I don't believe that Helen (or Mrs. Wiggins) is the Once-ler's daughter, even if it is a nice thought. I believe that Norma was married to someone else, and it's my own headcanon that he died a few years or so before the movie. Therefore, her name would only be Wiggins after she married him, and so I have bestowed the surname 'Edwards' on her. (Also, I think after whatever happened to Ted's father happened Helen and Ted took back Helen's maiden name.)
So I decided that even though I don't think Normaler actually happened (while they were young, at least), it still makes a lot of sense that Norma knew the Once-ler personally. Hence this story.
Plus there just needs to be more friendship!Normaler in this fandom.
Norma Edwards needed a job in the most desperate way. Her father - the usual breadwinner of the family - had recently entered a state of unemployment and her family was overwhelmed with bills and expenses; she was the oldest of three, recently turned eighteen, and was expected to step up and help out, which she fully intended to do to the best of her abilities.
Norma had always dreamed big and perhaps unrealistically, so it was no surprise that she set her sights on the biggest business in the area: thneeds. Norma could remember the inventor strolling into town so many months ago, singing out songs about his great invention to an unappreciative crowd. She herself had never paid much attention to him. But suddenly, like the spark of a forest fire, his thneed had caught on and within weeks had become a must-have item. A factory had sprung up on the outskirts of Greenville to accommodate all the orders, and then, just like an answered prayer, a job notification had been sent out, asking for a qualified secretary. Norma wouldn't necessarily call herself 'qualified', having never actually worked as a secretary before, but she was intelligent and picked up on things quickly; she only hoped that would be enough to snag her the job.
On Monday, her curled hair pulled back and her short body dressed up in her most professional outfit, the determined eighteen year old made her way out to the factory with her head held high and her hopes up.
The large gathering of young women and men that greeted her when she arrived brought those hopes crashing right back down to Earth. Memories of her mother and father coming home stressed and frazzled after a day of fruitless job searching forced her to stick around; after a few deep breaths and muttered prayers, Norma handed her application to a rather scary looking lady with hornlike hair and, after staring at the strange hairdo for longer than was polite, took a seat in the waiting room to await her fate turn. It seemed to take ages; Norma found herself growing more and more anxious with each minute that passed, but eventually, her name was called out and she jumped up onto shaking legs.
The angry looking woman pointed her down a hall and Norma walked down it, her heels clicking on the floor as she walked. Her heart thudded away loudly in her chest, and Norma was surprised she didn't hear it echoing down the hall like her noisy shoes. At the end of the long hall was a single door; taking a deep, steadying breath, the young woman pushed it open to find a spacious round room, in the center of which sat a large desk with a massive chair; seated in the throne-like seat was a middle-aged woman with curled, blonde hair, who stared her down through thick-rimmed glasses as she entered.
The woman looked her up and down, making no effort to hide how very unimpressed she was by Norma's appearance, snorting rudely at her in a mocking manner. Anger flared up in Norma's chest; she stalked across the room, making her heels click as loudly and obnoxiously as possible, and dropped down into the seat in front of the woman with a determined face on - how dare this woman judge her before she even had her chance; she would impress her so much that there was no course of action other than to hire her. Only after she had seated herself did Norma's common sense remind her acting like a stubborn, offended child was not going to win her the job. Forcing a polite smile on her face, she sat up straight, folding her hands in her lap.
The woman frowned, her red lips twisting into an ugly scowl; glancing down at the sheet before her she asked, "Norma Edwards?", her voice tinted with a strange accent Norma was unable to place.
"Yes, ma'am," Norma replied, nodding. She tried to keep her temper in check as the woman read through the application, snorting to herself as she did.
"I'm sorry but do you have any experience at all?" she asked finally, voice dripping with cynicism, setting the application to the side and placing her chin on folded hands.
Aggravated by the woman's rude behavior, Norma nearly responded with an insult. Instead, she bit back her initial answer, smiled, and replied "No, ma'am. But I assure you I am more than qualified. I am intelligent and have always received high grades, and I am extremely organized. I pick up on skills quickly and will be able to do whatever I need to." She intended to go on, but the woman raised a hand as a signal to stop.
"I'm sorry," the woman sniffed in a voice that indicated she was not sorry at all for whatever she was able to say. "But I don't -"
The door to the office opened, interrupting the woman mid-sentence. It took Norma a moment to recognize the tall, thin young man who entered as the man had so desperately been trying to sell his thneed in the town center months ago. Instead of his old simplistic outfit the man was now dressed head to toe in dark green; the tight fitting suit he wore screamed "money" and Norma had to wonder just how much he had spent on it and the accessories that accompanied it. The top hat was a bit overkill, she thought.
"Hey, ma," he began, his eyes on the blonde woman at the desk before he caught sight of Norma. "Oh, hello," he said, smiling pleasantly. Norma decided in an instant that she liked this man infinitely more than the woman before her.
"Mama's busy dear," the blonde woman informed the green-clad man, her voice annoyingly patronizing even to Norma's ears - for pete's sake, she was speaking to the man as if he were still five.
The man flinched at his mother's tone, so slightly that Norma may not have noticed it if she hadn't been watching him closely ever since his entrance. She watched as he took a breath before straightening himself up to his full height - which was rather impressive indeed - and stepping forward. "Ma, you may go. I'll interview the applicants now."
Norma whipped her head back around to watch the blonde woman's reaction; her eyes narrowed behind her glasses, her lips puckering as if she had just eaten something extremely sour. "That's alright, dear," she said, her voice overly sweet and sickening. "Mama's got it handled." Norma was surprised the man didn't start yelling at her then and there; in fact, she wondered if it would be a social no-no to do it herself. This woman was getting on her every nerve.
The man hesitated for half a second, his expression conflicted, before he approached the chair. "I'm the head of this business. I think I should select my own secretary," he insisted. There was a hint of worry in his eyes, Norma noticed, as if he were afraid his mother would shoot down his idea again. Instead, she sighed heavily, looking extremely displeased as she pushed herself out of the seat. "Of course, honey; you can do things on your own." The words sounded so fake that Norma wanted to throw something at her, even if they weren't being said towards her. She stared at the young man taking a seat, wondering how in the word he could stand her.
"Thanks ma," he said cheerfully as the unpleasant woman exited; Norma wondered if the man was completely oblivious to how unpleasant his mother was or whether he was just used to it; she also wondered if she could stick her tongue out at the woman without upsetting him. She decided to simply not chance it and kept politely silent as he picked up her application and read through it.
"Norma Edwards, huh?" he asked, flipping a page.
Norma wasn't quite sure if she was expected to answer that or not, but figured a "yes, sir" couldn't hurt her chances. She sat quietly as the man read, lifting his eyebrows in places, letting out little 'hmmms' occasionally. Norma had never been gifted with patience, and the more time went on, the more Norma wanted to smack the man across from her and demand to know what he thought. All of his hmm-ing and eyebrow-raising was driving her mad with anxiety.
Finally he set the application down and the desk and looked at her. Norma waited for the Hallelujah Choir to started playing in the background; she was slightly disappointed when it didn't happen.
"You haven't actually had a job like this before, have you?" he asked her, and despite the question being nearly identical to the previous woman's, Norma was overwhelmed with how pleasant sounding it was in comparison; she was just loving this man more and more after facing his demon mother.
"No, sir," she answered, before leaning forward. She found herself repeating the same words she had said to his mother only minutes ago, hoping they would have a better affect on him. "But I am intelligent and organized. I learn quickly and will figure out whatever I need to."
The man looked unsure; he tapped his gloved fingers on the desk, looking from her to the application. He opened his mouth and Norma, plagued with the fear that he was about to dismiss her, leapt forward, grabbing the desk. His head shot up, blue eyes wide as he looked at her in surprise. Norma was rather short, and the man was incredibly tall; even with her standing and him sitting, he still seemed to tower above her. Trying to make herself seem taller and more authoritative, Norma pushed herself up onto her tiptoes, holding onto the desk to keep her balance.
"Look, sir, I need this job desperately. My father was just laid off, and we're struggling with bills."
The man only blinked at her, shock still coloring his features. "Ah - " he began, but Norma didn't let him finish.
"Please!" She searched her mind desperately for something that would convince him. "My brother was just diagnosed with a deadly condition," she added, lying through her teeth and hoping he wouldn't notice. And then, since she was already making things up off the top of her head, she decided she might as well lay it on as thick as she could. "The hospital bills are outrageous, sir; I need this job to help my family pay them. Please, have a heart."
The two stared at each other in silence, Norma still standing and clutching the desk. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest; Norma swore it echoed throughout the enormous office and tried to keep her features imposing, hoping he couldn't hear it.
The man opened his mouth to reply before shutting it again and staring at her for another minute, his shock melting into thoughtfulness and then finally into doubt. "The brother thing was a lie just now, wasn't it?" he asked, leaning back in his chair, waiting for her response.
"Umm." Norma dropped down from her tiptoes, loosening her hold on the desk. She looked away from the man as she answered, feeling a blush overtake her face. "Well, he does have a cough at the moment. I may have exaggerated the severity of it, though."
The man didn't reply. Curious, Norma peeked back at him through the corner of her eye; he was watching her closely, his lips quirking up in amusement that he kept trying to fight down. Norma took that as a good sign and continued, "In all honesty, though, sir, please just give me a chance to prove myself."
Her words seemed to affect the man more than she had expected; his eyes widened again, an emotion that Norma couldn't quite identify flashing through them. He straightened up in his chair, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked off to the side, a look of deep contemplation on his face.
"I won't let you down, I promise. And if I do, you can just fire me right then and there. But please, just give me a chance."
"Alright," the man said, his voice so soft Norma nearly didn't catch it.
"What?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing; sinking back into her chair, Norma stared at the man in wonder.
"I said alright; you're hired," he said, turning back to look at her. Catching sight of her obvious shock, he smiled softly in encouragement.
Overcome with excitement, Norma forgot all about presenting herself properly and leapt out of her seat, throwing a fist in the air. "YES!" she screamed, before realizing the man was still watching her. Embarrassed, she quickly sat back down, brushing out her skirt nervously. Attempting to look professional once more, she sat up straight and said in a controlled voice, "I mean, thank you, sir. You won't regret it."
The man nodded, before looking at her sternly - or attempting to; he couldn't quite appear as threatening as Norma figured he was trying to. She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. "But if you can't handle it," he warned, thrusting a gloved finger in her direction.
"I know, I know," Norma said, waving her hands in the air. "Goodbye, so long, I got it."
"Right," the man nodded, before smiling. Holding out a hand, he said, "My name is the Once-ler."
Norma stared at him, unsure how exactly she was supposed to react to that. "The Once-ler?" she asked, disbelief on her face. "That's your name?"
The man huffed angrily, looking offended. "Yes, it is." Norma couldn't quite hold back a giggle; she threw her hand over her mouth as the man's expression soured. "Do you want this job?" he questioned, his eyes narrowing.
Norma coughed to cover the laugh; wiping all traces of amusement from her face, she grabbed his hand and shook it, saying, "It's very unique and quite memorable - I like it."
Eyebrow quirked, mouth in a frown, the Once-ler looked unconvinced. "Uh-huh," he said. "Glad to know your bull-shitting skills are up to par."
"Of course."