to make a car, it was an ambitious project, but it was fun.

Charlie was very serious and focused, bent over the table like a shrimp and sticking his tongue out, carefully trying to make the wheel. And then Mr. Bucket loudly came into the house, waving a newspaper rather excitedly. Thank God the kid didn't burn himself.

"Have you heard the news?" he cried. He held up the paper so that they could see the
huge headline, which said:

"Wonka factory to be opened at last to lucky few!"

"You mean people are going to be allowed to go inside the factory?!" Grandpa Joe smiled like a child on Christmas day "Read us what it says — quickly!"

"All right, all right," said Mr Bucket, smoothing out the newspaper. "Listen."

"Evening Bulletin. Mr. Willy Wonka, the confectionery genius whom nobody has seen for the last ten years, sent out the following notice today: I, Willy Wonka, have decided to allow five children — just five, mind you, and no more — to visit my factory this year. The lucky five will be shown around personally by me, and they will be allowed to see all the secrets and the magic of my factory. Then, at the end of the tour, as a special present, all of them will be given enough chocolates and sweets to last them for the rest of their lives! So watch out for the Golden Tickets! Five Golden Tickets have been printed on golden paper, and these five Golden Tickets have been hidden underneath the ordinary wrapping paper of five ordinary bars of chocolate. These five chocolate bars may be anywhere — in any shop in any street in any town in any country in the world — upon any counter where Wonka's Sweets are sold. And the five lucky finders of these five Golden Tickets are the only ones who will be allowed to visit my factory and see what it's like now inside! Good luck to you all, and happy hunting! (Signed Willy Wonka.)"

Grandpa Joe laughed like mad "That man… that man is a genius! Just imagine what will happen now! The whole world will be searching for those Golden Tickets! Everyone will be buying Wonka's chocolate bars in the hope of finding one! He'll sell more than ever before! Oh, how exciting it would be to find one!'

"I don't know, Joe, it doesn't seem that fair… and I'm sure this is going to end up with tons and tons of tummy aches and cavities" Grandma Josephine was more skeptical

"Do you think I could win?" Charlie asked timidly at first, but he gradually got more and more hopeful "Do you think I could get all that chocolate and sweets for free? We could share it and It would be great!"

"Of course!" cried Grandpa Joe. 'Wouldn't it be great if Charlie opened a bar of chocolate and saw a Golden Ticket glistening inside!'

"It certainly would… "Grandma Josephine cut, saddened "But Charlie only gets a bar a year, the odds are not in his favor"
"You never know, darling," said Grandma Georgina. "Only one bar is needed to win, you have as much of a chance as anybody else… No! I'm sure you have more because you want it more!"

"I'm afraid that simply isn't true," said Grandpa George "The kids who are going to find the Golden Tickets are the ones who eat chocolate daily, the ones who can afford tons of bars, and the ones who cheat. Luck was never too fond of this family"

Charlie looked down disappointed, he knew Grandma Josephine and Grandpa George were right, the truth could be harsh, but getting false hopes would only hurt more when the inevitable fall came. He also knew his family wanted the best for him, everything they said was their way of protecting him, so he couldn't be upset. Even then, little Charlie Bucket kept a tiny bit of hope in his big heart.

Chapter Text

Charlie knew people were going to be excited about the Golden Ticket announcement, he expected to see every kid in his school munching at chocolate bars during recess, and indeed, he had no other option than to look at it. The strange thing, what Charlie could have never expected was to also see adults looking for tickets like crazy.

On his way towards school Charlie always gets past Bill's candy shop, but this time he refuses to look through the window and gets through it fast. His desire for chocolate was even bigger now, but he couldn't afford it no matter what.

"Hey! Little boy!" Charlie turned around to see Bill outside the shop "I've seen you a lot, but never buying anything. What's your name?"

The boy was nervous, did he do anything wrong? He didn’t mean to do it "Ummm… Charlie…" he hesitated a bit before saying his name. It was an odd situation, but he knew Bill wasn't a bad guy, and he looked very excited and genuine

"Okay, Charlie" he started "See, with the whole Golden Ticket hunt we're having more sales than ever. You've heard about it, right?"

Charlie nodded

"Great!" Bill exclaimed "Then I'm sure you'll love to hear this. As an exclusive offer, the first Wonka Bar every kid buys from now on will be half its price"

Charlie's eyes lit up, it might seem something small for most people, but for him, it meant having an extra twenty-five percent of chocolate this year. Still, it was an expense his family couldn't afford, with that money they could buy bullion cubes, or maybe a scarf

"Nothing for you Charlie?" The candyman's words pulled him out of his thoughts

The boy shook his head "Not today, I don't want to spoil my appetite"

"You sure? Your appetite looks like it could use a little spoiling"

"Yes, I am. But thank you so much" Charlie's words were firm, but his regretful eyes didn't say the same.

Soon he started walking away with his head down. It was obvious his family had economic issues, so Bill looked around to see his father wasn't checking on him, and gently tapped the boy's bony shoulder.

He was now kneeling on the floor, at Charlie's level, and pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket

"Here, take one of this"

Before the kid could say anything the candyman cut him "On the house!"

"Really?!" Charlie looked into Bill's eyes to make sure he was not being flooded, but he was not. He smiled from ear to ear "Thanks!"

“Come on, my dear boy, open it!” Bill encouraged Charlie, he was curious to see if that boy would be the first golden ticket finder or not

Charlie breathed slowly through his nose, his legs were trembling everything moved in slow motion for him, he couldn’t believe it, he couldn’t believe that if everything went well, he would have a lifetime supply of chocolate, one for his family to enjoy, and also they could sell part of it and buy a better house, or at least another bed. Not to mention that he would be able to enter Wonka’s factory, he could meet Mr. Willy Wonka himself, could see all the crazy inventions Grandpa Joe told him about, and maybe he could see the little mystery workers. Oh, if only grandpa Joe was able to walk, Charlie would love bringing his grandpa with him, he knew how happy it would make him.

When Charlie quickly and excitedly opened the bar, he found nothing. He stood there in silence.

The boy turned the bar around several times to see if maybe the ticket was on the other side, to see if maybe he missed it, but it wasn’t the case. Bill felt sympathetic and guilty, he encouraged Charlie to open the bar, and he knew that kid probably wouldn’t have many more chances to win.

Bill carefully patted the boy’s back to comfort him “Well, no one gets anything on the first try. Better luck next time”

Of course, Charlie was disappointed, but he knew the chance of winning was extremely slim, it wasn’t a shocker. He looked at the chocolate bar again, it wasn’t a golden ticket, but it was a Wonka Bar, the same bars that made his birthdays so sweet

“It’s alright, I still have chocolate!” The boy smiled and nibbled at the bar

And then Charlie said goodbye and ran to school, while chewing on the gift the candyman gave him, to make up for the lost time.

At school there was no other conversation topic, all Charlie overheard was chocolate, chocolate, and chocolate. Our boy wasn't above that, he also kept talking about the Wonka Factory and the Golden Tickets, even in Mr. Turkentine's chemistry class.

"How many Wonka bars did you eat?" Charlie asked his classmate, Laura Flatfoot, who was experimenting with him

Laura was an upper-middle-class fragile girl, she wore big glasses and full leg braces that made noise in every single one of her clunky steps.

She tried to answer "No-no-no-none… I'm… um… aller-gi-gi-gic to to-"

"Chocolate" Charlie completed the phrase, and the girl nodded while blushing like crazy over her poor speech. Charlie was mildly shy, but this girl was on another level

"I only got one myself-"

"Ehem! Charlie Bucket" Mr. Turkentine caught the attention of the class

It was embarrassing to be called out, but it wasn't compared to what poor Miss Flatfoot experienced. She got so startled she fainted and had to be carried to the school nurse.

"Yes, Mr. Turkentine?" He meekly asked

"I shall need an assistant. Come and give me a hand" He pointed to the table he was working on, and Charlie then walked towards it

"We have here nitric acid, glycerine, and a special mixture of my own. Together it's horrible, dangerous stuff; blows you up. But mixed in the right way, as only I know how, what do you think it makes?

Charlie scratched his head thinking about the answer "I don't know, sir"

Mr. Turkentine made a smug smile, he wanted to show off "Of course you don't know. You don't know because only I know. If you knew and I didn't know, then you'd be teaching me instead of me teaching you. And for a student to teach his teacher is presumptuous and rude. Do I make myself clear?"

The students, including Charlie himself, laughed at their teacher's pompous attitude

"Yes, sir"

"Good. Now, mixed together in the right way, these three highly dangerous ingredients make the finest wart remover in the world. The trick is to pour them in equal amounts. Now, Charlie, you take the nitric acid and the glycerin, and I'll take my own special mixture" he gave the boy the glasses" Are you ready? Good lad: pour"

As they pour the mixture, it emits a small explosion yet loud, followed by a large puff of smoke, and the kids cheers

"Did we do it wrong?" Asked Charlie

Mr. Turkentine was swatting his hand to get the smoke away from his face "No, certainly not; this is for very big warts"

Suddenly they were interrupted by the commotion outside the classroom, it was loud and didn't seem to stop anytime soon. Mr. Turkentine opened the door, finding a lot of students running, and even their teachers around the halls.

He grabbed one of them by his jacket "You, Winkelmann, what's going on out there?!"

"The first Golden Ticket was found!" The boy cried in excitement

The teacher was skeptical about it "Are you sure? It's probably a hoax"

"It's true! They are real!" Winkleman exclaimed "It's on the radio. It was found a few minutes ago and It will appear on TV tonight" After saying that he got away from the adult's grip and ran towards the exit.

Immediately the classroom started to get up and cheer, but Mr. Turkentine quickly closed the door, fearing for his own life "Class isn't over yet! Sit down!"

Groans, whines, and complaints were heard until they saw how the man took the wall clock and started rotating the hands carefully. He must have skipped around ten to twenty minutes. Excitement was being built in the kids, who waited for the last minute with grins on their faces and leaning over the tables, even Charlie could feel it in his heart.

"Class dismissed!" Mr. Turkentine said after bolting out of the room to the nearest candy shop, and soon every single student followed him. Charlie chuckled and carefully packed his things, his family taught him to not be greedy and gluttonous, but boy, how he wished he could be any of his classmates right now.

That evening the door was slammed open, as Charlie entered his house, making the walls shake for a bit "Turn the TV on! The Golden Ticket!"

"Manners, Charlie" Gina Bucket scolded him

He corrected himself "Sorry! Hi mom, hi dad, hi Grandpa Joe, and Grandma Josephine, and grandpa George, and grandma Georgina. Can I watch TV? The first ticket was found!"

Soon the Bucket's were all sitting on their only bed, with their eyes glued to the little TV. The first lucky finder was a nine-year-old boy named Augustus Gloop

"This is Finis Forelle, with a direct TV link to Nördlingen, Germany!" The reporter introduced himself, then moved aside to allow the audience to the street behind "The town had gone wild with excitement over the first Golden Ticket Winner. Kids were even given a holiday from school!"

He wasn't exaggerating, flags were flying from all the windows, balloons tied to every single light post, and confetti splattered on the floor. Loud polka music was heard, mixed with mindless chatter, cries of excitement, and the sound of kids playing outside.

At the time of the recording a parade was being organized in honor of the famous youth, hints of how it would be could be seen in the background. The Gloops were standing in front of the father's butchery, with a ton of journalists and fans trying to get to them. It was clear from their stances and nervous laughter that they had never before on TV, Mr. and Mrs. Gloop held hands and looked at their kid with genuine pride in their eyes, as for Augustus Gloop, and his little brother, Dudley, they were as calm as they could be, oblivious of what this would mean for them and guzzling down hot dogs, hamburgers and french fríes as if it was the last time they could ever eat

Charlie was flabbergasted when he heard Augustus was a year younger than him, he was not only taller than most boys in his class, but he was also massive, as if he had been blown up by a powerful pump (but Charlie kept quiet because he wasn't one to talk, he was always confused for younger because he was short and scrawny).

He had wavy dirty blond hair, round dark blue eyes that looked around in wonder, tiny ears that struggled to stick out of his chubby face, and a little piggy nose. Flabby folds of fat bulged out from every part of his body.

His parents, Hercule and Lovella Gloop were in their early forties, both of them quite plump too, but the father had muscle behind it, and his mother was a bit less fat. Charlie didn't fully get what it meant, but his family told him she was likely "the feeder". Hercule was over six feet tall and had a strong crooked nose, tiny eyes, and big hands and feet. There wasn't much of his dirty blond hair left on his head, but he was covered in body hair. Lovella was also rather tall, with wavy red hair, held in a thick braid, her son didn't share much body with her, but they for sure had similar faces.

The youngest, Dudley looked the opposite of Augustus: every single trait one shared with the father, the other shared with the mother, he was obviously smaller, but still round like his brother, and with almost the same personality.

"That's not fair!" Dudley pouted "The bar with the ticket was mine, Augustus took it away because he finished his!"

"You know the rules," Augustus had to stop talking because he took a bite too big for him, then he continued after a few seconds "Finders keepers"

"But it was my Wonka Bar!"

Their mother got in between the boys, moving towards Dudley and calmly talking "Come on my little sausage-vausage, let Auggie have it, and we'll wherever you want on your birthday"

"Wherever?..." Dudley looked at his Mrs. Gloop "Can we go to Tripsdrill?! Can we?!"

Lovella and Hercule looked at each other with doubt and there was a pause

"Of course!" She said at the end, making her son forget about the fight

"Besides," said Mr. Gloop "Our Augustus is the best customer ever, he will win and bring home way more than a lifetime supply of chocolate"

"Hehehehe!" Augustus Gloop's laugh resembled a pig's snorting "I feel bad for Wonka, I'm going to cost him a fortune in fudge"

Soon after that Finis Forelle, followed by tons of cameras, got to them and started the interview everyone was waiting for

"How did you find the golden ticket, Augustus?"

"Imagine this," the boy introduced. "I was eating a Wonka bar, and then I was testing something that is not chocolate. Coconut? Nougat? Walnut? Peanut butter? Cocoa butter? Caramel? Sprinkles?..."

Finis awkwardly smiled and nodded, as to tell him to move on

"Ginger? Toffee? Coffee beans? Pumpkin seeds? Mint? Nein! So I looked, and I found the Golden Ticket!" Augustus took the ticket from his pocket and showed it to the camera. One of the edges was bitten off

"And how did it taste?" Asked Mr. Forelle

Augustus looked back at his ticket for a second "Bland. Would not recommend"

"I just knew Augustus would find a Golden Ticket," his mother had told the reporters. "He eats so many bars of chocolate a day that it is almost impossible for him not to find one. Eating is his hobby, you know?"

"I can tell-"

"But still, that's better than being a hooligan and shooting off zip guns and things like
that in his spare time, isn't it? And what I always say is, he wouldn't go on eating
like he does unless he needed nourishment, would he? It's all vitamins, anyway" she cut off

Then Mr. Gloop said, patting his sons' oversized belly, just like someone would pat a bodybuilder's biceps "Augustus got the bronze medal in last year's Oktoberfest eating contest, I am certain that once he's sixteen and can bring the food down with beer, he will crush the competition!" We're just as proud as anything!'

"Oh wow, that's impressive! And Augustus, are you happy that you'll go to Wonka's?"

"Ja! Just thinking about it makes me hungry!"

Mrs. Bucket turned the TV off. He had enough of what he was seeing

"What a revolting couple! They keep overfeeding their children. I bet those poor kids can barely fit through the door" Grandma Josephine was horrified.

"That Augustus isn't much better either, what kind of boy takes candies away from his little brother? Another spoiled brat by the way" Grandpa Joe added "he needs to stop acting like an animal and learn to share. I can't believe how daft the parents are, how can they be proud of what they are doing?!"

Charlie muttered under his breath with sadness "With all that food we could eat for a week…"

"See Charlie, when people get everything they want, they only want more and more" Grandma Josephine explained to her grandson

"Only four Golden Tickets left," said Mr. Bucket "I wonder who'll get those, can't get worse than this, right?"

Now that the first ticket was found, the whole world seemed suddenly to be caught up in a mad chocolate-buying spree, everybody searching frantically for those precious remaining tickets.

In only a week, fully grown men and women were seen going into sweet shops and buying ten Wonka bars at a time, then tearing off the wrappers on the spot and peering eagerly underneath for a glint of golden paper. Children were taking hammers smashing their piggy banks and running out to the shops with handfuls of money. In one city, a famous gangster robbed a bank of a thousand dollars and spent the whole lot on Wonka bars that same afternoon. And when the police entered his house to arrest him, they found him sitting on the floor amidst mountains of chocolate, ripping off the wrappers with the blade of a long dagger.

The famous English scientist, Professor Foulbody, invented a machine that would tell you at once, without opening the wrapper of a bar of chocolate, whether or not there was a Golden Ticket hidden underneath it. The machine had a mechanical arm that shot out with tremendous force and grabbed hold of anything that had the slightest bit of gold inside it, and for a moment, it looked like the answer to everything. Unfortunately, while the Professor was showing off the machine to the public at the sweet counter of a large department store, the mechanical arm shot out and made a grab for the gold filling in the back tooth of a duchess who was standing nearby. There was an ugly scene, and the machine was smashed by the crowd, to the Professor's horror.

Or at least that was what the papers said. As fun and wacky as those stories sounded, Charlie couldn't fully believe them, they were staged, right? sure people wanted the tickets, but why go that far? Well, that's what he thought until something absolutely shocked him.

In his paperboy shifts, especially nowadays with the whole Wonka contest going on, he often would skim through the news, this time being forced to double-check to see if it was true, or if he had to wear glasses. It was true, the last Wonka bar of Latin America was sold in Paraguay for over a million pounds, and god knows how many guarnís that is.

How did the country end up without chocolate? Did they buy that much? Well, at least someone there must have found a Golden Ticket, right? Or maybe not. It was at this moment that Charlie realized something, he was thinking about the contest as a national thing, even when Augustus got the ticket it flew under his radar because Germany wasn't that far from England, but there was the possibility that none of the tickets ended up in his country.

Charlie put the newspaper back in his bag and continued the shift, there was no point in worrying about it, if he won, then his anxiety would be for nothing, and if he lost, he would go back to his life as if nothing ever happened.

"No big deal!" the boy told himself

Now on his way back home, Charlie walked past the factory, this time around stopping in front of it, taking the biggest sniff he ever took of the wonderful chocolate smell, while keeping his eyes closed, trying to feel transported to whatever there's inside of the metal gates.

"Someday I will be able to go on" he muttered to himself "I know it"

The second surprise of the day happened as soon as Charlie got home, he didn't expect to see his father already at home, a few times he got before him, but today it wasn't that late. The factory must have closed earlier today. The cabbage soup was slightly more watered than usual, but he assumed it was probably a mistake, things don't always turn out good anyway, and he didn't want to criticize his poor hardworking mother.

In the evening, after supper, most families spend an hour together on the couch, watching the popular movies and series on their TVs. As we know, that wasn't the Buckets' tradition, but that didn't mean they never watched TV", they did it to a lesser extent because it was expensive. Today was one of the days they decided to have their entertainment on TV, they were watching the new episode of The Addams Family when the broadcast was interrupted by an announcement:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the worldwide rush for Wonka bars is getting bigger by the minute. Here in Latin America we no longer have more of them!" The reporter dramatically introduced "But at last it appeared in São Paulo, Brazil. I'm Fonso Truta, and the lucky person is little Verónica Salt, daughter of the multi-millionaire businessman Rupert Salt!

"Verónica" was a short, pudgy girl, with puffy cheeks and a pointy chin. Her skin was light, almost porcelain-like, and spotless, despite living in such a sunny place, she had beautiful blonde hair held in two long pigtails and a pair of big green eyes. Her clothes were as pink, pompous, and tacky as a little girl's could be.

She was sitting on the couch, between her beaming father and mother in the living room of their huge, luxury-filled mansion, showing the golden ticket to every single camera, and grinning from ear to ear.

Apparently Rupert Salt moved to Brazil when he was five, his father created the Salt's Nut Company, and Rupert made it as famous as it is now. He kept a serious and proud expression, his back straight and his head high, managing to look imposing despite being rather short and skinny. He was around fifty, with sharp features, gray hair, icy blue eyes, and a mustache, dressed in an elegant and expensive tuxedo, and with a Rolex in his wrist.

However, it was clear their only child took more after her mother, Angina Salt, she was pretty much a younger version of her: same eyes, hair color, nose, and lips, the main difference was that Angina was a tall woman, taller than her husband, way fatter, she was slightly tan, had curly hair, and the kid inherited her father's cleft chin and widow's peak. Of course, she was equally as fancy and proud as her husband, but she looked somewhat younger.

"It's Veruca," the girl said, hiding her annoyance with a sweet smile "V-E-R-U-C-A, Veruca Salt"

"Interesting name, isn't it?" Clearly, her mother didn't realize how unfortunate it was "We named her after my husband's grandmother, Verushka, but I proposed a modern Latin spin that would fit the new generation"

"And how did you find the ticket, Veruca? Some say your chances were higher, if you know what I mean" asked Fonso Truta, wanting to know if the rumors were true

"I don't know, Daddy did it for me" she shrugged it off

"You see," Mr. Salt started explaining "as soon as my little girl told me that she simply had to have one of those Golden Tickets, so for a week I went out into the city and started buying up all the Wonka bars I could lay my hands on. Thousands of them, I must have bought hundreds of thousands! Then I had them loaded onto trucks and sent directly to my own factory"

Fonso's eyes widened "That must be the reason for the Wonka bar shortage"

"It's likely. I've got about a hundred women working for me over at my place, shelling nuts for roasting and salting. That's what they do all day long, those women, they sit there shelling nuts" As much as Mr. Salt loved boasting about his company, he had enough tact to only bring it up when it was fitting. Not every man can say that "So I told them that they had to stop shelling nuts and start shelling the wrappers off these chocolate bars instead. And they did. I had every worker in the place yanking the paper off those bars of chocolate full speed ahead from morning till night."

"But nine days went by, and we had no luck" he lamented

Mrs. Salt started talking "Oh, it was terrible! My little princess got more and more upset each day-"

"The butlers must be rich too! Not even for a million pounds I would tolerate that brat" Grandpa George screamed, making everyone laugh, but then shush him, wanting to hear the whole interview

"And when Rupert got home she would yell at him asking for her Golden Ticket, and she would lie for hours on the floor, kicking and crying most heartbreakingly. I tried everything, giving her sweet lollipops, letting her skip school until she felt better, I even told her we would get her another pony if she behaved well, but it had no use"

"I just hated to see my little girl feeling unhappy like that, so I vowed I would keep up the search until I'd got her what she wanted. Then suddenly…" the man made a pause to add tension to his story "On the evening of the tenth day, one of my women found it! I let her have the chocolate bar for her seven children"

"How generous…" the reporter rolled his eyes

"And now Veruca is all smiles, and we have a happy home once again!" Mr. Salt ignored him

"The Golden Ticket is great, I like it, but I thought it would be shinier," Veruca said absentmindedly "It doesn't matter, this Christmas I will turn ten, so I'm sure it will be the best birthday and Christmas party ever, I will finally have two digits of age, and that deserves a celebration" She was so excited

"It sure does sweetie," her mother said while patting Veruca's head

And there, poor Mr. Truta made the biggest mistake of his career "Ah yeah, I'm sure what she needs is more and more presents"

"Daddy! He's being sarcastic! I want him fired! I want him fired now!" Veruca pouted

The Buckets blinked in disbelief, they knew rich kids were usually spoiled, but this? This was absolutely ludicrous

"I'm sorry to contradict you Joey" Mrs. Bucket sighed "But she's even worse than the fat boy"

"That little wart needs a really good spanking! I'm sure that would solve a lot of their problems" said Grandpa George

Charlie was angry this time "It's not fair, she didn't find the ticket herself! She doesn't deserve It! Her father did it for her!

“He spoils her,” grandma Georgina said. “And no good can ever come from spoiling a child like that! The kids end up rotting away.”

"Uh, Georgina, I think you mean spoiled rotten" Mr. Bucket added

"Well, enough of this!" Said Grandpa Joe, turning the TV off with the remote (it took several attempts because said remote only worked half of the time) "Charlie, a good kid will get the next Golden Ticket, I can feel it"

Charlie smiled, he was so enchanted by his grandpa's words, that he didn't realize how Joe made a small wink to his son

"Now it's bedtime, darling" his mother softly put her hands on Charlie's skinny shoulders

"Things will get better, Charlie, they will," said grandma Josephine

The next day Charlie was tired, he had gone to bed and woken up around the same time as always, but his mind was filled with thoughts of the Wonka factory which kept him awake.

His mother woke the grandparents up as soon as she saw Charlie "Charlie is up" she said, and his father was sitting down and frantically skimming through yesterday's newspaper

"Dad?" He asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning, "Shouldn't you be at the factory?"

"I should, but I… got holidays, yeah, let's call it that, hehe…"

It was clear Charlie's father was lying through his teeth, but the boy was too sleepy to even see the nervousness of his words. In reality, Mr. Bucket was fired, the wonkamania caused a much bigger demand for toothpaste, and with the benefits they updated the production line, and everyone who could be replaced with a robot, was sent home with a monetary compensation. The Buckets already had problems, but they didn't want to worry for Charlie, being sensitive and caring, they feared he would do crazy things to protect them.

"Charlie, Come here and sit down on the edge of the bed" Grandpa Joe called him and handed him a surprise present as he sat down

Charlie smiled nervously, he was holding a Wonka bar very carefully in his two hands, Wonka's Whipple-scrumptious fudgemallow delight, it said on the wrapper. It was the new candy, sizewise it was like a regular chocolate bar with a different distribution, but unlike the last time, now in Charlie's eyes it looked like the biggest Wonka bar he had ever seen

The boy couldn't be more glad, but he was also confused "But my birthday was months ago"

"I know," Mr. Bucket said, "but you worked really hard and deserve a fair chance at the ticket hunt"

The four old people, two at either end of the bed, propped themselves up on their
pillows and stared with anxious eyes at the bar of chocolate in Charlie's hands. The room became silent. Everybody was waiting now for Charlie to start opening his present. Charlie looked down at the bar of chocolate. He ran his fingers slowly back and forth along the length of it, stroking it lovingly, and the shiny paper wrapper made little sharp crackly noises in the quiet room.

Then Mrs. Bucket said gently, "You mustn't be too disappointed my darling, if you don't find what you're looking for underneath that wrapper. You really can't expect to be as lucky as all that."

"She's quite right," Mr. Bucket added

Charlie didn't say anything.

"After all," Grandma Josephine said, “in the whole wide world there are only three tickets left to be found. The thing to remember is that whatever happens, we'll be there for you"

"And you still have the chocolate, it's Wonka's Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight!" cried Grandpa George "It's the best of them all! You'll just love it!"

"Yes," Charlie whispered. "I'll do…"

"Just think about it very hard, picture the ticket in your mind" Grandpa Joe's words weren't supposed to be that, "Think positive, my boy"

They all knew it was ridiculous to expect this one poor little bar of chocolate to have a magic ticket inside it, and they were trying as gently and as kindly as they could to prepare Charlie for the disappointment. But there was one other thing that the grown-ups also knew, and it was this: that however small the chance might be of striking lucky, the chance was there.
The chance had to be there. This particular bar of chocolate had as much chance as any other of having a Golden Ticket.

And that was why all the grandparents and parents in the room were actually just as tense and excited as Charlie was, although they were pretending to be very calm. Grandpa Joe had It the hardest, he was even more excited than Charlie himself. Maybe it was his past gambling addiction, which he quit cold turkey many years ago, or maybe he just couldn't stand seeing a sad frown on Charlie's face, but he had the feeling his grandson would win.

Very slowly, Charlie's fingers began to tear open one small corner of the
wrapping paper. The old people in the bed all leaned forward, craning their scraggy necks. Then suddenly, as though he couldn't bear the suspense any longer, Charlie tore the wrapper right down the middle… and onto his lap, there fell…

"I found it!" Charlie cried, his family leaned forward to see it and cheered

But it wasn't true, it was a light-brown creamy-colored bar of chocolate. There was no sign of a Golden Ticket anywhere.

"I fooled you, didn't I?" The boy's voice was cracked and his eyes started to water, but he tried to hide it with a burst of nervous laughter "You really thought I had it"

Six kind old faces were watching him intently "Charlie…" all of them tried to comfort him "It's just what we expected, it's okay…"

"Did Charlie win?! Did Charlie win?!" Asked grandma Georgina "He has to win, Charlie deserves it more than the other kids because he wanted it more!" She started to tear up, and Grandpa George carefully rubbed her arm to calm her down.

"Not now Georgina, not now" he muttered

Charlie looked up and smiled at them, a small sad smile, and then he shrugged his shoulders picked up the chocolate bar held it out to his mother, and said, "Here, Mother,
have a bit. We'll share it. I want everybody to taste it."

"Certainly not!" his mother said.

And the others all cried, “No, no! We wouldn't dream of it! It's all yours!”

He turned around and offered it to Grandpa Joe, but neither he nor anyone else would take even a tiny bit.

"Please, it's my present and I want you all to have it too" begged Charlie very firmly, which convinced everyone, even if they struggled to accept something from Charlie. They should give him things, not the other way around, they thought with deep regret in their eyes.

Chapter Text

Not only one but two tickets were found the next week, both of them in the United States of America. The first time Charlie was excited to see the tickets were real and wished to have one himself, the second one he was sad and angry, but at the same time, it filled him with determination to be the next winner. Now… Now he was so blue, knowing there was only a single ticket left in the whole world, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

These last days he didn’t have much work to do at Jopeck’s kiosk, with the wonkamania going on people were buying more papers than ever, so there wasn’t much left for him to give. Still, Mr. Jopeck was nice enough to keep paying little Charlie, he heard the news about the toothpaste factory and the least he wanted to do was give the family even more issues. Having free time, Charlie walked around the city at a mellow pace. It was a sunny day with a gentle breeze, a bit cold since it was November, but at the same time, it wasn’t that bad.

The boy could walk for hours, and he did, he kept going on auto-pilot, the only thing in his head being Mr. Willy Wonka and his wonderful factory. That's how it was for a while, he was always doodling new wacky candies on his notebook, the cabbage water tasted worse and worse every day, as he couldn’t stop comparing it to the creamy and rich chocolate he loved so much, to her teacher’s shock, Charlie even failed a test because his head wasn’t just there, despite being a good student that always tried his best. It was a truly heartbreaking sight of the little boy who always would tell you to think positive and offer a helping hand if he ever saw you sad. Charlie wasn’t the strongest or the smartest in his family, he was just a shrimpy child, but he was the heart of his family, the thing that kept the old weak spirit shining bright every day, and now he was down, so were the six grown-ups around him.

This was clearer than ever the morning the third golden ticket was found. Charlie didn’t fully recover from how he lost another chance to go to Wonka’s, but he kept smiling, telling everyone all the new things he learned at school, and helping his old grandparents as much as he could. Seeing how two out of the five winners were, the Buckets were extremely glad to have a sweet angel like Charlie as their son, and this feeling would only become bigger as they saw the next two interviews on TV.

“The third ticket…” read Mr. Bucket, holding the newspaper up close to his face because his eyesight was getting bad and he couldn't afford more glasses, “the third ticket was found by an eight-year-old girl in Snellville, Georgia, her name is Violet… Baudelaire? Oh, wait, no! Beauregarde, Violet Beauregarde!”

“All right,” said Grandpa Joe, when the whole family was gathered in front of the TV they were recently watching almost day and night, “let's hear about that kid!”

The Beauregardes weren’t poor, they had enough money to buy several Wonka bars and take a plane to London on December first, but at the same time, they were clearly far from rich, as they lived on a rather small tenement of a working class neighborhood. Let’s say they were one the wealthiest and most powerful families there, but it wasn’t saying much. However, Mr. and Mrs. Beauregarde didn’t feel like giving that type of image and instead tried to look like a typical upper-middle-class family

The parents were in their mid-thirties, Scarlett Beauregarde was a short woman with a pretty yet intimidating face; well-defined cheekbones, big blue eyes, a strong and somewhat pointy chin, and a small gap between her front teeth. She had long curly blonde hair, well styled, and wore pointy glasses. Her clothes were akin to the ones stereotypical southern belles wore, just a bit more modern.

Sam Beauregarde was a sharply dressed tall man with wide shoulders, not as fancy as Mr. Salt, but enough to catch attention while keeping a casual look. He has slicked-back brown hair, a squarish face, relaxed yet aggressive brown eyes, and a huge protruding jaw that usually sported a cocky grin. The man had "con man" written all over himself

They had three kids, the oldest, Marvin, was a smart goal-driven boy with an interest in politics that was his father's pride and biggest hope. Little Pru, was absolutely adorable and just what her mother wanted, a feminine cute girl who could fulfill the dream she had to abandon. Both sitting on the couch behind and then, then Violet Beauregarde.

There was great excitement in the Beauregarde household, when our reporter, Phineas Trout, arrived to interview the lucky young lady — cameras were clicking and flashbulbs were flashing and people were pushing and jostling and trying to get a bit closer to the famous girl. She was standing on a chair in the living room to be seen.

Violet was, to put it shortly, almost a little girl version of her father. Both were tall, with the same squarish face and, the same eyes, except hers were bigger and always looked excited, similar nose, and of course, she had a huge protruding jaw too, one that constantly moved up and down as she ferociously chewed upon a piece of gum. The biggest difference came in her hair, Violet was a ginger with a great big mop of curly hair, one that looked quirky and untameable, unlike her mother's prim and proper one. This time around Violet was wearing a dress that looked exactly like her mother's, but she kept fidgeting, so she was likely not used to them.

Since Mr. Beauregarde was on his phone, giving his workers orders on how to properly sell a car, the interview took a bit to start

"Remember, Violet" Mrs. Beauregarde grabbed her by the shoulders and acted as some sort of coach "Your back should always be straight, smile a lot, but keep your mouth closed while doing so, and please, for the love of god, do not pick your nose, it's gross and un-ladylike"

"I got it, ma, you always tell me the same…" Violet complained

"I tell you because you never listen, if you did what I said things would be much easier"

There it was clear why the mother didn't want her kid to show her teeth on TV, the gap between her front ones was way bigger, and many of her chompers were crooked

"Can’t we do the interview without gum?" Asked the mother a bit frustrated

Violet had a fearful look, she started chewing faster and shook her head with all her energy

"And it can happen right here too! Even in the smallest town, the happiest of dreams can come true!" Phineas Trout started introducing as soon as the call was over "Here she is, the third finder of the Golden Ticket, Violet Beauregarde! And with her, the proud parents-"

He didn't expect the father to steal the spotlight, flashing a grin with his fake golden tooth "Hi, folks! Sam Beauregarde here, Square Deal Sam to you, with all of today's great giveaway bargains. The finest values you'll get anywhere in the entire country-"

"Come on, pop, they don't want you!"

"Thank you, sir…" Phineas was glad the attention-seeking kid cut the shameless promotion "Violet, would you care to say a few words to the nation?"

"Sure I will! Here it is, Golden Ticket number three, and it's all mine!" Said Violet waving the Golden Ticket madly at arm's length as though she were flagging a taxi.

Scarlett put a supportive hand on Violet's shoulder "Come on, tell them how it happened"

"I'm a gum-chewer, normally, but when I heard about these ticket things of Wonka's I laid off the gum and switched to chocolate bars instead"

"She's such a hardworking girl, just like I was-"

"Now, of course, I'm back on gum" Violet interrupted. At this point, she started getting excited, so her speech became loud and fast gibberish "I just adore gum. I can't do without it. I munch it all day long except for a few minutes at mealtimes when I take it out and stick it behind my ear for safekeeping-"

"Now, Violet…" the woman whispered in an eerie calm tone

Charlie could see Mrs. Beauregarde was pinching Violet's arm to make her stop.

"And was it hard to find?" Asked Mr. Trout

"Very!" Emphasized the kid "See, I'm lactose intolerant, so my tummy didn't react well to all that chocolate" She put a hand on her stomach and grimaced "But I wasn't going to let a clogged toilet stop me! I really wanted to meet Mr. Willy Wonka

Scarlett facepalmed, her face beet red, and Sam did a loud, obviously fake, laugh

"Haha! She's always so funny with her crazy stories! I think she got that from me!" He ruffled Violet's hair in an over-the-top way

"Stop, Violet! You're embarrassing yourself" her mother was at her limit "and quit chewing your gum so loudly!"

"Ah, can it ma! Your jaws flap way more than mine do" As the girl yelled that, the reporter's eyebrows shot right up to his hairline

"And now," she went on, turning to the reporters again, "it may interest you to know that this piece of gum I'm chewing right at this moment is one I've been working on for over three months solid, it's my most treasured possession. That's a record! I beat the record held by my very best friend, Miss Cornelia Prinzmetel. And was she mad! Hi Cornelia, listen to this…

The girl started to smack and pop her gum as obnoxiously loud as she could into the microphone

"That's the sound of you losing! Listen some more!..."

Mr. Beauregarde grabbed Violet by the back of her dress' neck, as if she was a kitten, "That's enough cameras for you today, young lady!" But then he immediately changed his attitude and looked at the camera "Let me just butt in here for a moment to say that if any of you folks watching are dissatisfied with your…

"Beastly girl, she'll come to a sticky end one day, chewing all that gum, you see if she doesn't!" said Grandpa George

"Despicable!" Added Grandma Georgina.

"Do you even know what we're talking about?" Questioned her husband

Then Grandma Georgina looked around confused "Rats?"

Charlie chuckled a bit at her grandma’s words, the best they could do was try to put on a positive mindset while dealing with her old-age complications, but then his face turned sad

“There’s only two Golden Tickets left. Just two, soon to be one…” Charlie muttered

“I wonder who the lucky ones will be” Mr. Bucket questioned

The boy was looking down “Well in case you're wondering if it'll be me, it won't be. Just in case you're wondering, you can count me out”

“Charlie…” his mother tried to comfort him “There are a hundred billion people in this world, and only five of them will find Golden Tickets. Even if you had a sackful of money you probably wouldn't find one. And after this contest is over, you'll be no different from the billions of others who didn't find one”

“But I am different! I want it more than any of them!” He didn’t want to raise his voice and yell at his parents just like the last brat did, but now he was on the brink of tears

Mrs. Bucket carefully hugged him, rhythmically stroking his dark brown hair “Charlie, you'll get your chance. One day things will change”

“When? When will they change?...” Charlie whimpered, but he couldn't cry and worry his family over a stupid contest, he had to be strong for them

“Probably when you least expect it”

That was days ago, and now Charlie’s mindless walking brought him to the entrance of Wonka’s Factory again, he didn’t even realize it until his sensitive nose was hit by the powerful melting chocolate smell, it almost brought tears of happiness to the poor boy. Charlie hated that he couldn’t stop thinking about what he couldn’t have, but at the same time that was what kept him smiling, he sat on the floor, it was getting dark, but still it wasn’t evening, so he could spend a while daydreaming there without having to be worried about possible robbers or drunk men. Or that’s what he thought.

Charlie felt a presence behind him that took him out of his trance. It was a black man with a trench coat, a bit younger than his parents. The boy assumed it was probably a reporter, but there wasn’t much activity in the factory, not until the opening day, so it was strange. Wait, what if he was a spy? Thought Charlie

The man asked, “You’re Charlie Bucket, right?” and in that instant, Charlie went pale as a ghost, he wanted to get up and run home as fast as he could, but before he could do anything of the short, the man handled him an envelope

“Give this to your parents”

Of course, Charlie was skeptical, he was too nice for his own good often, and a big daydreamer, but he was no fool and he knew there were bad people around the world. He slowly opened the envelope to find a letter, which he didn’t read for privacy’s sake, and some money, it wasn’t much, probably pocket money for most families, but for Charlie, it meant the world, he looked up at the man with a puzzled expression

“How do you know my name?” He asked scared, but looking intensely into the man’s eyes

“It’s a long story, everything is in the letter, just give it to your parents and they will explain it,” The man said before leaving the place

Charlie ran back home, his legs trembling and his heart beating at a fast pace. He opened the door and politely said hello to everyone, but his anxiety was clear to everyone

“Good heavens boy! what happened to you?!” Cried, Grandma Josephine. If she could, she would instantly get out of her bed to calm the boy down. Instead, her healthier daughter-in-law helped Charlie sit down and gave him a glass of water.

Before the baby of the family could say a word, the TV started loudly announcing the fourth Golden Ticket was found and caught everyone’s attention. Charlie was glad for it, explaining would be way easier once he was more calm.

“Le-le-let’s see who wo-won first!” Charlie’s voice trembled

"I'm Phineas Trout (not to be confused with Phineas Trout, the previous reporter)" The man introduced himself "And while the rest of the world goes on searching, here on the West Coast it has actually happened. That's what I said, friends. There's only one Golden Ticket left in the entire world because right here in San Diego, California, is lucky winner number four! Mike Teavee is this young fella's name" he explained and looked around, not seeing the boy, only his parents

"Where's Mr. Mike Teavee?" Asked Phineas

Like Augustus' parents, the couple was in their early forties, Mrs. Teavee was a bit older than the Gloops, and Mr. Teavee was a bit younger. They definitely gave the impression of being a cultured intellectual upper-middle-class couple.

"He's in the living room, watching his favorite TV show. He really likes doing that" explained the mother

Doris Teavee was a thin well-dressed woman with a long pointy nose and slightly noticeable buck teeth. She had short, straight black hair tied in a high ponytail and droopy hazel eyes.

Norman Teavee was average height and plump with tiny eyes under thick square glasses, a big downturned nose, and a weak receding jaw. His hair was light brown and he was blanding.

"Think we should wait until it's over, Mike has a bit of a temper when he's interrupted" the father suggested

"Another bad lot, I'll be bound," muttered Grandma Josephine.

"I want to listen, sweetie," said Grandpa Joe

"The Teavee household was crammed with excited visitors when our reporter arrived, but young Mike Teavee seemed rather annoyed by the whole business"

Despite looking quite similar to his dorky father and sharing interests, Mike had a very different attitude, not only was it closer to his mother's but he acted like some kind of future delinquent, even if he was just an overdramatic kid. And talking about over dramatic, Mike's older sister was one angsty pre-teen, she refused to be part of this, she wanted to be in her room unbothered.

Mike was average size, with a long face, dark brown hair combed upwards, big rounded glasses, and behind them a pair of brown eyes. Mike Teavee himself had no less than eighteen toy pistols of various sizes hanging from belts around his body, and every now and again he would leap up into the air and fire off half a dozen rounds from one or another of these weapons.

But to his mother's horror, the nine-year-old not only was lying on the couch, but he also didn't even bother to get dressed for the interview

"Mike!" She shrieked "I told you to get changed, you can't appear on TV in your pajamas" She wanted to be strict but her nervous tone didn't make it clear to her son

"It's alright, Mother, I don't mind," he said, eyes glued to the screen, which was showing a series in which a bunch of gangsters shoot each other with machine guns

Mr. Trout put the microphone in the boy's face "Come one, Michael! the world wants to hear from you"

He didn't answer, instead, he moved his head to avoid being blocked by the reporters and turned the volume even higher

"Mike, Mickey, Mac? What do you prefer being called?"

"Shut up dude! Can't you see I'm busy?" Mike Teavee spat out with a small lisp

His father sighed and looked down "Son, please, can you shut that thing off?"

"Are you crazy?! I won't answer 'till the station break

The reporter then tried a different approach: "Do you like this show, Mike?"

"Totally!" The kid exclaimed "It's an absolute whiz-banger! I watch every episode, even the rotten ones, where there's no fighting. I like these gangsters best, they're terrific, especially when they start pumping each other full of lead, or flashing the old stilettos, or giving each other the one-two-three with their knuckle dusters! Gosh, what wouldn't I give to be doing that myself!"

Mr. Teavee raised an eyebrow "I don't even know what he's saying half of the time, kids these days grow so fast, with all the technology and-"

"Die, (the word was bleeped on the broadcast) die!" Mike screamed in excitement shooting his guns at the TV

"No cursing, Mike," both parents said at the same time, but the boy didn't even hear it

To his annoyance, the commercials cut the show, but at least he was free to answer the reporter's questions now

"How did you find your Golden Ticket?"

"My father and mother really wanted to see the factory, so she tracked a sales index or something. In the end, I only had to buy a single Wonka bar" While saying so he took the golden ticket from the table and showed it"

"Did you like It?"

"Eh, it was alright" Mike shrugged "Too sweet for me, prefer something more sour or spicy"

'That's quite enough!' snapped Grandma Josephine. 'I can't bear to listen to it!'

"Nor me," said Grandpa Joe. "Do all children behave like this nowadays — like these brats we've been hearing about?"

"Of course not," said Mrs. Bucket, smiling at the old man in the bed. "Some do, of course. In fact, quite a lot of them do. But not all."

"Sometimes the parents are as much to blame as the kids themselves, in fact, they are often ten times worse" Mr. Bucket explained

"Well, I don't think the parents are always to blame for the things their kids do!" Grandpa George got very defensive, to Charlie's shock

"I know, Grandpa, I know" Joey tried to word his opinions better "It's just that the families we saw gave me that feeling"

As he named them Mr. Bucket counted with his fingers "First the overindulgent couple that was proud of their kids' obesity. Then the absurdly rich family with their spoiled rotten little tyrant. Then the cocky control freaks that wished their kid was different. And finally, those know-it-all pricks who let TV raise their child"

"And now there's only one ticket left!" said Grandma Josephine, trying to end the argument

"Quite so," sniffed Grandma Georgina. "And just as sure as I'll be having cabbage soup for supper tomorrow, that the ticket will go to some nasty little beast who doesn't deserve it!"

Then the TV was turned off in the Bucket's house, not only the TV but everything that used even the tiniest bit of electricity.

"What happened?!" Asked Charlie confused

"Sorry…" Mr. Bucket felt so guilty "We've been struggling to pay the bills recently"

The family started to light candles to be able to see in the dark, and Charlie remembered something, now that money was mentioned. He checked his pockets and the envelope sad still there.

"Mom, Dad, a man gave me something for you"

"Who?" Asked his mother worried, carefully taking the envelope

"I don't know" Charlie answered "For some reason, he knew my name, it was really creepy, but he didn't hurt me"

The parents smiled when they saw the money, but as soon as Mrs. Bucket read the start of the letter her face turned serious

"What's wrong?" Asked Grandma Georgina, and there was an uncomfortable pause

Gina struggled to say the next words "Dad, you need to read this. It's from Eugene"

The words dropped like a bomb on the house, Charlie didn't know what they were talking about, he wanted to ask, but he had the feeling it was better to keep quiet

"Eugene? Is he returning home? It's been months since his last visit"

No, it wasn't months, it was years. It would be at least twenty years for Charlie to be born

Grandpa George snatched the envelope "Let me see!"

He slowly read the card in silence, he couldn't believe what he was seeing and had to re-read it a few times to make sure. Everyone could see how he started getting angrier and angrier every second, grandpa George was known for his bad temper, but this wasn't normal, he was now terrifying

"So now he decides he wants to help us?" The man made an almost crazy-like laugh "After leaving us to starve for years to go and fulfill his silly dreams? Well, no thanks! I won't be receiving any pity from this bloody…!"

Mr. Bucket covered Charlie's ears so he didn't hear the long list of blasphemies his grandpa said. The words weren't understandable, but based on the intensity of the muffled sounds and the expressions, it was clear something bad was going on between the family and Eugene. Grandpa George couldn't tear the letter Up because he only had one arm to do so, so in a moment of fury, he threw the whole envelope out of the window. Money included

"Charlie, go to your room," said his father "I'll go in a moment, don't worry".

The boy followed the orders, his father didn't sound angry, but Charlie had that bad feeling of regret in his stomach if only he didn't give them the letter…

He was lying in his bed, conflicted for a while, until Mr. Bucket got up the ladder with a bowl full of cabbage water and a spoon.

"Dad…" the boy was worried "I made Grandpa George angry…"

"No, no, no. You didn't, my boy, it's not your fault" his father tried to calm him down "I just don't want to get you in between the arguments. It's better to just have dinner here, and I swear things will be calm tomorrow".

"Who is Eugene?" Asked Charlie

"He's your mother's younger brother, your uncle. I don't know the whole story, but I think he left long ago because he wanted to become a famous actor, and didn't contact his family" Mr. Bucket explained

"Do you think he's a bad person for doing that? Mom, grandma Georgina, and grandpa George looked very hurt

"I don't know Charlie, I'm no one to judge someone I barely met"

Charlie was conflicted again, he really hated what he did to his family, anyone who dared to hurt them was an enemy for him, the thing is that at the same time, he tried to contact them, and as much as he hated to admit It, Charlie himself wished he was in a different family. Well, not a different family, he would never change them for anything, he wished they had more money

"Is there something else?" Mr. Bucket wanted to be sure whatever was worrying his son, he could try his best to solve it.

"Um… yes…" Charlie hesitated a bit, " I know you lost your job, I suspected something was wrong for a while, and then Mr. Jopeck told me he was sorry about what happened in the factory"

Mr. Bucket sighed and looked down. He was the family provider, his wife broke her back every day taking care of their son and grandparents, cooking, cleaning, and even fixing the house when there were issues, and so did he in the past, working long tedious hours at the factory to be able to buy everything they needed and help the family. Now spending days looking for a job, he wandered around the town doing small errands for barely any money, he helped his wife with as much housework as he could, but he couldn't do what his family needed.

He felt useless, like a burden, and he wondered if maybe that's also how the old and weak grandparents felt being bedridden for over twenty years. With his work, he slowly detached himself from the family, not as much in the case of Gina and Charlie, but Joe, Josephine, George, and Georgina were often forgotten, and this had to change.

"Dad, think positive"

Joey Bucket gave his son a kiss on the forehead, what would they do without him?

It was very early when Charlie woke up the next day, he had a very vivid imagination, but he didn't often have nightmares like he had at that moment. He dreamed he became a skeleton, and how the four Golden Ticket winners pointed and mocked him.

He got up from the bed he shared with his parents, trying to not wake them up, and went for a glass of water. It was dark, dead silent except for the loud snoring of his grandparents.

"Ssshh!" whispered Grandpa Joe, and he beckoned Charlie to come closer. Charlie tiptoed over and stood beside the bed.

The old man gave Charlie a sly grin, and then he started rummaging under his pillow with one hand; and when the hand came out again, there was an ancient leather purse clutched in the fingers. Under the cover of the bedclothes, the old man opened the purse and tipped it upside down. Out fell a single silver sixpence.

"It's my secret hoard," he whispered. "The others don't know I've got it. And now, you and I are going to have one more fling at finding that last ticket. How about it, eh?"

"Are you sure you want to spend your money on that, Grandpa?" Charlie whispered back "You should be careful with gambling"

"Of course I'm sure! I've never been so sure!" spluttered the old man excitedly "I refuse to stay passive as the last ticket is found by another one of those repulsive tots, I want you to find it, Charlie, you deserve it more!"

"I really do" the boy smiled

"Then don't stand there arguing! I'm as keen as you are to find that ticket! Here — take the money and run down the street to the nearest shop and buy the first Wonka bar you see and bring it straight back to me, and we'll open it together."

Charlie took the little silver coin and slipped quickly out of the room. In five minutes, he was back.

"Have you got it?" whispered Grandpa Joe, his eyes shining with excitement. Charlie nodded and held out a Wonka's nutty crunch surprise bar of chocolate.

"Good!' the old man whispered, sitting up in the bed and rubbing his hands. Now — come over here and sit close to me and we'll open it together. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I am," Charlie nodded and handed Grandpa Joe the bar "You paid for it, you should open it".

The old man's fingers were trembling most terribly as they fumbled with the wrapper.

"We don't have any hope, really," he whispered, giggling a bit. "You do know we don't have hope, don't you?"

"Yes," Charlie answered, "I know that." They looked at each other, and both started giggling nervously

"Imagine if there was a Golden Ticket? That would be absolutely crazy, unbelievable"

"Still, there is just that tiny chance that it might be the one, don't you agree?'

"Yes," Charlie said. "Of course. Why don't you open it, Grandpa?"

"All in good time, my boy, all in good time. Should I open it quickly or slowly?"

"Do it fast, like a band-aid. We count to three and then rip the paper"

"Okay, one…" said Grandpa Joe

"Two…" Said Charlie

But the man didn't finish the count, he instead stopped and cried "I can't Charlie, I'm too nervous! You tear it"

"No Grandpa, you must do it yourself"

"One…" Charlie started the count again

"Two…" Continued Grandpa Joe

"Three!" Both screamed at the same time

Grandpa Joe tore off the wrapper. They both stared at what lay underneath. It was a bar of chocolate — nothing more. All at once, they both saw the funny side of the whole thing, and they burst into genuine laughter.

"What on earth's going on!" cried Grandma Josephine, waking up suddenly.

"Nothing," said Grandpa Joe. "Just go back to sleep, you too, Charlie"

After that event with the secret chocolate bar, Charlie saw how ignoring the Golden Tickets and taking the whole thing as a joke helped him relieve his anxiety and sadness. Before he often felt as if he was going to throw up, he couldn't hold the pressure he put on himself to be the winner for much longer, but now? Now he was just trying to go on with what he likes and think positively.

Things were getting harder, and the lack of a sustainable job was gradually affecting them more, but still, It was good enough for their standards. After their last conversation, Charlie's father decided that the traditional way of looking for a job wasn't enough, so every morning, he instead walked around the city asking any possible employer directly.

With only a single ticket left Wonkamania was at its peak, his mother often read the newspaper out loud to the grandparents, just to see how in China a man was kidnapped, but instead of money for the rescue, the criminals asked for Wonka bars. If It wasn't crazy enough, the news said the wife had it extremely hard to decide what to do.

And it wasn't just the stories about the hunt that got tons and tons of media coverage, the four lucky children became stars during the months of the event and a few more afterward. Controversial ones to be honest, some kids started to imitate their behavior to the parents' dismay, and some of those parents even wanted the contest canceled because they were a bad example.

Talking about bad examples and cancellation, some influential people started to say TV as a whole was harmful to children and would turn them into possible killers, with little Mike Teavee being always brought to the table. It was to the point that shows for adults had to be edited to remove anything not family-friendly.

Apparently, the Salts had monetary issues, for their standards, the insane amount of money and time lost during the ticket hunt hurt the company. Rupert and Angina weren't able to tell their child they would have to cut some corners for her tenth birthday party, they feared the worst and pretended nothing happened.

The biggest betrayal of the month came from Miss Cornelia Pritzmentel. She didn't appreciate being put down on international TV, so when the press interviewed her, she told the whole world that Violet Beauregarde was a bedwetter. Those two even had a fistfight at school, would they still be friends after that?

And don't forget that momentary fame really got on the Gloops' heads, especially because they were adored by the town they lived in. You could often see them giving interviews on the local radio, they even brought nice jackets for the occasion, but it was clear they were a laughing stock, brought there for morbid curiosity.

This worked, It worked well until the inevitable happened one evening

"That's it, that's it! It's all over! The Wonka Contest is all over! The fifth and final ticket has been found by a girl named Charlotte Russe, the child of a renowned scientist, somewhere in Russia" Mr. Bucket read the newspaper

"Well, that's that. No more Golden Tickets" said Grandpa Joe "That girl put an end to wonkamania for all the world"

Grandma Josephine sighed "Probably that's for the better"

"A lot of rubbish, the whole thing." Complained Grandpa George

"For Charlie, it wasn't" Grandpa Joe almost shed a tear "A little boy's got to have something in this world to hope for, what's he got to hope for now?"

Who's going to tell him? Questioned Grandma Georgina

"Let's not wake him" Mrs. Bucket tried to reassure the family "he'll find out soon enough"

"Yeah, let him sleep, let him have one last dream," said Grandpa Joe.

Unknown to them, Charlie wasn't sleeping, he was on his bed, listening to every single detail and silently crying.

Chapter Text

It was clear the Wonkamania ended, no more talking about who would win, no more speculation about Wonka’s Factory, no more chocolate bar wrappers all over the street’s floor, and no more excitement. It wasn’t only Charlie who was disappointed, most kids at his school were oddly quiet and sad-looking, added to the cloudy sky and the blue colors of winter, it really gave a strong melancholic vibe around London.

Mr. Turkentine cleared his throat calling his student’s attention

"Based on the recent disappointing events, I've just decided to switch our Friday schedule to Monday, which means that the test we take each Friday on what we learned during the week will now take place on Monday before we've learned it. But since today is Tuesday, it doesn't matter in the slightest. Pencils ready”

The kids complained loudly, but their teacher ignored them and started his lesson

"Today we are going to learn about percentages. For example, let’s suppose there were around three thousand millions of Wonka Bars in the world — the same as people on the planet. During the contest, you each opened a certain number of them. That number is a percent. Everyone understands?"

They didn’t, most of the kids either shook their heads or looked confused, so Mr. Turkentine had to go with a different approach.

"Miss Veruca Salt’s father bought hundreds of thousands of Wonka bars, let’s assume it was just a hundred thousand for simplicity’s sake. There are so many hundreds of thousands in three-thousand millions; therefore, Mr. Salt opened zero point zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, three percent. Not even they stood a chance, as you can see, only Mr. Mike Teavee did, and that's because he cheated!"

Charlie’s jaw almost hit his desk, he blinked in disbelief at how insignificant Veruca Salt and her wealthy family seemed now

“Have any of you ever been struck by lightning?” Asked Mr. Turkentine, seeing how Miss Laura Flatfoot meekly raised her hand “You don’t count, your leg braces probably attracted the lightning. Anyways, that’s still way more likely than winning a Golden Ticket”

“Got it? Okay, let’s do a little exercise. Now only with a thousand Wonka bars” Said the teacher “You, Madeline Durkin, how many did you open?”

“About a hundred” The girl started thinking “There are ten hundred in a thousand… so it would be ten percent?”

The teacher nodded and pointed towards another student “Peter Goff, your turn”

“I opened a hundred and fifty, that would be…” the boy spent a literal minute grinding his gears “It would be…” everyone was getting impatient “I don’t know…”

The teacher started to write the calculations on the blackboard “Okay, that's ten percent half over again, which makes fifteen percent”

“Charlie Bucket, how many Wonka Bars did you open?” he asked

“Three” The boy answered with his head down

“Woah, I didn’t expect your scrawny body to handle that much chocolate!” Mr. Turkentine’s amazement confused Charlie, then he continued with his class “That's easy. three hundred is thrice one hundred-”

“Not three hundred. Just three” Charlie interrupted the teacher to clarify

Mr. Turkentine cleaned his ear with his pinky to make sure he was listening well “Three? What do you mean you only opened Three?”

“I don't care very much for chocolate” Charlie shrugged, but his eyes told otherwise

“Well that's harder to explain, so let's pretend you opened three hundred. Now, if you opened three hundred Wonka Bars, apart from being dreadfully sick, you'd have used up thirty percent of one thousand, which is more than a fourth of the total, and a good chance to win…"

At that point, Charlie was barely paying attention. As sad as it might seem, during the next two weeks the Wonka Factory contest became the least of his issues, nobody in the family gave a thought now to anything except the two vital problems of trying to keep warm and trying to get enough to eat.

Winter was coming and the weather turned extremely cold. First came the snow. It began very suddenly one morning just as Charlie Bucket was getting dressed for school. Standing by the window, he saw the huge flakes drifting slowly down the street. By evening, it lay four feet deep around the tiny house, to the point Mr. Bucket had to spend an hour digging a path from the front door to the road. After the snow, there came a freezing gale that blew for days and days without a sign of stopping.

It was unbearable for anyone, let alone a weak family that didn't even have money for thicker coats. Everything that Charlie touched seemed to be made of ice, and each time he stepped outside the door, the wind was like knives on his cheeks. Inside the house, it wasn't much better, freezing air came rushing in through the sides of the windows and under the doors, especially in the attic, since the roof was cracked and getting weak. There was just no place to go to escape the cold. The four old ones lay silent and huddled in their bed like birds in a nest, trying to keep the cold out of their fragile bones. Gina Bucket felt absolutely miserable and spent even more time with them, and so did Joey when he wasn't working. The last thing they wanted to see was their poor parents who worked so hard to raise them, freezing to death stuck on an old bed.

There is something about very cold weather that gives one an enormous appetite. Most people find themselves beginning to crave rich steaming stews and hot apple pies and all kinds of delicious warming dishes; and because they are all a great deal luckier than they realize, they usually get what they want — or at least near enough.

But if Charlie could barely get what he wanted back then, now It was even worse, since Mr. Bucket's firing finally caught up to them. In the end, the only way in which he managed to earn a few pennies was by shoveling snow in the streets, but not only did he work from dawn to eve, but it also wasn't enough to buy even a quarter of the food that seven people needed. Especially not when they had to spend part of it on protecting from the deadly cold.

The three bars of chocolate had long since been nibbled away by the family, thirteen ounces each, and Charlie was given five extra ones because it was his Wonka Bar after all. They no longer could afford margarine, so breakfast became a single slice of bread for each person, they could have around three boiled potatoes for lunch, but now they only could have one being quite generous, and their cabbage soup dinner was more and more watery every day. The situation was desperate, as slowly but surely, everybody in the house began to starve.

Charlie Bucket grew thinner, sickishly so. His clothes were more unfitting than ever, to the point he had to use a piece of rope as a belt, to keep his old pants and turtleneck in place. His legs and arm were like wires, if he lifted his sweater you could easily see his ribs underneath, and his thin neck struggled to hold his head, one that had the skin drawn tightly over his cheeks. The poor boy could stand behind a light post and you wouldn’t be able to see him. And the worst part is that his parents and especially his grandparents willingly got the shortest side of the stick. Not only did they look like a bunch of skeletons, even more than the little boy himself they all seemed to age at least twenty years, and their skin was a few tones paler.

Charlie refused to take their food, just the thought of doing so gave him a painful feeling of regret in his guts. In the end, his family had to opt for clever ways of making him eat more, things like serving his soup first and then watering there's more, anything to keep him as healthy and happy as they could.

Trudging through the snow on his way to school and back, was a monumental task. With that curious wisdom that seems to come so often to small children in times of hardship, Charlie began to make little changes here and there in his routine, to save the little energy he had. In the mornings, he left the house ten minutes earlier so that he could walk slowly to school, without ever having the need to run. He sat quietly in the classroom during the break, taking mini naps, while the others rushed outdoors to throw snowballs or wrestle in the snow. Everything he did now, he did slowly and carefully to prevent exhaustion, he even had to leave his job as a paperboy, because his family was so worried he could faint during his shift and freeze in the snow.

Every day, as the boy walked at his slow pace, he would always have to pass houses that emitted wonderful smells of homemade food through their chimneys. Every day he would take his time to sniff everything he could, he couldn't care less about the people who whispered moving past him, he was just trying to survive without hurting anyone.

This became even more clear when he went near Mr. Willy Wonka's giant chocolate factory. At first, he avoided it because he didn't want to be reminded of the contest, but now he would often stand motionless outside the gates for several minutes, sniffing every single candy there and taking deep swallowing breaths as though he were trying to eat the smell itself.

"That child," lamented Grandpa Joe, poking his head up from under the blanket one icy morning, "that child has got to have more food. We're too old and weak to bother with, but he's a growing boy! He can't go on like this! He's the size of a seven-year-old!"

"But what can one do? We're already trying our best" murmured Grandma Josephine miserably. "His mother tried countless times to slip her own piece of bread onto his plate this morning, but he wouldn't touch it"

"Life is so unfair and cruel!" Cried grandma Georgina "He's a good boy, he deserves much better than this, he deserves to be warm, well-fed, and to enjoy his childhood!"

"You know, usually I would be proud of a kid taking care of his elders," said Grandpa George, "but this little fellow is taking it too far. Sometimes I wish he was more selfish…"

With such extreme weather and a weakened immune system, someone getting sick wasn't a surprise, the question was in who and when. And it was Charlie Bucket in the second week of torture, maybe staying so much time outside without the proper clothes, but most likely because half of the kids at school had common colds. It all started with a sore throat and a runny nose, nothing weird or too worrisome, but his body didn't have the strength needed to fight back, so it only got worse over time.

In the break, seeing how the boy kept sneezing every two words, shivering despite the mild of the room, and looked absolutely miserable with his watery beady black eyes, and mucus falling from his nose as if it was a faucet, Mr. Turkentine put his hand on Charlie's forehead.

"Oh my!" He shrieked "You're burning up!"

Charlie could only look at him dazed

The teacher then started to pick his students' books up and put them inside his bag "You should go home and rest, I can't have a student sent to the hospital in my class, that would be crazy!"

The boy nodded and slowly walked out of the class, still too confused by his fever to say much

"Do you need me to call someone?" Mr. Turkentine asked "Your mother? Your father?"

"No" Charlie answered "they are occupied, but I can walk on my own, thanks"

"Get well soon, boy. And don't forget to study for next week's test, I don't delay It just because you're sick"

With those words, Charlie chuckled, left the school building, and started going back home, slower than he ever did, since he could barely keep his balance. As he was on his way he saw something very strange that genuinely scared him, a man sitting alone on a bench, and he ran towards it worried

"Dad? Why aren't you working? Did you get fired again?" The poor boy was about to panic when the man lifted his head confused

Charlie's freckled cheeks blushed, it wasn't his father, but the dim light, similar coat, and his blurry vision confused him. Well, it was embarrassing to confuse someone for your dad, but at least he didn't have to worry.

Then the man asked something with a recognizable voice "Charlie, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

It was the same man that gave him the envelope a while ago, Eugene, his uncle.

"I'm okay," Charlie said with a rather serious tone that showed he wasn't fond of that man

Eugene sighed "Your family didn't accept what I sent them, right?"

"No, and I'm sorry for that" Charlie was polite and genuine with his words "But you can't expect it to fix everything, you hurt Grandpa George, Grandma Georgina, and Mom"

"So they told you everything?" The man actually looked remorseful, was he sorry? Or was he just trying to be the hero of the story?

Charlie nodded with energy, which made his head spin "More or less, Dad said you left to accomplish your dream and never came back"

After a pause, the boy asked some questions that had been bothering him for a while "How did you know I was Charlie Bucket? What were you doing at Mr. Wonka's factory? And why did you decide to help us after so many years?"

"I'm still in contact with your mom, more or less, we talk a bit every once in a while, and last time she showed me a picture of you. You were quite smaller" Eugene explained and then looked down in shame "My acting career didn't really take off, I drive a truck and deliver candies for Mr. Arthur Slugworth. Now that you don't have the ticket I can be honest, I was asked to spy on Mr. Willy Wonka's new invention, the Everlasting Gobstopper, I thought a ticket would fall here, in London, and I wanted to go with you"

Charlie frowned "Even if I won, even if my family let you be in charge of me, I wouldn't let you steal from Mr. Wonka. I'm not a thief!"

"I guess I underestimated you, and I also overestimated myself… again" The man let a crazy laugh out, he was laughing to avoid crying

"What do you mean?" Asked the boy uneasy

"I was selfish and arrogant back then, like most teenagers and young adults, I thought I could eat the world, but the world ended up eating me. I ruined my romantic relationships and I struggle to make ends meet." He got emotional at that point, he was being as honest as he could. "At first my pride didn't let me go back home, but then the longer I was away the harder it became. It was easier to ignore my mistake and keep going"

Charlie sat on the bench with Eugene "Selling the… gobstopper?" He questioned for a moment "And paying the family back won't help you, you can't buy your way out of…"

Eugene turned to Charlie confused, as his speech started to slur, and in less than a minute the boy dropped like a dead weight to the cold floor.

"Charlie? Charlie?!" His uncle put his jacket on him and grabbed him, seeing how sick he was now that he paid more attention to the boy.

Then he ran as fast as he could to the Buckets' house, hoping it would be enough to help him.

The next day Charlie woke up at noon, but he wasn't on his bed, and he wasn't alone either, he found himself sandwiched between Grandma Josephine and Grandpa Joe to keep him warm and safe. Needless to say, Charlie was utterly confused, he tried to remember what happened before, but it all felt like an oddly realistic dream.

The noisy rumbling of his stomach was what brought him back to reality

"What happened?" Charlie asked his mother

"You were very sick, Charlie" his mother explained before hugging him "We're so glad you're okay, darling, the… neighbor, found you on the snow as soon as he could" she stuttered while saying the word "neighbor"

Charlie remembered his conversation with Eugene and assumed he must have been the one who saved him, especially because of his mother's hesitance "Yeah… the neighbor…"

When Charlie got out of bed, every single muscle of his body ached, and he was so ravenously hungry, he could almost feel how his stomach was eating itself

"How long have I been in bed?"

"For almost a day, darling," she said "We had lunch a while ago, now that you're awake I'm going to make your food"

"A day?!" Charlie chuckled as if to say "You're kidding me", but his mother's expression told him she wasn't "What about school?"

"It's okay, you just will need to work harder once you feel better to catch up," she said

"Okay, I can do that", he muttered, then smelling his armpit and wincing "Can I first take a shower and change into my pajamas? I've been on this for a while"

His mother answered without turning to him, as she kept cooking "Sure, just be careful, and if you need any help, we're here"

That week was harsh for Charlie at first but ended up also being extremely helpful, he kept pressuring himself to help the family, he pressured himself so much that he often felt he was about to throw up, even if his stomach was empty.

Luckily for everyone, the weather went a bit calmer the next week, and Charlie fully recovered from his bad cold, stronger than ever despite his struggles. One Friday afternoon, walking back home with the icy wind in his face, his eye was caught suddenly by something silvery lying, it was in the gutter with some wet paper around. Charlie didn't know that, but the envelope Eugene gave him a while ago somehow got there.

He stepped off the curb and bent down to examine it. Part of it was buried under the snow, but he saw at once it was a fifty-pence piece and quickly looked around him.

"Has somebody just dropped it?", he asked himself, but soon he realized it was impossible because of the way part of it was buried.

Several people went hurrying past him on the pavement, their chins sunk deep in the collars of their coats, their feet crunching in the snow. None of them was searching for any money; none of them was taking the slightest notice of the small boy crouching in the gutter. Then was it his? This fifty pence? Could he have it?

It was too deep for Charlie's hand to grab it, so he picked a stick from a nearby tree and used it to carefully get the coin closer until he could pull it under the snow. It was damp and dirty, but otherwise perfect. He held it tightly between his shivering fingers, gazing down at it. A whole fifty pence. It meant one thing to him at that moment, only one thing. It meant food.

Automatically, Charlie turned and began moving towards the nearest shop, Bill’s candy shop to be more specific. It was only ten paces away, and what he would do, he whispered quickly to himself… he would buy one luscious bar of chocolate and eat it all up, every bit of it, right then and there… and the rest of the money he would take straight back home and give to his mother. Yeah, that would be a good plan, they could have a nice dinner tonight.

Charlie entered the shop and laid the damp fifty pence on the counter, breathing on his hands and rubbing them together to keep them warm

“One Wonka's Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight,” he said, remembering how much he had loved that one last time.

The man behind the counter wasn’t Bill, it was his father, also named Bill. He looked short and well-fed, The fat around his neck bulged out all around the top of his collar like a rubber ring, but other than that, he was exactly like his son. He turned and reached behind him for the chocolate bar, then he turned back again and handed it to Charlie.

“Now that all the tickets have been found, I don't have to hide them anymore” The man chuckled. “The ticket hunt was wild, but it sure helped us. Bill could even take his studies back, now that we’re more stable! He always wanted to be a vet”

Charlie smiled hearing the good news, Bill was a nice man, so it was sweet to see him fulfill his dream. Then the boy grabbed the candy bar quickly tore off the wrapper and took an enormous bite. Then he took another and another, and another, and another, ah, the joy of being able to cram large pieces of something sweet and solid into one's mouth. The sheer blissful joy of being able to fill one's mouth with rich solid food almost brought poor little Charlie to tears

“You look like you really wanted that one, Sonny,” the shopkeeper said pleasantly. Charlie nodded, his mouth bulging with chocolate. The shopkeeper put Charlie's change on the counter. “Take it easy, it'll give you a tummy ache if you swallow it like that without chewing”

Charlie went on wolfing the chocolate, he just couldn't stop, and in less than half a minute, the whole thing had disappeared down his throat. The only thing left of it was a few stains of it on the boy’s lips and cheeks. He was quite out of breath, but he couldn’t be happier, at least for a few seconds. As marvelous and tasty as it was, the pleasure of chocolate sadly didn’t last for much, and the boy wished he could have more of it.

He reached out a hand to take the change and then he paused. His eyes were just above the level of the counter. They were staring at the silver coins lying there. The coins were all five-penny pieces, there were nine of them altogether. He wanted to bring the money back to his home, doubting about it made him feel guilty, but what he would give for just another bar of chocolate. Surely it wouldn't matter if he spent a bit more…

“I think…,” he mumbled quietly, “I think… I'll buy just one more of those chocolate bars, for my family” The least he could do was give the second bar to them, they needed to eat and enjoy it too. He would just need to keep his instincts in charge to not eat it himself.

“Why not?” the fat shopkeeper said, “Wanna try a regular Wonka bar this time?”

“Sure! That’s Grandpa Joe’s favorite”

Bill reached behind him, took the Wonka bar off the shelf, and it gave to Charlie.

As the boy walked home, grinning from ear to ear with the chocolate bar in his pocket, he saw a bunch of people flooding Mr. Jopeck’s kiosk, screaming and trying everything they could to buy today’s newspaper.

“Gimme a newspaper!”

“All right, all right, take it easy, one at a time” Mr. Jopeck was struggling to control them

“Who's the one that did it?!”

“Did you hear the news?!”

“All right, all right, just a moment!... wait your turn… give me a chance…” No one listened

A man forcefully grabbed a paper “That kid from Russia made up a phony ticket!”

“That means there's one Golden Ticket still floating around somewhere!”

“Can you imagine the nerve of that girl, trying to fool the whole world?”

“Aw, she really was a crook! Well, this means the contest goes on forever. Wonder where they'll find the next one”

“Take it easy! Take it easy! One at a time!” Mr. Jopeck yelled

Charlie moved past it to avoid any issues, curiosity got the best of him, picked his Wonka bar up, and tore off part of the wrapper, and suddenly, from underneath the wrapper, there came a brilliant flash of gold… Charlie's heart stood still, he continued opening the bar in slow motion, and he even pinched his cheek to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

It was a Golden Ticket, the last Golden Ticket. The boy was smiling, silently bouncing in his place, he was even hyperventilating a bit. He just couldn’t believe it. Charlie’s imagination started to create tons and tons of possibilities, he couldn’t listen to anything around him, he was absolutely lost in his own world, absolutely amazed.

A woman then grabbed Charlie’s arm, startling him “It's a Golden Ticket!” she screamed, leaping about a foot in the air. “You've got a Golden Ticket! You've found the last Golden Ticket! Hey, would you believe it! Come and look at this, everybody! The kids found Wonka's last Golden Ticket! There it is! It's right here in his hands!” It seemed like the woman was having a fit.

In a few seconds, there was a crowd of about twenty people clustering around Charlie, and many more were pushing their way in from the street. Everybody wanted to get a look at the Golden Ticket and at the lucky finder.

“Where is it?!” somebody shouted. “Hold it up so all of us can see it!”

“There it is, there!' someone else shouted. “He's holding it in his hands! See the gold shining!”

“How did he manage to find it, I'd like to know?” a teenage boy shouted angrily. “Twenty bars a day I've been buying for weeks and weeks!”

“Think of all the free stuff he'll be getting too!” another boy, probably his friend said enviously. ”A lifetime supply!”

“He'll need it, the skinny little shrimp” The last teenager in the group, a girl, laughed

Charlie couldn’t move. He hadn't even unwrapped the Golden Ticket from around the chocolate, he was standing very still, holding it tightly with both hands while the crowd pushed and shouted all around him. There was a peculiar floating sensation coming over him, as though he were floating up in the air like a balloon, his feet didn't seem to be touching the ground at all and he felt quite dizzy. He could hear his heart loudly thumping away, it was about to jump out of his chest. At some point, he became aware of a hand resting lightly on his shoulder, and when he looked up, he saw a tall man standing over him.

“Listen,” the man whispered in his ear. “I'll buy it from you, I'll give you fifty pounds, how about it, eh? And I'll give you a new bicycle as well, okay?”

“Are you crazy?!” shouted a woman who was standing equally close. “I’ll give you two hundred pounds for that ticket, that’s fairer”

“That's quite enough of that!' Mr. Jopeck shouted, pushing his way through the crowd and taking Charlie firmly by the arm. “Leave the kid alone!” he led moved Charlie away from the crowd

“Don't you let anybody have it! Take it straight home, quickly, before you lose it! Run all the way and don't stop till you get there, you understand?” Charlie nodded, and off he went, running through the snow as fast as his legs would go like he had not been able to in such a long time. And as he flew past Mr. Willy Wonka's factory, he turned and waved at it and sang out, “I'll be seeing you! I'll be seeing you soon!”

When he was almost at home, he was ambushed by a group of people, who quickly tackled him to the ground and tried to steal the ticket like a bunch of vultures. In this case, Charlie’s small size helped him, and he was able to sneak out of them

“I’ve got it!” A man said holding the Wonka bar up in the air, just to then realize the ticket was no longer inside of it

Charlie burst through the front door, blocking in with several chairs, and then shouting, “Mom! Mom! Mom!”

Mrs. Bucket was in the main room, serving the grandparents their evening soup.

“Everyone, look!” yelled Charlie, rushing in on them like a hurricane. “The last Golden Ticket! It's mine!” Mrs. Bucket simply stood and stared, while the four old grandparents, who were sitting up in bed balancing bowls of soup on their laps, all dropped their spoons with a clatter and froze against their pillows. For about ten seconds there was absolute silence in the room. Nobody dared to speak or move. It was a magic moment.

Then, very softly, Grandpa Joe nervously laughed, “You're pulling our legs, Charlie, aren't you? There aren't any more Golden Tickets”

“No, Grandpa, the last one was fake!” cried Charlie, rushing up to the bed and holding out the large and beautiful Golden Ticket for him to see. “It said so in the papers. I found some money in the street, and I bought a Wonka Bar, and the ticket was in it!”

Grandpa Joe leaned forward and took a close look, his nose almost touching the ticket. The others watched him, waiting for the verdict, as he began to read what was on the ticket:

“Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this Golden Ticket, from Mr Willy Wonka! I shake you warmly by the hand! Tremendous things are in store for you! Many wonderful surprises await you! For now, I do invite you to come to my factory and be my guest for one whole day — you and all others who are lucky enough to find my Golden Tickets. I, Willy Wonka, will conduct you around the factory myself, showing you everything there is to see, and afterward, when it is time to leave, you will be escorted home by a procession of large trucks. These trucks, I can promise you, will be loaded with enough delicious eatables to last you and your entire household for many years. If, at any time thereafter, you run out of supplies, you have only to come back to the factory and show this Golden Ticket, and I shall be happy to refill your cupboard with whatever you want. In this way, you will be able to keep yourself supplied with tasty morsels for the rest of your life. But this is by no means the most exciting thing that will happen on the day of your visit. I am preparing other surprises that are even more marvelous and more fantastic for you and for all my beloved Golden Ticket holders — mystic and marvelous surprises that will entice, delight, intrigue, astonish, and perplex you beyond measure. In your wildest dreams, you could not imagine that such things could happen to you! Just wait and see! And now, here are your instructions: the day I have chosen for the visit is the first day of December. On this day, and on no other, you must come to the factory gates at ten o'clock sharp in the morning. Don't be late! And you are allowed to bring your parents, to calm you down and to ensure that you don't get into mischief. One more thing — be certain to have this ticket with you, otherwise you will not be admitted. (Signed) Willy Wonka”

Then very slowly, with a marvelous grin spreading all over his face, Grandpa Joe lifted his head and looked straight at Charlie. The color was rushing to his cheeks, and his eyes were wide open, shining with joy. Then the old man took a deep breath his whole body was trembling in excitement, and suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, an explosion seemed to take place inside him. He threw up his arms and yelled “Yippeeeeeeee!” At the same time, his long bony body rose up out of the bed and his bowl of soup went flying into his own head.

“Grandpa!” Charlie laughed. He was so glad to finally see him full of joy again.

And in one fantastic leap, the old man jumped onto the floor and started doing a little dance of victory in his pajamas. “Three cheers for Charlie! Hip, hip, hooray!”

Everyone was flabbergasted, even Grandpa Joe himself took a bit to realize what happened, and as soon as he did, his legs got weak and he collapsed into his bed “Look at me! Look at me! Up and about… I haven't done this in twenty years!”

There was knocking on the door, they assumed they must be reporters and didn’t pay attention, but soon Mr. Bucket got there through the window, He was cold and tired, but on top of that he was so confused

“Cripes!” he cried. “What's going on here?” It didn't take them long to tell him what had happened. “I don't believe it!” he said. “It's not possible.”

“Show him the ticket, Charlie!” shouted Grandpa Joe, trying to get out of bed again, but failing “Show your father the fifth and last Golden Ticket in the world!”

Charlie came forward with the precious document. It was a very beautiful thing, this Golden Ticket, having been made, so it seemed, from a sheet of pure gold hammered out almost to the thinness of paper. He quickly read it to be on the same page as the rest of the family.

''The first day of December!' cried Mr. Bucket. “That's tomorrow!”

“There's not a moment to lose” cried Grandpa Joe “You must start making preparations at once! Wash your face, comb your hair, scrub your hands, brush your teeth, blow your nose, cut your nails, polish your shoes, iron your shirt, and for heaven's sake, get all that mud off your pants! You must get ready, my boy! You must get ready for the biggest day of your life!”

“Now don't get too excited yourself, Grandpa,” Mrs. Bucket calmed him down. “And don't fluster poor Charlie. We must all try to keep very calm. Now the first thing to decide is this — who is going to go with Charlie to the factory?”

“I will!' shouted Grandpa Joe, give me the cane, Charlie” Even if he was slow, now with the cane he was able to stand up, it was a miracle “I'll take him! I'll look after him! You leave it to me!”

Mrs. Bucket smiled at the old man, then she turned to her husband and said,

“Well I’m occupied with the house and we can’t leave the other grandparents alone. How about you, dear?”

“Well, I also have to work on the weekends… I think the person who really deserves to go most of all is Grandpa Joe himself. He seems to know more about it than we do. Provided, of course, that he feels well enough-”

“He’s good! He’s good enough!” pleaded Charlie, he really wanted to go with his grandpa

“Hallelujah!” yelled Grandpa Joe, tears of pure joy running down his cheeks “Praise the Lord!”

That night swarms of newspapermen and photographers were trying to pour into the house, like a hoard of zombies. They had tracked down the finder of the fifth Golden Ticket, and now they all wanted to get the full story for the front pages of the morning papers. For several hours, there was complete pandemonium in the little house, and it must have been nearly midnight before Mr. Bucket was able to get rid of them so that Charlie could go to bed.

Chapter Text

The sun was shining brightly on the morning of the big day, but the ground was still white with snow and the air was very cold. Grandpa Joe had woken up so early and so wonderfully, that he still used his cane to walk, but it was clear that he seemed to become young again. He was in front of the mirror, changing between his only three old hats as he didn't know which one to choose for the factory visit.

Charlie was prepared, he even was able to put a thick, soft scarf on his neck, since very slowly, but with care and love, Grandma Josephine and Grandma Georgina managed to knit one for him. As he looked through the window, seeing the big clouds of smoke Mr. Willy Wonka's factory emitted, he started to have some doubts, and Grandpa George saw it

"Come here, little man" he called him, and as soon as he was kneeling down near his side of the bed, he whispered in his ear "What's worrying you? Didn't you want to go in?"

"Yes, I want to, I really want to" Charlie whispered back "It's just that… people offered me money for the Golden Ticket, a lot of it. It could be very helpful"

Grandpa George sighed and then tried to raise his head a bit to look better into Charlie's eyes "Listen, there's a lot of money in the world, everyone has at least a bit of it, but only five of those Golden Tickets. Only a twit would take the deal!" Everyone turned to him as he raised his voice, "Are you a twit, Charlie?"

"No, Grandpa George" the boy smiled

When grandfather and grandchild left the shabby old house, they looked back and waved at the rest of the family. It was just a day, and they weren't going far, but still, for people who weren't able to go anywhere remotely interesting, it was a huge leap.

"What will we see of Wonka's factory, Grandpa?" Asked Charlie

"I don't know, my boy" Grandpa Joe scratched his head "But you know what? I think it's better that way, a nice surprise"

Of course, Charlie knew the way to the factory like the palm of his hand, but this time he and Grandpa Joe took a very slow walk, not only because the man — with one hand on his cane and the other holding Charlie, was too old and tired to move faster, but also because he was utterly amazed by everything he saw. The last time he got out of his bed was so long ago, and even then, at that time he was already getting sick and going out less and less every day.

Their poor neighborhood didn't change in the slightest, but as they got deeper into the city Grandpa Joe felt as if he was transported to a different world, it was pretty much time travel for him, minus the twenty years bedridden. Even if at first he could only waddle confused, soon his brain got filled with memories of how everything was back then.

"Look, Charlie! This store used to be a barber shop back then!" Said Grandpa Joe pointing at the small business "I remember how nice the owner was, he was the one who made sure I looked my best at my wedding. He also did It with your grandpa George and your father"

"Woah! I didn't know that" answered Charlie "Now I wish it was still there, then he would cut my hair for my wedding too"

"Oh la la! Do you have a sweetheart? You didn't tell me about that!" Grandpa Joe joked, carefully elbowing Charlie

"What are you talking about?!" The boy chuckled while blushing, playfully pushing his grandpa a tiny bit, to not hurt him "I think I haven't found my type yet"

The man patted his back "Trust me, you will know when you find her. As soon as I met my Josephine I knew she was the one for me"

"What a sap" Charlie laughed

"Oh, I will remember these words!" Grandpa Joe was over dramatic and pretended to be offended, but he was clearly not "just to see how well they hold up once you fall in love"

They kept walking, and thankfully his face wasn’t shown on TV, because otherwise, they would have the press over them in every single step, just like it was with the other winners. Outside the gates of Wonka's factory, enormous crowds of people had gathered to watch the five lucky ticket holders going in, the excitement was tremendous, It was just before ten o'clock and soon Mr. Wonka would make his appearance. The crowds were pushing and shouting, and policemen with arms linked were trying to hold them back from the gates. Right beside the gates, in a small group that was carefully shielded from the crowds by the police, stood the five famous children, together with the grown-ups who had come with them.

Charlie and his grandpa were the last ones to arrive, some policemen helped them sneak into the protected group, and now they could be calm, more or less. The first thing they saw were three of the children brutally playing in the snow, they were Mike, Augustus, and Violet, running, jumping, wrestling, and throwing snowballs at each other. They were having a lot of fun messing with each other’s clothes and hair, but their parents were rather worried

"Augustus, be careful! You're bigger and stronger than the rest, and you almost crushed them before!" Cried Mr. Gloop conflicted, he was proud and worried at the same time

"Mike, please, don’t hit others with your guns," Mrs. Teavee said, calm at first but then getting nervous "Mike! Stop! This is not one of your favorite action movies,"

"Violet! You’re supposed to be a lady, not an ogre! Come back here right now!” yelled Mrs. Beauregarde, while her husband kept cheering for his child to win as if he was watching a football match

Charlie and Grandpa Joe first looked at each other confused but then started laughing quietly, not wanting to anger the parents even more.

The only one of the brats that was standing with her parents was Veruca Salt, but who can blame her? If Charlie ever wore clothes that were nice and expensive, he would avoid getting them dirty at all costs. He wasn’t fond of that girl, but he was a polite little gentleman, so he moved close to her and said “hi”, and so did Grandpa Joe with her parents

“Hi!” She answered back “You’re another one of the Golden Ticket winners, right?”

“Yes, I’m Charlie Bucket, the last one” He explained to the girl

“I’m Veruca Salt”

Then she realized something that shocked her “Aren’t you freezing?! This country is so cold and you don’t have a coat on!”

“Well… I’m a bit used to it…” Charlie didn’t want to talk about his poverty with strangers

“Oh, I know, it must be one of those macho man dares or something” she pointed with her head at the kids fighting in the snow. Before Charlie could answer she was back on track with her theory “You’re not impressing anyone, do yourself a favor and buy better clothes once you get home”

Charlie was confused, he didn’t know if she was trying to be nice or mean, so just in case he smiled and nodded, then went back to his place. Soon they were all standing in a horizontal line, from right to left: the Gloops, the Salts, the Beauregardes, and the Teavees. In the middle of it, Grandpa Joe’s tall bony figure stood out in the crowd, and he was carefully and affectionately putting his hands on Charlie’s shoulders.

As the parents of the three playful children were trying their best to remove the snow from the kids, Charlie heard Veruca Salt complain about something

“I’m tired of waiting! when can we go in?!” She was tapping her foot

“It’s not time yet, sweetie,” her mother told her as she rubbed her arm

“Then make time go faster” The kid scoffed and crossed her arms

Everyone could hear the shouts of the people in the crowd as they pushed and fought to get a glimpse of the famous children.

"There's Violet Beauregarde!" A man shouted,

"That's her alright! I can remember her face from the newspapers!" Someone else replied,

and the family could be seen sporting big grins until someone else shouted back

"And you know what? She's still chewing that dreadful old piece of gum" The crowd started laughing and pointing at the girl "She's had it for three months! You look at her jaws! They're still working on it!"

"My gum is not dreadful… they are crazy" Violet muttered under her breath

Charlie thought she was about to cry, which was weird, she acted differently on TV, and she couldn't be hurt by just a few words. But then she quickly changed her attitude to one he knew more. Angry, she kneeled on the floor and made a snowball, one she was clearly about to throw to the crowd before her parents stopped her.

"Who's the big fat boy?" Asked someone on a different side of the crowd

"Don't you know? That's Augustus Gloop!" A woman replied with energy

"Enormous, isn't he? I wonder how big the doors of his house must be!"

Augustus and his parents were aware of the conversation, but they didn't react much, which made Charlie wonder if they understood English properly, or if the tactless comments and laughs at their expense didn't bother them.

Augustus had enough at some point and walked towards the people that were talking with him, close enough for them to hear him, but far enough to avoid physical confrontation

"You really want to go in, don't you?" At first glance, his words seemed compassionate and the crowd nodded.

But then he laughed and took a bite of his chocolate bar "Well, too bad you didn't find the Golden Ticket"

Mike Teavee received a similar reception, with people pointing and mocking him, as he played pretend with his guns, not listening to them

"Look at the gun nut over there! The kid with a picture of The Lone Ranger stenciled on his windcheater!"

"That's Mike Teavee! He's the television fiend! I'm sure he eats all his meals in front of the screen, it's ludicrous!" Said, someone

"He must be crazy! Look at all those toy pistols he's got hanging all over him!" Another cried

Mike, please, can you tone it down a bit?" His father was ashamed

"They can laugh all they want, I've heard in some weird newscast that the US government wants to conquer the UK. Let's see who's laughing then" Mike explained calmly, but with spite in his voice, pretending he was now shooting the ones that bothered him

"The one I want to see is Miss Veruca Salt!" shouted another voice in the crowd. "She's the girl whose father bought up half a million chocolate bars and then made the workers in his peanut factory unwrap every one of them until they found a Golden Ticket! He gives her anything she wants! Absolutely anything! She only has to start screaming for it and she gets it"

"Dreadful, isn't it?" Asked someone rhetorically

"Shocking, I call it!" Said a third voice

Veruca kept her head high and refused to even look at them. They were just jealous of her and wasn't going to give them anything to talk about

"Which do you think is her?" Asked a woman

"That one! Over there, between the fat boy and the short boy! The little girl in the silver mink coat!" A man pointed at her as he answered

Charlie was about to sigh in relief when he heard his name also being called out

"Which one is Charlie Bucket?"

"Charlie Bucket? Never heard of him" Some people weren't aware that he won, and honestly, that was for the better

"He must be that skinny little shrimp standing beside the old fellow who looks like a skeleton" a man pointed at them "Very close to us. Just there! See him? He's the only black kid"

"Why hasn't he got a coat on in this cold weather?" A kid was confused

"Don't ask me. Maybe he can't afford to buy one" their parents answered

"Goodness me! He must be freezing!" Someone in the crowd shrieked

Charlie, standing only a few paces away from the speaker, gave Grandpa Joe's hand a squeeze, and the old man looked down at Charlie and smiled.

"Poverty is so harsh, look at this boy…"

Somewhere in the distance, a church clock began striking ten, and the crowd became suddenly silent, uncomfortably so. They all stood still, took a deep breath, closed their eyes, and kept trying to picture Mr. Willy Wonka in their minds.

The man himself, or better said, their idealized vision of him, looked extremely different in every kid's mind.

For Mike Teavee Mr. Willy Wonka was some kind of lone ranger-like mad genius. He was a rowdy middle-aged man with a serious glare and a huge and colorful cowboy hat, who kept smoking a candy pipe and spitting gumdrops on the floor. And on his belt, he carried different gobstopper guns to shoot at the big bad spies.

For Veruca Salt Mr. Willy Wonka was a young cute man. He was rather small in size, delicate, and classy, but he was far from weak or cowardly, he was basically a fairytale prince. The whimsical prince of Candyland, with long blond hair in a ponytail, and extremely colorful fancy clothes, including a candy cane sword.

For Violet Beauregarde Mr. Willy Wonka was a grandpa, but not any grandpa, one that always sported a cocky grin, had a cotton candy pompadour, wore a leather jacket, and kept jamming at rock and roll music. A visionary and a rebel, the coolest one of them, who was loved by everyone and never lost his spark.

For Augustus Gloop Mr. Willy Wonka was another middle-aged man, but a very different one. He was round and funny-looking, with a long beard made of popcorn, a carnival owner, a magician, or something of the sort. They were going to have a blast with Mr. Wonka, he was always laughing and cracking jokes.

Charlie couldn't stop thinking about the amazing stories Grandpa Joe told him about Mr. Willy Wonka, he didn't even have time to picture the man himself. Then, very slowly and with a loud creaking of rusty hinges, the great iron gates of the factory began to swing open.

"There he is!" Charlie shouted, squinting his eyes to see a human-like shadow "That's him!"

The crowd immediately erupted into cheers and applause. Everyone, including Charlie and Grandpa Joe, was going bananas.

He was right, Mr. Wonka was standing all alone just inside the open gates of the factory, and what a flamboyant little man he was. Just by his clothes alone, you could tell he was as eccentric and attention-loving as he was famous, rich, and powerful.

He wore a tailcoat made of a beautiful plum-colored velvet, over a gray dress shirt, and a yellow vest. Bottle green trousers, pearly gray gloves, and a comically large bow tie that resembled a candy wrapper were there too. On his feet, he had black, shiny, and pointy leather shoes, and on his head, he had a black top hat, leaning more to one side than the other.

Mr. Willy Wonka had a long angular face, a big nose, and gray hair. It looked messy and crazy, but it took him an hour every morning to style it that way. Covering his chin, there was a small, neat, pointed black beard — a goatee. And his eyes, his beautiful eyes, were blue and full of life.

However, there was something odd, the man was not only way older than most expected, but he seemed to be heavily relying on his gold-topped walking cane, wobbling as he slowly limped towards the gates.

Finally, the entire crowd realized that Mr. Willy Wonka, the chocolate magician, wasn't what they expected. Charlie looked at Grandpa Joe with sympathy and disappointment in his eyes, and the old man squeezed his hand in support.

The applause gradually died out and there was dead silence once more. Every kid and grown-up kept staring at the chocolatier as if he was a zoo animal, some even started to whisper some rather rude things to each other.

"Is he crippled?" Violet Beauregarde asked her parents, with her finger shoved so up in her nose. She wasn't ill-intentioned this time, she sounded a bit worried, but her bluntness made her mother shush her, and slap her hand. They had to give Mr. Willy Wonka a good first impression, they couldn't offend or disgust him

Then, the tapping of the cane stopped, and to everyone's horror, it was because it was stuck in the snow behind Mr. Wonka. He stood frozen on the spot, the hand that was not holding his top hat was opening and closing, he was trying to find his walking cane. Before anyone could run to his aid, the man fell forward.

Most of the crowd closed their eyes, unable to see their hero literally fall from grace. But were they wrong, because he didn't faceplant, instead he somersaulted and spread his arms wide, and he smiled at the five children who were clustered near the gates? Mr. Willy Wonka did quick moves, and his face was stuffed with laughter and joy. He was alive, as alive as he could be, like an old squirrel from the park.

"Welcome, my friends! Welcome to my chocolate factory!" His voice was high and flutey, full of energy and confidence, yet extremely reassuring and charming

The crowd, again, erupted into thundering applause at the small performance, even louder than before. The five Golden Ticket winners began bouncing up and down, their previous sadness, disappointment, or annoyance of what they saw completely forgotten. Charlie then looked at Grandpa Joe's cane and felt a bit guilty, but that changed when he saw the grandpa himself grinning from ear to ear, unbothered by his condition.

"Will you come forward with your Golden Ticket? One at a time, please" Mr. Willy Wonka moved his hand to emphasize his words “It's nice to have you here, I'm so glad you could come!” This is going to be such an exciting day, I hope you enjoy it, I know you will”

Before anyone else could handle their ticket, the big fat boy stepped up, pushing Mike and Violet, who got in his way, and ignored Veruca’s complaints about wanting to go in first

“Augustus Gloop!,” he introduced himself, offering the man a handshake

“Augustus! My dear boy! How good to see you!” cried Mr. Wonka, seizing his hand and pumping it up and down with such terrific force, that his arm almost pumped off his shoulder

“I love your chocolate,” The boy said, taking half of a chocolate bar in a single bite

“I love my chocolate too, glad to see we have so much in common!” Mr. Wonka was clearly just as excited as everybody else “And these are your parents? How nice! Would you just step over there for a minute?

“My name is Veruca Salt,” said the next child to go forward, doing a cute little curtsy with her dress, and then handling her ticket to the chocolatier.

“Veruca! What a pleasure this is!” Mr. Wonka quickly checked the Golden Ticket, it was quite in order. “You do have an interesting name, I always thought that a verruca was a sort of wart that you got on the sole of your foot, but yeah, I must be wrong”

The girl’s frown was replaced with a big proud smile when the man changed the subject “And how pretty you look in that lovely mink coat!”

“I've got three others at home” She explained

“Mr. Salt? And Mrs Salt?” Willy Wonka eyed the parents that were behind her “Overjoyed to see you, please go in!”

The next boy, Mike Teavee, had a and behind his back and a devious grin when he showed his Golden Ticket

“I’m Mike Teavee,” He said, but before Mr. Wonka could answer, the kid pulled a toy gun that violently hit him right in his privates, to his parent’s horror

“Wham! You’re dead!”

For a second he bent over in pain, with a quiet high-pitched cry, Mr. and Mrs. Teavee got closer to help him, but he didn’t need it, instantly he got up as if nothing happened, playing along with the boy “Wonderful to meet you, Mike! You got me” they did a handshake

“Wait 'til I get a real one, Colt 45,” Mike said “Father doesn’t let me have one”

“Not until you're twelve, son” His father was anxious

“What a playful little boy you have”

Mr. and Mrs. Teavee thanked Mr. Wonka and the family moved to their assigned spot

The last brat stepped up “What kind of gum you got here?” She asked

Mr. Wonka saw where that hand was before, so instead of a handshake, he affectionately pat her head “Darling child, welcome to Wonka's”

Violet grinned, and now Willy Wonka had a kid clinging to him

“This is Violet Beauregarde, she’s a bit overexcited” explained her mother

“Charming, charming!” Mr. Wonka rubbed her back and tried to get away from her thigh hug

The father helped as he pushed Violet to the side to promote his business “Sam Beauregarde here, Mr. Wonka!

Mr. Willy Wonka was about to greet him when he was interrupted again

“If ever you need anything in the automotive line, just call Sam B, phone number on the card. With Sam B, it's a guarantee!”

As the Beauregardes left, Charlie and Grandpa Joe were the only ones in the line. Mr. Wonka had a puzzled expression for a second until he seemed to remember something important and clapped

“You must be the one that found the ticket yesterday! Chuck? was that your name?”

“Charlie, Charlie Bucket” The boy introduced himself

“Well, Charlie, just in time, my dear boy!” Mr. Willy Wonka shook Charlie’s hand more carefully, seeing how he was almost skin and bones, but still, it was like a thunderbolt for the kid” You want to have fun, don't you?” he winked

Charlie nodded with a smile and handled Mr. Wonka the last Golden Ticket

“And who is this gentleman?” The man asked while facing Grandpa Joe

“I’m Joseph Bucket, Charlie’s grandfather” he answered, and then, with butterflies in his stomach he continued talking with his idol “I used to work for you long ago-”

“Ah! don’t you tell me you were one of those pesky spies!”

“No! No! No! No!” Grandpa Joe frantically shook his head “I operated the machines. Lanky Joe, remember me?”

“Joe? No way! You’re so old now!” Of course, Mr. Wonka barely remembered any of his old workers, who would in his place? But he was a master of pretending, and he did his best to have every single one of his guests pleased with the tour. “Delighted to see you, sir! Overjoyed! Enraptured! Enchanted!”

With a quick glance he saw everyone was there, and with a quick jump, he got in front of the group “All right! Excellent! Now follow me, the tour is about to begin… And please don't wander off by yourselves! I’d rather not lose any of you at this soon” If they all were too amazed by everything, they would have thought about it twice before entering.

Charlie glanced back over his shoulder and saw the great iron entrance gates slowly closing behind him. The crowd on the outside was still pushing and shouting, trying to get in for a last time, Charlie took a last look at them, hoping no one got injured trying to enter. Then, as the gates closed with a clang, all sight of the outside world disappeared.

“When do I get my chocolate?” Asked Augustus Gloop, who finished his last chocolate bar, like a kid who finishes their popcorn before the film even starts.

“Later, you won’t go home without chocolate” his mother tried to calm him down”

It was very nice and warm inside, but not too hot, to the point working with chocolate would be impossible. God knows how much money that cost Mr. Wonka daily

“My workers are used to an extremely hot climate! They can't stand the cold! They'd perish if they went outdoors in this weather! They'd freeze to death!”

“But who are these workers?” asked Veruca Salt, who was the first in the group

“All in good time, my dear girl!” Mr. Wonka refused to answer, that wasn’t in the plan, and they would discover that later on.

“Okay…” Veruca pretended it was fine, how could he ignore her question? how rude!

“Everyone following? Good! Would you mind closing the door? Thank you!” Said the owner of the factory to Grandpa Joe, as was the last one in the line

Charlie Bucket found himself standing in a long corridor that stretched away in front of him as far as he could see. The corridor was so wide that a car could easily have been driven along it, the walls were pale pink, and the lighting was soft and pleasant.

“How lovely and warm!” said Charlie in awe

“I know. And what a delicious smell!” answered Grandpa Joe, taking a long deep sniff.

All the most wonderful smells in the world seemed to be mixed up in the air around them — the smell of roasting coffee, burnt sugar, melting chocolate, mint, violets, crushed hazelnuts, apple blossom, caramel, lemon peel… Ah, so wonderful, and that was only the beginning of the tour. Far away in the distance, from the heart of the great factory, came a muffled roar of energy, as some of the monstrous gigantic machines were spinning their wheels at breakneck speed.

Mrs. Beauregarde saw a small door with a sign and then whispered something to her child “Violet, there’s a bathroom over there, do you need to go?”

“Can you cool it, ma? I’m not a baby…” Violet complained sheepishly”

“Here we are! The main corridor” cried Mr Wonka, trotting along in front of the group and raising his voice over the noise. “Now hats, coats, galoshes, over here. But hurry please, we have so much time and so little to see” He stopped for a bit realizing his slip “Wait a minute! Strike that, reverse it. Thank you!”

“Boy, what a bunch of weird-looking coat hangers you’ve got here!” Mike Teavee chuckled, pointing with his thumb at them. They looked like tiny hands. His parents then started mumbling something about abstract art, not knowing the only reasons the hangers were like that were for fun and practical reasons, nothing deep… in this specific case.

As the Salts left their coats, hats, and purses behind, the coat hangers suddenly grabbed them. The three screamed,

“What was that?!” Shrieked Mrs. Salt

“This machine could have broken someone’s finger!” cried Mr. Salt

“Little surprises around every corner but nothing dangerous! Don't be alarmed” The chocolatier tried to calm his guests down “And as soon as your outer vestments are in hand, we'll begin. Now, will the children kindly step up here” He then tapped the floor with his cane.

He slowly pulled back a curtain to reveal an oversized contract, in fact, it covered one of the walls. The top of it was in big bold letters and it said: “Whereas the management cannot be held responsible for any accidents, incidents, loss of property, or life, or limb…” the further you read into it, the smaller the letters became, and no one could see them well.

A parent started muttering as they read “Floods, fire, frost, or frippery?”

“Accidents? What kind of accidents?” Said one of them

“Labor unions?” Asked another

and soon everyone was questioning everything:

“I didn't know we had to sign anything for this tour”

“I’m trying to determine…”

“I can't see what it says at the bottom!”

Mr. Willy Wonka loudly clapped to get everyone’s attention, and then he handed Violet Beauregard the beautiful quill pen

“Violet! You’re first, sign here” he pointed with his cane

The girl shrugged and was about to sign it, but she was stopped in her tracks by Mr. Beauregarde, who tightly held her hand “Violet, baby, don't you sign anything there” Then he frowned at Mr. Wonka “Hold it! What's this all about?”

“Standard form of contract” Mr. Wonka explained calmly

“Don't talk to me about contracts, I use 'em myself. They're strictly for suckers!” The father claimed arrogantly, putting his hands on his hips

“Yes, but you wouldn't begrudge me a little protection. A drop” The chocolatier emphasized his words putting his fingers together and leaving a small space between them

Violet was in the middle of both men, mindlessly chewing and looking at whoever was talking. At that point, she probably wasn’t even listening

“My Veruca won't sign anything either” Mr. Salt cut them

“Then she won't go in. Sorry, not sorry, rules of the house” Mr. Wonka shrugged with a mischievous smile that would become so iconic on him.

“Don’t you dare to stop me, Daddy!” Veruca Salt pouted “Pop, I want to go in, I want to!” followed Violet Beauregarde

“What about me, Grandpa? We have nothing to lose, right?” Charlie looked at Grandpa Joe for an answer, and he nodded “Of course! Sign away, Charlie!”

Charlie stepped up to the platform and politely asked for the pen. Once he had it, he carefully signed the contract. He was so excited that his pulse was extremely shaky.

“Nicely handled, Charlie! That child knows where he’s going” Mr. Wonka ruffled Charlie’s hair and the boy went back to where his grandpa was, with a smile on his face

“Violet?” Mr. Wonka asked her again, lifting his fingers under her chin with affection. The girl let out a childish giggle and picked the pen up

“Wait a minute, what's all that small print there at the bottom?” Mr. Beauregarde asked, not realizing Violet was already signing behind his back

“Oh, if you have any problems, dial information, thank you for calling! Sir” It was clear Mr, Wonka was telling him to stop and move away from the wall

“Don’t bother Sam,” Told him Mrs. Beauregarde, then rolled her eyes “She always does what she wants…”

When the man looked back at the contract, and then at his kid, leaving the platform, he called for her annoyed “Violet, Violet!”

Little Veruca Salt sneaked through the crowd and jumped in front of Mr. Wonka, almost startling him “You want to sign too?!” He asked the kid rhetorically, giving her the pen.

She carefully signed with a very polished calligraphy, “See, you don’t need to make everything so difficult” she told her parents in a sickeningly sweet, passive-aggressive tone

“You can follow her good example!” the man called the missing kids “Augustus? Mike?”

Mike didn’t have extra weight to carry around, well, not counting the toy guns, so he got there first and started signing the contract. His way of poorly drawing a cartoon TV, and putting his name below it was quite cute and made Mr. Wonka smile

“I assume there's an accident indemnity clause,” Mrs. Teavee asked

“Never between friends” Willy Wonka answered

“Saw this in a movie once” Mike explained to everyone in the room “Guy signed his wife's insurance policy, and then he bumped her off!”

The man opened his eyes in surprise, but then crossed his arms and tapped his chin as if he was considering it “Clever” he said out loud

Augustus then followed, he took the quill pen and started signing in big bold letters “The ticket said there were going to be more surprises, what are they?” He asked

“Patience, little dear, patience!” Mr. Wonka took the kid by the shoulders, he wanted to tell him something important “It’s not a surprise if you know what it is, everything has to be in order, and I’m sure will love it. You just need to wait a bit”

"Everyone ready? Follow me then!" Said Mr. Wonka as he launched himself into the corridor, the tails of his plum-colored velvet coat flapping behind him, and the visitors all hurried after him. It was quite a large party of people, nine grown-ups and five children, fourteen in all, so you can imagine that there was a good deal of pushing and shoving as they hustled and bustled down a dead-end hallway, covered in disorienting trippy patterns

"Uh, there must be some mistake here" Mr. Teavee chimed in worried, trying to find an exit

Veruca Salt then started to hyperventilate and scream "There's no way out! We're trapped!"

Mr. Wonka tried to maneuver as best as he could in the tight space "The door must be somewhere, finding it is hard with so many people…"

"I don't like this, sir," Cried Mr. Salt "I don't like it at all!"

"Is this a trick or something, Wonka?!" Yelled Mr. Beauregarde

"Help! Hercule, help! I'm getting squashed! Save me!" Mrs. Gloop screamed,

"You're the one doing the squashing!" Complained Mike Teavee, uncomfortably squeezed between the woman and the wall

Grandpa Joe used his height to look better at his environment, he lost Charlie at some point and now was trying to find him in a panic

"Let me out or I'll scream!" Threatened Veruca, as if she wasn't already screaming

Mrs. Teavee shrieked and yelped, almost hitting the roof "Somebody touched my butt! For the love of god hope it's you, Norman!"

"Stop it, please" groaned Mr. Wonka, patting the walls "Let me focus…"

"Oh, don't be a darn fool, Wonka! that's the way we came in!" Mr. Beauregarde yelled,

"We've just come through there!" Also, Cried Mrs. Salt in frustration

"Are you sure? How do you like that?" After saying those words with a cocky smile, Mr. Willy Wonka leaned against the door, opening it and showing a new corridor. The crowd emitted their "Oh"s and "Aw"s in amazement

"What is this? Some kind of funhouse?" Veruca's father was annoyed

"Why, having fun?" The chocolatier innocently tilted his head when he asked the man

"It's all different…" Violet was bewildered and stepped forward to follow Mr. Wonka when her mother grabbed her by the shoulders

"I've had enough! I'm not going in there" Mrs. Beauregarde said firmly, then starting to move away with her child "Come on, Violet, we're getting out of here!"

"Oh, you can't get out backward, you've gotta go forwards to go back!" Mr. Wonka laughed and continued walking into the new corridor. With no other option, they had to press on

Once the dead-end hallway was empty, Grandpa Joe found little Charlie on the floor, and thankfully unharmed. His head was spinning and he took a deep breath of now-free air

"Is the room getting smaller? Or am I getting bigger?" Augustus Gloop chuckled and started jumping around the room.

"I’m sure the room is getting smaller!" Said Violet

"No, it's not, he's getting bigger!" Said, Mike

Truth be told, no one was right. It was the perspective of the room that made the illusion of the size change. The crowd stood half-crouched, there it was a small metal door that didn't look as imposing as it should

"You're not squeezing me or my son through that tiny door!" Cried Mr. Gloop

"My dear friends, you are now about to enter the nerve center of the entire Wonka Factory. Inside this room, all of my dreams become realities, and some of my realities become dreams too"

The man took a set of keys from his pocket and put the biggest one of them in the keyhole

"Ladies and gentlemen… boys and girls…" Mr. Wonka started to slowly open the door "Hold your breath, make a wish, count to three…"

Chapter Text

Every single one of the guests, from the youngest to the oldest, from the meanest to the nicest, from the biggest dreamer to the most skeptical, everyone, was absolutely stunned.

Veruca moved her head from side to side, she didn't even know where to start looking. Augustus started giggling as he tried to guess every single delicious smell. A soft sound was heard when Mike, in shock, dropped his pistols to the ground. And as Violet kept bouncing in excitement, she almost choked on her gum.

The adults were equally as amazed, they were smiling, fidgeting, and cheering as if for a moment they had become kids again. Some had to take double, triple, or even quadruple takes because it was unbelievable.

And even then, It was nothing compared to what little Charlie Bucket experienced at the moment. The boy that hasn't seen much outside of his dull sad neighborhood, was frozen in the spot, bubbles of pure joy were building up in his stomach, and his dropped jaw slowly turned into the happiest, sweetest, and most genuine smile anyone had ever seen.

Crazy as it might seem, in that day and age, inside a chocolate factory, they were looking down upon a lovely and colorful candy valley.

There were green meadows on either side of it, and along the bottom flowed a great brown river that beautifully reflected the room's light. Halfway along the river was a tremendous waterfall, a steep cliff over which the water curled and rolled in a solid sheet, and then went crashing down into a boiling churning whirlpool of froth and spray. Graceful trees and bushes were growing along the riverbanks — weeping willows with giant gummy bears on their branches, pines full of golden caramel apples, and tall clumps of rhododendrons with their pink and blue cotton candy blossoms. In the meadows, there were thousands of gorgeous buttercups, all of them made of the sweetest sugar, and bushes with different berry-flavored gumdrops, huge luminous lollies, layered candy rocks, and a path made of mints with the diameter of a foot…

Below the waterfall, at least a dozen glass pipes were dangling down into the river from somewhere high up in the ceiling. They really were enormous, a fully grown person could fit there, and they were sucking up the brownish muddy water from the river and carrying it away to goodness knows where. And because they were transparent, you could see the liquid flowing and bubbling along inside them, and above the noise of the waterfall, you could hear the never-ending suck-suck-sucking sound of the pipes as they did their work.

Charlie turned to his grandfather when he heard some muffled sobs, he was silently crying.

"Grandpa, are you okay?" Asked the boy worried, and some of the adults also looked concerned at his state

Grandpa Joe stood still for a second, then he wiped his tears "I'm not okay, I'm way more than okay, I'm great, amazing, wonderful even!" His tears were not ones of grief or sadness, they were ones of pure joy "I've never thought I could see something so beautiful"

"The chocolate room!" Cried Mr. Wonka, dancing a bit as he went down the stairs. The guests were still bewildered and dazzled, completely bowled over by the hugeness of the whole thing. So they slowly followed him.

"Do you like my trees? and my lovely bushes? Don't you think they look pretty? Mr. Wonka asked as they walked, then swung his cane to stop Mr. Beauregarde, who was about to get in front of him, missing him by a little "I told you I hated ugliness! A place like this could only exist underground, otherwise, we wouldn’t have enough space!" He continued with what he was saying

"And of course, they are all eatable! Everything is, you can eat the whole thing!" He was back on track, walking and talking

"I think you mean edible, sir" politely corrected Mr. Teavee, stopping when the cane swung in the direction he was in, almost hitting him

Now on the grass, Mr. Wonka took a blade of It and showed it to the rest, who looked puzzled "The grass you are standing on, my dear little ones, is made of a new kind of soft, minty sugar that I've just invented! I call it swudge!"

The man ate it with pleasure and said "Try a blade for yourself! Please do!"

Not everyone was fully convinced yet, in fact, all but two people had their doubts about the whole ordeal. With that man, it was hard to tell if he was being honest, or if he was mocking you

"I don't know, I've been tricked into eating things that didn't taste good a few times," said Augustus Gloop while looking at the blade he picked up. It sure did look like regular grass "and they were always green…"

"Come on, kid, do you think Mr. Willy Wonka would lie to you?" Grandpa Joe encouraged him to try, then slowly and painfully bent down to pick two blades, one for Charlie, and one for himself.

Charlie carefully helped him get up "Hey, hey, hey, don't force your body, grandpa. I'll get the next things for you, okay?"

While Grandpa Joe was sure Mr. Wonka was someone to trust, Charlie was at a middle point. He knew everything was possible there, but at the same time, it still felt impossible

At the same time this was happening, Violet Beauregarde took her piece of world-record-breaking chewing gum out of her mouth and stuck it carefully behind her ear. Then she grabbed a grass blade

"Ew!" Exclaimed Veruca, flinching in disgust "You actually do that? I thought you were exaggerating!"

Upon hearing those words Violet stuck her tongue out, and then started chewing on the sweet minty grass with a frown

"Veruca, please, you could word it more nicely" Mrs. Salt tried to be slightly strict "I'm sorry Mrs. Beauregarde, we don't want problems" she apologized

"Does that mean you think my kid is revolting?" The woman asked as she raised a brow "Because I could say things about your kid too…"

"Yo Wonka! This thing is fantastic!" Violet cried, not only stopping the argument but also showing everyone Mr. Wonka wasn't pulling their legs or mocking them

Grandpa Joe nudged Charlie a bit, then said "You need to trust your elders more, little boy" in a playful manner.

The grandfather and grandson slowly ate their blades of grass, used to their careful eating habits of the few sweets they could get

"Isn't it wonderful?!" Charlie was amazed

And so was Grandpa Joe "I could go around on all fours like a cow and eat the whole field!"

Automatically, everybody bent down and picked their blade of grass, well, everyone except Augustus, who took a big handful.

"Ah, this is more my style!" Mike Teavee took another blade and put it between his teeth and stayed that way for a while, posing like a cowboy. "Do you have something stronger?"

"I sure do! You can try the buttercups, I bet you'll love them" Mr. Wonka boasted

"I did it first! Wasn't that great?" Violet asked Mr. Wonka puffing her chest with pride

The chocolatier thought about it "Well, you look confident, and confidence is key"

Violet turned to her parents for reassurance, with a big smile. While Mr. Beauregarde looked proud and gave her a thumbs up, Mrs. Beauregarde seemed disappointed in her kid's blatant and desperate need for praise

"Now, you can explore what you want, eat as much as your stomach can hold!" the man explained, doing a circle in the air with his cane "Oh, and please, don't touch the river!"

Willy Wonka wasn't sure if anyone heard his last words, because everyone started running aimlessly around the room, looking for which candies to devour like a wild animal.

Charlie and Grandpa Joe picked candy canes they could even use to walk, each one appropriate to their size. They then tried to dance with them, which was hard given their almost non-existent muscles, but it for sure was fun. Grandfather and grandson then started juggling and passing the canes while laughing, and when they were about to eat it, they realized they got it wrong, with Charlie having Grandpa Joe’s cane, while Grandpa Joe had Charlie’s.

As Mr. Wonka happily walked by their side, they looked at him, curious and excited to see what such a wonderful candy man would do in such a wonderful candy place.
Veruca was jumping around and giggling, she was licking a rainbow-colored lollipop, and, without her noticing it, her hair kept changing color with each one of those licks. Going back to normal to its usual blonde later

"How did you make this?" She asked Mr. Wonka, who now was close to her, with the gold-topped cane in one hand, and a mushroom-shaped umbrella in another "I’m sure I will ask my parents to build my own chocolate room in the garden"

The man, carefully but firmly grabbed her by the face "Enjoy every second of what you have, you don’t know how long it will last” he said looking deeply into her eyes

Veruca spent a while thinking about it, what did he mean?

Mike Teavee was smashing a gobstopper bigger than his head against a rock, cracking the surface, but with little results. He must have scraped his knee with one of the sharp rocks at some point because there was a hole in his pants and he was bleeding a bit

"We have a little cheater here, don't we?" Mr. Wonka got close to the child, knowing what he was trying to do "You're supposed to suck on it until you get to the center"

"That will take me months, I want the big price first, and then I will eat the rest" Mike explained, keeping his eyes on the candy and sticking his tongue out while focusing. "Why would I tire myself out and sour the center, when I can enjoy it with less effort?"

"Work smarter, not harder... I always liked that philosophy!"

After saying those words Mr. Wonka smiled and took the gobstopper from Mike's hands, shaking it and then putting it against his ear

The boy quickly got up, clearly angry "Dude! Give me that!"

He was about to kick Mr. Wonka in the shin, when instantly, with three light knocks on the right spots, and letting it fall to the floor, the gobstopper perfectly split in two.

"Awesome!" Mike cried amazed, greedily eating the inside of the gobstopper, licking his fingers afterward

Violet Beauregarde wanted one of those gigantic gummy bears, so she spit in her hands, rubbed them together, and started to climb up the high tree like a monkey. The task seemed easy at first, but the softer texture of the sweets made the tree harder to stick to, and when she was almost on top, she slipped.

Violet closed her eyes, getting ready for a big fall, but a few seconds passed and she didn't hit the floor. She was dangling, Mr. Wonka's cane was below the straps of her overalls and keeping her in the air. He used all his strength to move her to the tree top, where she started hugging a gummy bear and chewing on its ear.

As for Augustus? Oh, boy, Augustus didn’t need any help from Wonka, he was having an absolute blast, running around like a headless chicken. He was so flabbergasted, so amazed, so utterly dazed, that he couldn’t even know where to start eating.

“Whooooohoooooo!” he yelled in excitement and pumped his chubby fists in the air

He threw himself into the cotton candy bushes, quickly picking parts of it and stuffing his face with them, to the point he was struggling to breathe, and at least a third of the content went straight to the floor. Then he moved to the big mushrooms filled with whipped cream, lifted it over his head with an impressive strength for a nine-year-old, and dropped everything on his mouth and clothes. After he cannon-bombed a small lake of marshmallows, splashing them everywhere as he ate as much as he could. And more, and more, and more, every single spot he was in not only looked devoured by a bear, but it was also absolutely trashed, with no one being able to enjoy a single bit of it afterward.

Augustus took a big bite out of a chocolate trunk and swallowed it all with a few good chews until he was interrupted by a voice

"Stop it!"

Augustus looked around confused but didn't see anyone, so he assumed it must have been his imagination and took another bite, making the tree tremble. Then a big gummy bear fell from the tree and bounced on his head

"I'm up here! You're going to make me fall!"

Now Augustus looked up and saw Violet on the tree cup, she was holding tightly on the branch.

"Oh, hehe, sorry!" The boy stepped away and opened his arms "Jump, I can catch you"

Violet put her beloved wedge of gum back in her mouth to calm down and prepared

"Yeehaw!" She loudly cried while leaping, and landed right on Augustus' arms. He struggled a bit, so to have a better position, he threw her up in the air and adjusted his grip better. He was now carrying her bridal style as they laughed

"Did you find any gum?" Violet asked Augustus "Wonka must have it somewhere"

Augustus scratched his head he couldn't even remember what he ate, It was like filling his stomach on impulse "I think I must have swallowed a few of them at some point"

Violet got back on her feet and left with a smile "I'm going to find them, I just need to follow your warpath. Bye, Gus!"

The parents were also having fun, the Teavees weren't candy people, they came there mostly for the machines, and It was clear how impressed and curious they were by the gigantic glass tubes sucking down the brown liquid. Both of them had a single chocolate bar each in their mouths and kept blabbering things about chemistry, physics, and engineering, which always made Mike a bit ashamed and disappointed, thinking her parents were dorks.

"This is incredible!" Said Mrs. Teavee in awe "You know, I always thought candies had no point, but Mr. Wonka did live up to the expectations of a genius"

"Yeah, maybe once he's too old to handle the factory he could sell these machines to the US military something, and live a calm wealthy life," Mr. Teavee said

"Would you believe me if I said not even they have things like this? It's crazy!" She replied

Sam Beauregarde was tugging a piece of licorice that must have been two feet long, trying to pick it up from the bush it was sticking to. It felt as if the licorice grew roots.

"Hey Scarlett, want some?" He asked his wife, who moved closer, while still tugging

"No, thanks" She declined the offer "I don't want to put on too much weight and I already had a good amount of those sweet fruits

"Can't get worse than half of the ladies here" he winked at her

She smiled, her teeth were all red because of the mentioned fruits she took, which scared her husband until he saw it wasn't blood

In the end, he managed to brute-force his way into it, and he almost fell to the floor with the momentum of the pulling. After uncurling the licorice he bit the middle of it with his strong jaw, and Scarlett Beauregarde decided to take a bite too.

Mrs. Gloop was enjoying all those shiny and juicy caramel apples, and checking no one was looking, she took several of them and put them in her purse. Just in case her little Auggie got hungry during the tour.

And talking about him, Mrs. Gloop checked on his kid and saw him literally biting more than he could chew

"Augustus, save some room for later!" She said

Like his son, except a bit less over the top, Mr. Gloop was also stuffing his face with sweets, his dirty blond beard was covered in syrup, so his wife took a handkerchief and wiped it.

"Are you having fun, my little kürbis?" He asked, "I knew Mr. Wonka had a great chocolate factory, but this place is unbelievable!"

"I sure am, my sweet kartoffel!" She answered "But I feel bad for Dudley, I wish he was here too, playing with his brother"

After a while, everyone was exhausted, pleased, and full. Grandpa Joe slowly walked around the place, maybe it was him not being used to having that much food, let alone sweets, but he wasn't really that hungry and had enough with a few candies. Finding a nice spot he laid on the grass and took a bunch of swudge blades to eat.

His eyes were closed and he was very calm, so calm in fact he almost fell asleep with a big smile. He really wondered if he died and was in heaven at some point because he just never thought he would end up here.

Suddenly an annoying little laugh woke him up, grandpa Joe rubbed his eyes and saw Violet Beauregarde close to the nearest tree — She hadn't seen him. She had several pieces of gum she found, and she was sticking one of them to a tree trunk

"Hey, you! What are you doing!?" Yelled Grandpa Joe, making the girl almost jump out of her skin

"It's just a prank, no big deal!" Violet stammered. Her attempt to downplay the situation fell flat against Grandpa Joe's unyielding expression.

"Enjoying Mr. Wonka's wonders doesn't give you the right to disrespect them," he admonished. Violet felt a knot tightening in her stomach, a mix of embarrassment and guilt creeping in.

Violet mumbled a half-hearted apology, her confidence momentarily deflated by the weight of Grandpa Joe's disappointment. She scurried away from the scene, leaving behind the sticky aftermath of her impulsive act.

The old man didn't even bother to run, he wouldn’t be able to catch her, and even if he could, he didn't have the responsibility to discipline anyone besides Charlie Bucket

"Those dreadful kids…" muttered Grandpa Joe, using his cane to take the gum away from the tree "If only their parents bothered to do their job, things would be very very different"

Violet kept running around the field until she got to a spot where the rest of the kids were. Both Charlie Bucket and Augustus Gloop overate, the former was sitting down on the grass, with his back resting against a tree, he burped a few times covering his mouth and sheepishly giggling a bit, and the latter was lying on the floor with his big belly upwards, and kept moaning and groaning every once in a while "I think I had too much…" he said.

Like his parents, Mike wasn't much of a candy person, so once the excitement died out he kept himself entertained with his toy guns, and now he was kicking and jumping on a sugar pumpkin, that dripped a gooey substance when they were smashed

"Are you going to eat that, Television? She asked confused

"He said to enjoy, and I'm enjoying this" Mike explained, as he kept jumping and laughing

Charlie had several small candy pebbles in his pockets, which he used to build figurines the same way he used to do back home with the toothpaste caps — Well until his father was fired. He licked them until they became sticky, and then he could carefully put them together. This time he was trying his best to make Mr. Wonka with the candies, it didn't look much like him, but the top hat was enough to tell.

"Is that Mr. Wonka?" Asked Augustus, too tired to even move

"Yes, I thought it could be fun to make, I'm really glad I won the last Golden Ticket" Charlie answered

"It looks nice," Augustus nodded. "I would almost feel bad eating it. Almost"

Charlie smiled "Well, I won't eat it, I want a little souvenir to remember the experience"

Veruca soon got there "Hey, give me a few gumdrops from the tree" She pointed to the one Charlie was leaning into, and the boy looked upwards to see the gumdrops she was talking about, and then she looked to the other kids

"I'm busy, you can get them yourself" Mike didn't bother to take his eyes away from the smashed pumpkins

Augustus was still on the floor, with the worst indigestion Charlie ever saw, and Violet looked away and whistled, pretending she didn't listen to the request. Seeing no one was about to do it, Charlie got up and kicked the tree and stretched his sweater to pick the falling gumdrops, then gave them to Veruca.

“Don’t be a wimp, she’ll treat you like a trained dog” Violet whispered into Charlie's ear, but he shook his head

"I'm just being polite and this didn't take me any effort, that doesn't mean I'm being a pushover”

Violet raised an eyebrow confused

Talking about pushovers, Mr. and Mrs. Salt waddled away from the Candy Valley, groaning and holding their stomachs. Veruca didn't eat all the sweets she took, she instead nibbled on at least one piece of every candy type, and her parents, not wanting this food to go to waste, ate it for her.

Behind some bushes there was a small tea table with seats, around them, there were edible flower-shaped teacups. The couple sat there to rest and enjoyed the view. Not only was it visually beautiful, it also had a lovely smell, calming music could be heard, probably from the workers singing? They couldn't tell, almost everything there was soft and gentle to the touch, and of course, nothing in the whole room tasted bad, not even close.

If they weren't about to throw up over the amount of chocolate they had, it would have been a very sweet memory. Until their eyes were fixed on the brown river

“What a disgusting, dirty river!” cried Mrs. Salt “It’s a shame it ruined such a wonderful place”

“Industrial waste” Mr. Salt explained to his wife pointing at the river “Nowadays there are really useful machines that help with it, I’m surprised that man doesn’t have one, he for sure has money for it!”

“It’s not pollution, sir, it’s chocolate!” Mr. Wonka corrected him, starting the couple as he suddenly appeared behind their backs, sipping tea from his flower-shaped cup

"That's chocolate?!" Everyone exclaimed, either amazed, shocked, or both

Augustus' mouth started watering like mad, and his eyes were as big as plates and as bright as stars "A chocolate river!" he cried

"Don't lose your head, Augustus,” the man owner of the factory playfully warned him “We wouldn't want anyone to lose their heads"

"Thousand of gallons an hour, and look at my waterfall!" cried Mr. Wonka, dancing up and down and pointing his gold-topped cane at the great waterfall "It mixes the chocolate, It's actually churning my chocolate! Did you know that no other factory in the world mixes its chocolate with a waterfall? It's the best way to do it properly, the only way, in fact"

Suddenly, the air was filled with screams of excitement, courtesy of Miss Veruca Salt. She was pointing frantically to the other side of the river “Look! Look over there!” she screamed. “What is it? He's moving! He's walking! It's a little person! It's so cute! Down there below the waterfall!”

Everybody stared across the river, wanting to see that little person, or maybe the kid just had an overactive imagination and confused a rock for it.

“Grandpa, she's right!” cried Charlie. “It is a little man! Can you see him?!”

“Jumping crocodiles! Now we know who makes the chocolate!” said Grandpa Joe excitedly.

And now everybody started shouting at once.

"There's two of them!"

"My gosh, so there is!"

"There's more than two! There's one, two, three, four, five!"

"What are they doing?"

"Where do they come from?"

"Who are they?"

"Aren't they fantastic?!"

"No higher than my knee!"

"Look at their funny long hair!"

Children and parents alike rushed down to the edge of the river to get a closer look at the tiny men. They were no larger than medium-sized dolls, with proportions that resembled fantasy dwarves, most of them plump but strong. They had a variety of bright orange skin tones, and wacky hairdos that went from golden blonde to copper red, to rusty brown, and they wore deerskins under their working attire. They had stopped what they were doing, and now they were staring in shock, confusion, and excitement back across the river at the visitors, exactly like the guests were doing with them, one of them pointed towards the children, and then he whispered something to the other four, and all five of them were loudly cracking up.

"I never saw anybody with an orange face before," Mr. Gloop chuckled. "Funny-looking people, aren't they?"

"What are they doing there?" Asked Charlie

"It must be creaming and sugaring time" Mr. Wonka wondered "Someone has to do it"

Mike Teavee scoffed "Well, they can't be real people,"

"Of course, they're real people, my boy, don't you see them moving?" Mr. Wonka answered

"He's playing with you, Mike," his mother said "They must be very technologically advanced robots-"

"No, Oompas-Loompas" The chocolatier stopped the visitors' nonsense

"Oompa-Loompas!" Everyone cried at once.

"Imported directly from Loompaland," said Mr. Wonka proudly.

"Loompaland? There's no such place," stated Mrs. Beauregarde

"Excuse me, dear lady, but-"

"Now see here, Mr. Wonka," the woman firmly stopped him "I teach geography and-"

"Then you'll know all about it," cut Mr. Wonka. “And oh, what a terrible country it is! Nothing but thick jungles infested by the most dangerous beasts in the world — hornswogglers and snozzwangers and those terrible wicked whangdoodles”

“Whanwhat?” Asked Grandpa Joe confused

“Yes, a whangdoodle would eat ten Oompa-Loompas for breakfast and come galloping back for a second helping. When I went out there, I found the little Oompa-Loompas living in tree houses. They had to live in tree houses to escape from those awful beasts”

“I told ya, ma!” Violet taunted her mother “I knew Loompaland existed, and the hornswogglers and snozzwangers and the whangdoodles! It’s all on…”

Her last words were muffled when Mr. Wonka put his hand over her mouth “The comic books were inspired by the real Loompaland, not the other way around, kiddo” he whispered to her

Then he started to detail more on the story of his strange yet trustworthy workers:

“They were living on green caterpillars, and the caterpillars tasted revolting, and the Oompa-Loompas spent every moment of their days climbing through the treetops looking for other things to mash up with the caterpillars to make them taste better — red beetles,
for instance, and eucalyptus leaves, and the bark of the bong-bong tree, all of them beastly, but not quite so beastly as the caterpillars"

"Poor little Oompa-Loompas! The one food that they longed for more than any other was the cocoa bean. But they couldn't get it. An Oompa-Loompa was lucky if he found three or four cocoa beans a year. But oh, how they craved them. They used to dream about cocoa beans all night and talk about them all day. You had only to mention the word cocoa to an Oompa-Loompa and he would start dribbling at the mouth." His voice sounded sad at this moment, which made everyone empathize with the creatures, especially Charlie Bucket himself, he really knew the feeling of wanting something so desperately and not being able to get it

"The cocoa bean," Mr. Wonka continued, "Which grows on the cocoa tree, happens to be the thing from which all chocolate is made. You cannot make chocolate without the cocoa bean. The cocoa bean is chocolate. I use billions of cocoa beans every week in this
factory" He pointed to the chocolate river while explaining. "And so, my dear children, as soon as I discovered that the Oompa-Loompas were crazy about this particular food, I climbed up to their tree-house village and poked my head in through the door of the tree house belonging to the leader of the tribe. The poor little fellow, looking so thin and starved, was sitting there trying to eat a bowl full of mashed-up green caterpillars without gagging"

"Tazama hapa, I said. It means look here, in Oompish” explained Mr. Wonka "If you and all your people will come back to my country and live in my factory, you can have all the cocoa beans you want! I've got mountains of them in my storehouses! You can have cocoa beans for every meal! You can gorge yourselves silly on them! I'll even pay your wages in cocoa beans if you wish!"

"You really mean it?" asked the Oompa-Loompa leader, leaping up from his wooden primitive throne

"Of course I mean it!" I said. "And you can have chocolate as well. Chocolate
tastes even better than cocoa beans because it's got milk and sugar added."

“The little man gave a great whoop of joy and threw his bowl of mashed caterpillars right out of the tree-house window"

"It's a deal!" he cried. "Come on! Let's go!"

“So I shipped them all over here, every man, woman, and child in the Oompa-Loompa tribe. It was easy. I smuggled them over in large packing cases with holes in them, and they all got here safely" he explained with pride "They are wonderful workers, and all of them
speak English now, along with Oompish. They love dancing and music, they’re always making up funny songs, so expect you will hear a good deal of singing today from time to time"

Then Mr. Wonka got serious, it was quite uncanny "I must warn you, though, that they are rather mischievous. They like jokes, they love joking over absolutely everything, no matter how inappropriate it is"

And suddenly he went back to his usual excited tone "Oh! And they still wear the same kind of clothes they wore in the jungle! They always insist upon that."

"I'm sure that's highly illegal, sir…" muttered Mr. Teavee under his breath

"Who cares?" Said his son "He's smuggling stuff like the gangsters on TV, who do it with a special type of flour. I think It must be to make better cakes and win over the market, that's wicked!"

"Daddy!" Shouted Veruca Salt, giving her father puppy eyes "I want an Oompa-Loompa! I want you to get me an Oompa-Loompa! I want an Oompa-Loompa right away! I want to take it home with me and I want him to be my friend! Come on Daddy, get me an Oompa-Loompa!"

Her parents made a nervous giggle, they didn't expect that request at all

"Now, now, my pet!" her father tried his best to calm her down "But I can't get it for you this second, please be patient"

"But I want it now!" Cried Veruca, who was stomping on the ground

Violet scowled, showing clear annoyance on her face, as she covered her ears "Can't you shut it?!" She spat out, instantly getting a small smack in the head from her mother

Veruca opened her mouth but said nothing, she really wanted to give her the most terrifying stare ever, one that would give her nightmares for even thinking about yelling at her, but to be honest, she was too shocked to do so. The rich girl just couldn't believe the audacity

Mr. Wonka smiled a bit, Violet did what he wanted to do, or better said, what he wanted Veruca's parents to do until his face became a frown when he saw one of the kids was missing. How could he disappear? he's massive

"Where's the fat boy?" Mr. Wonka looked around quickly, he didn't want to stop the tour just because a kid got lost, and neither did most of the guests, who were equally as confused

"He's not fat!" Mrs. Gloop said defensively "He's just big-boned"

Augustus Gloop was wearing a green sweater and brown shorts that day, so finding him became harder as his clothes blended with the environment.

"Over there!" Mike pointed at after finding the boy, thanks to his big glasses, and being used to seeing tiny people all day "Do you think he would drink it all?"

"Augustus!" shouted Mrs. Gloop, now seeing his son in the distance "Augustus, sweetheart, I don't think you should do that, Mr. Wonka said we couldn't touch the river!"

When they were distracted with the Oompa-Loompas, Augustus had quietly sneaked down to the edge of the river, he rolled his right sleeve up and was now kneeling on the riverbank, scooping hot melted chocolate into his mouth as fast as he could. That part of the terrain was somewhat soft, and Augustus' extra weight didn't help, as it started melting very very slowly.

Mr. Wonka got worried when he heard those words, and when turned around and saw what the boy was doing, he cried out, "Oh, no! Please, Augustus, I beg you to come back! My chocolate must be untouched by human hands!"

"Augustus!" Called out Mrs. Gloop. "Didn't you
hear what the man said? Get away from that river at once!"

"Hehe, this stuff is fabulous!" Augustus muttered to himself and kept guzzling down chocolate. He did listen to what his mother and Mr. Wonka said, at least part of it, no one would miss just a few more scoops, right?

"Mist! I need a bucket to drink it properly!"

"Augustus!" Yelled Mr. Wonka, hopping up and down in anger and wagging his stick in the air, "You must come away right now! You are dirtying my chocolate!"

"Augustus!" cried Mr. Gloop

"Augustus!" cried, Mrs. Gloop

But Augustus was deaf to everything except the call of his enormous stomach. "Just one more," he thought, after that, he thought again "just one more", then he wanted just one more, "come on, this is the last one," he told himself, but of course It wasn't, he had more, and more, and more. It was too good, he couldn't stop. He was now lying full length on the ground with his head far out over the river, lapping up the chocolate like a big crazy dog.

"Augustus!" shouted Mr. Gloop. "You'll be giving that nasty cold of yours to about ten million people all over the world!"

"Cold?!" Shrieked Mr. Wonka "Gehen sie sofort vom fluss weg, du kleiner bengel!"

"You speak German?" Asked Mrs. Teavee impressed

"English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Portuguese, and Oompish, actually" answered him quickly

"Be careful, Augustus!" shouted Mr. Gloop, "you're leaning too far out!"

And he was absolutely right, the fragile floor suddenly sank a bit, and his poor position made him fall head first. There was a scream, and then a splash, and into the hot chocolate river went Augustus Gloop, in one second he had disappeared under the brown surface.

"Man overboard" joked Mike Teavee, getting a glare from his parents

"Augustus!" Cried his parents in horror running to their son's aid

"My chocolate! My beautiful chocolate!" Cried Mr. Wonka, also running towards the river

Everyone then followed them, either worried or morbidly curious about the outcome.

Chapter Text

"Where is he? I can't see him!" Cried Mr. Teavee

"Save him!" screamed Mrs Gloop, going white in the face, "He'll drown! "Save him! Save him!"

"Good heavens, woman," said Mr. Gloop, trying to calm her down, "It's okay, he will swim back, we just need to get closer and pull his hand" Despite his confident words, he was equally as terrified

Augustus Gloop's face came up again to the surface, painted brown with chocolate as he frantically moved his hands and feet, splashing everywhere. "Help! Help! Help!" he yelled. "I lied! I skipped my swimming lessons because I found them boring!”

"Well, there's no better time to learn!" Said Mr. Willy Wonka with a smug smile

"Are you kidding me?! Fish me out!" The boy screamed, spitting out the delicious liquid that now was suffocating him

"Don't just stand there!" Mrs. Gloop screamed at Mr. Wonka "Do something!"

"Help! Police! Murder!" Screamed Mr. Gloop, trying to get the other guests on his side, but most of them looked scared

Charlie looked around and saw a huge lollipop nearby, he ran and tried to take it from the ground, but in the end, he could only do it thanks to his grandpa

"Quick, Augustus grab this!" Charlie and Grandpa Joe were holding the big lollipop close to the river, and seeing this, Mr. and Mrs. Gloop, and the Beauregarde couple tried to help them

"Violet! Come here!" Mr. Beauregarde yelled at his clueless-looking kid, who went to their aid

Augustus tried his best to swim and grabbed the lollipop, sighing in relief for a second as the crowd was helping him get out of the chocolate. But while this was happening, the current got way worse and the wretched boy was being sucked closer and closer towards the mouth of one of the great pipes that was dangling down into the river. Then all at once, the powerful suction took hold of him completely, and he was pulled under the surface and then into the
mouth of the pipe.

"Augustus!" Everyone screamed

"There's nothing we can do!" Cried, Mrs. Salt

"I had enough of this!" Yelled Mr. Gloop, who was now taking off his best suit and getting ready to dive into the chocolate. But his wife stopped him putting a firm hand on his arm

"You'll get sucked in too!"

"It's too late," said Mr. Wonka, looking and the tubes with a serious look

"Too late?!" Screamed Mrs. Gloop

The crowd on the riverbank waited breathlessly to see where he would come out, or if he would come out to begin with.

“There he goes! Look!” shouted Veruca Salt, pointing upwards.

And sure enough, because the pipe was made of glass, Augustus Gloop could be
clearly seen shooting up inside it, head first, like a torpedo. However, it wasn’t big enough to hold such a fat kid, so he soon started to slow down and stick to the walls

“Where is he going?! Call a plumber!” demanded Mrs. Gloop

“He's stuck in the pipe there, isn't he, Wonka?! It's his stomach that's done that!” Yelled Mr. Gloop

Augustus Gloop was uncomfortably squished in the pipe, trying his best to wiggle his way out of it, with no use. “I get it! I get it! I have to lose some weight! Now let me out!” He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Thank goddess he wasn’t afraid of enclosed spaces, otherwise it would have made the experience even worse than it already was, but on the other hand, he never liked heights, and now he was suspended over at least ten feet in the air, so he shut his eyes as tightly as he could. The watchers below could see the chocolate swishing around the boy in the pipe, and they could see it building up behind him in a solid mass, pushing against the blockage.

“He’ll never get out! can’t you smash the pipe?!” Charlie asked Mr. Wonka, worried

“What will happen now?!” Then asked Grandpa Joe, looking back at the devastated Gloops and feeling bad for them. He wasn’t fond of the couple, but just the thought of Charlie in a similar position to Augustus would make him go nuts

“Don’t worry, my friends, the terrific pressure building behind the blockage will get him out,” Mr. Wonka calmly explained. “The suspense is terrible, I hope it'll last…” he chuckled, taking a bite of the cup of tea he was drinking from.

“He’s stuck! He’s blocking all the chocolate!” Cried Violet Beauregarde. She clearly wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed

Augustus and the chocolate were having a fight to stay in place, the boy groaned, as it was starting to get painful. Something had to give up, it was too much pressure

“He’ll be shot! He’ll be shot like a bullet!” Said Mike Teavee, shooting his toy pistols in the air to demonstrate what he was talking about

And he was right, at last, something did give, and that something was Augustus. with a loud “whoof!” up he shot again like a bullet in the barrel of a gun, screaming all his way through the pipe. The screams faded away as he got further and further from the crowd, and there was a very uncomfortable silence for a whole minute, everyone looked at each other.

“He disappeared…” mumbled Mrs. Gloop with tears in her eyes “He disappeared!” she yelled “Where does that pipe go?! Quick! Call the fire brigade!”

“Keep calm, my dear lady, keep calm!” cried Mr Wonka. “There is no danger! No danger whatsoever! Augustus has gone on a little journey, that's all. A very interesting little journey. But he'll come out of it just fine, you wait and see.”

“How can he possibly come out just fine!” snapped Mr. Gloop. “He'll be made into
marshmallows in five seconds!”

“Impossible!” cried Mr. Wonka threw his hands in the air and dropped the half-eaten cup on the floor. “Unthinkable! Inconceivable! Absurd! He could never be made into marshmallows!”

“And why not, may I ask?!” shouted Mr. Gloop.

“Because that pipe doesn't go anywhere near the gigant mixer!” He exclaimed as if it was common knowledge “That pipe happens to lead directly to the room where I make the most delicious kind of strawberry-flavored chocolate-coated fudge…”

“Then he'll be made into strawberry-flavored chocolate-coated fudge!” cried Mrs. Gloop. “My poor Augustus! they'll be selling him by the pound all over the country tomorrow morning!” she was bawling her eyes out now

“This is beyond a joke!” yelled Mr. Gloop furious, with watery eyes and trembling legs

“Mr. Wonka doesn't seem to think so!” cried Mrs. Gloop. “Just look at him! He's laughing his head off! How dare you laugh like that when my boy's just gone up the pipe! You devil!" she shrieked, pointing her umbrella at Mr Wonka as though she were going to run him through.

“You think it's a joke, do you?!” Mr. Gloop started putting his suit back on “You think that sucking my boy up into your Fudge Room like that is just one great big colossal joke?!”

“He'll be perfectly safe,” said Mr. Wonka, giggling slightly.

“He'll be chocolate fudge! How is that perfectly safe?!” shrieked Mrs. Gloop.

“Never!” cried Mr. Wonka shaking his head

“Of course he will!” shouted Mrs. Gloop.

“I wouldn't allow it!” Mr. Wonka explained.

“And why should we trust you, sir?!” yelled Mr. Gloop.

“Because the taste would be terrible,” said Mr. Wonka. “Just imagine it! Augustus-flavored chocolate-coated Gloop! No one would buy it, and I might be crazy, but I’m not a fool!”

“They most certainly would! Who wouldn’t love him?!” cried Mr. Gloop indignantly.

“Please, I don't want to even think about it…” Mrs. Gloop pinched the bridge of her nose

“Nor do I,” said Mr Wonka. “And I do promise you that your darling boy
is perfectly safe.”

“If he's perfectly safe, then where is he?” snapped Mr. Gloop. “Lead me to him this instant!”

During the whole pipe ordeal, the Oompa-Loompas stopped working to look at it, quietly laughing behind the tour’s backs. Now the five Oompa-Loompas on the far side of the river suddenly began hopping and dancing about and beating wildly upon several very small drums. “Oompa-Loompa!” they chanted. “Oompa-Loompa! Oompa-Loompa! Oompa-Loompa!”

“Grandpa!” cried Charlie pointing at the small creatures. “Listen to them, Grandpa! What are they doing?!”

“Ssshh!” whispered Grandpa Joe. “I think they're going to sing us a song!”

Augustus Gloop! Augustus Gloop!
A gluttonous lad, a gaping stoop!
How far should we let this lad roam,
Feeding his greed in a lavish dome?
Indulged by parents, blind and kind,
Their laxity shaped his selfish mind.
For too long this beast won't thrive,
His insatiable hunger won't contrive
To share an ounce of joy or glee,
It's all for him, don't you agree?

So, what's the remedy for a boy so lost,
Whose cravings and whims come at a cost?
With a touch, perhaps, both firm and mild,
Transform this glutton, this selfish child.
His parents, though loving and well-intent,
Neglected the lessons he should have learned.

The river he left with a vile taste,
So we chose a change that's not misplaced.
"Come on!" we exclaimed, "The moment's here,
To send him through the pipe, have no fear!"
But children, fret not, he won't be harmed,
Just reshaped, his demeanor charmed.

In a sweet twist of fate, a change begins,
Wheels turn, cogs grind, and the process spins.
A hundred knives go slice, slice, slice,
With sugar, cream, and a sprinkle of spice.
Boiling away the greed and gall,
A transformation, once and for all.

Out he emerges, transformed, and new,
A miracle crafted, a change in view.
Does it sound severe? Well, perhaps it could,
But beneath his greed, there's no malice understood.
He seeks fun, oblivious to consequences,
His parents' guidance, the missing defense.

This boy once loathed from shore to shore,
A greedy brute, an unsightly bore,
Now finds love from people everywhere,
A lesson learned, a tale to share.
For hate can't linger, nor can a grudge,
Against a brat transformed, into luscious fudge.

“Oh, please be quiet!” said Mr Wonka, trying to control his laughter and failing “Control yourself! Pull yourself together! The Gloops don’t think it's all that funny!”

“You can say that again! You psycho!” snapped Mr. Gloop

“How could you say that of our sweet little Auggie?! He's not perfect, no one is! But he for sure loves his family and makes us happy!” Screamed Mrs. Gloop

Mr. Wonka turned around and clicked his fingers sharply, click, click, click, three times. Immediately, one of the Oompa-Loompa climbed down from the hill, as if he was called, and stood beside him.

The Oompa-Loompa bowed and smiled, showing beautiful white teeth. His skin
was rosy-orange, his long hair was golden-brown, and the top of his head came just above the height of Mr Wonka's knee. He wore the usual deerskin slung over his
shoulder.

“Now listen to me!” said Mr Wonka, looking down at the tiny man. “I want you to
take Mr. and Mrs. Gloop up to the Fudge Room and help them to find their son, Augustus. As you saw, he just went up the pipe.”

The Oompa-Loompa took one look at the chubby couple that were absolutely furious and exploded into peals of laughter.

“Go straight to the Fudge Room,” Mr Wonka said to the Oompa-Loompa, “and when you get there, take a long stick and start poking around inside the big chocolate-mixing barrel. I'm almost certain you'll find him in there. But you'd better look sharp! You'll have to hurry! If you leave him in the chocolate-mixing barrel too long, he's liable to get poured out into the fudge boiler, and that really would be a disaster, wouldn't it? My fudge would become quite uneatable!”

The Oompa-Loompa nodded and Mrs. Gloop let out a shriek of fury.

“I'm joking, I'm joking!” said Mr Wonka, giggling madly behind his beard. “I didn't mean it. Forgive me, I'm so sorry.

“Auf wiedersehen, Frau Gloop! und auf wiedersehen, Herr Gloop! Auf wiedersehen! Bis später, ich hoffe, sie haben Ihren aufenthalt genossen, es war eine feude!...” Mr. Wonka told them and the tiny escort hurried Mr. and Mrs. Gloop away

“I told you they loved singing!” Mr. Wonka said “Aren't they delightful? Aren't they charming? But you mustn't believe a word they said. It's all nonsense, every bit of it!”

“I do say, that all seemed rather rehearsed…” Mr. Salt said quite uneasily “as if they knew it was going to happen”

“Huh?” Mr. Wonka turned to the man, confused

Then Charlie asked too “How would Augustus’s name already be in the Oompa Loompa song unless they-”

“Ah, don’t worry improvisation is just a parlor trick, and the Oompa-Loompas are experts on this from their singing traditions! Anyone can do it. Say something. Anything”

“Chewing gum!” Said Violet

Mr. Wonka thought about it for a second and sang

Chewing gum is really gross,
Chewing gum I hate the most,
No offense, you’re kinda cute with it,
Like a little goofy calf in the grazing

“See?” He proudly flashed a smug grin to Mr. Salt

“It’s not the same,” snapped Mike Teavee “You did a few simple rhymes, the Oompa-Loompas sang a whole song and they were all coordinated”

Mr. Wonka pointed to his ear while looking at the boy “I'm a trifle deaf in this ear, speak a little louder next time!”

“Hey, what kind of place are you running here anyhow, Wonka?” Mr. Beauregarde was very skeptical

“Off we go!” cried Mr. Wonka ignoring the question. “Hurry up, everybody! Follow me to the next room! We shall have to make the next part of the journey by boat! Here she comes! Look!”

“Are the Oompa-Loompas really joking, Grandpa?” asked Charlie “Will Augustus be alright?”

“Of course, they're joking,” answered Grandpa Joe. “They must be joking, Mr. Wonka was always a very playful but responsible man… At least, I hope time didn't change him that much. Don't you?”

A steamy mist was rising up now from the great warm chocolate river, and out of the mist there suddenly appeared a fantastic pink boat.

It was a large open row boat with a tall front and a tall back — like a Viking boat of old, and it was of such a shining sparkling and translucent pink color that the whole thing looked as though it were made of clean pink glass. it had no mast, no sail, and no jibs, which made sense given how there was no wind in the room. However, the most impressive thing of it all was the gorgeous figurehead in the bow. It was a beautiful young woman, an angel, but not a delicate one. She looked as energetic and eccentric as Mr. Wonka himself.

"Is that your wife, Mr. Wonka?" Asked Angina Salt, her eyes sparkling like the boat "Awwwww, It's very sweet to make a whole boat for her!"

"We're not here to talk about my life, we're here to talk about my candies. Which indeed, are very sweet!" Mr. Wonka dismissed the question

There were many oars on either side of it, and as the boat came closer, the watchers on the riverbank could see that the oars were being pulled by masses of Oompa-Loompas. At least ten of them to each oar.

"This is my private yacht, I call her Beallmy!" cried Mr. Wonka, beaming with pleasure. "I made her by hollowing out an enormous boiled strawberry sweet! Isn't she beautiful? See how she comes cutting through the river!"

Sam Beauregarde made a wolf whistle "What a nice ship! You know, I could be your salesman if you ever decide to produce more of them"

The gleaming pink boiled-sweet boat glided up to the riverbank. One hundred Oompa-Loompas rested on their oars and stared up at the visitors. Then suddenly, for some reason best known to themselves, they all burst into shrieks of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Violet Beauregarde got defensive

"Oh, don't worry about them!" cried Mr Wonka. "For their tribe life is nothing more than a joke! But they are laughing with you, not at you" Then he pointed to the seats with his cane "All of you, Jump on the boat! You don't want to stay behind!”

“Hehe, I'm sure there will be new surprises,” Charlie said to himself, amazed

“Wow, what a boat!” Said Mike Teavee, being the first one to jump inside

“Mike, wait!” His mother went behind him, “Did you forget to take your meds today?”

“Uh… she's very pretty, but are you sure this thing will float, eh?” asked Mr. Teavee worried

But Wonka softly patted his belly with his cane “With your buoyancy, sir, rest assured,” he said

The man quickly realized what Mr. Wonka meant by that and frowned, but didn't say a word

“Nothing to worry about my dear friends, I always take good care of my guests” the chocolatier used a calm and reassuring voice

“You took real good care of that August kid over there, that's for sure…” muttered Mr. Salt under his breath, holding Veruca's hand as she got into the boat, just in case.

“ladies first!” Mr. Beauregarde let his daughter run to the backseat of the boat, his wife followed, but he stayed behind

“If she's a lady, I'm one of those whandaganoodles” Grandpa Joe whispered into Charlie's ear, making him laugh. Both got in the boat

With everyone there, the chocolatier was about to join the party, but Mr. Beauregarde, who was still on land, stopped him

“Can we talk for a second?” He tilted his head a bit, showing he wanted to have a private conversation. Mr. Wonka looked at his wrist, even if he didn’t wear a watch, his acting could have fooled anyone “Sure, but don’t take too long, we don’t want the others to wait”

Both moved slightly away and Violet’s father explained his concerns “What’s this all about? No one decides to do an event like this without a reason behind” Then he grinned “And most importantly, I’ve seen you took an interest in my Violet. If you’re looking for some kind of apprentice, she can be a good one, trust me”

Mr. Wonka thought about it and acted quite ambiguous, he didn’t want to prove the man right or wrong. It was too soon. “Yeah, a charming child, she reminds me of myself when I was her age. Of course, she needs polish, a lot of polish actually, but I do see potential in her” Then he looked at him with an eerie innocent vibe “Can you see it too?”

With those words, Mr. Wonka jumped into the boat’s last row, behind all his guests, and kept talking

“Everybody aboard? Perfect!” “ And remember, watch your step, don’t get up during the ride, don’t stick your arms or legs out of the boat, and if you have heart problems, just let me know.

Mr. Beauregard quickly climbed the ship and sat with Mrs. Beauregarde, it seemed impossible, but Wonka’s words managed to keep him quiet for a while. And as soon as everyone was safely in, (in the front row: Veruca Salt, her parents, Mike's parents, and Mike Teavee. In the back row: Grandpa Joe, Charlie Bucket, Violet Beauregarde, and Mrs. And Mr. Beauregarde. And behind them all: Mr. Willy Wonka) the Oompa-Loompas pushed the boat away from the bank and began to row swiftly downriver

“Here we go!” cried Mr. Wonka.

Down the Chocolate River, they saw a different perspective of the beautiful place and looked amazed, it seemed as if they were never going to get tired of the sight. The soft rocking motion of the boat soon soothed away any anxiety caused by Augustus' accident.

Little Charlie squinted to focus better and was trying his best to not miss any single detail, unknown to himself, that caught the attention of Mr. Wonka the most.

After the spy incident the man became more reserved and often expected the worst of people, so he at first assumed Charlie Bucket and his grandpa were faking kindness to get on his side and backstab him. A poor good-hearted boy that in the end gets rewarded by destiny? It was ridiculous! But the more he looked at them, the more genuine it felt. The unexpected ticket winner added a new variable to his otherwise perfect plan.

No one besides maybe the broad-shouldered Mr. Beauregarde occupied much space in the back row, so Mr. Wonka could perfectly squeeze himself between the two kids. He reached down into the bottom of the boat, picked up a large mug, and dipped it into the river with chocolate

Upon doing this he saw one of the children, Violet, leaning into the back of Bellamy and enjoying the taste of it

“Violet! Do not lick the boat! You'll only make the ship sticky!”

“Violet, baby, we talked about not putting things in your mouth” her father tried to stop her

The girl wasn't listening to it, so her mother grabbed her ear and pulled it until she was back on her seat

“Ouch! What's your damage?!” She cried, nursing her sore ear

Mrs. Beauregarde glared at her bad-mannered kid, “Mr. Wonka told you to stop licking the boat, do we need to negotiate?”

“Psychobabble whatever…” Violet sat down with her arms crossed and mumbled, chewing her gum faster and louder

Mr. Wonka chuckled and played with Violet’s fluffy hair for a bit, as he handed Charlie the mug “Drink this,” he said. “It'll do you good! You look starved to death!”

Charlie looked at it with a big smile, but some doubt in his eyes “I thought we couldn't drink the chocolate” he said confused

“Oh, no, no, no! You can drink it, as long as you don't touch it with your dirty little hands!” the man explained, “If only Augustus asked me, I would have given him a mug to drink from!”

Charlie slowly put the mug to his lips, and as the rich warm creamy chocolate ran down his throat into his tummy, his whole body from head to toe began to tingle with pleasure, and a feeling of intense happiness spread over him.

“You like it?!” asked Mr. Wonka knowing the answer

“It's wonderful!” Charlie nodded, drinking even the last drop of chocolate

“Excuse me, Mr. Wonka” Veruca pulled the sleeve of his coat a bit to get his attention “I love your hat! It really sets off your eyes, but of course, you just have great taste. You know, I would simply adore a pink candy boat… and maybe one of those sweet little Oompa-Loompas…” she was batting her eyes, trying to look as cute and innocent

“Brown-noser” snapped Violet, making Veruca frown and roll her eyes

Mr. Wonka didn't pay attention to what the girl said, he was focusing on Charlie and Grandpa Joe, filling a second mug as soon as the boy politely asked if his grandpa could have some

Soon Veruca started pouting “Mr. Wonka, did you hear me? I said I wanted a pink candy boat and an Oompa-Loompa. A pink candy boat and an Oompa-Loompa!”

“It's okay my sweet angel” Mrs. Salt tried to control her kid “Now Mr. Wonka is occupied, but later we could buy you what you need”

“What she needs is a good kick in the pants,” Grandpa Joe said to Charlie, raising his eyebrows to make it more comical

Charlie smiled and pushed the mug closer to the old man’s mouth “Come on, try it, you're gonna love it!”

“Please do!” Mr. Wonka joined in “You look like a skeleton! What's the matter? Hasn't there been anything to eat in your house lately?”

“Not much,” Grandpa Joe sighed, and soon drank the whole thing in a single sip “The creamiest loveliest chocolate I've ever tasted!” cried Grandpa Joe, smacking his lips

“That's because it's been mixed by a waterfall,” Mr. Wonka told him. “No other factory in the world-”

“You already said that” Mike Teavee cut him, not looking back because he was focused on pretending to shoot objects far away

Mr. Wonka shrugged it off “Boy, I’m surprised you remember what I said before because I never saw you paying much attention”

“I'm not a spaz, I can do two or three things at once!” Mike spat out “Also, we already saw the whole room, do you have anything new?”

“Mike, please, don't use those words
…” His father tried to control him but failed

“Alright then! We’ll be approaching very interesting things soon, so keep an eye out”

The boat sped on down the river, as it was getting narrower and narrower. There was some kind of tunnel ahead, a great round tunnel that looked like an enormous pipe. The river was running right into the tunnel, and so was the boat

"Row on!" shouted Mr. Wonka, jumping up and down, back at his spot, and waving his stick in the air. "Full speed ahead!"

And with the Oompa-Loompas rowing like mad, the boat shot into the tunnel, and all the passengers screamed, some with joy, others with fear. The whole tunnel was brilliantly lit up, they were indeed inside a gigantic pipe, and the great upward-curving walls of the pipe were pure white and spotlessly clean. The river of chocolate was flowing very fast inside the pipe, and the boat was rocketing along at a furious pace. Mr Wonka jumped back to his favorite spot in the boat

“I think I'm going to be seasick…” Mrs. Teavee complained, with a hand on her stomach

“Here, try one of these! Mr. Wonka gave something to Grandpa Joe, who almost dropped it to the river, but managed to save it. He passed it to Mrs. Salt, and then she handed it to Mrs. Teavee “Rainbow drops, suck “em and you can spit in seven different colors!”

“Thank you, sir, but I'd rather just eat it,” she said, putting the gumdrop in her mouth

Mr. Salt’s mouth was wide open “Do you sell these machines?” He asked taking the wallet out of his pocket “I’m willing to share benefits”

“They are not in the market yet, better luck next time!” Mr. Wonka seemed to love the
sensation of whizzing through a white tunnel in a pink boat on a chocolate river, and he clapped his hands and laughed and kept glancing at his passengers to see if they were enjoying it as much as he was.

“Look, Grandpa!” cried Charlie. “There's a door in the wall!” It was a green door and it was set into the wall of the tunnel just above the level of the river. As they flashed past it there was just enough time to read the writing on the door:

Storeroom number 54, it said. All the creams — dairy cream, whipped cream, violet cream, coffee cream, pineapple cream, vanilla cream, and…

“Hair cream?” Charlie and Grandpa Joe looked at each other confused

“What’s hair cream?” Mike Teavee raised an eyebrow “You don't use cream in your hair”

“Row on!” shouted Mr. Wonka. “There's no time to answer silly questions!”

They streaked past a black door. Storeroom number 71, it said on it. Whips — all shapes and sizes.

“Whips!” screamed horrified Veruca Salt. “What on earth do you use whips for?!”

“For whipping cream, of course. It's not whipped cream unless it's been whipped with whips!” said Mr. Wonka “Row on! Row on please!” He wanted to move past of that door as soon as possible

They passed a yellow door on which it said: Storeroom number 77 — All the beans, cacao beans, coffee beans, jelly beans, and has beans.

“Has beans?” asked Mr. and Mrs. Beauregarde

“You're ones yourselves! answered Mr. Wonka with a smug grin

“Haha, he called you a bean!” Violet chuckled

“There's no time for arguing! Press on, press on!” The chocolatier stopped them

Soon the lights started to go off with a loud sound, and it didn't go unnoticed by anyone, as they started to mumble things and look around. In no more the tunnel was pitch-black

“How can they see where they're going?!” shrieked Violet Beauregarde

“Is someone afraid of the dark?” Veruca had a devious smile while talking

“No, I'm not!” She stomped on the ground “I'm not afraid of anything!”

“Seriously, what's going on?” Mr. Teavee asked getting genuinely uneasy

“Hey, Wonka, I want off!” yelled Mr. Beauregarde, pointing backward with his thumb

“We're going to enter a very special place, trust me,” The chocolatier said with a serene tone, looking more and more gleefully manic every second. The Oompa-Loompas started laughing loudly and managed to row even faster than before

“We’re going too fast!” Mrs. Teevee screamed,

“You're right!” Mr. Wonka smiled and started jumping up and down in excitement again

“What’s happening?!” Mike shouted, but unlike the others, he sounded excited “Boy, what a great series this would make!”

Suddenly creepy images started appearing on the wall, they felt real and were different for everyone. In Veruca's eyes, the walls were covered in disgusting bugs who kept crawling, at some point a worm fell off the roof, right onto her shoulder

“I don't like this ride!” She cried at the top of her lungs and caused an echo “Daddy! Mommy! Do something!”

“Do me a favor and tell those people to stop paddling back there!” Yelled her father

“We’re going to sink, I know it!” Screamed her mother

Veruca soon started to sob “Why doesn’t he stop?!”

And she wasn't the only one seeing visions, for her parents the room was fiery red and too hot to be comfortable, and soon the voices began to be overshadowed by the cries of some kind of animals. Squirrels.

“Hang on, darling! Just close your eyes and hang on tight!” Mrs. Salt hugged Veruca and then also covered her ears

“How much to get out of the boat?!” Mr. Salt asked in a panic

Mr. Wonka chuckled in a mean-spirited way “You can't buy your way out of everything, sir”

“Ugh… Now I'm going to be sick…” Mrs. Teavee was feeling quite dizzy because of the quick movements, loud sounds, and flashing images.

She struggled to see what was going on, but Mr. Teavee’s eyes were fixed on the walls, where he could watch the same violent shows his son enjoyed, but with a big difference: Mike was there on the battlefield, and even if he was unharmed, it was a terrifying situation

“Mike! Are you okay?!” He screamed looking at the boy, and thankfully he was there, sitting on the boat

Mike's smile gradually became a frown as he saw the images changing “Get away from me!” He shouted, jumped back on his feet, and started shooting all his toy guns. He had the same visions as his parents, except in first person, and he was very in-character playing along with it

“Be careful! You're going to fall!” Cried Mrs. Teavee

“What is this, a freakout?!” Screamed Mrs. Beauregarde, as angry as she was scared

Violet originally kept a determined expression and ferociously chewed on her gum to calm down, she threw herself head-first into the tunnel of horror, but it ended up being too overwhelming and she crumbled under the pressure. The girl now was in her mother's arms trembling with such force that she shook the woman too, and was silently crying, as her mother carefully rocked her black and forth.

“I can take a joke, but this is going too far! This isn’t funny, Wonka!” Mr. Beauregarde yelled in fear, seeing his terrified child.

In their eyes, Violet became so blue. Literally, her parents were the only ones able to hear her choked sobs, but they sounded as if they were underwater

“It's okay, my Violet, you’ve got this” her mother tried to comfort her, but it only made things worse “You’re a Beauregarde! This is nothing for you!”

“This is kind of strange…” At first, Charlie was having fun, but he was starting to become more and more uneasy

“It is, Charlie, but it's fun, right?” Grandpa Joe tried to be positive and held Charlie's hand firmly. He couldn't see any of the images everyone was afraid of, for him the room was just dark, but whatever Charlie was experiencing he would be there for him.

“There's no earthly way of knowing” Mr. Wonka began to sing eerily

“He's singing?” Grandpa Joe was confused, he trusted Mr. Wonka and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but just in case he pulled his grandson closer and tightened his grip

“Which direction we are going,
There's no knowing where we're rowing,
Or which way the river’s flowing,”

Charlie started shivering, he was afraid, but that wasn't the reason, the room was so cold out of the sudden, he was freezing

“Is it raining? Is it snowing?
Is a hurricane a-blowing?”

“Bleh!” Mr. Wonka shouted suddenly, as he kept doing some kind of ritual dance, and everyone flinched in fear. The chocolatier looked absolutely deranged, almost possessed.

Charlie wasn't focused on that however, he was absorbed by the images flashing on the walls, it was his shabby old house, but It was destroyed and covered in snow. Tears flowed down the boy’s cheeks, he felt so much fear, sadness, guilt, and regret at that moment, how could he enjoy a factory tour when his family was starving?

“Not a speck of light is showing,
So the danger must be growing,
Are the fires of hell glowing?
Is the grisly reaper mowing?

“Yes!”

The danger must be growing!
For the rowers keep on rowing!
And they're certainly not showing!
Any signs that they are slowing!”

Willy Wonka then screamed loudly and pulled out a spine-chilling evil laugh. Of course, chaos ensued in the beautiful pink boat

There was a bump and, to his parents’ horror, Mike fell backward. For a few seconds half of his body was hanging off the boat, Mr. and Mrs. Teavee grabbed him by the legs as soon as they could and tried their best to avoid losing their heads. Mike's pants started to slip, and his head was almost dipping in the river, but thankfully in the end they managed to save him, with help from some members of the other families

Violet kept shaking, and tired, and she buried her face in her mother's dress and muttered some kind of “I'm not scared” over and over. Her seat was all wet, dripping into the bottom of the ship

“Stop the boat! Stop it right now! You're crazy!” Veruca Salt was yelling furiously, but the more she talked, the more clear it was she was crying and terrified “You're balmy! You're nutty! You're screwy! You're batty! You're dippy! You're dotty! You're daffy! You're goofy! You're beany! You’re buggy! You're wacky! You're loony! You're a monster! A monster!”

Charlie closed his eyes, he didn't want to see what was going on, he wanted to run away but there was no escape. He was crying, he was crying a lot actually, but Grandpa Joe’s embrace helped him not break down completely.

“Think positive, Charlie, think positive!” the old man said in panic

And that's what he tried to do, he pictured his beloved birthday parties, the stories his grandparents told him, how he enjoyed helping his mother cook, or how his father taught him to fix the TV. It wasn't easy, but it was working, and soon the grim images were replaced by better ones

“I did it! I did It!” Charlie cried, but this time out of happiness and relief and his grandpa pat his back

“You did it! I knew you would!”

Five seconds later, he waved his gold-topped cane and shouted, “Stop the boat!”

The lights turned on, somehow, they seemed still inside of the pipe, but there was a dead end, and they stopped in front of a red door.

Mr. Wonka went back to his cheerful attitude, and his one eighty gave everyone a mental whiplash “Here!” He pointed at the door “A small step for mankind, but a giant step for us. All ashore!”

Chapter Text

As the group stumbled out of the boat, still recovering from the intense ride, Mr. Wonka turned to face them with a twinkle in his eye. "Well, my friends, wasn't that an exhilarating journey? A taste of the unexpected, I'd say!"

“I can't take much more of this…” muttered Mr. Teavee with a quiet trembling voice, fearing what was to come, and adjusted his glasses, as he held tightly on the edge of the boat

Everyone immediately got away from the boat, as if their lives depended on it

Charlie, still wiping away tears, was amazed and curious about what the tour had to offer "This is incredible, Mr. Wonka! But what was that tunnel about? It was so... frightening."

Mr. Wonka's expression softened as he addressed Charlie. "Ah, my dear boy, the Tunnel of Terror, as I like to call it, is a test of courage and resilience. It shows you the power of positive thinking in the face of adversity” He looked excited as he talked “You faced your fears and came out stronger on the other side!"

Grandpa Joe nodded in agreement. "Charlie, my boy, you did splendidly there, I’m so proud of you!”

Mike’s eyes were big as plates, his hair was messed up by the wind and his glasses weren't even sitting properly on his face. He looked as if he saw a ghost. The boy blinked a few times and then a big smile lit his face up

“Why don’t they show stuff like that on TV? It's terrific!” Mike said out loud to himself.

“I wonder why…” his mother laughed like mad as if she was about to have a panic attack. Both Mr. and Mrs. Teavee aged at least twenty years during the boat ride

“Let me off this crate!” Mr. Beauregarde shouted. If they weren't lost in his factory, and he wasn't that creepy, Sam would have punched Mr. Wonka right in the face.

Once on land, however, his wife stopped him “Not so fast, Sam. We have a little problem here…” said Mrs. Beauregarde ashamed

The man turned around confused and saw Violet hiding behind her mother, trembling from head to toe and sickly pale. The wet patch on her overalls showed a vulnerability that her gum-chewing bravado couldn't hide

“Violet, what are you doing?” Her father sighed in disappointment, but seeing his child’s heart sink hearing the words, he softened up and went to her aid

“What a nightmare!” Mrs. Salt said, dabbing the sweat out of her forehead and gasping for air, she thought she was going to have a heart attack

“Daddy, I do not want a boat like this!” Veruca declared, crossing and uncrossing her arms quickly to make it clear. Mr. Salt frantically nodded in agreement and looked so relieved, he wasn’t planning to buy it anyways, so he was glad his child agreed too

After that Veruca Salt shot a glare at Mr. Wonka stomping as she walked toward him. Her face was red and tear-stained. "I demand an explanation! What kind of factory tour is this?!"

The man wasn’t very tall himself but from his point of view, he struggled to take the little girl seriously. He simply laughed.

"Ah, my dear, this is just the beginning! Now, through that door lies the next chapter of our adventure."

Mr. and Mrs. Salt were having none of it “You’re off your bleeding nut, sir!” Firmly stated the father

“Come on, Veruca sweetheart, don't waste your time with that man” The mother gently grabbed her daughter and pulled her away, worried that he would throw her to the river or something of the sort “And you too, Rupert, It's just not worth it” added

Veruca walked away with her arms crossed and her head up high. She wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her vulnerable any longer, even though everyone was focused on their own problems to care

“Grandpa…” Charlie looked at Grandpa Joe with doubt in his eyes “Mr. Wonka said came out stronger from the ride, but what about the other families? They all seemed so shaken up. Do you think they understood the lesson?

Grandpa Joe sighed, glancing at the retreating figures of the other families, each dealing with their own post-boat-ride issues. Veruca was having a tantrum, and her parents, still uncomfortable with Mr. Wonka, tried to calm her down, he assumed they were likely talking about what to do to “compensate” for her bad experience. And Mike was playing with his toy guns as if nothing ever happened, looking at the big closed door with curiosity. His parents are nowhere to be seen.

“Everyone's journey is different. It's not easy facing your fears, and some folks might need more time to let it sink in," Grandpa Joe mused.

Charlie nodded thoughtfully. "I just hope they're okay, Violet looked very frightened” He looked at the Beauregardes, Violet’s mother took her to a more private spot and was trying to cover her daughter’s accident.

“I told you to use the bathroom, it’s not the first time this has happened” She kept scolding Violet for a whole minute, but she was not having it “Enough!” She pushed her mother away “Just enough…”

Grandpa Joe put an arm around Charlie's shoulder. "It's a strange and wonderful factory, my boy. We might not understand everything, but let's give it a chance. Who knows what awaits us through that door Mr. Wonka mentioned."

The door was huge in height and width, and the light reflected on its polished red metal. There were at least a dozen heavy chains tied to it, and in big bold letters the door said “Inventing Room — Private — Keep Out!”.

Grandpa Joe started smiling, he was even trembling out of excitement. He already knew about the chocolate room, even if it was still in a primitive stage when he was fired, but the inventing room? The oldest and most secret room of the whole factory? He couldn't believe he was going to finally see what was inside

Mr. Wonka swung his cane backward, to make sure no one was too close to the door, he eyed the lock on the right side of the door and began working on it “Ninety-nine… thirty-four… one hundred percent pure!”

Half of the chains dropped to the floor with a loud sound, and then he moved to the left side of the door, in front of a small keypad “And now, the combination.” He started to quickly press the keys to introduce a number, but that didn't matter, what caught everyone's attention was how as he moved his fingers, the keypad beeps to the melody of the opening of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro.

The other half of the chains hit the floor immediately, Mr. Wonka took a key from his pocket and leaned over the side to put the key in the finally visible keyhole. Something was clear, the man didn't want anyone to enter the room behind his back.

“This is the most important room in the entire factory!” Mr. Wonka proudly said. “All my most
secret new inventions are cooking and simmering in here! Old Fickelgruber would
give his front teeth to be allowed inside just for three minutes! So would Prodnose
and Slugworth and all the other rotten chocolate makers!”

Upon hearing that name, Slugworth, Charlie gasped quietly and tensed. He remembered the last conversation he had with his uncle and how he was a spy for that man, but he quickly shook his head, as if he could erase the thought of his mind. It worked for a while

“But now, listen to me!” Mr. Wonka clapped to make sure everyone was paying attention “No messing around when you go in! No touching, no meddling, and no tasting!

“Yes, yes!” the children cried, playing innocently “We won't touch a thing!”

With a strong push, the chocolatier opened the great heavy door, but before anyone could enter, he turned around with a serious expression “And please, do not tell anyone about what you see inside, up to now, nobody else, not even an Oompa-Loompa, has ever
been allowed in here. You're very privileged right now, so please, respect my wishes”

As he moved in, the four children and their parents all scrambled after him. Of course, not before Mr. Wonka whispered to the parents to keep an eye on their kids, he insisted that the unfinished candies could lead to messy results and that it was important to follow the rules.

Charlie Bucket stared around the gigantic room in which he now found himself, if he was wondering if Mr. Wonka was a magician before, now he was fully convinced of the fact.

The place was like a fun mix of a witch’s kitchen and a mad scientist’s lab. Black metal pots were boiling and bubbling on huge stoves. The kettles were hissing, pans were sizzling, strange iron machines were clanking and spluttering, pipes were running all over the ceiling and walls, and the whole place was filled with smoke, steam, and delicious sweet smells.

the room would have been completely dark if It wasn't for the powerful and colorful lights the liquid mixtures all over the place emitted. Everyone walked around amazed, with their reflections distorting as they moved past the long twisted glass tubes

Mr. Wonka himself had suddenly become even more excited than usual, and anyone could see that this was the room he loved best of all. He was hopping about among the saucepans and the machines like a child among his Christmas presents, not knowing which thing to look at first.

He lifted the lid from a huge pot and took a sniff; then he rushed over and dipped a finger into a barrel of sticky yellow stuff, but soon took it away and screamed

“What's the matter? Too hot, Mr. Wonka?” Asked Mrs. Salt

Mr. Wonka shook his head, as he sucked his finger to nurse it “Cold! Far too cold!”

He turned half a dozen knobs all the way up, and the pot quickly became engulfed by flames “Ah, that's better!” He said and started skipping across the room, checking the machines, the pans, and the ovens, rubbing his hands and cackling with delight at what he saw.

Then he ran over to another machine, some kind of saucepan. I was full of a thick gooey purplish treacle, boiling and bubbling. By standing on his toes, little Charlie could just see inside it.

“That's Hair Toffee!” cried Mr Wonka. “You eat just one tiny bit of that, and in exactly half an hour a brand-new luscious thick silky beautiful crop of hair will start growing out all over the top of your head! And a mustache! And a beard!”

“A beard!” cried Veruca Salt. “Who wants a beard, for heaven's sake?!”

“It would suit you very well,” said Mr. Wonka, “but unfortunately the mixture is not quite right yet, an Oompa-Loompa tried it yesterday and ended up as a little ball of hair. But I'll get the mixture right soon! And when I do, then there'll be no excuse anymore for little boys and girls going about with bald heads!”

“But Mr. Wonka,” cut Mike Teavee, “Kids never go about with…”

“Geez! You should stop mumbling when you talk," cried Mr Wonka. “I can’t understand a word you're saying”

“Now, over here,” Mr. Wonka went on, skipping excitedly across the room to the
opposite wall, there was another machine, a small shiny affair that kept going
phut-phut-phut-phut-phut, and every time it went phut, a large green marble dropped
out of it into a basket on the floor. At least it looked like marble.

“Everlasting Gobstoppers!” cried Mr Wonka proudly. “They're completely new! I
am inventing them for children who are given very little pocket money. You can put
an Everlasting Gobstopper in your mouth and you can suck it and suck it and suck it
and suck it and it will never get any smaller! At least I don't think they do. And they also change color every week!

“It's like gum!” cried Violet Beauregarde.

“It is not like gum,” Mr. Wonka explained. “Gum is for chewing, and this is for sucking”

“I want an Everlasting Gobstopper!” Demanded Veruca, excited

“Me too! And me!” Violet and Mike followed her

Mr. Wonka gave them a gobstopper and also gave one to Charlie, who was lost in his thoughts and took a bit to realize the offer.

“Thank you,” Charlie said, looking at the candy with gratefulness, excitement, and a hint of guilt

“How do you make them?” Mike sniffed and licked the gobstopper, he was trying to analyze it, rather than enjoy it

“A magician doesn’t reveal their secrets!” Answered Mr. Wonka

“Can I have another Everlasting Gobstopper?” Asked Veruca Salt

Mr. Wonka expected this and played along “What’s the point of having two if it lasts forever?!” He said in an over-the-top exclamation

He didn’t expect to hear a crunch sound though, and as he turned around he saw Violet chewing on the gobstopper “I think I cracked a layer! I’m going to get to the center in record time!

“Huh? You should look for a dentist appointment after the tour…” Mr. Wonka winced

As they were talking, a loud buzzer went off, and everyone looked toward Mr. Beauregarde, who kept his hands in the air as if to say “I didn't touch anything”. He was standing in front of the huge machine in the very center of the room, and that was mostly covered by an even bigger sheet.

“No! Don’t! Please! Forgive me, but no one must look under there!” Mr. Wonka ran to the machine, even if he playfully pushed the man away from the machine, he seemed worried.

Mrs. Beauregarde scolded her husband “Sam! You need to be a good example for Violet!”

“So, this machine doesn't work?” Asked Mr. Teavee, as the guests approached

“It works, It works wonderfully and I'm very proud of it” The chocolatier answered “But don't you prefer seeing the testing room? The Oompa-Loompas there are very playful” he tried to change the topic, but of course, curiosity got the best of everyone on the tour

“Can't we see it? Just a little bit” asked Charlie and the other kids joined in

“I want to see the big machine! The size is terrific!” Cried, Mike

“If it's so cool, why don't you show it?” Violet was confused

“I'm sure he's lying! if it worked he wouldn't have the need to hide it” Said Veruca

Even if the parents tried to calm their children down, Mr. and Mrs. Teavee even had to hold his child so he would sneak out to peek under the sheets, it was obvious they were excited too. Mr. Wonka had a lot of doubts about what he was going to do, even if his fast thinking made it feel as if he was just playing with them to get a reaction. And in the end, he had to agree that dealing with complaints because of his eccentricity was not only expected, but something he enjoyed, but letting them be disappointed because a machine didn't work? Absolutely not! He was going to prove the skeptical wrong like he always did.

“Alright!” He said, “But remember, no touching!” And then he quickly pulled the sheet off revealing the impressive machine

It was a mountain of gleaming metal that towered high above the children and their parents. Out of the very top of it there sprouted hundreds and hundreds of thin glass tubes that curled downwards and came together in a bunch and hung suspended over an enormous round tub as big as a bath.

“What a contraption!” Said Mike in awe “What does this thing do?”

“Isn’t it scrumptious? It's my revolutionary mechanical wonder!” Mr. Wonka looked so proud. “Try saying that five times fast!”

Violet attempted it, but not being able to say “scrumptious” well once, doing it five times became impossible. She kept trying and trying, however, she wanted to win the challenge

“Try saying scrump- first, and then add -tious,” Charlie told her, excited to see if she would do it “Scrumptious, like that, you've got this!”

“Now, the button… the button… who’s got the button?” Mr. Wonka muttered, clapping his hands together as he searched

“It’s over there,” Veruca pointed to a large red button.

Mr. Wonka made his way over toward it and flashed a teasing smile “Here?” He asked

“Yes!” Veruca knew it was a joke and tried to not lose her temper, but she was impatient to see what the iron giant would do

A second later, a mighty rumbling sound came from inside it, and the whole machine began to shake most frighteningly. Steam began hissing out of it all over, and then suddenly the watchers noticed that runny stuff was pouring down the insides of all the hundreds of little glass tubes and squirting out into the great tub below. Soon in every single tube, the runny stuff was of a different color, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and many others as well.

It all came sloshing and splashing into the tube, creating a lovely sight. When the tub was nearly full, Mr. Wonka pressed another button, and immediately the runny stuff disappeared, and a whizzing whirring noise took its place. The machine was mixing up all the different colored liquids like an ice-cream soda. Gradually, the mixture began to thicken. It became thicker and thicker, and it turned from blue to white to green to brown to yellow, and then back to blue again.

“Watch!” cried Mr. Wonka.

A faint click was heard, and the whizzer stopped wheezing. Then there came
a sort of sucking noise, and very quickly all the blue gooey mixture in the huge basin
was sucked back into the stomach of the machine. There was a moment of silence.
Then a few queer rumblings were heard. Then silence again. Then suddenly, the machine let out a monstrous mighty groan, and at the same moment a tiny drawer, no bigger than the drawer in a slot machine, popped out of the side of the metallic giant.

Everyone got closer to see what was going on, Veruca and Mike were pushing each other for the best spot, Grandpa Joe used his height to stretch his neck and hover over the drawer, while Charlie used his small size to sneak under the crowd and see, and Mr. Beauregarde picked Violet up to let her enjoy as she chewed on her gum. Every single guest was trying their best to get a glimpse of whatever that marvelous creation was… But once they saw it everyone went back to normal, with clear disappointment in their faces.

In the drawer, there was a little strip of gray something that looked like cardboard. It must be a mistake, right? The children and their parents just kept silently staring at the little gray strip lying in the small drawer of the machine

“You mean that's all?” said Mike Teavee, disgusted.

“That's all?!” asked Mr. Wonka, pretending he was offended. “Do you even know what it is?”

There was a pause, which was suddenly interrupted by a loud yell of excitement

“By gum, it’s gum!” Violet was bouncing up and down in her place, twirling, twisting, and fidgeting as she sported a big smile “It's a stick of chewing gum! Yippee!”

“Right you are!” cried Mr. Wonka, slapping Violet hard on the back. “It's a stick of the most fabulous and sensational gum in the world! Is my latest, my greatest, my most-”

“What’s so fab about it?!” She interrupted, chewing faster and faster

“Well, this piece of gum is a whole three-course dinner all by itself!

“It can taste like a meal, but there's no way a piece of latex can fill one’s stomach” questioned Mrs. Teavee

“My dear lady,” said Mr. Wonka, “When I start selling this gum in the shops it will change everything! It will be the end of all kitchens and all cooking! There will be no more shopping to do! No more buying meat and groceries! There'll be no knives and forks at mealtimes! No plates! No washing up! No rubbish! No mess! Just a little strip of Wonka's magic chewing gum — and that's all you'll ever need at breakfast, lunch, and supper! This piece of gum I've just made is tomato soup, roast beef, and blueberry pie!”

“You can't do that!” Yelled Mr. Salt, “What will happen to lots of jobs around the world!”

“Come on, sir, don't be a killjoy” Mr. Wonka looked at the man with puppy eyes for a moment, then he chuckled “You know, the nut market was also extremely different long ago… And my gum is fantastic anyways!”

“It sounds weird,” said Veruca Salt, disgusted by the taste, not the economic debate

“Just so long as it's gum,” shrugged Violet Beauregarde, “just so long as it's a piece of gum and I can chew it, then that's for me!” And quickly she took her own world-record piece of chewing gum out of her mouth and stuck it behind her left ear.

“Come on, Wonkameister!,” she said, extending her hand and looking at Mr. Wonka with admiration “Hand over this magic gum of yours and we'll see how it works!”

“Now, Violet!” Mrs. Beauregarde grabbed Violet's arm tightly, “Mr. Wonka said no messing around, don't do anything silly”

“I like gum! What's silly about that?!” Violet shouted extremely defensive, she looked back and glared at her mother

“Oh no…” muttered Mr. Beauregarde and quickly got in between his wife and child “Come on Scarlett, be a little more understanding with her gum chewing, it's weird but harmless, and it helps her focus at school”

Scarlett looked down and seemed to soften a bit, then he kneeled down to Violet's level and put a hand on her shoulder “And Violet, baby, your mother only does this because she cares about you. We don't know if the gum is toxic or something”

“But I want the gum…” Violet pouted. She was apparently calming, but as she talked more she started to get heated again “And she's yelling at me all the time! She doesn't let me do anything! I'm tired! I'm really tired!”

“Violet, don't talk to your mother like that! It's for your own good, we want you to have a good life and be happy” Sam tried to fix the situation with no results

“If you behaved properly, we wouldn't have these problems!” Explained Mrs. Beauregarde firmly, but sounding anxious at the end “I rarely fight with your brother and sister, and I don't act different with them. I'm just worried”

“Worried about what?” Violet's bottom lip was trembling and she had watery eyes “Because you think I'm useless?”

Her parents felt guilty and wanted to tell her it was okay and to calm down, but quickly she snorted her tears back into her eyes and made a cocky smile

“Well, There's something Marvin and Pru will never do better than me!” Before Mr. Wonka could stop her, she shot out a fat hand and grabbed the stick of gum out of the little drawer

“Please, don't take it,” Mr Wonka told her gently. “You see, I haven't got it quite right yet. There are still one or two things…”

“Oh, to blazes with that!” Said the girl, popping it into her mouth. At once, her huge, well-trained jaws started chewing away on it like a pair of tongs.

“Don't!” cried Mr Wonka. Mr. And Mrs. Beauregarde tried to stop her, but there wasn't much they could do, she ran away into a corner of the room and everyone followed her

“What does it taste like?” Mike Teavee asked, “Is it a real three-course meal or was Wonka lying?”

“Madness!” shouted Violet. “It's tomato soup! It's hot and creamy and delicious! I can feel it running down my throat!”

“Stop!” Yelled Mr. Wonka. “The gum isn't ready yet! It's not right!”

“Of course it's right!” said Violet. “It's working beautifully! Oh my, what lovely soup this is!”

“Spit it out!” said Mr. Wonka, and it was clear he wasn't joking this time around

“Why doesn't she listen to Mr. Wonka?” Charlie asked Grandpa Joe, worried

The old man sighed and shook his head in disapproval “Because, Charlie, she's a nitwit and she doesn't know it”

Of course, both were excited about the gum, but Mr. Willy Wonka was the owner of the factory, and if someone knew if the inventions worked or not, it was definitely him.

“It's changing!” shouted Violet, chewing and grinning, both at the same time. “The second course is coming up! It's roast beef! It's tender and juicy! Oh boy, what a flavor! The baked potato is marvelous, too! It's got a crispy skin and it's all filled with butter inside!” Just like in her interview, she was getting so excited she started to talk so loud and so fast as she chewed gum, that she was barely understandable.

Mr. Wonka was wringing his hands in the air and screaming “No, no, no, no, no! It isn't ready for eating! It isn't right! You’ll turn into-”

“Does it have sour cream, baby?” Mr. Beauregarde interrupted the chocolatier and started laughing. With two out of the three meals out, he assumed there was no danger and saw the situation as a charming little quirk of Violet, and soon his wife also relaxed

“But how interesting, Violet,” said Mrs. Beauregarde. “You are a clever girl, I can't believe I ever doubted that” She walked closer to Violet and patted her head affectionately

“Keep chewing, kiddo!” Cheered Mr. Beauregarde. “Keep right on chewing! This is a great day for the Beauregardes! Our little girl is the first person in the world to have a chewing gum meal!”

Violet’s eyes lit up as she looked back at her parents with a big smile, and kept chewing the experimental gum. She looked at Mr. Wonka, at Charlie, at Grandpa Joe, then at everyone else, and finally back at her parents again.

Her parents were clearly very proud and excited about what the future would bring them, in the meantime, Mr. Wonka kept jumping up and down in panic, telling Violet to stop chewing, but it was no use, she wasn't going to listen to him over her parents. Or to be more specific, to who was praising him over the man who discouraged her actions.

“The blueberry pie!” He shouted

But Violet just nodded obliviously “I bet it's to die for!”

“That's what I'm worried about!” Cried Mr. Wonka

Veruca had her arms crossed and was frowning, it was clear she was absolutely jealous of Violet. She should be the first one to taste everything good. Before Wonka could warn the silly gum-chewer in more detail, he was distracted by Veruca

“Daddy! I want that gum!” the girl demanded

“No, you don't want it!” He immediately cut it off

Those seconds were crucial if he wanted to avoid problems, and they were wasted

“Here it comes!” Shouted Violet, and Mr. Wonka just softly facepalmed, using the closest machine to lean on and relax. There was no longer a point in warning so he just stood there

“Oh my, it's perfect! It's beautiful! It's… it's exactly as though I'm swallowing it! It's as though I'm chewing and swallowing great big spoonfuls of the most marvelous blueberry pie in the world!”

“Good heavens, girl!” shrieked Mrs. Beauregarde suddenly, startling Violet and taking her out of her chewing trance “What's happening to your nose?!”

Violet rolled her eyes and ignored her, she didn't want to spoil that sweet moment

“It's turning blue!” screamed Mrs. Beauregarde, who grabbed Violet's head and pulled it closer to see it better, to make sure she wasn't hallucinating “Your nose looks like a blueberry!”

“No, yours does!” Violet retorted and shook her head to get away from her mother “Keep your hair on and let me finish!” she started to get a bit anxious even if she assumed her mother was just messing with her, instinctively covering her nose to avoid further criticism

“Your mother is right!” shouted Mr. Beauregarde. “Your whole nose has gone
purple!”

“What do you mean…?” asked Violet, now clearly uneasy, chewing away faster every second and going cross-eyed trying to see her nose.

“Your cheeks!” Screamed Mr. Beauregarde “They're turning blue as well!”

“So is your chin!” followed Mrs. Beauregarde “Your whole face is turning blue!”

“Spit that gum out at once!” ordered Mrs. Beauregarde, and when Violet did so, they could see it was all bright blue and soggy, dripping some kind of juice as it hit the floor. And most shockingly, it was twice its size.

“What the heck is going on?! Cried Mr. Beauregarde, “Violet, you're turning violet, Violet!”'

“Mercy! Save us! The girl's going blue and purple all over!” Mrs. Beauregarde stood with Violet and started praying. When the kid silently turned to Mr. Wonka with the same look of a frightened fawn and half of her face blueberry blue, Sam knew he had something to do with it

“What's happening to me?” asked the girl with a trembling voice, as her legs wobbled like jello. She was looking at her hands, and the blue tint was quickly spreading over them

Everybody was staring at Violet, in fact, everyone but her parents stepped back, just in case it was contagious. And what a terrible sight of her It was. Her face and hands and legs and neck, in fact, the skin all over her body, had turned a brilliant, purplish blue. Her curly hair was no longer red, and her clothes were damp with the blueberry juice her body kept producing

But Mr. Beauregarde had enough and furiously walked towards the factory owner “Do you find it amusing, Wonka?! Look what it's done to my kid!” he yelled so close to his face Mr. Wonka could even feel his breath

“I told you I hadn't got it quite right, yet” sighed Mr. Wonka, shaking his head sadly.

“I'm going to break you for this!” Violet's father, taller, younger, and stronger than Mr. Wonka, aggressively grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and suspended him in the air “We thought it might taste nasty or that she would get an upset tummy, not that she would become a blue fre-”

“If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all” Mr. Wonka gently but firmly shut him down. His tendency to chuckle when he's nervous always got him in trouble as a kid, and here it wasn't the exception

Of course, Mr. Beauregarde thought the man was laughing at his family's misfortune, and didn't take it well. He looked terrifying, stretched his arm to give the chocolatier a jab Willy Wonka's.

Grandpa Joe didn't think about it twice before getting in between “Violence is not the answer, it will only make things worse!” The man tried to grab Mr. Beauregarde’s arm, but given the tension of the moment, he was pushed back with more force than Sam intended.

“Sorry, Grandpa, I didn't want to hurt you…” the man apologized “But you wouldn't be that calm if it was your child”

Charlie got very worried and ran to his grandfather’s aid, and, even if he struggled to get up, luckily he wasn't hurt. The boy didn't have the strength to do the task on his own but he was willing to try as hard as he could

Mrs. Salt looked at her husband and Mr. Teavee, expecting them to help the Buckets, but they didn't move, their eyes were glued to the fight, and seemed anxious

“Don't we have any men in this group?” She complained and did the job herself, helping Charlie and giving Grandpa Joe his cane

Mr. Beauregard got back to what he was about to do, but something else caught his attention, dropping Mr. Wonka to the ground “Pop, ma… I feel sick…” Violet complained clutching her grudging stomach, she looked so vulnerable and tired, with blueberry juice dripping from her mouth, nose, and ears, and tears made of the same liquid

Anxiously, Violet put her hand behind her ear, looking for her trustworthy old piece of gum, she looked at it and immediately calmed down, but before she could put it in her mouth, it slipped off her wet trembling hands. She tried bending down to get it from the floor, but as she was halfway towards it, she felt oddly heavy and drowsy, unable to move more.

“Violet, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Asked Mrs. Beauregarde, approaching her daughter and being shocked by what she saw, even more than before, “Are you swelling up?!”

Indeed, Violet was swelling up, it started with her chest, and in less than a minute her body became top-heavy and barely recognizable

“You're blowing up like a balloon! Call a doctor!” shouted Mr. Beauregarde.

“Like a blueberry,” said Grandpa Joe, realizing what was going on

“It always goes wrong when we come to the desert,” said Mr. Wonka disappointed, getting up on the floor and dusting his clothes. “It's the blueberry pie that does it. But I'll get it right one day, you wait and see.”

Violet tried standing up, but her legs struggled to handle the extra weight. She closed her eyes and used all her strength to keep the little dignity she had left. Then, all that extra weight went to the bottom side of her body “I feel funny!” gasped Violet, struggling to keep her balance and looking bad at her oversized rump “Help! Help me! She was crying

“Prick her with a pin!” said Mike Mrs. Teavee

“No, she will pop!” said Charlie Bucket

“Save her!” Mrs. Beauregarde shoots a deathly glare at Mr. Wonka

“We've got to let the air out of her, quick!” shouted Mr Beauregarde.

“There’s no air in there, that’s juice” Explained Mr. Wonka

“Juice?!” Questioned everyone

“That’s impossible,” said Mr. Teavee, but Mr. Wonka didn’t bother to answer

Violet tried waddling away, especially when Mike poked her out of curiosity, almost tipping her over, but it was useless. Her body was swelling up and changing shape at such a rate that within a minute it had turned into nothing less than an enormous round blue ball — a gigantic blueberry, in fact — and all that remained of Violet Beauregarde herself was a tiny pair of legs and a tiny pair of arms sticking out of the great round fruit and little head on top. She felt so humiliated she couldn’t articulate a single word, she was blushing purple and couldn’t stop crying for her parents’ support, which only made her feel less in control and more stupid. Out of shame, fright, or maybe just dizziness, she ended up fainting soon.

“It always happens like that,” lamented Mr. Wonka. “I've tried it on twenty Oompa-Loompas, and they all ended up as blueberries. I don’t get it!”

“But I don't want a blueberry for a daughter!” yelled Mrs Beauregarde. “What is she supposed to do once she gets home?!”

“You can put her on a country fair” Veruca laughed, getting a glare from her parents, even if they did absolutely nothing about it

Veruca’s smile faded when Mrs. Beuregarde gave her a look that probably gave the kid nightmares for a few days, and Sam went from being furious, to kind of considering the offer, as a desperate measure to at least take something positive from the experience.

“Don’t you even think about it!” Said Scarlett, recognizing the face and gestures her husband always made when thinking about possible scams

Mr. Wonka took a tiny flute from his jacket’s pockets and played a few notes, then spun it on his hand and used the flute as some sort of walkie-talkie “Code Blue, Oompa-Loompas, Code Blue! Come to the Inventing Room Immediately!”

Soon ten Oompa-Loompas appeared by the door, they were as amazed by the inventing room as the guests themselves, and when they saw the massive blueberry in the middle of the room, they started whispering things into each others’ ears and laughing

“Roll Miss Beauregarde into the boat,” he said to them, “and take her along to the
Juicing Room at once.”

“The Juicing Room?” Mrs. Beauregarde asked. “What are they going to do to her there?”

“Squeeze her,” explained Mr. Wonka. “We've got to squeeze the juice out of her
immediately. After that, we'll just have to see how she comes out. But don't worry,
my dear Mrs. Beauregarde. We'll get her repaired, we will do everything we can and more. I am sorry about it all, I really am…”

Already the ten Oompa-Loompas were rolling the enormous blueberry across the
floor of the Inventing Room towards the door that led to the chocolate river where
the boat was waiting. Mr and Mrs Beauregarde hurried after them. The rest of the party stood absolutely still and watched them go.

“I'll get even with you for this, Wonka, if it's the last thing I ever do!” Yelled Mr. Beauregarde as the Oompa-Loompas pushed him out of the room, once he was out of sight starting to loudly cry “My little Violet is a blueberry!”

“Listen!” whispered Charlie. “Listen, Grandpa! The Oompa-Loompas in the boat
outside are starting to sing!”

The voices, one hundred of them singing together, came loud and clear into the
room:

Dear folks, we gather and agree,
Nothing's worse than what we see,
A child seeking validation, attention sought,
Chewing gum is a habit foul and fraught.
Does it ring a bell, sound familiar, dear?
Let's not forget, that brat, Violet Beauregarde, we fear.

A rascal, relentless, saw no wrong,
Chewing all day, a never-ending song.
In the tub, on the way from school,
In church and bus, acting the fool.
Picking her nose, mouth never shut,
Her teachers frustrated, their patience cut.
Around town, pranks were her game,
Whining when consequences came.
Is she to blame? Her parents too?

Now listen hard, here comes the rue,
A girl desiring stardom's view,
To be cool, to prove she's good,
A fool, in essence, misunderstood.
Mr. and Mrs., pride with no talent,
A pattern their kid followed, malcontent.
Expectations were a far cry,
From who couldn’t even keep the bed dry.

Yet, Violet had a plan instead.
Chew, chew, chew, the bubble show,
Boasting and gloating, to and fro.
A strange sight, no longer a kid,
A bloated, purple pig she slid.
Scared and shamed, she waddles away,
A ball of clay rolling, a sad display.

The outcome bitter, as things unfold,
Chewing till her muscles grow bold.
A giant chin, like a violin's grace,
Sticking out from her once-smooth face.
Years pass, she chews each day,
Jaws growing stronger, a grim ballet.
With one tremendous chew, a twist so cruel,
Her poor tongue bitten in two, a sorry duel.

Believe us when we say,
Chewing gum won't pay,
A sticky habit, a dire end,
To a fate, no one would defend.
Don't ruin life for gum, don't be that dumb,
Avoid the fate of a sanatorium slum.

So, we strive to intervene,
To save Violet, just a wean.
From a nasty fate, a painful lure,
It's not too late, for a chance to endure.
Provided she survives the cure,
We hope she does, we can’t be sure.

Chapter Text

"Well, well, well,” sighed Mr. Willy Wonka, “Two naughty little children are gone. Three good little children left… I think we'd better get out of this room quickly before we lose anyone else!'”

“Mr. Wonka,” said Charlie Bucket anxiously, “Will Violet Beauregarde ever be all right again or will she always be a blueberry?”

“She won't, don't worry my boy, they'll de-juice her in no time flat!” declared Mr. Wonka, then having a few doubts. “Or at least I hope she won't; we never had a blueberry as big as her… I'm even surprised such a young girl could hold that much juice!”

“She didn't hold it that well in the boat,” Veruca snickered, slightly covering her mouth.

Mr. Wonka wasn't happy with the situation, but he couldn't help but chuckle at Veruca's comment. Even if it wasn't for a good reason, she seemed more interested in the tour than ever, and that didn't go unnoticed.

“My dear Veruca, it's fascinating to see how opposition sparks your enthusiasm. No leader truly shines without facing challenges. Indeed, there's potential beneath all those layers of entitlement…” Mr. Wonka thought out loud.

Veruca, unsure about how to take it, opted to keep it collected. How could challenges be good? If they were her parents would have used them with her, but even then, she had to agree that her rivalry with Violet kept her on the edge of her seat, even if it was only to see her fail for yelling at her before.

“But will she still be blue all over?” asked Grandpa Joe

“No, no, no” answered Mr. Wonka. “She’ll be purple from head to toe. Maybe she can find some use for her new complexion, it for sure will catch people’s attention, that’s what she wanted, right?”

Mr. Wonka scuttled across to the far end of the Inventing Room and went out through a small secret door hidden behind many pipes and stoves. The three remaining children, together with the five remaining grown-ups, followed after him. Charlie Bucket saw that they were now back in one of those long pink corridors with many other pink corridors leading out of it, and as he expected, the Inventing Room’s door could only be opened inside.

Mr. Wonka was keeping the door open with his foot, and seeing everyone was outside, he got back to the Inventing room, not before explaining his intentions:

“I need to take a sample of the malfunctioning gum and analyze it, it will take me five minutes, I’m sure you’ll understand.” with that he went inside and closed the door, leaving his guests confused about what to do next.

Not even ten seconds later he opened the door again, taking a bag with a big “W” from his coat “Oh, and sorry for the inconvenience! I thought as compensation I must let the kids enjoy one of my exclusive candies. They have no side effects, don’t worry about that, you’ll be the first people ever to try them, they will be out on the market next year!”

Veruca was the first one to put both hands in the bag, she picked several candies that caught her attention, keeping her favorite one in her hands, and giving the others to her parents, to save them for later. Her choice was a small marzipan elephant, with a transparent wrapper that allowed her to see, and “Dancers” written on it.

Charlie was the next one to step closer, he put his hand in the bag with his eyes closed, he didn’t know what to choose, so he decided maybe it could be fun to let luck choose him. He looked at what he pulled out, it was some kind of big, squarish, and soft sweet “Musical-mellows” said the purple, decorated with a gold treble clef, wrapper.

Then Mike moved towards the bag and looked inside for a bit, squinting his eyes and adjusting his glasses to see what to choose better. In the end, a little circular wrapper caught his attention, and he smiled, it was bright red and orange, with sharp ends and the name “Exploding Candies for your Enemies!!!” written in bold, thick letters.

With everyone focused on the exclusive candies, instead of the accident, Mr. Wonka finally went back to his job. He took some snug rubber gloves from his pockets and dramatically put them on, then with a pair of big tongs, carefully took the piece of experimental gum, eyeing every single detail of it, as if it was some kind of forensic evidence. Soon the gum was sealed in a glass test tube, with the label “#21” and analyzed in the testing room (which was right beside the Inventing Room).

Mr. Wonka put his reading glasses on, and with the test tube on his side, he started taking notes and scratching his head, not only because of what was making the three-course-meal gum fail over and over but also because his original plan had to be adapted to the new circumstances. As he continued his meticulous analysis of the experimental gum, his mind delved into deeper contemplation. The rhythmic scratching of his pen against the notepad echoed through the quiet testing room. He was lost in his thoughts and muttering to himself

“Ah, blueberries, my favorite fruit in pies, so colorful and vibrant, they always remind me of that prank I once pulled on my teacher many years ago. Despite their burst of flavor, however, they are small fragile fruits, sensitive to pressure, something perhaps I didn't account for while putting them through such a stressful transformation process. Is choosing flavor only based on personal taste a logically and morally sound idea?”

As he scribbled notes, Mr. Wonka wondered if his inclination to showcase the great gum machine during the tour was more than a desire to flaunt his invention. Or maybe, he subconsciously wanted to teach a lesson. The boat ride revealed a different side of everyone, including Mr. Wonka and his plan.
With a furrowed brow, he looked back at his failed creation. It was always the blueberry pie that failed, but why? Was it not fit for this specific task? There are a lot of pies in the world, but only one three-course-meal gum, it certainly would be terrifying for a little blueberry.

Mr. Wonka chuckled nervously “Father and I aren't that different after all. Oh, how tempting, but how wrong, is projecting unrealistic expectations onto our creations, in the end, everyone ends up so blue”

“Have you considered different options?” Asked an Oompa-Loompa who has been there the whole time, unnoticed. He was sucking on a gobstopper, he had been doing so for a year.

“Different options?… that's a good question my tiny fellow, I indeed haven't, I focused so much on making the blueberry pie work, that I never realized there were more pie flavors,” Mr. Wonka said, with a whole new world opening to his mind

“What about a lemon pie? Tangy, and fresh, an innovative punch to the recipe,” he asked the Oompa-Loompa

“I'm not sure, without proper limits, it could sour the gum, and I'm worried the acid would melt me if I have to taste it.” The worker answered and started thinking about a different approach. What about an opulent walnut pie? Warm, practical, and elegant”

“Yes, you're right, but there's a big problem. The hard shell would be too expensive to remove. Not worth it” Mr. Wonka shook his head

The chocolatier sighed, he thought about maybe making a mango pie, but quickly dismissed it, it was sweet and tasty, but the risk of overindulging was high. He then came with a lot of strange flavors, each one more bizarre than the former.

“What about an apple pie?” The Oompa-Loompa thought out loud “It's a classic, less risky than any other fruit”

Mr. Wonka was skeptical that fruit wasn't even considered in his first notes; an apple represented a departure from Mr. Wonka's preconceived notions. It wasn't the flamboyant non-conforming flavor he initially envisioned for his three-course-meal gum. However, apples embodied qualities that intrigued Mr. Wonka – resilience, a nurturing nature, and a profound connection with comfort and warmth. Though grounded and traditional, maybe apples did hold a unique blend of creativity and practicality.

“Sometimes what you want isn't what you need” explained the Oompa-Loompa taking the Everlasting Gobstopper from his mouth and showing it “I wanted to be a recolector since I was a kid, but I'm too small to do it properly and ended up as a tester. Now I wouldn't change this job for anything, and I would have never discovered it if I got what I wanted”

Once the Oompa-Loompa left to keep working, in the solitude of the testing room, Mr. Wonka had a profound realization.

His love for blueberries was undisputed, but they weren't ready, at least not yet, and apples emerged as a potential puzzle piece that could fit seamlessly into the grand design of the experimental gum’s desert. Yet, uncertainty lingered, and Mr. Wonka knew he needed to put it to the test before making a final decision. The journey to find the right flavor had taken an unexpected turn, and the enigmatic chocolatier prepared himself for the challenges that lay ahead.

Back on the pink corridor, Charlie took a bite of his musical mellow, it was so soft and sweet, as if he took a bite of a cloud, “Grandpa, it’s wonderful!” Charlie split the marshmallow in two gave half of it and offered it to Grandpa Joe.

“No, it's yours, Charlie, enjoy it!” The man carefully pushed Charlie's hand back, and his heart almost melted there.

Charlie smiled and kept eating the marshmallow bite by bite. Soon his tongue started tingling a bit, and he felt something building up in his chest before he could say anything, something happened

“Hip!”

Everyone looked in the direction of little Charlie

“Hip! Hip! Hip!”

The hiccups were very precise in timing, intensity, and tone, they were like a fun beautiful melody, and Charlie was smiling and enjoying the music, as he kept making it

Veruca tried to open her dancer, but the wrapper was quite sturdy and she couldn't wait, so she asked her parents to do it for her. Once she had the little marzipan elephant in her hands, it shocked her to see it stand up

"Mommy! Daddy! Look!" She shouted in excitement, and everyone got behind her to see what was going on.

The tiny elephant was doing a little dance, jumping back and forth in its legs, and raising his trump up in the air.

"Awwwww! It's so cute! I'm going to call her Marina Von Marzipan!" Veruca said with a big smile, caressing the candy animal, who looked so pleased and comfortable

"Ah, our little Veruca and her little animals" Cooed Mrs. Salt, finding the scene endearing "She's always so affectionate with them, I wonder why we're not as close, we give her all she needs and wants”

In one of the corners, Mike was reading the instructions of his chosen candy, and quietly chuckling. He rubbed his hands and eyed all his possible victims, once he had his plan well thought of, he removed the wrapper from the candy and threw it backward, walking towards Charlie.

"Gosh!" Mike exclaimed, "I didn't realize it has peanuts, I can't eat it, I'm terribly allergic!" He was lying and trying to hide his mischievous smile.

Then he took the candy from his pocket and gave it to Charlie "Maybe you can eat it, I'm sure you'll like it, you seem like a big wonkarer".

"Thanks! I wish I didn't finish my musical mellow, that way we could have shared it" Charlie gladfully accepted the candy, curious about what it would do, but before he could put it in his mouth Veruca appeared with the marzipan elephant playing on her shoulder

"Can I have it?" She asked, and Mike's eyebrows went up to his hairline "Uhh... I don't think you should-"

He tried to warn Veruca, but it was too late, and Charlie, being the good boy he was, gave her the candy with no issues, and she quickly popped it in her mouth. "Not bad!" She said and kept tasting the candy, but then her face turned red and she started gasping for air, "It's getting spicy, too spicy!"

"Fire in the hole!" Shouted Mike Teavee, doing the duck-and-cover maneuver

Suddenly the candy exploded in Veruca's face. She couldn't even scream. It didn't hurt, but she was now on the floor, dazzled and coughing a bit of smoke. The tiny elephant was trying to help her get up but was too small to do anything.

"Wicked! It works!" Mike was jumping and laughing

“What happened?!” Asked Grandpa Joe confused and checking Charlie, just in case

Charlie was shocked and confused, soon realizing he no longer had a hiccup “It must be the candy, she ate it and then it exploded!”

Veruca's mother ran to her kid’s aid, she was looking for any possible injury and hugging her, hoping she would feel better soon,

Mr. Salt turned to the Teavees with a serious stern expression, “You should control your son better! Veruca could have been hurt”

Norman and Doris Teavee were absolutely mortified, apologizing over and over for Mike's behavior. Mr. Teavee was afraid of the possibility of losing his job if that man looked for revenge, and Mrs. Teavee looked down in shame, hoping the incident wouldn't become public and affect her professional life.

“Mike Teavee, you're dead!” Yelled Veruca, still on the floor, kicking and crying. She was clearly about to have a temper tantrum, and her mother kept pampering her and promising more and more presents to calm her down.

Mike looked away to avoid the glares he was getting “Come on, come on, it's just a joke, don't be so dramatic” but he felt somewhat guilty because he didn't want it to end up like that “And it was for Charlie anyways, I didn't want to prank you”

“Why me?” Charlie pointed at himself while asking, he didn't know he had a target on his back

Mike shrugged “You're too much of a goody-two-shoes, I wanted to see your real face” he explained

Grandpa Joe tensed, remembering some of the incredibly insensitive and bad-faith comments some of the press members made about them. He was about to say something he probably would have regretted, but Charlie held his hand and stopped him. He didn't want Grandpa Joe to fight his battle, and at the same time, he didn't get the implications the older man read, so for him, it was just a normal disagreement.

“This is my real face, why would I lie about it?” Charlie's stoic, yet calm, and even understanding tone shocked Mike, he expected him to get defensive and angry.

“Huh? No one is that nice without trying to get something in return” Mike didn't sound as confident and sharp as before

Charlie, again, didn't react poorly “I’m just nice because I treat everyone how I would like to be treated,” he said.

Soon they were interrupted by the sound of steps approaching and that caught everyone's attention

“And done! Sorry for the wait!” Mr. Wonka opened the door and joined the party in the corridor, quickly checking they were all in place. “I'm surprised kids these days like chewing gum so much, I always found it disgusting, it was created for hygiene reasons, but now it gives more cavities than anything else!”

“If you think gum is so gross,” wondered Mike Teavee, “then why do you make it
in your factory?”

Mr. Wonka's first instinct would have been telling him to shut up, he didn't like how this kid kept interrupting and questioning everything he saw, as if he wanted to see the inventions fail. However, he didn't do that, this question was actually very interesting and a good lesson he could teach Mike

“My little Mike, you sometimes need to do things you don't like to get ahead in life. You'll learn this lesson at your own time” he explained to the boy loud enough, so Veruca could hear it too.

Mike rolled his eyes, this was the second time in a row someone talked to him as if they knew better about life, with their sappy lessons and clichés “That's what all the grown-ups say as if doing useless homework is going to help me get a job to something”

“It worked for me, I aced all my exams, and look where I am now” Mr. Wonka boasted about his accomplishments.

“Anyways, what time is it? Does anyone know?” asked the chocolatier excitedly

Mr. Salt took a look at his Rolex and answered “It's six o’clock, sir”

“Six already?! We'll never get anywhere at the rate we've been going!” Mr. Wonka was rushing along in front, turning left and right and right and left, and, after a few seconds, everyone tried their best to follow him “Come on! Off we go! Hurry up! Follow me! We're going into the corridors again!”

Grandpa Joe turned to Charlie as both ran behind Mr. Wonka “Keep a good hold of my hand. It would be terrible to get lost here.”

Mr. Wonka's impressive energy and athleticism kept surprising everyone, he must have been somewhere around his seventies, yet he kept running around the endless pink corridos like an excited child, with his black top hat perched on the top of his head and his plum-colored velvet coat-tails flying out behind him like a flag in the wind. They passed a door in the wall, but before anyone could even look at what it said, Mr. Wonka clapped his hands “No time to go in!” he shouted “Press on! Press on!”

They passed another door, then another, and another. There were doors every twenty paces or so along the corridor, they all had something written on them, and strange clunking noises were coming from behind several of them. It was for sure more of Mr. Wonka's inventions.
As they ran through the corridor, everyone kept sniffing the rich delicious smells wafting through the keyholes, and jumping in surprise when every once in a while, little jets of colored steam shot out from the cracks underneath.

Half of the group, Veruca Salt, her father, Mike Teavee, and his mother, were close behind Mr. Wonka, asking tons and tons of questions every time they saw a strange name on a door. To their annoyance, those questions didn't have time to get answered in much detail, Mr. Wonka just insisted they were great, and that they would see everything at the right time.

Mr. Teavee and Mrs. Salt, both unathletic, were struggling to keep the pace. The man was gasping and blowing like a rhino, desperately looking for his inhaler. The woman was also short on breath, struggling to not twist her ankles on her high heels

“Owie! If I knew we were going to run I would have brought different shoes!” She complained

Grandpa Joe and Charlie were at the end of the group, moving slowly but steadily to prevent exhausting their weak bodies. Charlie was looking at the doors on the right side, and Grandpa Joe at the doors on the left side, reading them out loud and being amazed.

“The Giggle Room!” Said Grandpa Joe

“The Gravity-Defying Chamber!” Said Charlie

“The Confetti Conservatory!”

“The Time-Loop Lounge!”

“The Bubblegum Bubble Bath!”

“The Ticklish Tangle Room!”

“Jail for Vermicious Knids?! Both looked at each other confused and laughed

“Oh, those little monsters!” Willy Wonka didn't like whatever those Vermicious Knids were “Would you believe it if I said last year the factory got invaded by aliens”

“I don't, aliens don't exist. It's a myth, like ghosts or Santa” Mike spat out. And thank goodness Mr. Salt could cover her daughter's ears with cat-like reflexes, otherwise, she would have had a big tantrum over the harsh truth.

Mrs. Teavee ignored her son's words, she was so amazed by Mr. Wonka's words “You mean there's extraterrestrial life?! How much money do you want for the information? Can we get one of them to study it? I'm a researcher for the US military, this is no joke!”

Mr. Wonka however sighed sadly “I'm sorry my dear lady, I would like to help, but I don't speak American” Before Mrs. Teavee could say anything, Mr. Wonka sprinted and ripped a piece of a room’s wallpaper.

He then slowed down to join the party and passed the paper pieces to the kids “Lickable wallpaper for nursery walls. Lovely stuff!” He didn’t need to even look where he was walking to navigate the factory, instead, he was excited to see and hear what his guests thought “Lick an orange, it tastes like an orange. Lick a pineapple, it tastes like a pineapple. Go ahead, try it!” He explained.

Charlie was slightly hesitant with the first lick, but soon he was amazed and started licking faster “Grandpa, this banana's fantastic! It tastes so real”

“Mmm, I got a plum!” Grandpa Joe started licking with excitement, once Charlie had enough

Mr. Wonka was doing small backward jumps as he talked “Apples, oranges, snozzberries, grapes, strawberries-”

“Snozzberries? Who's heard of that” Cut Mike Teavee, assuming he must have heard it wrong

“Don’t interrupt! it’s rude and annoying” Said Mr. Wonka “But yes, there’s snozzberries in the wallpapers too, the Oompa-Loompas like them a lot, so I thought it could be a sweet detail to include them too!”

“But what does a snozzberry taste like?”

Mr. Wonka grinned and pointed at the star-shaped purple fruit in the wallpaper “They taste like snozzberries! you’ll never know until you try them yourself!”

Then the chocolatier pointed to a door with clear excitement, as they passed another one of the pink doors with a round glass window. Charlie peaked a tiny bit, and he could see Oompa-Loompas skiing down hills of colored snow, but they were in skimpy swimsuits, as if they were at the beach.

“Ever wanted to eat ice cream on a cold day? Don't you think it's a shame you can only eat It in summer?” Mr. Wonka asked, and the kids nodded

“Hot ice cream warms you up no end in freezing weather! I’m also starting to make hot ice cubes for putting in hot drinks, they can be used to keep hot drinks hot!”

“Can we have a scoop?” Asked Charlie with starry eyes

“Sure! You can have as much as you want, but once we finish the tour, okay?” Mr. Wonka approached Charlie to make a pinky promise with him, and continued guiding the party “On we go! Hurry up!”

“Wonka Candy Farms,” said on one of the doors. Several animals could be heard behind it, but there was no farm smell. It was something sugary and sweet.

“Of course, I have a big farm in the factory too, all-natural and proximity products coming from my cotton-candy sheep, my golden egg geese, and especially my pretty little cows that give chocolate milk. Oh, how I love those cows!”

“How can they give cotton candy, golden eggs, and chocolate milk? Asked Veruca Salt “That's utterly impossible”

“They can do it because they are from a very special breed of farm animals, and they have diets tailored to their needs that keep them big, strong, and happy” Mr. Wonka mimicked the adjectives as he mentioned them.

The man was surprised when he saw the kid was being carried by her father. A spoiled princess, indeed.

“But why can't we see them?” pouted Veruca Salt. “Why do we have to go rushing past all these lovely rooms?!”

Mr. Salt nodded “I agree, you should organize the tour and prioritize the main rooms, instead of making us run aimlessly”

“We shall stop in time! We will! Don't be so madly impatient!” Mr. Wonka tried calming them down, then looking at the tiny animal on Veruca's shoulder

“Just be like your little friend, waiting for you to eat her”

“Eat her?!” Veruca shrieked “Are you crazy? I won't do it, she's so cute!” The girl picked the marzipan animal and protectively hugged her, as she gave the chocolatier a glare, as if she wanted to use laser vision on him

“Don't worry, she loves being eaten, it's what she was born for!” Mr. Wonka tried to save the situation and explained himself better “It's not painful at all, these candies dance because they want to be loved and eaten!”

Veruca thought about it for a bit, looking back at her cute little elephant, and shook her head “I can't eat Marina, we're friends”

Mr. Wonka kept running along the seemingly endless corridors “Press on, press on! We'll never dwindle today if you get ‘round like this!”

“Stop!” He cried, and everyone did so “Strike that, reverse it”

Seeing he was actually talking to himself and not giving orders, the party sprinted to catch up with him. They turned left, they turned right, and when they came to a long flight of stairs, Mr. Wonka slid down the banisters. The three children did the same, with Mr. and Mrs. Salt running to catch Veruca in case she fell Grandpa Joe kept an eye close on his kid while seeing it as fun, and the Teavees were as passive as they always were

After a few more twists and turns, Mr. Wonka skidded using the heel of his soles and his cane. He was moving so fast it took him a bit to fully stop, and the party crashed into each other, complaining and groaning.

As Mr. Wonka helped them get up on their feet, he explained the room they were going to enter with clear excitement “Ah, I almost forgot about this room!” He opened the door and held it, politely guiding everyone to enter with his free arm.

The room was round and not too big at first glance, but if you looked up, it was tall, really tall, extremely tall, so tall in fact, that you could barely see the ceiling. With that said, the room wasn’t claustrophobic or overbearing, it was bright, with a colorful yellow tone that turned dark blue the more you went up. The floor was padded, very soft, and slightly flexible, so the guests were bouncing around while eying a machine that kept making sodas that slid in a conveyor belt and were dropped in boxes. Best of all, the room was full of big colorful bubbles that the machine produced. The higher you looked, the more bubbles you saw.

“Bubbles? Do they taste like caramel? Daddy get me one! I can’t reach them!” Veruca demanded, but when Mr. Salt went to grab it, the bubble burst with a loud fizzling sound.

“Actually, the bubbles taste like soap for children with dirty mouths. It’s what those bubbles do that is fabulous!”

“And what do they do, Mr. Wonka?” Asked Grandpa Joe

He cleared his throat “Well, just one sip of my Fizzy Lifting Drinks, and they’ll fill you with bubbles, and the bubbles are full of a special kind of gas, which so terrifically lifting that it lifts you right off the ground just like a balloon, and up you go until your head hits the ceiling”

“Come on, let us try some! Can we drink them, please? It sounds so cool!” Said Mike Teavee, already grabbing a bottle and about to open it.

“Yeah, don't be mean, let us fly!” Added Veruca Salt

“No, no, no! Absolutely not! Mr. Wonka quickly took the bottle away and kept it high to avoid Mike and Veruca snatching it “It's not ready to be sold yet because you can’t drink it outdoors. There's no knowing how high up you'll be carried if you do that! I gave some to an old Oompa-Loompa once out in the back yard and he went up and up and disappeared out of sight!

“Could you save him?” Asked Charlie worried, and Mr. Wonka shook his head with guilt “I never saw him again, It was very sad.

The man then walked outside of the room and waved to the group “We should keep going, we really don't want children floating around all over the place. Come along now and don't hang about. You're going to be wild about this next room!” The parents had to hold their kids down to keep them away from the fizzy lifting drinks, but it worked and the promise of better rooms made them forget about it.

Charlie however stood wide-eyed, mesmerized by the colorful bubbles, the fizzing and popping sounds of the machines, and the sweet yet citric smell. He couldn't stop imagining the sensation of soaring through the sky, exploring the world from above.

The boy extended his arms like an airplane and raised the heel of his feet. He was lost in his daydreams and didn't notice the rest group moving on to explore other rooms. Grandpa Joe, realizing that Charlie was lagging behind, gently tapped him on the shoulder.

“Come on, Charlie, we need to catch up with the others. Don't want to miss out on anything, do we?" Grandpa Joe urged, guiding Charlie toward the door.

"Right, Grandpa. Flying would be incredible, though!" He blinked, nodding and following his grandfather.

They hurried after Mr. Wonka, weaving through corridors and turning corners. Grandpa Joe kept a watchful eye on Charlie, making sure they stayed close to the tour group. The thing was that as they turned one particular corner, they were met with an unexpected sight – a seemingly endless row of doors, and the group nowhere to be seen.

“Oh no, we must have taken a wrong turn," Grandpa Joe muttered, Charlie's eyes became bigger as he realized it. "Where did they go? We've lost them!"

Panic set in as they called out for the others, especially Mr. Wonka. Their voices echoed through the corridor, but there was no response. The factory seemed eerily quiet.

"We need to find them," Grandpa Joe said, a hint of worry in his voice. "Stick close, Charlie.”

They sprinted down the corridor, checking every door. They turned right, then they turned left, then left again, then right, then left, then right, then right, and then left at the end. But the more they looked around, the more lost they were.

"Mr. Wonka! Where are you?!" Charlie cried, but the only response he got was the echo of his words. There was no hint of Mike Teavee’s toy guns, or Veruca’s demands, not even the laughter of the Oompa-Loompas was heard.

They frantically searched, calling out names and hoping for any response. Door after door, room after room. Getting lost in a chocolate factory would be bad, but getting lost in the biggest and strangest chocolate factory in the world was even worse.

Charlie, fueled by determination, quickly opened every single door, only to find empty spaces with the most peculiar inventions. He looked more worried with each disappointment. Grandpa Joe couldn’t catch up with Charlie’s pace, he tried his best to follow him as closely as he could, grinding his gears to map the corridors he used to work in forty years ago, but it was useless, since not only he didn’t remember them well, but they also changed a lot. “Mr. Wonka likes overcomplicated things…” He muttered under his breath.
They kept running and running, when something hit them like a brick. There was a bubble leaving a door. They were back in the fizzy lifting room, the place where it all started. Their hearts sank as they exchanged a look of both frustration and defeat.

"Maybe we need to backtrack, Charlie” Grandpa Joe scratched his head

Charlie nodded, with little conviction. "But Grandpa, which way is the right way? I feel like we've been everywhere."

It was obvious that the two were desperate, with the once fun bubbles, now looking like a mocking reminder of their situation now. Grandpa Joe, feeling the fatigue of his age, sat down onto the padded floor, unable to continue running.

Charlie was on the verge of tears, but he didn’t have time to cry, he was determined to find a way out and was about to do it. He picked the little candy pebble figurine he made of Mr. Wonka, and hesitated, but at the end he took one of the pebbles that made the top hat

“I’m going to try again, Grandpa, you stay here and rest” The boy explained

“Charlie, you can’t go on your own, what if you get more lost? Or what if you have an accident like Augustus and Violet had before?” Grandpa Joe tried getting up while talking, but it was too much effort for his weakened body

“Don’t worry” Charlie calmed him down showing him the now three pebbles he had in his hand “I will leave this behind me and that way I will know how to get back here”

“But that’s your souvenir, you worked hard to make it” Grandpa Joe said

“Yeah, but I can rebuild it later, it’s not lost. Also, we can see it as Mr. Wonka helping us find the way!” Charlie smiled back at his grandfather, then left, trying to save them.

Grandpa Joe couldn’t be more proud of Charlie, glad for the absolute blessing he had as a grandson, but after ten more minutes, Charlie was back, and Grandpa Joe got up, but sadly the kid was looking down and dragging his feet, with a good amount of candy pebbles in his hands “I couldn’t find the end, it’s too big”

his frustration reached a breaking point. He stopped, shoulders slumped, and fought back tears. The fear of never being found and not being able to say goodbye to his family overwhelmed him. Grandpa Joe, witnessing Charlie's distress, felt so much guilt. Oh, what would he give to take his little sunshine’s pain away.

"I don't know what to do. I'm sorry." The old man sighed “I wish I had the strength I once had, maybe then I could guide us out of here."

Charlie, despite his anxiety, showed a weak smile. "No, Grandpa, you haven't failed. We just need to find a way out, I know we can do it."

However, in a moment of vulnerability, Charlie turned his attention to the fizzy lifting drinks. The temptation to indulge as a distraction was evident in his eyes. He hesitated, glancing at Grandpa Joe, who initially shook his head.

"No, Charlie. We shouldn't"

But seeing Charlie's sad look, Grandpa Joe just couldn’t resist. "Well… what's the harm in just a little lift, eh?" He playfully covered his eyes as if he couldn't see Charlie taking the fizzy lifting drink.

As the boy sipped the fizzy lifting drink, he could feel the bubbles tickling every inch of his body, he had a huge smile and his little beady black eyes were as bright as they could be. He was bouncing a bit in his place, as he anxiously awaited the magical sensation promised by Mr. Willy Wonka.

Chapter Text

At first, nothing happened, Charlie jumped a few times hoping he would start flying, but he didn't. Disappointment was visible in his eyes, but in a few seconds, he started to feel subtle lightness enveloping him. Before he knew it, Charlie was two feet in the air.

"Grandpa look! It's working!" Charlie exclaimed, in pure amazement and joy. He wiggled his arms and legs, failing to keep his balance

Grandpa Joe couldn't stop laughing, as he saw his grandkid covered in the air “You’re flying, Charlie! You're really flying!”

Charlie started to get a better grasp on how the fizzy lifting drink worked, he moved as if he was swimming in the air, and it worked to make him keep balance and he started moving left and around the room.

“Come on, Grandpa! Join me! This is incredible!” The boy moved towards the old man and extended his hand with a big smile

“Oh, I don't know…” Grandpa Joe hesitated and shook his head “I'm too old for this, my boy”

But Charlie's infectious enthusiasm was irresistible. "Nonsense, Grandpa! You're never too old for a bit of fun. Trust me!"

Encouraged by his grandson, Grandpa Joe took a sip of the fizzy lifting drink and dropped his cane in surprise. The same weightless feeling enveloped him, and he was rising from the ground. No more pressure or pain in his old cracking bones, he was floating.

Both erupted into pearls of laughter, their fear and worry was forgotten. They were now enjoying Mr. Wonka's experiments, like children with new toys, floating away and playing with the colorful bubbles in the room.

“Look, I'm like a butterfly now!” Grandpa Joe could get to the end of the room faster than Charlie, even if he moved awkwardly. He playfully winked at the boy and chuckled “I haven't been swimming in twenty years and I keep winning all the races”

Charlie made a cheeky smile and curled into a ball “Watch this!” he said before somersaulting

Grandpa Joe clapped impressed, as both kept getting higher and higher

“I'm going to try backward…” said the boy pulling his tongue out in a focused expression. It didn't work out well and Charlie ended up dizzy, but the good thing about being in the air was that you couldn't get hurt if you messed a trick up.

“Almost, Charlie, I'm sure next time you'll do It well” Grandpa Joe laughed and patted Charlie's shoulder.

Charlie was a bit disoriented and confused, but he started laughing too “We're really high now” he said looking down at the floor.

“That just be why the floor is so bouncy and padded” Grandpa Joe thought out loud.

An ominous and repetitive sound could be heard the higher they went, but It was still far away and both were too distracted to notice it.

“You can fly to the moon this way,” Charlie said amazed

“Or we can fly south for the winter” Proposed Grandpa Joe

“Why not?” Charlie flapped his arms like wings and got higher “I'm a bird!”

“I’m a plane!” Grandpa Joe impulsed himself with his legs and kept his arms stretched out, getting above Charlie

Charlie then got closer to the wall “I'm a rocket!” he exclaimed kicking it and leading the race upwards

Charlie then asked his grandpa a question “Do you think Mr. Wonka would let us take a bottle home? I think Mom, Dad, and the other grandparents would love it”

“We can ask him later” Grandpa Joe answered “You're a good boy, Charlie, I think he won't have a problem with it, but remember to only use the drink indoors…

The noise became louder and that caught Grandpa Joe’s attention “What's that sound? Do you hear it too?”

“I’m not sure, but it's getting louder… I think I'm going too high” Charlie answered

“Yeah, we better float down,” Said Grandpa Joe

Both tried swimming down for a bit, but they couldn't do it fast enough and kept floating. As if it wasn't enough, the noise got louder and louder, and they felt as if they were being sucked up by the ceiling.

This was very confusing, and when Charlie turned around to see what was going on, he shrieked loudly. Grandpa Joe’s heart skipped a beat when he heard his boy in panic, but when he also turned around, his eyes widened as plates in shock.

“It's a fan! It's pulling us in!” Charlie screamed,

“Stay away from it, Charlie; it'll chop us to bits!” Screamed Grandpa Joe “I can't stop! I can't stop!

“What do we do?!” Charlie cried looking at his grandfather for reassurance with watery eyes

Grandpa Joe started looking around the room, thinking about anything that could help them “Grab hold of something! Quick!” He shouted

Both tried to desperately stick to the walls, but those were too smooth and there was no use “There's nothing to grab onto! We're gonna get killed!” Charlie screamed.

Every second they were getting closer to the gigantic fan, and since he was smaller, Charlie was sucked in with more force. The boy kept trying to swim down as fast as he could, but Grandpa tried stretching his arm to grab and pull his grandson down, but they were too far away and their hands couldn’t even touch.

“Help! Help! Help!” Both kept screaming at the top of their lungs, moving like crazy to see if maybe something saved them

“Mr. Wonka, please! Turn off the fan!” Grandpa Joe cried with such volume the room shook. It was over, disobeying Mr. Wonka’s orders was never a good choice and he knew it, Grandpa Joe just gave up, he went limp and looked down in shame.

“Grandpa… Grandpa, you can’t stop it now… You need to think positive!” Charlie said, trying every single option to make it out alive and failing, as he cried.

Grandpa Joe felt so much pain in his chest, perhaps it was his guilt, shame, and disappointment going from his gut to his mouth… Or maybe it wasn’t that, maybe it was the gas from the fizzy lifting drinks. The man suddenly burped, covering his mouth and sheepishly giggling “Sorry, bad manne-” Then he noticed something “Wait a minute, I’m going down! that’s it!”

He indeed was going down at a slow pace, but when he looked up he was horrified to see Charlie was still going up “Quick Charlie, burp! If you don't get down you'll be cut into ribbons!

But Charlie was panicking and couldn’t listen to it, he was getting dangerously close to the fan and with no sign of stopping “Help! Help!” He cried and cried most heartbreakingly.

“You've gotta burp, Charlie! It's the only way!” Grandpa Joe’s voice was becoming louder and cracked. For a moment he thought he must have fallen asleep when he was lying down in the sludge meadow, and that this was a cruel nightmare.

Finally, Charlie heard what he had to do, and he was forcing his body to burp over and over “I can’t!” He shouted. The boy had his hands on the ceiling and was using all his strength to move away from the fan, but he was still floating. Charlie even tried turning his neck to keep his head lower, but both knew this wouldn’t help much, the kid was sobbing uncontrollably “I want to go home! Momma, Papa, I need you! And also Grandma Josephine, and Grandpa George, and Grandpa Georgine!” he choked a bit while crying “Grandpa Joe, help me…”

With his heart shattered and all the strength in his old wrinkly body, he let out a spine-chilling yell "Burp, you silly ass! Burp!

Then it happened, Charlie let out a small burp and started to very slowly get away from the fan. It was a close call, but the utter shock over Grandpa Joe's words was what made him take the gas off.

“Come on boy! Burp again!” Grandpa Joe cheered “Come down, that’s wonderful!”

The two started burping back and forth for almost a minute until they could put their feet on the ground and immediately dropped to the floor as their muscles relaxed, bouncing a bit thanks to the padding.

There was silence, Charlie and Grandpa Joe started touching their bodies to make sure they were alright, but then, laughter bubbled up from deep within them, a release of the tension that had gripped their hearts just moments ago.

Charlie wiped away a tear and threw his arms around Grandpa Joe. "Grandpa, we did it! We're okay!" he exclaimed, his voice a mix of excitement and a trace of past fear.

Grandpa Joe, still catching his breath, hugged Charlie tightly. "Thank goddess nothing happened! I think I had enough adventures for the other twenty years! he chuckled in relief, his heart still pounding loudly.

They sat on the bouncy floor to rest a bit, sweat dripping off their foreheads and still dazed by what happened. Grandpa Joe took his old fedora off his head, and playfully put it on Charlie’s “What a hairdo, my boy!” He joked, and it was at this moment that Charlie realized the fan cut part of his hair off when he got very close to it.

Charlie sheepishly chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck “I’m sure my friends are going to have a lot of questions next time we see each other”

"I guess flying isn't as easy as it looks in the movies," the boy said, half-jokingly.

Grandpa Joe pat Charlie’s back "No, my boy, it certainly isn't. But it sure makes for a story to tell.

Then Charlie looked at the old man raising an eyebrow “I didn’t expect you to swear like that, Grandpa” he teased.

Grandpa Joe didn’t expect that “Yeah… Sorry for the potty mouth, Charlie. Just don’t go saying those words around” He explained, but his last words were cut by two Oompa-Loompas that got there and were looking at them with a puzzled expression.

“What’s going on here, my friends? Shouldn’t you be with the rest of the group?” Asked one of the Oompa-Loompas

Charlie and Grandpa Joe exchanged uneasy glances, guilt written all over their faces. Grandpa Joe quickly put the opened bottle of fizzy lifting drink behind his back, he wanted to keep it a secret from the Oompa-Loompas.

"Oh, um, nothing really," Charlie stuttered, attempting to act confident. "We got lost and were just... uh... testing the bounciness of the room, you know?"

The Oompa-Loompas tilted their heads, unconvinced. They were experts in mischief themselves, and knew something smelled fishy

The other Oompa-Loompa leaned in, with a grin "Mmm, testing the bounciness, you say? It seems a bit more... adventurous than that. What were you two really up to?"

Charlie's gaze dropped to the floor, and Grandpa Joe fidgeted. The truth weighed heavy on their shoulders, and Charlie was about to meekly confess their disobedience. It was embarrassing, but it was the right thing to do, right? That’s definitely what his family taught him and what they expected from him.

However, before he could say a word, Grandpa Joe put a reassuring hand on Charlie's shoulder and stepped forward. "Oh, you know how it is with us old folks, I just wanted a bit of excitement jumping on the floor, a taste of youth. My boy stayed with me to make sure I was alright, and we got distracted. Nothing to worry about."

The Oompa-Loompas looked at each other and laughed, entertained by the mystery and Grandpa Joe’s storytelling abilities

"Are you sure about that?" one of them asked, in a playfully innocent voice.

Grandpa Joe chuckled with confidence, but his legs were trembling, "Absolutely sure! Now, we would like to continue the tour, could you lead the way, my mischievous friends?"

It worked, the Oompa-Loompas started laughing and their suspicion was forgotten, or at least they were fine letting the incident slide. They guided the Buckets along the huge pink corridors with such ease that they felt like fools for getting lost in the first place.

As they walked, Grandpa Joe glanced at Charlie, who looked relieved and grateful. The hidden truth felt heavy, and Grandpa Joe questioned if keeping it a secret was the right choice.

“There you are!” cried Mr. Wonka, when he saw the Oompa-Loompas escorting Charlie and Grandpa Joe. He got behind them and carefully pushed them to where the party was. “I’m sorry about what happened, I didn’t notice you were gone until a few minutes ago! You're so quiet and polite that I thought you were still following us” He explained.

“I’m sorry, I got distracted daydreaming about the fizzy lifting drinks” Charlie answered with his head down, he struggled to look at Mr. Wonka because of what he did “Did we slow the tour down?” The boy asked, a bit worried.

“Oh, no, no, it's alright!” Mr. Wonka said and started laughing “I'm glad it was you, imagine if it was any of the other kids? They would have touched everything, it would have been a mess, and we don't want that!”

Grandpa Joe and Charlie looked at each other and started chuckling. They re-integrated in the group as if nothing happened, and the great factory adventure continued.

The Oompa-Loompas that helped them walked towards a nearby door with excitement. Shrieks of laughter and snatches of singing could be heard coming through the closed door.

“They're drunk as lords, you can hear them in there now, whooping it up.” Mr. Wonka laughed

“Now that sounds a bit more interesting!” said Mr. Salt, “Your little workers know how to have fun, eh?”

“Butterscotch and buttergin, glorious stuff!” the chocolatier explained “The Oompa-Loompas all adore it, love to party after long days of work”
"Now, my dear friends," Mr. Wonka began with a playful wink, "this room is a special one, and I'm afraid you can't enter. It's filled with wonders meant only for adults." he started walking away and waved his hand to let them know they had to follow him. The group was now walking at a normal pace, after their previous sprint they managed to compensate for the lost time.

The kids started complaining and asking why, but Mr. Wonka knew how to keep them entertained "But don’t worry!" He exclaimed, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a tiny glass bottle with a golden liquid inside. “I have a nice little treat for the youngest and not so young, and I think you will like it”

A minute later everyone stopped and crowded in front of a door, which had the top half of it made of glass. The kids jumped several times to be able to see behind it, while the parents got closer to look better at whatever was happening inside.

Charlie saw a long table that went from the door to the back wall of the room. On the table there were rows of small white square-shaped sweets, which looked like some kind of square sugar lumps, except that each of them had a funny little pink face painted on one side.

At the end of the table, some Oompa-Loompas were sitting on stools and busily painting more faces on more sweets. They had gloves and a face mask on and looked very focused on doing their jobs right.

“Square candies that look ‘round!” Said Mr. Wonka, “I find these little creations really funny, so I made half of the door from glass to be able to see them without bothering the Oompa-Loompas. What do you think?”

“They don't look round to me, it's an optical illusion or something?” asked Mike Teavee.

“Yeah, they're cute, but they look square, completely square,” added Veruca Salt.

“You're right!” Mr. Wonka pat their heads “They are square”

“You said they were round” Questioned Veruca.

Mr. Wonka shook his head. “Never said anything of the sort, I said they looked ‘round”

“But they don't look round!” Veruca was starting to get frustrated “They look square!”

“They certainly do look ‘round,” insisted Mr. Wonka.

“No, they don't!” Veruca cried

“Watch this!” He took a key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and flung it open. Everyone squeezed through the door at the same time, and they were now on some type of balcony, looking at the square candies and the Oompa-Loompas working on them. Then the magic happened, and as soon as the door opened with a clunking sound, every single little candy, all the rows with no exception, quickly looked around to see who was coming. The tiny faces were now turned towards the door.

"There you have it!" Mr. Wonka cried triumphantly and the kids were amazed. Even Veruca's candy pet waved her trump to say hello to her sweet companions "They're looking 'round! There's no argument about it!"

"By golly, he's right! They are square sweets that look around!" Cried Grandpa Joe.

"Come on!" Said Mr Wonka, pointing at the corridor "There are many more interesting rooms down there, just wait and see”

As he walked, with the party following him close behind, Mr. Wonka took his hat off for a moment and scratched his head, thinking about where to go next.

“Let me see… The Peanut-Brittle Mixer Room? Maybe too basic, The Spotty Powder Room? No, I can't let that boy Mike get his hands on it… The Warming Candy Room? Not with Veruca in the group, I doubt she will only take one of them… Definitely not the pounding and cutting room! No, no, no, I don't even let unqualified Oompa-Loompas go there!

Charlie, seeing how the other two kids were starting to get burned out from seeing crazy inventions but not being able to interact with them, approached Veruca and Mike.

“What do you think of the tour so far?” Asked Charlie to break the ice

Mike shrugged “Yeah, it's alright, I don't care that much about candy” but then he smiled remembering something else “The machines, however, are totally awesome!”

“It's certainly unique,” Said Veruca “Mr. Wonka must have put a lot of effort into it”

Charlie’s point of view was far more positive, "I think it's amazing! I never imagined I'd see such incredible things, it's like a dream come true!” he exclaimed with pure enthusiasm.

Veruca, glancing around with a critical eye, asked “You haven’t been to many places, don’t you?” Charlie was confused by the question and soon she explained it “I've seen quite a bit of the world, places with far more grandeur. So if Mr. Wonka’s factory is delightful, you don’t get that shocked… Except for the magic! that’s something new and great!”

“Really? Could you tell me more about your travels? They sound incredible?” Asked Charlie, wide-eyed and intrigued

“Oh, absolutely!" Veruca was glad someone was interested and she could bring up her tales “You know, darlings, the first time I took a plane was when I was still in my mother's belly. We went to the most beautiful destinations even before I took my first breath."

“Must've been a wild ride, I bet you remember all those things” Mike sarcastically snickered, but Veruca just rolled her eyes and refused to dignify that with an answer

“We stay in the most luxurious hotels with the best views. I've seen the sun rise over the Eiffel Tower, the aurora borealis from a glass igloo in Finland, and the sweeping landscapes of Tuscany from a centuries-old villa!” She explained,

“Tuscany... that sounds like a fairy tale.” Charlie whispered to Mike, full of wonder

The girl then continued explaining with excitement “And that's not all! We always have private guides to teach us everything about the places we visit. I've learned about the history of ancient civilizations, the art of Michelangelo, and the secrets of far-off cultures.”

“Have you ever tried, you know, mingling with the locals? Trying their food, learning their customs?" Asked Charlie, who while curious and amazed, couldn't help but notice a lack of genuine connection to the cultures she encountered.

Veruca dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. "We have too much to see and to experience, so we rarely have time for those things. Maybe someday I could try it, but I’m worried that they won’t have first-class accommodations”.

Soon Mike chimed in with a nonchalant tone, "Why bother with all that travel? You can see everything you need right from a computer. No need to pack bags or deal with airport lines. With all your money I’m sure your parents must own one.”

“Yeah, Daddy has a computer, but I’ve never used it before. Besides, how can you say that? Seeing something in person is not the same as seeing it on a screen” She answered.

But the boy shook his head “Maybe your computer is a toaster, but the new ones can take you anywhere in a few minutes” he then started to make more exaggerated gestures with his hands, “Mine is a PDP-1. It's good stuff. I can even have space battleships there!”

“I agree with Veruca this time,” said Charlie “It's just not the same”

“Gosh! You two just say that because you haven't tried it yourselves. Computers are the future, trust me, soon we'll be able to put some gadgets in our heads and be transported into the digital worlds” Mike explained with such conviction the kids assumed he must be right no matter what.

As the kids talked and Mr. Wonka kept juggling options in his mind, Mr. Salt saw something that caught his attention “Mr. Wonka, please, could we see this room?” He asked.

Mr. Wonka turned around with a jump, excited to see investment, but unsure. He approached the door Mr. Salt was standing in front of.

“The Nut Room… I didn't think about it, but yeah, it's a nice and safe room to visit!” Mr. Wonka snapped his fingers with a big smile. He was about to open the door when he heard a protest from somewhere in the group

“Nuts?” Veruca pouted “Come one, Daddy, I'm tired of hearing all the time about your cashews, your brazil nuts, and your macadamias”

Her father however wasn't going to let this golden opportunity go “Veruca, sweetheart, nuts are extremely important for the Salts, I'm certain that once you grow older you will appreciate them too. This is the perfect moment for you to learn and get more interested, Mr. Wonka will have the most amazing methods to shell nuts, I have a good feeling about it” He explained in a calm, yet very confident and persuasive way.

“I don't know, can't we see something more fun? Something fancy or new” Veruca wasn't having it at all.

But just like her, when Rupert Salt had an objective in mind, he couldn't be taken away from it “This could help the company, imagine how much things I could get you if we had more money”

“I don't care, we can't run out of money”

Me. Salt took a deep breath and talked in a more upfront, slightly annoyed, way this time “Veruca, I really want to go to this room!”

“And I want to go to a different room!” the girl cried, but before she could say anything more, Mr. Wonka got between the father and daughter

“For once I think your father is right” He laughed and then booped Veruca's nose “And I'm absolutely sure you're going to love this room too”.

“For once?” Mr. Salt raised a brow

However Willy Wonka just continued talking as he opened the door, and pointed forward with his cane to show everyone to enter “Nut Room there is! Here we go!”

The room they entered had rows and rows of pipes coming straight up out of the floor, and the pipes were bent over at the top and they looked like metal walking sticks towering over everyone. Every pipe had something written on them: walnuts, chestnuts, pistachios… you name it, and out of them there trickled a stream of shelled whole nuts. Hundreds of Oompa-Loompas were running to and fro, catching the nuts in little golden boxes, and then stacking them against the walls.

The group was so amazed by the sight they stood still, following the Oompa-Loompas with their eyes, as the little men and women smiled and waved at them, not losing focus on their jobs. They didn't even realize Mr. Wonka was no longer with them, he was at the far end of the corridor, up the stairs, and in front of a glass door.

“Come here!” Mr. Wonka said, wriggling his gold-topped cane in the air “You don't want to miss the best part of the Nut Room! If you thought this was amazing, I bet your jaws will drop to the floor when you see my furry workers!”

As they all got closer they started to hear some kind of “kuk-kuk-kuk”, it sounded like a small dog barking, and there must be a handful of them. Mr. and Mrs. Salt's eyes went wide, that sound… It was the same one they heard at the boat, a coincidence maybe? As long as they kept Veruca close nothing would happen, right? At least that's what Mr. Wonka said.

“Before we enter…” Mr. Wonka muttered under his breath and took a small vial out of his pocket. He poured the dark powder of it in his hand, and threw it behind his shoulder, hitting the party right in the face.

Of course, the group started complaining and were confused, as they sneezed several times. Even the little marzipan elephant made an adorable motion with her trump to represent sneezing.

“Pepper? What was that for?” asked Grandpa Joe

“It’s getting in my eye!” Cried Mike Teavee

“It's for protection” The man explained “When we get in, do not cross the rails, you can look and talk all you want here, but please, do not cross them, you'll disturb the squirrels!”

Everyone followed Mr. Wonka in rows of one or two, absolutely impressed by the room. Unknown to the chocolatier however, Mrs. Salt and her daughter couldn't hear what he said, because they were distraught by the pepper spray and putting perfume to feel more comfortable.

“Look Grandpa, look! They are working!” Shouted Charlie, pointing at the squirrels

It was an amazing sight, the room was round and had two levels: the outer platform they were staying on, and a lower inner one where the action happened. The ceiling was made of strong glass that allowed natural light to fill the room, and the green and brown colors made it feel like a forest. The room even had some trees scattered around to make the squirrels feel at home. And talking about squirrels, there were a hundred of them, seated upon high stools around a large wooden conveyor belt that circled the room. On the conveyor belt, there were mounds and mounds of walnuts, and the squirrels were all working away like mad, shelling the walnuts at a tremendous speed.

At least half of the party leaned on the rails to see it better, Mike and Veruca learned so far they could have fallen if it wasn't for their parents.

“They are so adorable! Here squirrely-squirrely!” Exclaimed the girl, failing to get the squirrels’ attention

“Crikey! They are fast!” Exclaimed the boy

“These squirrels are specially trained for getting the nuts out of their shells,” Mr Wonka explained.

“Why use squirrels?” Mike Teavee asked. “Why not use Oompa-Loompas?'”

“See, first I tried with Oompa-Loompas, but they can't get walnuts out of walnut shells in one piece. They always break them in two” Said Mr. Wonka “When I discovered squirrels can take the walnuts out of their shells in one piece, I knew I had to train them to do the job. Since then I've been insisting upon only whole walnuts. Aren't they wonderful?! Look at the way they get those nuts out!”

Every single squirrel was focused on their job and kept doing the same process over and over. First, they knocked the walnut with their knuckles a few times, they often cock their heads trying to listen better.

“Are they listening to the sound the walnuts make?” Asked Mr. Salt

“Indeed they are! It's their way to tell if it's a good nut or a bad nut” Mr. Wonka nodded with enthusiasm.

The group paid attention to how the squirrels listened, and then, grabbing the walnuts with their little paws, they bit the shell a few times with their strong teeth and powerful jaws. Then carefully but quickly taking the whole nut out with ease, dropping it on a small pipe every squirrel had on their side, that sucked it like a vacuum.

“And what happens if they find a bad nut?” Asked Mrs. Teavee

“Well, if it makes a hollow sound, and they don't even bother opening it. They just throw it down the rubbish chute” Mr. Wonka made a small pause looking around for an example “There! Look! Watch that squirrel nearest to us! I think he's got a bad one now!'”

They watched the little squirrel doing the knocking and listening ritual and suddenly throwing the bad nut over his shoulders without even looking back. The nut went flying to the center of the room and fell down a large hole in the. The swirling pattern of the floor made the lower platform resemble a black hole.

“Hey, Mommy!” shouted Veruca Salt, pulling her mother’s sleeve to call her attention “I've decided I want a squirrel! Can I have one for my birthday?! Can you get me one of those squirrels?!”

“Here we go again…” Charlie sighed

“Sweetheart,” said Mrs Salt. “They all belong to Mr. Wonka.”

“Come on! You didn't get me a pink boat, and you didn't get me an Oompa-Loompa, I'm not asking for much!” Shouted the girl, then calming down to explain her point better “Can't we just take one? Mr. Wonka has a lot of them, he won't miss just one of them, right?”

“Veruca, that's not how it works, and you already have wonderful pets at home” her father tried to intervene too

“That’s not fair!” pouted Veruca. “All I've got at home is two dogs and four cats, and six bunny rabbits, and two parakeets, and three canaries, and a green parrot, and a turtle, and a bowl of goldfish, and a cage of white mice, two ponies, and a silly old hamster! I want a squirrel!”

“Alright, my pet, alright,' Mrs. Salt shushed her soothingly. “Mummy'll get you a squirrel just as soon as we get home”

“But it can be any regular squirrel!' Veruca cried “I need a trained squirrel!”

At this point, Mr. Salt stepped forward. “Very well, sir,” he said importantly, taking out a wallet full of money, “As you know, I'm a nut businessman, and not only my Veruca is interested in the squirrels. How much for a few of them? Name a price”

“They're not for sale, sir” Mr. Wonka shook his head “I need all one hundred of them for my production, I can't give them to people”.

Before Veruca could say anything, her father tried to negotiate again “There's no way you can sell them? I think a partnership could be beneficial for both of us”

Mr. Wonka quickly calculated the possible outcomes in his head “I'm sorry, but I can't, I don't know, and by extension, trust you enough to commit to such a big change. It's business, nothing personal” He shrugged saying the last line.

“Bu-bu-but… can't you at least tell us how to train squirrels ourselves? Please…” Veruca pouted, giving the chocolatier the most irresistible puppy eyes until he answered

“Oh yeah! I can do that! Take notes, it's a lengthy process”

Mr. Salt immediately took a small notebook and a pen out from his pockets, while Veruca did small jumps and claps in excitement

“Okay, first thing to know: these squirrels in particular are caucasian squirrels, from Turkey. I think you could train different squirrels too, but these ones give the best results. The problem however is that they only understand Turkish, so you'll have to learn the language” Mr. Wonka explained “You don't need to be fluid, just learn a few keywords for it to work”.

“Learn turkish…” Mr. Salt hummed while writing down “Doesn't seem that hard!” he grinned

But Mr. Wonka put his hand up to let them know it wasn't over, that was just the first step “I’d recommend learning squirrel training before buying the squirrels from any reputable breeder. Just imagine having creatures you don't know how to handle at home? What a disaster! Once you know that, you can get your squirrels and slowly but surely, train them to open nuts like mine”

The father and daughter looked at each other, not knowing if they were having their legs pulled

“I will take you years, but is definitely worth the time and mon-” Mr. Wonka persuaded them

“How much time?” Veruca cut him off

“Let me see…” he started thinking about it “You don't have my baggage, but your parents are two people, instead of a single man…”

Everyone paid attention to Mr. Wonka, they knew if the number was too high Veruca would throw a big hissy fit, so they were on the edge of their seats. Even Veruca's candy pet jumped into Charlie's hands, afraid of what could happen.

“Aha! You'll get your one-hundred and one squirrels by Christmas of 1984, just for your birthday!”

Needless to say, the little girl’s jaws dropped to the floor, she didn't even object and needed a few seconds to analyze the information.

“Yeah, her thirtieth birthday” Mike snickered

"But I'll be too old!" Veruca cried and stomped, she felt so robbed and was clearly unable to deal with it. In no time the girl threw herself to the floor and started kicking and crying, her parents tried to desperately control her, but with their laxity, it had no use.

"Older and, hopefully, wiser. Patience is key, my dear, it really is'' Mr. Wonka talked carefully, hoping it would help calm her down, but it only fueled the kid’s anger and desire.

Immediately Veruca wiped her tears off her face, got up, and declared "Why do I have to wait?! If no one wants to get me a squirrel, I'm going to get one myself this very minute!” and then she scurried under the protective rails.

“Veruca, don't!” warned Mr. Wonka “The squirrels are trained, but they are still wild animals”

“Veruca, please, be careful!” Followed her parents

But Veruca didn't listen to it, and soon she gratefully got down the stairs. The moment she put her foot on the bottom platform, the one hundred squirrels stopped what they were doing turned their heads, and stared at her with their small black beady eyes. Veruca Salt also stopped and stared back at them. She was trying to choose her new pet, but with so many options it was hard.

At the end her gaze fell upon a pretty little squirrel sitting near her, the squirrel was holding a walnut in its paws, looking at the girl and she tiptoed towards it

“All right…” Veruca said to herself, “I'll have you…” She reached out her hands to grab the squirrel, and the little thing, who kept staring at Veruca, was breathing faster as her hands got closer and closer.

In a split second, there was a sudden flash of brown lightning, the squirrel leaped away from Veruca's reach, bouncing on her head and escaping. The girl complained a bit, and so did her father

“Veruca, you had your fun with the squirrels, come back now” he said

But of course, Veruca wasn't going to let her effort go to waste, she assumed that the first squirrel must have been a bit shy, and sneakers behind one that was too distracted working with the nuts. When the rodent realized the presence it had behind, it was already scooped by a pair of little hands, and squished against a warm and fluffy coat, embraced in an unwanted hug.

“Hey, calm down, I'm not going to hurt you,” the girl said softly, petting the squirrel’s tiny head “Mommy, Daddy, it's so cute! Can I take it home?! Can I?!” She assumed the waddling and noises “her new pet” made were endearing and affectionate, instead of cries for her and attempts to run away.

Mr. Wonka frowned and looked at her parents, it was their opportunity to be firm and solve this issue, but of course, they remained passive and unsure, looking at each other, until they suddenly heard a piercing scream that echoed the room. To their horror, it was coming from Veruca, she dropped her squirrel and the other ninety-nine of them jumped on her and ran around her body: biting, scratching, pulling her hair, or getting inside her clothes.

“Veruca! She’s going to get maimed!” Screamed Mrs. Salt

“Tell me your squirrels don't have rabies!” Screamed Mr. Salt

“She'll be okay! Don't worry! My squirrels are healthy and they don't want to hurt her, they probably just want to scare her a little…” Mr. Wonka assured them “But I don't understand why they acted so aggressively, squirrels don't like the smell of pepper, they should have run away…”

At that moment Mrs. Salt's face became full of guilt and shame, “I… I used perfume because we were uncomfortable with the pepper…” she admitted looking down.

To which Mr. Wonka could only open his eyes in shock and respond with a simple “Oh…”

With all the mess, Veruca stepped on a Walnut and fell on her back, not even having time to react. Twenty-five squirrels caught hold of her right arm, and pinned it down, twenty-five more did the same with her left arm, twenty-five anchored her left leg to the ground, and then twenty-four caught hold of her left leg.

“What are they doing?!” Asked Veruca, with a mixture of confusion, fear, and annoyance, as she tried to free herself, kicking and screaming, but with no luck.

The one remaining squirrel climbed up onto her chest, the once adorable beady black eyes now looked terrifying to her, and started tap-tap-tapping the wretched girl's forehead head with its knuckles.

“They must be testing her to see if she's a bad nut!” Mr. Wonka snapped his fingers.

Chapter Text

The squirrel on her chest, the leader of them all, kept tap-tap-tapping her forehead with its knuckles, then one side, then the other. The rest of the squirrels stopped, looking for what their leader had to say, and after a very short pause, all at once, they tightened their grip and started dragging Veruca across the floor.

“My goodness, she is a bad nut after all,” Mr. Wonka chuckled. “Her head must have sounded quite hollow.”

“I’m not surprised…” Grandpa Joe muttered under his breath

Veruca tried to resist again, but couldn't do much outside of whimpering. The tiny strong paws held her tightly and she couldn't escape. At some point, she even tried to dig her long pretty nails into the floor, but she only managed to break a few of them, make the most unpleasant noise ever, and slow her demise down a few seconds.

“Tell your squirrels to leave her alone! This is going too far!” Shrieked Mrs. Salt.

“By golly, she is going down the chute! She's going head first!” cried Mr. Salt.

Both of them were extremely anxious, shaking the protective rails and seeing everything that was going on.

“Hey, it's okay, don't worry, I'm sure the rubbish will soften the fall. Veruca will only need a bath, that's it” The chocolatier explained softly, patting the couple’s backs.

“You’re having fun with this, don't you?! What do you get by hurting these kids?!” Mrs. Salt screamed, “Save her this instant!”

“My dear old lady, go and boil your head” Mr. Wonka dismissed the criticism “For your information, Mr. Gloop was saved from the chocolate vat a while ago and is resting in the infirmary, and Miss Beauregarde is being operated on by my most trustworthy Oompa-Loompas” he explained

Mr. Salt glared at the man “Hey! Don't talk to my wife like-”

“Too late, she's already gone” Interrupted Mike, pointing at the hole in the room. It was clear this third accident was like another joke for him.

And indeed she was, the last thing they heard of Veruca was a loud scream that faded as she went down the rubbish chute, and they weren't even able to hear her hit the floor, so the fall must be gigantic. In the middle of the platform, there was a little ballet flat the girl lost during the chaos, a reminder that Veruca was gone. Everyone stood still and blinked in disbelief, her parents were gaping and completely silent for almost a minute.

“Where… where does the great big chute go in the end?” Mrs. Salt was in shock, her voice was weak and trembling

“To the furnace, of course,” Mr. Wonka said calmly. “It goes straight to the incinerator, why?”

Mr. and Mrs. Salt instantly went pale and started screaming and flapping their arms in panic, Mr. and Mrs. Teavee tried to calm them down and help them breathe in and out, even Mike got serious, and he and Charlie shared worried glances. Grandpa Joe frowned and felt something strange in his heart, why was his past employer, his idol, acting so nonchalantly?

Mr. Wonka saw this and whispered something to his ear. It was “Trust me, everything will work out in the end”.

“Don't worry,” said Mr. Wonka out loud. “There's always a chance that they've decided not to light it today.”

“A chance!” yelled Mrs Salt. “My darling Veruca! She'll… she'll… she'll be sizzled like a sausage!”

“Quite right, my dear,” said Mr. Salt, furiously, so furiously he seemed eerily calm. “Now see here, sir, I think you've gone just a shade too far this time, I do indeed. My daughter could be a bit of a brat sometimes, but that doesn't mean you can roast her to a crisp. I’ll have you know I'm extremely cross about this, I really am, and I swear that if my child gets any injury, even the most minor one possible, I'm going to sue you until you lose every inch this factory”

“Oh, don't be cross, my dear sir!” Mr. Wonka made a cocky grin, unfazed by the threats. “I’m sure she’ll be fine and come back sooner or later. She may even be stuck in the chute just below the entrance hole, and if that's the case, all you have to do is go in and pull her up”

Hearing this, both of Veruca's parents ran over to the hole in the floor and peered in. They didn't trust a single word of the factory owner, but if there was a chance to save their daughter, they wouldn't waste it for a bit of pride.

“Veruca!” Shouted Mr. Salt “Are you down there?!”

“Veruca!” Shouted Mrs. Salt “Please say something!”

But there was no answer. Mrs. Salt bent further forward to get a closer look, she was now kneeling right on the edge of the hole with her head down and her enormous behind sticking up in the air like a giant mushroom. It was a dangerous position to be in.

“Be careful Angina, it would be terrible if you fell down too!” said her husband.

He was right, she needed only one tiny little push, one gentle nudge in the right place, and she would meet the same fate as her daughter. However, there's something they didn't count on: the perfume, Mrs. Salt lacked pepper protection, so the squirrels had no issues getting rid of her. The woman toppled into the hole head first, screeching and trying to grab anything that could save her.

“Good gracious!” cried Mr. Salt, as he watched his wife go tumbling down the hole. He grabbed her dress quickly to save her, but there was no way a scrawny old man could lift a fat woman taller than him, so he failed miserably and went down with her.

“What a lot of rubbish there's going to be today…” Mr. Wonka sighed and shook his head, as the parents' screams disappeared in the distance.

There was an awkward silence until a knock on the glass door caught everyone's attention.

Grandpa Joe smiled seeing the Oompa-Loompas dancing in the room nearby “Listen! Here comes another song!”

Veruca Salt, the little rogue,
Down the rubbish chute did vogue,
In this peculiar case we find,
Her parents ought to be so kind.
Down she goes, spiraling down,
To meet friends with a different crown,
Not quite as refined as her past kin,
Yet bound together, in this bin.

A fish head, fresh from halibut,
"Hello, good morning! How d'you strut?
Nice to meet you, how are you?"
Down the chute, a curious crew.
Further down, a gathering mass,
Bacon rind, lard, and bread of brass,
An oyster from its steaming brew,
A steak too tough for a chew,
Amidst things with a horrid smell,
Veruca's only friends, you tell.

No matter if she screams of cries,
Turns out true love has no price,
In a world where patience is lacked,
For such spoiled rotten brats.
But now, my dears, you might wonder,
Does the blame lie solely under,
Veruca Salt's spoiled, dreadful sway?
Let's unfold the tale, if we may.

A spoiled child doesn't spoil alone,
Parental hands on seeds are sown.
Who indulged her whims with glee,
All she wants, consequence free?
Who molded her into this form,
Transforming sunshine into a storm?
The culprits of this sorry plot,
Are none other than mom and pop.

And that's why, as you'll soon see,
They join the chute, fate's decree.
For thirty years, no rest in sight,
The big baby still in her flight,
Not even a finger moving in making,
Money that she's always taking.
Perhaps this fall will be the turn,
A lesson learned, as futures churn.

“Oh dear!” cried Charlie, “What on earth's going to happen to them now?!”

“Not much” Calmly answered Mr. Wonka “The incinerator has been broken for a week, so there's no way they will get burned”

“But why didn't you tell them that before?” Asked Mr. Teavee

“See, I was an enabling father myself, I get it, so I just wanted to teach them a little lesson”

“You're a father?!” Every single guest was shocked by the revelation, even Mr. Wonka got a bit startled by the enthusiastic response, but he just shrugged it off and changed the topic. If they stopped to talk about family dramas they would never be able to fully enjoy the factory!

“I've never seen anything like it! The kids are disappearing like rabbits! He cried “But you mustn't worry about it, they’ll all come out in the wash!”

Mr. Wonka looked at the little group that stood beside him in the corridor. There were only two children left now — Mike Teavee and Charlie Bucket. And there were three grown-ups, Mr. and Mrs. Teavee and Grandpa Joe.

“Shall we move on?” Mr Wonka asked.

“Oh, yes!” Charlie and Grandpa Joe, both smiled and nodded.

“By the way, Mr. Wonka” Charlie caught the attention of the chocolatier as the group started leaving the nut room “What can I do with Marina Von Marzipan? She seems to really miss Veruca”

Mr. Wonka looked at the small elephant in the boy’s hands, and indeed, she looked sad, looking down and dragging her trunk.

“Aw, poor thing, those marzipans are very affectionate,” Mr. Wonka said with an empathetic look, then smiling as he kept talking. “But you remember what I said she liked, right? Just ask her, please do”

“Okay…” Charlie said a bit unsure “Hey, do you want me to eat you?”

Immediately the little elephant seemed to get her energy back and started jumping in circles

“She wants to! Look at her now!” Charlie started laughing and petting the endearing marzipan animal

Marina Von Marzipan then, after a little dance, became regular Marzipan and was ready for eating.

“The happier they are, the better they taste!” Explained Mr. Wonka

While this was happening, Mike started drifting off in boredom, getting a bit separated from the group and distracted playing with his toy guns. Suddenly he crashed with something he didn't see coming, falling to the ground on his butt

“Ouch! What was that!” He yelled holding his sore nose

The boy got up quickly and kept mumbling in annoyance “What a wipeout…” but then he realized what he stumbled upon, it was a big double door made of glass that caught his attention. On the left side of the door, there was a map of the factory, one that was so over-detailed and confusing to understand, Mike quickly dismissed it as useless, and on the right side, there was a button.

“My feet are getting tired, can we take the elevator?” Mike asked pointing at the door with his thumb

“Oh, that's a good idea!” Mr. Wonka said, turning around and skipping across the room “The Great Glass Elevator is almost like another room, I bet you'll love it! Press the button, my boy! And everyone else come over here, quick!”

When Mike pressed the button, they could hear a loud roar, as the elevator got there in a few seconds. It was close to the sound trains made getting to the station. Then the doors slid open, and the two children and the grown-ups went in.

“Can the elevator carry us all, Mr. Wonka?” Wondered Mr. Teavee

“I'm certain it can, you would be amazed by how many Oompa-Loompas I've seen riding it at once!” cried Mr. Wonka

Charlie Bucket stared around him in astonishment. This was the craziest elevator he had ever seen, there were buttons everywhere! The three walls (excluding the door) were covered all over with rows and rows and rows of small, black push buttons. There must have been a thousand of them on each wall, and every single button had a tiny printed label beside it telling you which room you would be taken to if you pressed it. The ceiling was also full of buttons, however, something was different, in the middle of it there was a big red one protected by a thick plastic box.

“This isn't just an ordinary up-and-down elevator!” announced Mr. Wonka proudly. “This elevator can go sideways, and longways, and slantways, and any other way you can think of! It can visit any single room in the whole factory, no matter where it is, you simply press the button... and zing!... you're off!”

“Like a spaceship!” murmured Mike Teavee, his eyes shining with excitement as he stared at the rows of buttons.

“As you can see, the whole thing is made of thick, clear glass!” Mr. Wonka declared. “Walls, doors, ceiling, floor, everything!”

“That way we will be able to see out! It's fantastic!” Grandpa Joe

“Charlie, Mike, choose a button” Mr. Wonka pointed to one of the walls with his cane “You two can decide which rooms we'll go to next, so take your pick! Hurry up!”

Quickly, Charlie started reading some of the labels alongside the buttons, and he didn't even know where to start

“Strawberry-juice water pistols” Read Charlie

“Great for little gunslingers, instead of getting hurt, they taste good,” Said Mr. Wonka, tiling his head towards Mike Teavee

“Toffee-apple tree seeds” Read Grandpa Joe

“For planting out in your garden. All sizes” Said Mr. Wonka

And they continued with the same dynamic for a bit

“Wriggle-sweets”

“They wriggle delightfully in your tummy after swallowing”

“Mint jujubes for your bullies”

“Hehe if Augustus took that candy away from his brother, he would have had green teeth for a month”

“Cavity-filling caramels”

“Adiós dentistas!”

“Stickjaws”

“For talkative parents, I would have loved to have those as a kid”

“Sugar-coated pencils”

“Mmmm… I could give Miss Beauregarde a few of them, it’s a way better way of stimming”

“Invisible chocolate bars”

“Perfect for eating in class”

“Hoverchocs”

“Come on, come on!” cried Mr. Wonka “We can't wait all day!”

“Isn't there a Television Room in all this lot? I don't want to miss the new episode of Gangbusters” asked Mike.

“Certainly there's a television room!” Mr. Wonka said. “That button over there.” He pointed with his finger, and everybody looked up and left to see it. Wonkavision, it said on the tiny label beside the button.

“No way!” Shouted the boy full of excitement and energy “I asked just in case, but there's actually one! That's totally awesome!” he bent his legs to jump high and slap the button.

Instantly, there was a tremendous whizzing noise, the doors clanged shut and the elevator leaped sideways at neck-breaking speed. All the passengers except Mr. Wonka, who was holding on to a strap from the ceiling, flung off their feet onto the wall in the opposite direction the elevator moved.

“Get up, get up!” cried Mr Wonka, cracking with laughter. But just as they were staggering to their feet, the elevator changed direction and violently turned around, and the party was sent to another wall.

“Help!” shouted Mrs. Teavee

“Take my hand, madam,” said Mr. Wonka gallantly. “There you are! Now grab this
strap!” He picked up another strap and moved it closer to her “Everybody grab a strap. The journey isn't over yet!”

Old Grandpa Joe, back on his feet, caught hold of a strap with all the strength he had, and little Charlie, who couldn't possibly reach as high as that, put his arms around Grandpa Joe's legs and hung on tight. Mike was also unable to reach adult-sized straps, but in his case, instead of asking for help, he was trying to keep his balance and failing, it was like a fun game for him.

The elevator then shot up like a rocket on a steep slanted course, for a moment slowing down to a still as they got to the top of the rail. One second passed, then two, then three, it was a quick moment to recover, and worry about what would come next. Soon it dropped like a rock, faster than ever and Charlie felt his heart coming right up into his throat.

Grandpa Joe pumped his free fist in the air and shouted “Yippee! Here we go!”

Mike Teavee was lifted in the air and now he could cling to the ceiling strap like a monkey “This is like a rollercoaster, yeehaw!” He cried. Unlike his parents, Mike was having a blast.

“The rope has broken!” Mr. Teavee screamed, “We're going to crash!”

But Mr. Wonka was as cheerful as ever, “Calm down, sir, everything is under control” and patted him comfortingly on the arm.

Grandpa Joe looked down at Charli, who was clinging to his legs and smiling.

“Having fun, Charlie?” He said

“Yeah! I love it! Check all these new rooms out!” Charlie shouted and pointed to the sudden glimpses of strange and wonderful things they could catch looking through the glass walls.

There was a rock candy mine, and while Charlie couldn't see it all, there was a sign that said “10.000 feet deep!”. A craggy mountain, entirely made of fudge, with Oompa-Loompas, all roped together for safety, hacking huge chunks out of its sides. A brown sugar desert with big dunes and dangerous quicksugar pits. A machine on the fritz, spraying soda foam everywhere. A lake of hot caramel with steam coming off it, near a fresh lemonade swimming pool with ice cubes. A village of Oompa-Loompas, with tiny houses and streets and hundreds of oompa-children, no more than four inches high, playing in the streets…

They could hear the sound of the wind as the elevator hurtled forward, twisting and turning left, right, up, down, front, back, and center. Mr. Wonka looked at his guests, he enjoyed seeing their reactions, and he understood they either loved or hated the ride, no middle point, but he also noticed Mrs. Teavee was quietly going green in the face.

“Please don't be sick,” said Mr. Wonka, and, just in case, he swept his magnificent black top hat off his head, and held it out, upside down, in front of her mouth

“Try and stop me!” snarked Mrs. Teavee.

“Make this awful thing stop!” ordered Mr. Teavee.

“Can't do that,” explained Mr. Wonka. “It won't stop till we get there. You don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere, don't you?”

Mrs. Teavee covered her mouth with her hands, as her cheeks bulged out. Mr. Wonka's face contorted in fear “Not now! We're nearly there, don't ruin my hat!”

At some point the brakes screeched, and the elevator quickly slowed down until it stopped altogether. They all had to grab anything they could with all their strength, to avoid being shot forward against the glass door.

“That's it ladies and gentlemen, the journey is over” The chocolatier pressed a button, and the door opened. They were now inside a small cream-yellow hall that led to a metal door with a danger sign on top, and there was a coat hanger with seven hooded jumpsuits and their respective shield goggles.

“I haven't had so much fun in twenty years! Thank you, Mr. Wonka, this is amazing!” Grandpa Joe cried.

“Let's do it again! Please! Please!” Mike and Charlie pleaded jumping up and down.

“If you liked that ride, I have an even better one planned for later!” Mr. Wonka made a wide smile seeing the kids happy. Grandpa Joe pat Charlie's shoulder, while Mike's parents started sweating just thinking about it.

“I think we’d rather walk…” Mr. Teavee muttered under his breath

Mr. Wonka chuckled and said, “If the Good Lord had intended us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates!”

Then he picked the white and red jumpsuit that was his size and put it over his shoulder, after that he took quick glances at his guests and the clothes, to give everyone the right fit, and passed it to them. One for Mr. Teavee, one for Mrs. Teavee, and one for their son. When it came to the Buckets, however, things were harder, and the man took a bit longer to decide.

Mr. Wonka picked two of the three reminding jumpsuits and gave them to Charlie and Grandpa Joe “You got the Golden Ticket last day, and I couldn't get them done for you. I think these ones could do the job, but if you have any problem, just let me know and I will see what I can do” he explained, and the grandfather and grandson nodded.

“Now” Mr. Wonka jumped back and looked at the whole group “Would you all put these on? We have to be very careful, there's dangerous stuff inside!” Immediately they got on their jumpsuits, which fit Mr. Wonka (who kept his top hat over it), and the Teavees like a glove, but were long and a bit big for Charlie, and short and big for Grandpa Joe.
When they stepped into the room, it was so dazzlingly white all over, that they had to stop walking and rub their screwed-up eyes. It took Charlie almost a minute to get used to it and be able to look around in comfort, and what we saw was an At the other end of the room, a single Oompa-Loompa was sitting in a white armchair, and gazing at the screen of a very large television set, every now and then zapping channels.

“Here we go!” cried Mr. Wonka, hopping up and down with excitement. “This is the Testing Room for my very latest and greatest invention — Wonkavision!”

“Cool! Must be that terrific TV set!” Mike Teavee grinned and was about to get closer when Mr. Wonka put his cane in front and stopped him, ignoring the kid’s frown.

“It works on television. A great innovation I must admit, but also something you could easily get lost into if you’re not careful, just look at that little Oompa-Loompa over there, all she wants is to sit there all day long staring and staring at the screen…”

“Who wouldn’t want to do that?” Mike cut him off defensively

“Good heavens, child, stop interrupting me!” Mr. Wonka complained and then continued his explanation. “I shall now tell you how this amazing television set of mine works. But first of all, do you know how ordinary television works?”

The Teavees nodded, but by the confused look of Charlie and Grandpa Joe, Mr. Wonka could tell it was better to let it clear

“At one end, where the picture is being taken, you have a large camera and you start photographing something. The photos are then split up into millions of tiny little pieces that are so small that you can't see them, and these little pieces are shot out into the sky by electricity. In the sky, they go whizzing around all over the place until suddenly they hit the antenna on the roof of somebody's house. They then go flashing down the wire that leads right into the back of the television set, and in there they get jiggled and joggled around like a jigsaw puzzle until the last one of those tiny pieces are right in their place. And presto! The pictures you took are then seen on TV!

“That isn't exactly how it works,” Mike Teavee said, with a blend of smugness, and excitement “The image is not broken in pieces and reassembled, they are turned into signals that travel through cables, and then the TV decodes those signals and the pixels show the image. I can also explain how the sound works if you want to”

“Huh? Remember that I'm a little deaf in my left ear”. Mr. Wonka reminded him. “You must forgive me if I don't hear everything you say.”

“You said you were deaf in your right ear before” Mike raised a brow

“I did? Ah, this little old brain is doing its things again” Mr. Wonka laughed it off, but Mike wasn't happy about being ignored again and finally lashed out “Maybe you're too old to handle this factory!” He spat out and his lisp was more noticeable now that he was angry.

Mike's parents tried to calm him down putting their hands on his shoulders, but he shrugged to get them away and kept talking “There's a lot of candy makers out there anyways, you could use your machines for actually useful things!”

“It doesn't need to have a point, it's candy!” Grandpa Joe cried getting Mike's attention, who was conflicted between yelling at him or respecting him “You don't need sweets and that's perfectly fine, but for tons of kids, or even adults around the world, Wonka's chocolate bars are what keeps them believing in miracles, stop demeaning things just because you don't understand them!”

Mike blinked a few times in shock, and then Grandpa Joe calmed down and approached the boy “I'm sure you're a nice boy, but you need to learn to respect”

The TV find stood still for a few seconds and looked as if he was about to learn a lesson, but suddenly he pulled his toy gun out and pointed it at Grandpa Joe “You don't know me! I know what's better for me, so move!”

Before anyone else could say a thing hit the floor twice with his cane, so loudly it echoed in the room “Please, stop it! no more squabbles until I'm done with the explanation! We came here to see Wonkavision, not to fight”

“Now then!” He went back to his cheerful demeanor “The very first time I saw ordinary television working, I was struck by a tremendous idea. If people can… um… turn a photograph into signals, send it whizzing through the air, and then codify it again at the other end, why can't I do the same thing with a bar of chocolate?!” He cried, receiving looks of confusion.

“I mean a real bar of chocolate, not a picture of it. It will be sent from here to your home, all ready to be eaten" He clarified, and then he was met with the amazement he expected.

“How?” Asked Mrs. Teavee “Even if you could do it, which I doubt it, it would require the same energy as nine atomic bombs! It goes against science, it’s impossible”

“You think so?” Mr. Wonka grinned and clicked his fingers a few times to call the Oompa-Loompas.

Six of them marched forward carrying on their shoulders the most enormous bar of chocolate Charlie had ever seen. It was about the size of the mattress he slept on at home.

“It has to be big,” The man said, “When sending something by television, even with an ordinary one, it always comes out much smaller than it was when it went in. When you photograph a big man, he never comes out on your screen any taller than a pencil, does he?”

The Oompa-Loompas left the chocolate bar on a circular platform in front of the camera, which slowly rose as the camera was turned on. The leader of the group gave a thumbs up to let Mr. Wonka know it was ready to shoot.

“All of you stand back! You’re too close to the camera and those rays are dangerous! Mr. Wonka warned and gestured with his hands to make them come to his safe place “And goggles on please, don't take them off until I say so. The light could melt your eyes down!”

Once everyone was ready, the chocolatier nodded and one of the Oompa-Loompas pulled down a large switch “Lights, camera, action!” cried Mr. Wonka” A countdown appeared on the TV the Oompa-Loompa was watching, and the huge chocolate bar started to float in the air, caught by the camera’s rays. Ten seconds of tense wait later, there was a blinding flash and everything turned white for an instant.

“The chocolate's gone!” shouted Grandpa Joe, waving his arms. He was quite right, there was no sign of the enormous Wonka Bar “Look Grandpa, over there!” Charlie pointed up and in the air, they could see tiny colored squares with the same colors as the bar, and beeping computer-like sounds were heard

“It is now rushing through above our heads in a million tiny pieces” Cried Mr. Wonka “Quick! Come over here!” He dashed over to the other end of the room where the large television set was and told the Oompa-Loompa to swap channels until she could see the chocolate bar.

Soon the now regular-sized chocolate bar appeared in the middle of the screen. At first, it was a wireframe with its shape, then it was visible, but it looked like a white statue, then it got its colors back, and finally came the shading and lighting that made it a real chocolate bar.

“Take it!” shouted Mr. Wonka, growing more and more excited “It’s the same chocolate bar, just smaller”

“Are you crazy?” asked Mike Teavee, laughing. “It's just a picture on a television screen, we can't just reach out and grab it!”

“Well, Charlie, since Mike doesn't want it you can take it all for yourself”

Charlie doubted and thought It didn't make sense at first, but he had nothing to lose, so he slowly touched the screen, and suddenly his hand was inside of it, tingling with a strange sensation as he picked the bar up and took it. The boy was so amazed that he almost dropped the chocolate to the floor.

“It's… it's… it's a miracle…” Charlie muttered in awe, slowly unwrapping the candy

“It's Wonkavision” Mr. Wonka talked loudly to the whole party “When I start using this across the country, you'll be sitting at home watching television and suddenly a commercial will flash on to the screen and a voice will say” he made the voice of an over the top advertising narrator "Eat Wonka’s chocolates! They're the best in the world! If you don't believe us, try one for yourself — now!" Then he continued explaining normally “And you simply reach out and take one! How about that, eh? It just needs some tweaks before I can use it”

“Mr. Wonka… don't you realize what you’ve invented?” Said Mrs. Teavee so excited she was trembling from head to toe “It’s a teleporter! It’s the most important invention in the history of the world!” She was cheering and couldn't believe what she was seeing.

“Could you send other things? Like… see… breakfast cereal? For an instance, "asked Mr. Teavee, with sparkling eyes of amazement.

“Yes, I think I could,” Mr. Wonka nodded. “It would be harder because some of those cereals could get lost in the process, but yeah, it's not impossible!”

“Oh, man! imagine how much you could speed production up if you teleport the materials” Mr. Teavee added.

And suddenly Mike asked something “What about people?” He has a big mischievous smile. "Could you send a real live person from one place to another in the same way?”

“A person!” cried Mr. Wonka. “Are you off your rocker?!”

“But could it be done?” The boy insisted

“I don't really know, kid… I suppose it could… yes. I'm pretty sure it could…” Mr. Wonka was thinking about the possibilities “...But it works half of the time with chocolate, I wouldn't risk it with a person…”

But Mike Teavee was already on his way the moment he heard Mr. Wonka saying, “I'm pretty sure it could”

He snapped the goggles on his face and started running as fast as he could towards the other end of the room, where the great camera was standing.

“Look at me! I'm going to be the first person in the world to be sent by television!” he shouted as he ran, and when Mr. Wonka reacted and ran to stop him, it was already too late.

“No, no, no, no!” cried Mr. Wonka, seeing how the kid started climbing the camera

“Mike! Stop! Come back!” screamed Mr. Teavee, both parents terrified in their place

Then Mrs. Teavee screamed too “You'll be turned into a million pieces!'

But there was no stopping Mike Teavee now, the crazy shoved the Oompa-Loompas that were trying to stop him left and right. Once he reached the top, he pulled down the switch and leaped out into the full glare of the mighty lens.

Mr. Wonka, who was starting to climb the camera, had no other option but to jump out of it and stay behind it with the Oompa-Loompas that were working there before “Goggles on! Everyone quick!” He yelled at the top of his lungs

Mike was floating on the platform as the numbers went down on the screen. He was having a blast, flashing action poses he saw on his favorite TV shows and movies, then he looked back at his parents and waved goodbye “Later, alligator!” were his last words before the room was engulfed by a powerful white light, and it became silent.

The parents ran forward and stood dead in the middle of the room, unable to take their eyes away from the place where her son had been. They stood there for almost ten seconds, as the same beeping sounds could be heard and above their heads pixels were moving uncontrollably. Those pixels had the color of Mike’s skin, hair, and clothes… they even had the colors of his toy guns too. He was whizzing in the air, separated into a million tiny pieces.

“He’s gone… He’s gone!” Screamed Mrs. Teavee

“Great heavens! Where is he?!” Shouted Mr. Teavee

Both of them started laughing uncontrollably in the most sad and eerie way possible, which made Charlie and Grandpa Joe feel a mix of concern and pity.

Mr. Wonka carefully walked towards the couple and gently placed a hand on their shoulders “Your little boy is safe, I’m sure he is, but we don’t know if he would be properly rearranged once he gets through Wonkavision” he said. “We shall have to hope for the best”

“This must be a joke, right? Just a mean-spirited prank you convinced Mike to play on us” Mr. Teavee said, grabbing Mr. Wonka’s jacket as if he was pleading for him to say it was just a bad dream.

“Mike!” Mrs. Teavee called for him, clasping her head in her hands “This isn’t funny, come back this instant, you’re scaring us” She was also trying her best to avoid confronting the harsh reality.

“We must watch the television set, he may come through at any moment.” Mr. Wonka pointed at it with his cane, and the group quickly gathered around the television and stared tensely at the screen. Mike didn’t take any longer than the chocolate bar to appear on TV, but it felt like an eternity. The Oompa-Loompa quickly zapped through the channels, he wasn’t in the sports one, he wasn’t on the cooking channel, he wasn’t on any cartoon or documentary, Mr. Teavee was biting his nails like a maniac, Mrs. Teavee felt as if she was going to faint, and Charlie looked at Mr. Wonka, hoping he would have the answer.

“Watch the screen! Something's happening!” Cried Grandpa Joe, and he was right, in the middle of a classic Western movie, they saw a little Mike-shaped wireframe, that then became a white faint figure.

“Here he comes!” yelled Mr Wonka. "Yes, that's him alright!”

It was becoming clearer every second, and finally, the picture of Mike Teavee appeared on the screen. He was standing up and waving at the audience and grinning from ear to ear.

The parents sighed relieved, it was as if they took a huge rock off their backs, but they were still worried for different reasons now.

A tiny little voice, no louder than the squeaking of a mouse, came out of the television set. “Hi, father!” it said. “Hi, Mother! Look at me! I'm on TV! It’s a dream come true!”

Mr. Teavee carefully picked up the tiny figure of Mike Teavee out of the screen and put it on his hand. He was terrified as if his son could break at any minute.

“Hooray!” cheered Mr. Wonka. “He's all in one piece and completely unharmed!”

“You call that unharmed?” snapped Mrs Teavee, peering at the little speck of a boy who was now running to and fro across the palm of her hand, waving his pistols in the air. He was certainly not more than an inch tall. “He's shrunk!”

“Of course, he's shrunk,” Mr. Wonka rolled his eyes. “I explained exactly what would happen to him and he ignored it”

“We can't send him back to school like this!” wailed Mrs Teavee “He'll get trodden on or squashed!”

“What are we going to do?” lamented Mr. Teavee “He won't be able to do anything on his own!”

“Come on, don’t be so dramatic!” squeaked the tiny voice of Mike Teavee “I don’t need to go to school, I can look for everything I need on my computer, and most of the things they teach are either useless or things I already know”

“What are you talking about? Mike, you need education to be able to work on a good field” His mother said “That’s why you go to school, you can’t just drop out because it’s boring”

“Whatever…” The tiny boy rolled his eyes, “I'll still be able to watch television, so it’s fine by me!”

“No for a whole week!” Mr. Teavee frowned “You had enough television for a while!” And by the reaction Mike had, it was obvious he had never been told that before

“What?! You can’t do that!” He yelled, in a mix of confusion, fear and anger

“I can and I will!” The father shouted back”

Mike then started shouting louder and louder as he got more furious and panicky “I want to watch television! I need it! You can't take it away!”

The more he complained the longer his punishment was, while at the same time made his tantrums bigger and bigger. It went from a month to a whole year in less than a minute

“I'm throwing the television set right out the window the moment we get home! And that's final!” Mr. Teavee told Mike off, and seeing the boy stop screaming, he thought it worked. Mike was speechless, clenching his fists and trembling from head to toe. Then he quickly threw himself to his father's hand and started attacking it, jumping up and down, hitting with his toy guns, and biting

“I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!” Mike was shouting with his now squeaky voice, and then he kept screaming an insane amount of cuss words a kid shouldn't even know about.

Mrs. Teavee carefully took the tiny boy and shoved him into her purse. Squeals and yells came from inside the pocket, and the pocket shook as the furious little prisoner fought to get out, Mrs. Teavee stretched her hands and looked at the purse worried, not wanting to be hit by Mike.

“What can we do for him?” Asked Mr. Teavee

“Well…” Mr. Wonka stroked his beard, gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling “This is new, I've never seen a person going through Wonkavision…”

He looked at the Oompa-Loompa, indirectly asking if they had any ideas for options. They stood in silence when the little girl that was back then watching TV, and stopped after seeing what happened to Mike, finally spoke up “Kids are madly flexible, maybe he could be stretched?”

In that instant, a light bulb appeared over Mr. Wonka's head (literally, he stood under the ceiling lights)

“You’re a genius!” He cried “We can put him in the taffy puller and slowly stretch him until he gets back to his normal size!”

The parents sighed in relief, but Mr. Wonka stopped them “However, the more we stretch him, the weaker his muscles will get”

Mr. and Mrs. Teavee looked at each other concerned “How weak will he get?” Asked Mrs. Teavee

“Just a bit tired and sore for a few weeks, he’ll get better quickly with my wonderful Supervitamin Milk. It contains huge amounts of vitamin A and vitamin B. It also contains vitamins C, D, E, F, G, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and, believe it or not, vitamin Z! The only two vitamins it doesn't have in it are vitamin S, because it makes you sick, and vitamin H, because it makes you grow horns on the top of your head, like a bull!”

Before the parents could say a thing, he was already writing the plan down on a note like a doctor's order

“But Mr. Wonka…”

“No arguments, please!” He said, turned away, and clicked his fingers three times in the air.

He gave the paper to the Oompa-Loompa girl, and Mrs. Teavee’s purse with Mike inside “Follow these orders,”

As the girl took the tiny boy, with the parents still flabbergasted with what happened, the rest of the Oompa-Loompas now were beating their drums and dancing

“Once they start they don't stop until they finish!” Mr. Wonka said

Nine out of ten experts firmly decree,
A crucial lesson for kids to see,
Keep them far from the glowing screen,
An electronic trap, sly and keen.

Better still, don't install the thrall,
That mind-numbing, senseless sprawl.
While it keeps them quiet and still,
They lose touch with the window sill.
Free to cook and clean, it's true,
But what about the harm we accrue?

Rotting senses within their head,
Imagination murdered, left for dead.
Brains filled with pointless debris,
Eyes fried out, a grim decree.
Understanding wanes and fades,
Reality blurs in tangled shades.
On the screen, sociopaths play,
Innocent kids led astray.

Fair to say, screens have some worth,
Lessons learned, some joy unearthed.
But most kids can't cease the flow,
Lost in a digital maze's undertow.
Reality's escape becomes a need,
A detox, not just a heed.

In the wild, you'd guide your son,
Yet digital escape is deemed as fun.
Mike needs guidance, a firm control,
Parents playing their rightful role.
Perhaps the issue isn't just the TV,
But his escape from reality.
A month away, a break he takes,
From the metal box, a chance awakes.

"But if we take the set away,
What shall we do?" you may say.
Sports, music, arts, and craft,
Reading books, a worthy draft.
Try acting, writing, explore,
Entertain without the screen's lure.

As for young Mike Teavee,
We regret and wait to see,
If we can restore his height,
But if we can't, it serves him right.
A brat detached, snooty, and blunt,
His fate, perhaps, a rightful stunt.
He cared not for life's art,
And truth be told, nor did my heart.

“Off you go! Goodbye, Mr. Teavee! Goodbye, Mrs. Teavee! And please don't look so worried! They all come out in the wash, you know; every one of them…” Mr. Wonka pushed the parents outside of the room before they could protest, and the Oompa-Loompas guided them.

Chapter Text

Mr. Wonka chuckled calmly and fondly, hit by nostalgia “Ah, school, I remember thinking it was useless back then. It’s been a while since I’ve seen human children, well, outside of newspapers and television, of course, and there’s so much charm and honesty there”

“But didn’t you say you aced your exams at school?” Asked Charlie

“I did, but it was a lie” Mr. Wonka explained “I was a bad student, a terrible one, in fact. I was a smart little boy and thought I was smarter than my teachers, which I was, but I knew little about how the real world worked”

Grandpa Joe soon realized what he meant “You lied to encourage Mike to put more effort into his studies, right? To not give him another reason to make rushed decisions until he’s ready”

“Right, you are!” The man cried “See, as soon as I turned eighteen, I moved away and started learning independently and working on my own, it turned out marvelous! But for most people, it doesn’t, and I don’t want to give kids unrealistic expectations”

Mr. Wonka pointed at his watchless wrist, fooling his guests again with the trick. There was a pause and he then continued talking

“Mmm… It’s getting a bit late, but I’m sure we can see some more rooms on our way towards the exit! Come on! Hurry up! How many children are there left now?” He said as he was going into the corridor again.

The grandson looked at his grandfather, and the grandfather looked back at his grandson. Both stood there, confused.

“But Mr. Wonka,” Grandpa Joe called after him, “There’s only Charlie left”

The chocolatier immediately swung around and stared at Charlie “You mean you’re the only one?” He pretended to be shocked, and the boy nodded, having fun with his dramatic antics

“What happened to the others?” Mr. Wonka joked, and after a short beat, he continued walking and waving his cane in the air, wanting to be followed “These are good news, my boy! It means you have more common sense and self-preservation than the rest!”

As they walked through the seemingly endless pink corridor, overseeing more and more fantastical rooms, Charlie focused as much as he could on observing every single detail, wanting to make the best of his last hour in the factory.

Mr. Wonka carefully tapped Charlie’s head with his cane to get his attention. “You didn’t get to choose your room before, is there anything in particular you want to see or do?” he asked.

The boy didn’t know what to say if it was for him, he would spend a whole week there visiting every room in the factory, so he let his heart decide and it spoke clearly “Is it possible to take candies home? For my mom, my dad, and my other three grandparents. I would love it if they could experience this too, at least part of it”

“Sure!, of course, you can, there’s a Present Room not too far away, you can take all you need for your family. On the house!” Mr. Wonka turned right and guided them “Over here”

Charlie smiled, he admired Mr. Wonka as a candymaker, but little moments like that also made him admire him as a person. Grandpa Joe rubbed his boy’s back and looked at him as if to say “This man is amazing, he’s going to make your dreams come true”.

Maybe It was the tiredness finally getting to them, now that the excitement was mostly over, or maybe it was the calmness of not having more families there, but the walk was slower and more impactful for the Buckets. When they finally got to the Presents Room, they were impressed and delighted, even slightly overwhelmed, by the towers of huge gift boxes. Each one of them emitted a nice colorful glow, and there were floating balloons and other fun decorations all over the room. Little Charlie raised his nose in the air and enjoyed the rich sweet smell of what he assumed must be the birthday cakes he always heard about at school. Sniffing it alone already filled his tummy, it was amazing.

They didn’t know where to start looking, there were over a thousand types of different chocolates, all shapes, sizes, and flavors. Charlie's eyes widened with excitement as he spotted a corner with grape-filled purple chocolates, his heart raced as he reached for one, knowing immediately that it would be the perfect treat for Grandma Georgina.

“Grandpa, look! We could bring Grandma grapes!” he said showing him the box “She’s going to be so happy!” the boy said

At the same time, Grandpa Joe discovered a section of soft, fluffy, caramel candies. Chuckling to himself, he remarked, "Grandpa George might grumble, but deep down, he's got a sweet tooth." He told Charlie, who adored learning new things about his grandparents.

After that he moved to a new quest: finding the perfect present for Grandma Josephine, and his eyes gleamed with anticipation. Salty chocolate, spicy chocolate, sour chocolate, bitter chocolate… then he stumbled upon a display of tickling truffles, the package promised moments of joy with each one of them.

With a big smile, he exclaimed, "Ah, perfect! I won her heart with laughter; these truffles will keep it alive!”

Charlie kept scanning the room with determination on his face, he had to find the right present for his parents, something warm and relaxing, Charlie’s way to show how much he loves them, and how much he appreciates all their hard work and effort. One of the Oompa-Loompas there saw his doubts, and holding his hand, he took the boy to the furthest corner of the room to show him something. Grandpa Joe went behind them soon.

“This is a piece of history. The first Wonka bar ever made!” The Oompa-Loompa claimed with great confidence, showing them a candy bar of a hundred grams. It was smaller than the ones they eat nowadays but thicker, and the wrapper was a simple brown cardboard one, with an early version of the Wonka brand’s logo drawn there.

Charlie delicately cradled the iconic chocolate in his hands. Charlie and Grandpa Joe could hold their excitement and admiration, and the Oompa-Loompa rubbed his hands with a huge cheeky grin on his face.

"Charlie, my boy, can you imagine the joy this bar has brought over the years?" Grandpa Joe said in awe

Charlie just couldn’t imagine it, he just felt so lucky to be where he was right now.

Suddenly, Mr. Wonka appeared behind their backs and took them out of their trance.
“Larry, are you trying to fool my guests?” He rhetorically asked with a playful tone

“Me?” Larry pretended to be confused and offended “How could you think that? As if I ever did something like that!”

Little Charlie chuckled, realizing it was a prank

“See, this is the first Wonka bar model to be officially sold around the country. They are rare to find, but not nearly as much as our little friend wants to make you believe” Mr. Wonka explained

“Oh, come on! I almost had them!” The Oompa-Loompa snapped his fingers and moved away, looking for clueless work-mates to scheme “Well, three times the charm!”

Mr. Wonka laughed, oh, how much he loved when his workers gave him fun stories to tell “Ah, Larry-Loompa, he’s great to be around, you must have seen him counting cocoa beans like a casino owner last month. He’s shrewd, but you know what? so am I!”

“Do you still have your first Wonka Bar?” Asked Charlie

“I do! It’s all intact but for a single bite in the corner” Then Mr. Wonka kneeled to Charlie’s level and whispered in his ear “Wanna know why?”

“Why?” He asked with excitement

“Because it tasted terrible and no one wanted to eat the rest,” The chocolatier told him, letting a little nervous chuckle.

It was all fun and wonder in the Presents Room, they took the treats for the family, and it was over, now they were going to go outside, get their life supply of chocolate, and say goodbye to the other families… if they were alright, they hoped they were, and go back home with their hearts full of joy. However, they didn’t expect the following words or tone from Mr. Wonka

"Excuse me for not showing you out, but I have an enormous number of things to do before the day is out. There's even less time to lose now than there was before”

“But, what do we do now?” Asked Grandpa Joe, confused about what was going on

“Don't worry about that, the Oompa-Loompas will escort you” After that he left the room waving “ I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Goodbye to you both. Goodbye”

It was strange, and cold, something that left Charlie and Grandpa Joe with an unexpected bitter taste. They looked at the Oompa-Loompas, wondering if they had any answers, but they either ignored them or just shrugged.

"What happened? Did we do something wrong?" Charlie asked Grandpa Joe, worried and feeling guilty about any possible issue he brought to the tour

Grandpa Joe also had a strange feeling, that wasn’t an attitude Mr. Wonka often had, at least not when he worked for him back then "I don't know, Charlie, maybe he's busy and that's it. He's been away from society for so long, he could just be a bit awkward”

They looked at each other a few times and followed Mr. Wonka. The chocolatier didn’t seem to notice, or better said, he pretended not to notice, and was muttering things under his breath "So many arrangements that have to be made, and so many people I have to fetch..."

They saw him enter a room that had “Ice” written on its label and stood there, fidgeting a bit and doubting about disturbing the chocolatier when he was working. Finally, Charlie decided to take a step forward and knocked on the door a few times with his small bony knuckles

“Is everything okay, Mr. Wonka? You sounded… serious…” He asked

Mr. Wonka took his head out of the door and calmed him down “Yes, yes. I’m just terribly busy. But if you really want me to show you out, you can enter and wait for me to finish”

He opened the door and the two slowly entered, concerned about bothering the man, even if he claimed it wasn’t the case and that he could multitask. Mr. Wonka had his reading glasses and was smoking on a pipe, he was focused on the towers of papers he had on his desk, switching between a pen and a typewriter.

The room was cut in half, literally, every single piece of furniture there was perfectly cut in half, the carpet on the floor, the cuckoo clock on the wall, even the sink was just half of what it used to be. Strangest of it all, Mr. Wonka was interacting with it as if it was normal, he was sitting on his half chair, and working on his half desk, with his coat resting on the half coat hanger, and his hat on a half-bust of his own face. Charlie and Grandpa Joe tried their best to properly sit on the armchairs, staying in silence for a few seconds.

Grandpa Joe cleared his throat before speaking

“I want to thank you, Mr. Wonka,” he said “I thought my life was a complete mess, but being here I forgot about everything negative, It was truly magic”

Charlie nodded and added “We love your chocolate at home, I always get one on my birthday, and I patiently wait for the next one”

Willy Wonka knew everyone loved his chocolate, his brand wouldn't be nearly as important if it wasn't well-liked around the world. But this? This was different, it was so genuine and humble, and that brought a smile to his face. Then Mr. Wonka turned around in his half-chair

“Why chocolate, though? Why something that means so little in the grand scheme of things?” He asked with anticipation

“I… don't know how to explain it, I guess it's very sweet and warm. No matter what happens, you can always take a bite and keep going” Charlie answered “When I grow up, if it's possible, I would like to be a chef or a baker, to make people full and happy, just like your chocolate”

Mr. Wonka wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, and sighed “You really touched my heart” He said approaching them “And you know what? You will no longer need to wait for the next Wonka bar from now on!”

Grandfather and grandson sported huge smiles and got up from their seats in excitement

“...Or that's what I would say if I was dumb!” Mr. Wonka spat with his usual playful tone, and It took a few seconds to get through Charlie and Grandpa Joe’s heads

Grandpa Joe squeezed Charlie's hand, the boy was trembling and quiet

“Mr. Wonka, is this a joke?” Asked Grandpa Joe

But Mr. Wonka shook his head “No, it's not”

“But why?” The oldest man blinked in disbelief “You promised a lifetime supply of chocolate, you can't just take it away in my boy’s face!”

“And you promised to follow the rules when you signed the contract” the chocolatier firmly shot back

“What rules are you talking about?” Grandpa Joe was torn between getting nervous and getting angry

Mr. Wonka knew by experience there was no point in debating something like this, so he walked towards his safe and took a small photostatic copy of the contract. One that soon started to unravel and went from one corner of the room to the other. Then he handled Charlie and Grandpa Joe a half-magnifying glass each and explained:

“I’m sorry, I really am, but look under Section Thirty-Seven B. It states quite clearly that all offers shall become null and void if ‘I, the undersigned, shall forfeit all rights, privileges, and licenses herein and herein contained, et cetera, et cetera… fax mentis incendium gloria culpum, et cetera, et cetera… memo bis punitor delicatum!’ It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal!”

Before they could answer, Mr. Wonka swung his cane and tapped the fedora on Charlie’s head off “What happened to your hair?” He rhetorically asked, seeing how choppy it looked

“I-I…” Charlie stuttered in shame and regret, he wasn’t even able to look Mr. Wonka in the eyes

“I’ll tell you what happened: You both stole Fizzy Lifting Drinks and used them without permission, you bumped into the ceiling which now has to be washed and sterilized, you put your lives in danger, and last but not least, you lied to me and tried to get away with it!” Mr. Wonka looked furious, it reminded Grandpa Joe of that time he closed the factory, “You get nothing! You lose! Have a good day!”

And with that, Mr. Wonka went back to his desk, head deep in the papers as he was fuming and muttering things under his breath. The boy kept his head down, bit his wobbling lip, and tried his best to hold back his tears, he didn’t even want to look at Grandpa Joe, he just felt terrible about abusing the trust of that wonderful man, his grandpa’s idol nonetheless, he expected to be scolded, it was all his fault, wasn’t it? That didn’t happen, however, Charlie felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder, a hand that was also trembling

“You…” Grandpa Joe struggled to let his words out, Charlie knew he was in shock “You're a crook! You're a cheat and a swindler!” He shouted and caught Mr. Wonka’s attention “I was convinced you hadn’t changed, after everything that happened I kept trying to convince myself you still were this sweet man, who loved seeing others happy, but I was oh so wrong!”

Mr. Wonka got up and raised his finger, but he couldn't say a thing before Grandpa Joe continued his rant

“How can you do this?! Build up a little boy's hopes and then smash all his dreams to pieces?! You're not better than Slugworth, Prodnose, or Fickelgruber!”

“Done?” Said Mr. Wonka with a serious tone “Charlie made a mistake, but this isn't mostly his fault. You were supposed to check on him and be a proper guide, but not only did you let him take the drinks, but you also told him to lie about it. I expected much better from you, Joseph Bucket”

“Yes, I did, but it was only because I didn't want him to suffer the same as the other four kids. Charlie doesn't deserve that, he’s got nothing at home, he needs something to live for!”

“Having a hard life doesn't give him the right to be above everyone else. I hope your home life gets better, in fact, I’m willing to give you money, but this conversation is over. Good day”

Grandpa Joe calmed a bit, he now looked more disappointed than anything else “Mr. Wonka…” he called

“I said good day, sir!” Mr. Wonka cut him off

Charlie grabbed Grandpa Joe’s hand and said “Grandpa. Let’s go home…”

And with that, the Buckets took their presents, left, and closed the door. Mr. Wonka didn't look back, but unknown to them, his face showed more guilt than It seemed during his outburst. As the Oompa-Loompas took them to the same spot where the tour started, Charlie was dragging his feet and no longer looking at the colorful doors, Grandpa Joe wrapped his arm around his shoulder and caressed his back

“I'm so sorry, Charlie, this shouldn't have ended like this,” he said

Charlie smiled back at his grandfather and tried to help “It's okay Grandpa, it's okay”. Tears were coming from his eyes, and the old man gave him the warm silent hug he needed

It wasn't okay, Charlie didn't want to hurt Mr. Wonka, and he wanted to believe Mr. Wonka didn't want to hurt him either, but his family didn't know that. He was heartbroken, disappointed, lost, and worried that his family would no longer buy Wonka bars after what happened. They kept walking and walking in silence.

“Ugh! Who's screeching like that?” One of the Oompa-Loompas complained, covering his ears

“Who or what, it's too loud to be human” The other Oompa-Loompa jokes, also covering her ears

The Oompa-Loompas had enhanced senses that helped them survive in the harsh jungles of Loompaland, so It took Charlie a few minutes to understand why the poor little couple was acting like that. They all could hear someone crying, a little girl with a powerful voice, perhaps Veruca Salt? It makes sense that she didn't take her elimination from the tour well.

Indeed they were right, at the entrance they found the other families, waiting for the door to be opened and wanting to go home. Among them there was poor Veruca Salt, she was covered in rubbish from head to toe, and so were her once sharply dressed parents, the girl was bawling her eyes out and the constant attempts of Mr. and Mrs. Salt to calm her down, did absolutely nothing. At first Charlie and Grandpa Joe assumed she was having a temper tantrum and demanding compensation, but they soon understood it wasn't the case.

“Veruca, sweetheart, we don't hate you, you're our lovely baby!” cried her mother over and over, with little variation

They couldn't ignore Veruca's loud sobbing, both, literally and figuratively, and despite his disappointment, a sense of empathy made Charlie approach her, and Grandpa Joe followed him close

"Veruca?" Charlie hesitated, uncertain of how to approach the situation

She turned to him, her red puffy eyes wide with fear and confusion. "What do you want? Go away!" she snapped, attempting to mask her vulnerability

"Are you okay? What happened?" Charlie asked, ignoring her harsh tone

Veruca wanted to tell what happened, but as soon as the memory crossed her mind she started crying more and more. Her parents panicked and were trying their best to calm her down, telling their child everything was fine, promising lots of presents, and even begging for her to stop crying in desperation.

"Mrs. Salt, Mr. Salt," Grandpa Joe began in a soothing tone, “This must have been a challenging experience for Veruca and for both of you as well."

Mrs. Salt, still visibly stressed, shot back, "Challenging? That's an understatement. This whole tour was a disaster, just look at us!"

“It’s all his fault! He ruined everything!” Veruca cried pulling her ponytails in frustration

Charlie scratched his head, until it finally clicked with him “You mean, Mr. Wonka?”

“Duh! Of course, I do!” Veruca rolled her eyes “He's the reason we're all here, he wanted to play with us and laugh!”

“But Veruca, all we did in the factory was our choice, Mr. Wonka didn't force us to do anything” Charlie calmly explained, hoping it would make her feel better, but it didn't help

Mr. Salt sighed heavily, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. "You don't understand. She's never been scolded like this, or to be honest, scolded, period. We lost our temper and said things we shouldn't have-”

“You said I was the brattiest brat to ever brat…” The girl whimpered looking at her mother with watery eyes. She tried to wipe her tears with her eyes and then looked at her father “And you said I don’t deserve anything you give me…”

“Veruca…” Mrs. Salt's heart sank “We were angry at that moment, we didn’t mean it”

“Do you hate me? Will you ever love me again?” Veruca Salt was crying again, those harsh words really stuck with her

“No, no, no. We will always love you, my pet” Her father kneeled to her level while saying so

“Willy Wonka said he wanted to teach you a lesson, maybe this is a message, and an opportunity to learn” Grandpa Joe reassured them, but thinking back about the factory tour left him with a bitter taste in his mouth

“He wanted that?” Mr. Salt raised a brow, “Then why not just tell us, instead of making everything so complicated?!”

“Sorry if we are being rude, this has been too much for us” Mrs. Salt apologized, and understanding they needed time on their own, Charlie and Grandpa Joe left them alone

As they walked through the vast room, they couldn't help but notice that the distress wasn't exclusive to Veruca. Their attention shifted towards Augustus Gloop and Mike Teavee, who were also experiencing the aftermath of the factory tour in their unique ways. Truth be told, they had to double-take because they didn’t recognize them at first.

Charlie saw the plump and usually happy couple from Germany, they seemed so worried and were trying to comfort their child, Augustus was in between them, embraced in a big hug, whimpering and visibly trembling. When you described him, you never thought about his face or the color of his hair, he was the big fat boy, but now that was gone, his once chubby frame was squeezed into a scrawny silhouette, and he was holding his oversized clothes in place.

"Is everything okay? He’s not hurt, right?" Charlie asked, his voice filled with genuine concern, as he approached them

Augustus looked up, surprised to see him there “I-I-I’m fine, I guess… I was enjoying the chocolate one minute, and then… then everything was so fast! What happened to your hair? Were you eliminated too?

The boy nodded slowly, not being ready to tell the other kids about his wrongdoing

“Don’t worry, my little Gussie, what matters is that you’re safe and sound” His mother said, looking inside her purse and pulling out several candies she took from the chocolate room “I’m sure a full stomach will make you feel better, do you want some too, Charlie?”

Charlie gladfully accepted the treat, but surprisingly, Augustus hesitated for a few seconds “I think I had enough chocolate for a while…” Augustu’s stomach turned seeing the Wonka Bar on his mother’s hand. This concerned his parents until he soon looked back at it and noticed something that made his eyes shine “Oh, are those jelly beans?”

His father nodded in agreement, his brow furrowed in frustration. "Willy Wonka has a lot to answer for. My boy was left so weak and tired that even that twig of a girl, Violet, beat him at arm wrestling!”

And soon Mrs. Gloop continued talking “I get that Augustus can be a tiny bit gluttonous, but he didn’t deserve what happened at all! And then came the little people with their mockery, it wasn’t funny”

Augustus, finishing his jelly beans enthusiastically added “Right? I just wanted some chocolate in a chocolate factory, the river was huge anyway, so a few drops wouldn’t be missed. And then, it all went brown and I was being pushed through a pipe”

“Well, Mr. Wonka let me drink from the riv-” Charlie remembered something but was soon cut

“What?! Why were you allowed and not me!” Augustus complained, but Charlie raised his hands to let him finish

“Mr. Wonka used a mug to take the chocolate, he just didn’t want it to be touched by human hands and contaminated”

At that moment, Augustus looked confused, unsure about how he should take the new information, but his parents, however, quickly went from a look of realization and regret to laughing about how easily everything could have been prevented. The boys didn’t understand where the laughing came from, but couldn’t resist the contagious laughter.

“Are you serious? it was as easy as that?” Mr. Gloop kept loudly laughing at the irony of the situation. At least that was better than sulking in what you can’t change

On the other side of the room, Grandpa Joe approached Mike Teavee, who was angrily kicking at every piece of furniture he found. The boy was no longer shrunk down, quite the opposite, at ten feet tall he was towering over everyone else in the room.

“Easy there, Mike,” Said Grandpa Joe “What happened? Something tells you there's more on your mind than just the size of your shoes”

Mike shot a fierce glare at Grandpa Joe, his eyes were watery and his fist clenched. "No TV! That's what's got me worked up! And if it wasn't enough those wonkidoodles or whatever did their job wrong because I kept moving” he said in the last part with air quotes

Grandpa Joe didn't flinch at Mike's temper, instead, he tried to reason "Losing something you care about can be tough, but there's more to life than just what's on the screen. Maybe this is a chance for you to discover new interests and experiences."

Mike, still very anxious and grieving, was having none of it. "I don't care about new experiences, I just want my TV back!”

His parents, standing at a distance, looked anxious and uncertain about how to handle their now towering and agitated son. They exchanged concerned glances, and Grandpa Joe could tell they were thinking about taking back their punishment. The old man shook his head, he wanted Mr. and Mrs. Teavee to know this time they wouldn't be able to just get away from the trouble by giving their son the remote.

“Do you have friends back home? maybe you could use your new free time to play with them outside” Suggested Grandpa Joe

But Mike scoffed at the idea. “Yeah, I have friends, Maggie and Fishface. But we see each other at school, and when I’m home I want to watch TV, life is boring without it!”

Grandpa Joe, undeterred, tried a different approach. “Hey, being bored isn’t that bad, it forces you to get creative in a way”

The boy finally stopped kicking stuff and looked back, adjusting his glasses with skepticism and curiosity “How is that possible?” He asked,

“Well, you won’t be able to watch your favorite show for a while…” As soon as the grandpa mentioned it, Mike’s eyes went wide and in panic, but Grandpa Joe shushed him before he could interrupt “But you can imagine how the episodes are, write them in a notebook, and then tell your friends about your ideas”

“Mike tapped his chin, considering the option “So if I wanted an episode with more shootings, fights, and blood, I could have it?”

“Um… sure, all you want” the old man chuckled awkwardly

In the end, he managed to convince the boy, or well, at least enough for him not to immediately dismiss the idea “Fine, I can try It,” he said, then crossing his arms defensively “But only until I get my TV back, they can't punish me forever!”

Grandpa Joe was glad that he could help, and rhetorically asked: “You like TV, don’t you?”

"You bet! It's terrific!” then Mike's shoulders slumped slightly, and he sighed “And also it's how I relax, you know? But now, it feels like everything is falling apart, I’ve never been without TV!"

“Never?” Grandpa Joe raised a brow “When Charlie forgets his homework we don’t allow him to watch TV that night”

“I’m not lying! When they are working, they give me the remote. And if they need to leave for a while, they tell my sister to babysit me” Mike explained “That’s fine by me, it’s way more fun than doing groceries with them”

Then Grandpa Joe felt an unexpected hand on his shoulder, and by how he was touched, he could tell it wasn't Charlie's. When he turned around he saw Mrs. Beauregarde, who looked very worried and frustrated at the same time

“Sir, have you seen my daughter? I can’t find her anywhere!”

He quickly scanned the room, twisting his head left and right, but he didn't see her. Grandpa Joe immediately cried, “Charlie, we need to find Violet! Her mother is worried sick!”

And the grandchild joined them swiftly. Together, the three of them, along with Mr. Beauregarde, began searching around the entrance.

"She's always doing something she shouldn't be," Mr. Beauregarde grumbled, “Is it that hard to just play by the rules?”

“I don't think you're one to talk” snapped his wife, “Why did you ever give her a wad of gum?!”

“Come on, Scarlett, we talked about this! You know, if it wasn't for the gum, she’d still be sucking her thumb!” Mr. Beauregarde's frown then transformed into a smile “Besides, she's enthusiastic about it, do you imagine her The Guinness Book of World Records?”

“Chewing gum is not a talent, Sam! It's a disgusting habit that caused all this mess, we don't even know if she's alright!”

As they scoured the room, Charlie suddenly caught a faint whiff of blueberries in the air. Trusting his instincts, he followed the sweet scent and soon was in front of a vibrant blue curtain. The floor had a puddle of blueberry juice, and huddled behind the curtain, he found Violet Beauregarde.

Thankfully she was back to normal, at least her size was, but just like Mr. Wonka said, she was a rich shade of purple, and she must have a bit of juice left, that was dripping from her

“Violet, what are you doing here?” Asked Charlie “Your parents are looking for you”

“It’s just a prank, big deal!” she laughed it off with a cocky attitude, but Charlie could tell she was very nervous

“Are you okay?” He asked, uneasy

“Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?!” She spat out an incredibly fast pace "This is nothing for me, I'm a Beauregarde!”

“No, no, no, I was just worried about-” Charlie couldn't finish because soon the group caught up with them.

“Violet Spencer Beauregarde! If you don't come out right now, there will be serious consequences” Mrs. Beauregarde warned sternly.

As Violet's parents approached, she began to panic. She attempted to flee, but her father firmly grabbed her arm, keeping her in place. The facade of indifference crumbled, and Violet had a sudden meltdown, crying, screaming, and kicking, as she tried to break free.

“I don’t want to leave this place!” She cried “I don’t want to go! Leave me alone!”

"Violet quit being such a baby! We need to go home!" Mr. Beauregarde scolded her, but Violet was beyond reasoning and using so much force to jank herself out of her father’s grip, that they thought was about to rip her arm off her shoulder

“Everyone, please, calm down” Cried Grandpa Joe, but was ignored “This will only make things worse”

Overwhelmed by frustration, Mrs. Beauregarde swung Violet over her lap and spanked her a few times. Of course, this only made the child’s cries and screams intensify “Stop this right now! You scared us!” she cried

"I can't go! I can't go! They'll all laugh at me!” Violet's voice wavered between desperate pleas and inconsolable sobs, “Don't make me go, don’t make me go, don’t make me go…” Each word emerged softer than the other.

It was heartbreaking, Mr. and Mrs. Beauregarde felt guilty and exchanged worried glances, as they realized Violet's distress was genuine, not just a tantrum

Mrs. Beauregarde sighed and tried to comfort her daughter. “Violet, darling, we’re not angry, we were very worried about you”

Mrs. Beauregarde, now more gentle, joined her husband in reassuring Violet. “Darling, we love you. I’m sorry I was too harsh, let’s go home”

Gradually, Violet's cries began to subside as the realization dawned that her parents were not only concerned but also remorseful for their initial reactions. Mrs. Beauregarde embraced her daughter, while Mr. Beauregarde stroked her hair gently, whispering soothing words.

At that moment Grandpa Joe and Charlie decided they should leave the family alone to talk, and assuming they would need to wait until Mr. Wonka finished his work to leave, they decided to sit on the floor, close to the door. Grandpa Joe’s legs hurt like hell once he relaxed, he hadn’t been so tired in… well, his whole life, but Charlie felt something different.

“Ouch! What’s that!” He cried, feeling a marble hurting his bony butt when he sat down.

However, it wasn't a marble. When the boy reached into his pocket, he saw the Everlasting Gobstopper and smiled. “Look, Grandpa, I forgot about it!”

Charlie might not have a lifetime supply of chocolate, but at least he had his gobstopper, one he could suck through all his childhood, suck it when he weds, and maybe he could keep sucking and sucking until his death. With that realization, something struck his big heart like lightning, he stood still for a few seconds, and then, he stormed out of the room.

“Charlie! Where are you going!” Grandpa Joe tried to reach him, but he struggled to get up and follow his quick pace.

Back in Mr. Wonka's office, the chocolatier’s gaze shifted from his steaming cup of hot chocolate to a worn, leather-bound notebook on his desk. The notebook had pages and pages of all sorts of plans he had for the day.

From everything, he could gather from his guests to every important room in the schedule, and even some of the lines he had to say during the experience. Needless to say, the outcome wasn't supposed to be this one, and the man rubbed his temples thinking about what to do.

“So… everyone was disqualified, but I need a winner…” He said to himself and shook his head in disappointment, “Charlie, my boy, why did you do that? You were so close…

Looking back at the pictures of the other children, he thought about other possibilities: “Charlie wasn't part of the original plan, maybe I should go back and play it safe?”

Before he could make his mind up, Mr. Wonka almost jumped out of his half-seat when the door was knocked. Without even looking he said “Come in! Come in!” assuming it was one of his loyal Oompa-Loompas

“Mr. Wonka…” Said a quiet little voice. It wasn’t any Oompa-Loompa

“Charlie?!” The man spun around, surprised “Please, forgive me if I was too harsh before, I felt betrayed, but that doesn’t justify my outburst”

Charlie didn’t come to confront Mr. Wonka, he silently walked towards him, and left the Everlasting Gobstopper on his half-desk

"I don't understand," Mr. Wonka said in bewilderment. "Why are you returning the Everlasting Gobstopper? It was a gift for you." he picked the gobstopper up and returned it to the boy, but Charlie refused, taking a deep breath before responding

“Mr. Wonka, before coming here, my uncle told me the Everlasting Gobstopper was worth a fortune and that Slugworth was interested in it. He works for him, and asked me if I wanted to help them”

Mr. Wonka’s eyes were wide as plates, and Charlie, in panic, felt the need to quickly let things clear:

“But I told him no! I thought about it, of course, but I knew it was wrong” He sighed a bit more calm, looking down in shame now “If I return it to you, there’s no way I make the wrong decision and hurt you again”

“Charlie, my boy, you didn't have to do this” Mr. Wonka got up from his half-chair and put a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. His voice was softened by the sincerity of the boy's actions, “I know you’re a good kid, you don’t need to prove it like this”

“I… just wanted to make things right. I’m sorry for taking the Fizzy Lifting Drinks, and my Grandpa is even more sorry, this means a lot to him” the kid apologized meekly, his thin freckled cheeks turning rosy in the process.

“So shines a good deed in a weary world…” muttered Mr. Wonka under his breath, then startling the boy when he exploded in excitement, “You won my boy! You won! You did it! This couldn’t be better!” He started shaking Charlie's hand so furiously it nearly came off, “Please, forgive me for my outburst, I was a complete fopdoodle!”

“Aren’t you worried that the other kids might want to sell the Everlasting Gobstopper?” Charlie asked, struggling to adapt to the sudden mood change

“Not at all!” Mr. Wonka confidently claimed, suddenly pulling a dusty gobstopper from behind Charlie’s ear. “This is Veruca’s Everlasting Gobstopper, it was found down the rubbish chute by an Oompa-Loompa, so it must have fallen from her pocket”

Giving Charlie’s gobstopper back to the boy, he then continued talking “Violent’s one got messed up by the juicing process, it turned tasteless and rubbery, like a chew toy. And Mike’s one got so tiny when he was sent by television, that it simply disappeared from existence. And of course, Augustus never got one to begin with!”

Soon Grandpa Joe appeared by the door, breathing heavily and leaning on it to keep his balance, “Charlie, is everything okay?!” He asked. He was surprised to see Charlie and Mr. Wonka hugging each other and jumping as they cheered

“Oh, there you are! Your grandson is amazing! He won!” Mr. Wonka approached Grandpa Joe and shook his hand, more carefully this time since the older man was tired

“The chocolate?” Grandpa Joe scratched his head

“The chocolate, yes, the chocolate, but that's just the beginning! Now, quickly, follow me to the Great Glass Elevator, I have a last thing to show you!”

Mr. Wonka ran to the closest elevator door and pressed the button, with the train-like sound of the high-speed elevator stopping there. With a small click, the glass doors opened, and Mr. Wonka pointed inside of it with his gold-topped cane, his bright twinkling blue eyes rested on their faces, excited to have them join him. Charlie and Grandpa Joe walked inside, and the chocolatier immediately jumped with them.

“I’m sorry for what I said before, Mr. Wonka. I was disappointed, but that doesn’t justify my cruel words” Grandpa told Mr. Wonka

“Don’t worry, my friend, that’s in the past! Besides, I also said things I regret” Mr. Wonka pat Grandpa Joe’s back, and both smiled

Something crazy is going to happen now, Charlie thought, but he wasn't frightened, he wasn't even nervous. He was just terrifically excited. And so was Grandpa Joe, the old man's face was shining with excitement as he watched every move that Mr. Wonka made

“Have you pressed every button?” Asked Grandpa Joe

“Yes, all of them… Except this one” Mr. Wonka said, pointing to the big red button in the middle of the ceiling, removing the protective thick plastic box. “Go ahead, Charlie, let’s go up and out!”

Charlie pointed at himself as if to say, “Me?” but when Mr. Wonka gave him his cane, he knew he was serious. Charlie got on the tip of his toes and stretched the cane much as he could, to push the button. The glass doors closed. “Hold on!” cried Mr Wonka. Then wham! The elevator shot straight up like a rocket. Charlie was clinging to Grandpa Joe's legs, while he and Mr. Wonka were holding to straps from the ceiling.

They went up, up, and up. Straight up, with no twistings or turnings, Charlie could hear the whistling of the air outside as the elevator went faster and faster. The three of them were laughing and cheering, having the time of their lives, then Mr. Wonka cried “Faster! Faster! If we don't go any faster than this, we shall never get through!”

“Through what?” Asked Charlie

“Ah-ha!” Mr. Wonka chuckled, “You wait and see! I've been longing to press this button for years, but I've never done it until now. I was tempted many times, but if I did, I couldn’t have done it now.

“But you don't mean…” Grandpa Joe glupped “... you don't really mean that this lift…”

“Oh yes, I do!” answered Mr Wonka “Here we go, boys! Up and out!”

“But it's made of glass!” shouted Grandpa Joe. “It'll break into a million pieces!”

“I don’t think so,” said Mr. Wonka, confident as ever, “The glass is pretty thick, you know?”

The elevator rushed on, going up and up and up, faster and faster and faster. It moved with so much force that they struggled to stay on their feet, feeling a million times heavier. Suddenly the most tremendous noise of splintering wood, broken tiles, and metal pipes came from directly above their heads, sure enough, the elevator had shot right up through the roof of the factory, and in five seconds they were a thousand feet up in the sky. Everything that goes up, has to go down, and the Great Glass Elevator was no exception. Charlie closed his eyes and grabbed into his grandpa’s legs, he was terrified, but soon he realized it started to slow down, hovering like a helicopter over the factory.

“Have no fear, it stays up thanks to sugar powder” Mr. Wonka calmly said, “Aren’t the views gorgeous?”

Indeed, they were, from there they saw London like a postcard, it almost looked too good to be true, full of little houses and buildings, with snow covering the place, and with a beautiful sunset giving the whole piece warm and inviting colors. The entrance of the factory looked way smaller from the distance, there were loads of vans with the Wonka brand parked nearby, which Charlie assumed must carry the lifetime supplies of Chocolate for the five lucky Golden Ticket Winners. At the entrance they could also see groups of people that looked like big black spots on the snow, and what seemed to be the other four families awkwardly going back home

“There go our friends!” Mr. Wonka pointed down with a big smile, “I’m so glad they all turned out alright! I was so scared for a few of them!”

“I can’t help but feel a bit bad for them, I bet those journalists will be asking questions and taking pictures” Said Grandpa Joe

“Will they always stay like this, Mr. Wonka?” Asked Charlie, worried, “They looked distressed when I talked with them before”

The man immediately reassured him, “Don’t worry, they won’t. In some months they will go back to their terrible old selves. Hopefully, a little wiser for the wear” He winked at Charlie and Grandpa Joe, and they laughed for a bit.

“How I love my chocolate factory,” Muttered Mr. Wonka, gazing down with a melancholic expression. Then he paused, and he turned around and looked at Charlie with a most serious expression on his face. “Do you love it too, Charlie?” he asked.

“Of course!” The boy cried, “It's the most wonderful place in the whole world!”
“I am very pleased to hear you say that” The chocolatier put his hand on Charlie’s shoulder, as both kept their eyes on the enormous factory “You see, my dear boy, I have decided to make you a present of the whole place. As soon as you are old enough to run it, the entire factory will become yours”

Charlie stared at Mr Wonka, He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out, Grandpa Joe had to support himself with the glass wall, as his eyes rolled behind his head and almost fainted.

“I'm an old man. I'm much older than you think” Mr. Wonka explained “I can't go on forever, and things are… complicated with my family, so who is going to run the factory when I get too old to do it myself?” he kneeled to Charlie’s height and looked deeply into his eyes “So, who can I trust to run the factory when I leave and take care of the Oompa-Loompas for me? Not a grownup, a grownup would want to do everything their own way, not mine. That's why I decided a long time ago I had to find a child. A very honest, loving child to whom I can tell all my most precious candy-making secrets”

“So that is why you sent out the Golden Tickets!” cried Charlie, and Mr. Wonka nodded

“Charlie, my boy! This is wonderful!” Grandpa Joe cheered, ruffling Charlie’s hair, “Imagine how much chocolate you could have! No more cabbage water for you!”

“Not only him” Mr. Wonka cut them “You will come too, also Charlie’s father, and his mother and anyone else that's around! You all can all live in the factory from now on, and help my apprentice until he’s old enough to do it by himself!”

At that moment, Charlie and Grandpa Joe jumped in excitement with such energy that they even shook the Great Glass Elevator, “Yippee!” Cried Grandpa Joe and started doing a little dance. Charlie on the other hand gave Mr. Wonka a big warm hug, the man could feel how the boy was trembling out of happiness, and a few tears ran down his face.

“You’ll do great, Charlie, I know you will” Mr. Wonka soothingly whispered to him, as the elevator floated in the sky.