Chapter 1
Tickets
"Aunt Joelle! Aunt Joelle! Have you heard?" asked the panting Charlie as he returned from his paper route.
"Boy, have I." she said, her smooth voice rougher than usual," There have been people cramming in and out of the shop screeching for 'their golden ticket'. They gave me a headache."
"Do you think I have a chance?"
"As much as anybody else." She smiled at him and leaned in close so that Charlie could clearly see her light splattering of nut colored freckles, "Maybe a little bit more than everyone else."
"Don't give him false hopes, Jo. You mark my words, the first person to get a golden ticket will be fat, fat , fat!" said Grandpa George gruffly.
Augustus Gloop was indeed very, very fat. And, as he ate grotesquely on live television, he seemed to grow fatter in front of their very eyes.
Charlie and his aunt looked at each other and wrinkled their noses. He may like Mr. Wonka's chocolates, but Augustus Gloop didn't deserve that golden ticket.
The second person to find a golden ticket was Miss Veronica Salt, and she found it on Charlie's birthday. The Bucket's were crowded around the flickering television, watching the prissy little egotistical brat hold her ticket for the camera and smile for an hour before they gave Charlie his gifts.
His mother held out a squishy, huggable looking package first. When he opened it, Charlie found a new, cherry red scarf nestled in the inexpensive wrappings.
"It's terrific!" exclaimed Charlie.
"We each knitted a bit," admitted his mother modestly ,"Grandma Georgina, Grandma Josephine , and I."
"And this," said his Aunt Jo, "is from your Grandpa George and I."
She passed him a small, brightly wrapped package.
"I think I know what this is," said Charlie excitedly, "It is! A Wonka."
"Let's open it Charlie!" said his Aunt," I want that chocolate!"
The shine in her eyes said that she hoped with all of her might that Charlie would get a golden ticket. Everyone leaned forward as Charlie turned away to open the chocolate.
"I got it!" he called
"Where! Where!" erupted the shack full of people.
"Fooled you, didn't I. You thought I really had it." said Charlie to hide his disappointment.
"Well," said his aunt, her eyes lighting with childish delight," You do have that chocolate. And Wonka chocolate is worth its' weight in gold."
"Here, everybody have a bite."
The room erupted into protest until they finally gave in. Charlie watched his aunt savor the piece of chocolate he had given her. She didn't even seem to notice she wasn't alone.
"Wonka added a bit of cinnamon to this batch."
"How can you tell? It doesn't taste a bit like cinnamon."
"It doesn't have to taste like cinnamon to be cinnamon. "She said mysteriously, her eyes opening briefly to wink at her nephew.
The next person to find a golden ticket was a Miss Violet Beauregarde, an avid gum chewer with a haughty disposition. She was obviously determined to win Mr. Wonka's grand prize, even at the cost of other people's health. She also liked to brag, and held the spotlight in the news until the fourth ticket was found.
Mike Teevee was the fourth person to find a ticket. He claimed to have figured out exactly where the ticket was most likely to show up. The Bucket's thought he was a dreadful, violent monster.
The fifth ticket was claimed by a man in Paraguay. Charlie, his aunt, and their family didn't even keep the TV on long enough to hear the rest of the story.
...
As usual, this is a first draft until people tell me what to change. Thank you for reading.
-May-B-Madd