Charlie Eppes and the Chocolate Factory
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to NUMB3RS or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: Despite my love of the series, I have only seen some season 3 episodes and a lot of clips on YouTube, plus read a lot on Wikipedia. I will try my best to keep everyone in character, but please go easy on me. Also, Don pines after Robin in this story, just…because. This story is still set in season 3, though I heard Robin is no longer around. I know nothing about her other than she was a love interest for Don, so…;
Chapter One: Golden Dreams
Five Golden Ratios…
…hidden in five boxes of Fleinhardt Chalk.
Charlie Eppes' eyes were glittering with excitement as he turned off the TV. He could not believe what he had just heard. The five people who were lucky enough to be able to find the five Golden Ratios hidden inside five different boxes of Fleinhardt Chalk would be given a guided tour of the grand Fleinhardt Factory. Very few had ever been inside its walls, but those who had said it had been an incredible experience.
A couple months ago, Charlie's best friend and coworker, Larry Fleinhardt, had suddenly up and abandoned his life, his job, and even his girlfriend Megan, to go off and build the magnificent factory far away from them. None of them had even been invited to come and visit, and just going was pointless, as the factory was heavily sealed off from the outside world, as was its benefactor. They did not even know what exactly it was the factory made, other than office and school supplies. Charlie felt certain it would have had to have been something truly beyond belief for Larry to just leave like that, without so much as a word to anyone-not even to his closest friends.
And now there was this contest. Charlie was fairly certain he would be able to find one of those Golden Ratios. With his math skills, it would be incredibly simple for him to track down the closest box of chalk to him that contained one of them. Even the name-Golden Ratio-made it sound like it was meant for Charlie to find. Had Larry planned it like that? Was this contest nothing more than a farce to reunite him with the friend he had left behind?
Charlie let out a happy sigh. It would be great to see Larry again after all this time. Ever since Amita had broken up with him and accepted that Harvard job offer, he had been feeling rather depressed and longed for someone in his own field to talk to-someone who would actually understand what he was talking about most of the time. While his big brother Don was certainly not that person, Charlie would have been content to at least have his company. But Donnie was far too occupied with trying to get some woman named Robin to go out with him. At least he could take comfort in the fact that he was not the only one having relationship problems lately.
The young genius stood up and stretched. Right now was the perfect time to get started on an equation to help him locate the Golden Ratio closest to him. He was the only one home, so he would be able to work for hours straight without being disturbed by either his father or Don. That was a luxury he was rarely afforded, so he decided to take advantage of it and headed into the garage.
He immediately got to work, chalking down various numbers, letters, and symbols that made sense to few people other than himself. Within seconds, he was so consumed by his work that the next time he glanced up, he found that it had actually been hours since he had ventured into the garage, and his stomach was growling loudly.
He tried his best to ignore it, not wanting to stop when he was so close to having the answer and drew a Pi symbol on the board. Pi…he loved Pi…Apple Pi…Blueberry Pi…Lemon meringue Pi…Yes…He loved lemon meringue Pi-it was his favorite kind. His eyes widened, drool starting to seep from his mouth. He shook his head, trying to clear all thoughts of food and eating from it, but it did not work. Instead, he now found himself drawing little pies all over the board. They all looked so tasty…he nearly started gnawing on the chalkboard.
Thankfully, another feeling took his mind away from his aching hunger. His mind, much like his vision, was becoming fuzzy, and he couldn't pinpoint what exactly the feeling currently overtaking him was. He was thankful it was taking his mind away from his hunger, but as always, his curiosity made him want to know what it was. Using his hand to steady himself against the blackboard, the young genius ignored his body as it screamed for him to sit down on the couch, determined not to give in until he had identified what exactly it was he was now feeling.
Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, Charlie did not have to endure this torment for much longer, as he suddenly realized what the feeling was when his legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the hard floor of the garage-exhaustion. He tried to get up, but his entire body felt numb and he sighed in defeat, his consciousness starting to fade. Either Dad or Don was going to be giving him hell for this tomorrow, depending on which one of them found him first. If worst came to worst, they would both end up lecturing him about the importance of putting things like food and sleep after working on a math equation. He groaned at the mere thought of hearing that again.
Not only was the floor uncomfortable and would no doubt leave him sore tomorrow, but he could hear his stomach still growling fiercely as his eyelids slid closed. He let one last groaned statement escape his lips.
"Damn, I hope I don't dream about food."