Love, Thneeds, and Other Shady Business Deals
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Chapter One
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The crowd had swarmed around the Thneed factory in less than an hour. Everyone was scrambling to get a look at the man who had invented the newest in-demand product in Greenville, the Thneed; the one thing that all people needed.
For Norma Wallace, she had come to get a glimpse of the man who was seriously damaging the ecosystem of the Truffula Valley.
Norma was an incredibly passionate young woman, and she was especially passionate about anything that threatened trees, or the environment in general.
She pushed her purple-rimmed glasses further up onto her nose as she glared up at the presently vacant balcony of the new Thneed factory.
Whoever this "Once-ler" character was, she had a serious bone to pick with him already.
It hadn't taken much digging for Norma to find out that the Thneeds were made from the truffs of the Truffula trees, which beautified the valley just outside of Greenville and provided a safe environment for the Barbaloots, Swomee Swans, and Humming Fish that lived in the valley.
Take those trees away, and disaster would ensue.
Suddenly, her attention was caught as a very short man in a navy blue suit walked out onto the balcony and hopped up onto a box to address the crowd.
"Thank you all for coming, folks!" he sang out. "It really is a pleasure to have all of you here today for the formal opening ceremony of the first ever Thneed factory!"
Most of the crowd burst into cheers and applause. Norma just rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
"And now," the short man continued, "without further ado, I introduce to you, the inventor of the Thneed, the owner of the Thneed business, and…my nephew…the one and only ONCE-LER!"
As he crowed the entrepreneur's name to the high heavens, the small man jumped down from the box and dashed out of the way as the Once-ler himself strode out onto the balcony.
He was extremely tall, extremely thin, and extremely lanky. He wore an emerald green suit that was perfectly tailored to fit his skinny frame, his long, tailed green coat and black trousers were striped with gold pinstripes. His tie was black, and striped with the same shade of green as his coat, with a small pink Truffula truff decorating his right lapel. The gold chain of a pocket watch dangled from his right coat pocket, and a-top his head, covering thick dark hair, was a tall black top hat, with a green hat band. He wore elbow-high green gloves, and his eyes, visible even from a distance, were a vibrant blue.
He was most likely the most attractive man Norma had ever seen.
And she despised him with every fibre of her being.
"Welcome, everyone," the Once-ler greeted the crowd enthusiastically. "I am so happy to see so many people here for the opening of this, the first of, hopefully, many Thneed factories."
Norma raised an eyebrow. Many Thneed factories? Not if she had anything to say about it.
"I want you all to know that it has always been a dream of mine to open up the Thneed business," the Once-ler went on. "and it brings me great joy that my invention will be bringing joy to people all over the world."
The crowd applauded and cheered again at that, while Norma was slowly balling her hands into tight fists.
Bringing joy, huh? Norma thought to herself. What about the animals, huh? All you're bringing them is despair and sorrow.
As the crowd was cheering, the Once-ler turned and began to descend a set of stairs that had been set up leading down from the balcony to the front door of the factory, where a big red ribbon was tied across the doorway.
"Now," the Once-ler continued as he stepped over to the door, "it gives me great pride to declare the first ever Thneed factory, officially, open for business!"
So saying, the Once-ler seized a pair of scissors that were probably taller than he was (and that was saying something) and cut the big red ribbon.
Again, the crowd erupted; all save for Norma, whose expression was somewhere between having an aneurysm and ready to commit mass murder.
Norma stayed obscured by the crowd as people swarmed around the Once-ler, the procession led by a gaggle of camera-toting reporters bent on getting the story of the year.
She hated him. She hated that smug son of a beehive for being so happy about this. So enthusiastic. So friendly. So likeable. For smiling at the cameras, totally suave and optimistic.
But most of all, she hated him for being so dang cute.
She made herself a solemn vow then and there.
She was going to ruin his life.
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The Once-ler sauntered down the hallway of his brand new factory once the opening ceremony had come to an end.
He had done it. At last, his Thneed had taken off. He was officially in business. He had changed the world.
And this was just the beginning.
He stopped for a moment and gazed at the words engraved on the massive double doors that no doubt led into his new office.
The Once-ler's
He resisted the urge to reach under his glove and pinch himself. This was no dream…because his dream had finally come true.
Taking a deep breath, the young entrepreneur reached out to push the double doors open; only to find that his two older brothers were already opening them for him.
He stayed put for a brief second, stunned by the gesture.
"Uh…thanks, guys," he told Chet and Brett with an unsteady smile as he proceeded through into his office.
The twins, Chet and Brett, didn't respond, electing just to close the doors behind him.
"O…kay…" the Once-ler murmured, mostly to himself, as he turned to look around his new office.
It was a massive, circular room, with emerald green walls and large red velvet curtains swathing large picture windows on either side of the room. His desk was in the middle of the room, large and crescent-shaped, and not yet covered with the various paraphernalia of a successful businessman. The desk chair was absolutely huge, and upholstered with red velvet that matched the curtains.
There was only one thing off about it: the chair was facing away from the desk.
The Once-ler innocently reached out and turned the chair around to face him and promptly had a miniature heart attack and leaped backwards with a girlish shriek as he discovered that the chair was already occupied.
Sitting in his chair, and looking less than pleased about it was a young woman, around the same age as the Once-ler himself. Although she was sitting, the girl was visibly shorter than him, and was dressed in a purple button-up blouse and a matching pencil skirt, the colour matching the rims of her glasses perfectly. She was glaring at him with large brown eyes, and wavy, dark brown hair framed her face and fell past her shoulders, ending in the middle of her back.
And she was definitely not happy.
"Um…" the Once-ler said, clearing his throat as he regained his composure. "…can I…help you? And, ah, what are you doing in my office?"
"You should really get better security on that back door, Mr. Once-ler," the girl said bitterly, her glare practically burning a hole through him.
The Once-ler swallowed nervously.
"And, ah…you are?" he inquired.
"Your worst nightmare," Norma said sweetly, smiling pleasantly.
"Uhhh…" was all the Once-ler could say.
"I know what you're doing to the trees, Mr. Once-ler," the girl continued, getting to her feet and standing up to her full height (which was still a foot shorter than the Once-ler). "And I don't like it."
A twinge of guilt stung at the back of the Once-ler's neck. He hadn't completely been able to shake it since he had broken the promise he had made to the Lorax.
"You're not the only one…" the Once-ler muttered at the thought of the Lorax.
"I don't care how happy your so-called 'Thneeds' make people," the girl went on. "If it's endangering the Truffula trees, I will put a stop to it."
She might as well have slapped him across the face.
"Hang on," the Once-ler exclaimed. "What do you mean, 'put a stop to it?!'"
"You heard me," the girl said, crossing her arms with a smug grin. "I am making it my personal goal to drive your company into the ground…and take you, and your Thneeds, with it."
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" the Once-ler asked, folding his own arms to mirror her pose.
"I have my ways," the girl said, deepening her smirk. "Mark my words, Mr. Once-ler…I will destroy you…and your company…and your factory…and your entire business…no matter how long it takes. I will burn you."
The Once-ler was quite sure that this was probably the most terrifying moment of his life. Well…besides almost falling to his doom over a waterfall.
"Have a nice day, Mr. Once-ler," the girl finished, before he could even open his mouth to say anything, and turned toward the back exit.
"Wha-wa-hey, now, wait a minute!" the Once-ler sputtered. "Who the heck are you?!"
"I'm Norma Wallace," the girl said as she sauntered out. "And just as a news flash: I'm not going anywhere."
The Once-ler felt the strangest sense of deja vu as the door closed behind the girl; Norma.
This must be how the Lorax felt… he thought to himself.
Heaving a sigh, the Once-ler collapsed into his desk chair. He hadn't been in business a week and his company was already being threatened.
Come on, Once-ler, he inner-pep talked himself. How bad can it possibly be? She's just one girl…one very scary girl…
Being a businessman was going to be more difficult than he'd thought.
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