Rehabilitation
Synopsis: Taking place after the 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Those children who were unsuccessful in reaping the benefits of Willie's legacy are forced to do chores they find 'beneath them' in hopes that they learn restraint and responsibility. It is the only hope they have if they ever wish to be rehabilitated as genteel members of society and all around good people.
Chapter 1--And That's Final !
The 10-year-old British girl Veruca Salt, and her now-stricter father, came home to a shocked and befuddled Mrs. Salt.
"My! What happened to you, Rupert dear?", she asked.
"I have decided to put my foot down.", he said. He had discussed to her about his 'game plan' on how Veruca would be rehabilitated.
"We cannot have our daughter ruling our lives. We have both been too soft on her. It's time for some 'commando parenting'.", Rupert added. Mrs. Salt knew that her beloved Rupert had an excellent point.
"Starting today, Veruca, I am selling all of your stuffed toys and some of those dresses you never wear.", Mrs. Salt stated, sternly.
"What ?! WHY ? Mum, I collect bears, you know that ! It was one of my favorite hobbies ! No, you can't get rid of my old dresses ! Why, mum ? You're horrible !", Veruca yelled before her mother grabbed her by the ear.
"No, Veruca. You are the one that is horrible. This is what I vowed I'd do after we lost the contest to inherit Mr. Wonka's fortune. I found there are matters that are more important than money. We need to whip you back into shape.", Mrs. Salt confirmed. Upon hearing the verb 'whip', Veruca's countenance changed. She became pale, wan, and her whole frame shook. Before she could say one more word, her mother gave her a list of chores. None of them looked at all enjoyable.
Dressed in an outfit one could compare to that worn by a maid or slave, Veruca began to complete the long list of chores her mother had given to her. After five hours of cleaning up animal feces from all 21 of her so-called "marvelous" pets, she wiped off the sweat from her brow and stretched her back. She had never thought that taking care of pets would require that much work. She then moved to sweeping, mopping, dusting and even cleaning her room from stem to stern. By the time this was completed, her entire body was drenched in sweat and she needed a drink. Looking at her checklist, she groaned. She was only halfway through it and it was close to lunch time. Fortunately, her mom and dad weren't so stringent as to not let their daughter have lunch, but they were even cutting back on her portions. She wasn't one to complain, for once. After seeing what others had to do to live organized, neat and tidy lives she had vowed to herself she wouldn't be whining about such every day errands.
After eating a small meal, Veruca returned to the remainder of her chores. She realized that this check list would be part of her everyday life until she had learned her lesson. At the time, she was so mad she could throw a fit but was too tired to even think of it. Sulking a bit, she took a bath after enjoying another tiny meal with her mother and father, told them she loved them and they returned the affection, congratulating her on how well she was performing thus far and not too soon after, she collapsed into bed.
"Gods, I hope I can survive this week !", she mused to herself as sleep overtook her. Her muscles ached, her back was sore and she had tired muscles she didn't even realize that she owned. But she knew that this, sadly was for her own good. The 'rehabilitation' she had been put in, against her own will, would turn her into a better person. And who knows, she might even accomplish that task by the end of the month.
Chapter 2--TV Viewing Is Overrated
Mike Teevee thought he could get away with staying glued to the tube as much as he wanted. But his mother and father had other plans. Instead of that, he would have to help care for his little brother and sister as well as educating his mind. It was the worst form of torture he could've imagined. He could only fathom what Veruca, Agustus, and Violet were going through at this moment. If he had to read one more book, he thought his head would certainly burst. But somehow, the books he read seemed more interesting than what was currently on television. The characters were more believable, better to identify with, and more three-dimensional than the ones he saw on television. And better yet, some of the battles and wars he had read about in his history novels were the bloodiest, goriest scenes he could ever imagine.
"This isn't half bad.", he chuckled to himself. But his punishment wasn't as easy as he originally believed. He still had to play with his brother and sister and learn how to be less selfish. Most of the time when he would be playing a game with them, he'd rig the game so he would win it. Such a thing wasn't fair and his sister would always tattle on him for it. Finally, his father at the very least had had enough. He for a while at the most so his son would calm himself, grounded him for a week when he (albeit accidentally) shoved his little sister. Mike tried his hardest to explain that it was an accident, but Fred Teevee would not hear another word of it.
Chapter 3--Gum-Chewing Olympiad No More
Violet Anastasia Beauregarde returned home with Scarlett Beauregarde (or "Mother" as she called her) with the defeat of a losing karateka. She had her very first loss, and it was devastating. Surprisingly, as the weeks after the ill-fated factory tour passed, her color returned to normal but she retained her superhuman flexibility. However, her mom despite her daughter's "consolation prize", had her fill (finally) of her daughter's arrogance.
"First of all, Violet, you have to stop chewing so much gum. I realize you have impeccable dental hygiene but you have a terrible habit.", Scarlett stated, putting out her palm to indicate Violet to spit out her gum. Violet fumed, madly spitting the huge record breaking wad of gum into her mom's hand. Scarlett soon threw the gum away and Violet wondered what was going to happen next.
"I have decided to sell all your trophies.", Scarlett said as she walked into Violet's room with her with a trash bag and dumped all the glittering souvenirs into it.
"No ! Mom, why are you doing this ! I worked hard on winning those ! You can't ! You mustn't !", Violet screamed, stamping her feet on the floor. Before long, she was having a full-fledged temper. Her mother took her by the arm, slung her over her lap and spanked her.
"I can and I have, Violet dear. We need to watch our pennies in this economy. Since these trophies are only good for their gold, I'm afraid there was nothing else I could do.", Scarlett stated, honestly. With tears in her eyes, Violet nursed her sore behind and sat down, collecting her thoughts.
"Now what ?", she thought as her mom sat across from her.
"Violet, I'm hoping that you will learn to respect me, yourself and others without putting yourself in front of everyone else. In order to do that, I have enrolled you in a Boys & Girls Club to volunteer there.", Scarlett explained.
"Fine. I'll do what you want. It doesn't mean I am going to like it.", Violet responded, clearly wounded to the quick. She felt that working at Boys & Girls Club was beneath her, but if it would help patch the relationship she had lost with her mom, she felt that doing so wasn't such a bad idea after all.
The next day, Violet began to work at the Club and met a lot of kids that were from troubled homes. She was definitely not in her comfort zone here. She had lived a fairly sheltered life and had been naïve to the real world until she saw how much better her life was in comparison to these other children. She then remembered she had aerobic equipment she had never touched in her home and decided to donate it the next day. She also learned that having a temper didn't help her at all in every day life. So, Scarlett also enrolled her in an anger management class. Begrudgingly she went but she learned there were others with worse rage issues than she had and she began to feel better about herself. Little by little, the old shell she had surrounding her was sloughing off and a newer, better Violet was being formed.
Chapter 4--Low-Fat Diet
Back in Germany, Augustus Gloop's dear mama had taken away all the sweets he had ever wanted or known since birth. Agustus wasn't the type to become angry, but he started crying like a two-year-old.
"Augustus, stop that ! You are a young man. There is no time for crying now ! You have to learn to eat right or else, you may suffer the consequences later. In fact, your mama is going on a diet as well.", Mrs. Gloop said, wisely.
"Diet ?! Nein ! I will die if you put me on a diet, mama !", Augustus complained.
"It's for your own good, and mine too.", Mrs. Gloop retorted, honestly. They had a personal trainer, Yorik, come in and measure and weight them. He sighed and shook his head left to right.
"I can see I have much work to do with you two. But as they say, 'Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was Syracuse. I can make you lean and fit in time.", Yorik vowed as he patted them both on the back firmly.
The personal training happened for over two months, give or take a week. Yorik had to quit afterwards because of muscle cramps and a back blowout from all that hard work himself, but Augustus and his mom were much leaner. Even the parve butcher himself had joined in and was much leaner and handsomer than ever. Agustus hadn't even touched a soda in all that time and he had suddenly lost his taste for it. There were times where he would reward himself at the end of the week with a granola bar that had chocolate chips in it, but his mouth never touched another candy bar. His dear, sweet mother was proud that they had done so well and Yorik had done his job. Agustus had become less self-centered and far less cocky. The training he had undergone he had learned that sometimes there were times that someone had to go through periods of rigorous trial and tribulation, but as his trainer had told he and his mother, "no pain no gain". Truer words couldn't have come at a better time of his life because now he was feeling better than ever and actually had real friends he could count on.
Epilogue
Long after the children had gone through their "rehabilitation" they had a chance to see each other again in the least likely circumstances. One weekend while all the children were out playing in a nearby park, they caught each others' gaze.
Their first reaction was to how much brighter and more at peace everyone seemed. Mike was less prone to making idle threats to someone if they didn't do what he liked, and he was much kinder to his siblings. In fact, he was a good role model to them. Violet was more giving and more respecting of her mom. Veruca was less of a brat and had learned that the world concerned more than just herself. Also, she had come to the harsh reality that life wasn't easy and involved work. She definitely had been awakened to that in the past few months. Augustus could outrun them all playing a game of soccer against them, and had come upon a delightful revelation.
"Since we're friends now, what say we pay a visit to our old friend Charlie and see how he and his family are doing ?", he suggested. The newly-made friends agreed with the German-born lad and took a drive, with his mother's permission, to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.
Charlie and his family weren't expecting guests, but when they had heard that the 'old gang' was coming back for a visit, they began to clean up the house in order to make it more presentable.
Mr. John Bucket, Charlie's father, had an extra job at the factory reapplying the molds for the chocolate bars. The process paid him $40.50 an hour, combined with Charlie's mother's job as an accountant at the nearby bank in town. Charlie loved to see his old friends again. With the money that his parents earned, the shack was converted into a two-story house, as well. He also had a bigger TV set and a PlayStation 3.
"Sweet !", Mike Teevee exclaimed as he saw the brand new PS3 and the flat-screen HDTV.
"Can we play with it ?", he asked, bright eyed. He hadn't played video games in such a long time and was really missing the thrill of gaming as a whole. The others wanted to play along with him and Charlie was more than happy to let them do so. Oddly, not even Mike was jealous when he was playing against Charlie and his friends but he was glad to be enjoying himself. As the friends caught up with one another, they soon learned that they would be attending the same school in the coming semester.
"Isn't that a coincidence !", Veruca stated, astonished.
"Yes, it most certainly is. It'll be nice to have friends to start the new year off with.", Violet concurred. They spent the remainder of their time finding treasure in a game called Pirate Adventures: Seeker of the Lost Treasure until Willy called them to dinner.
Willy was surprised at how much the 'brats' had transformed. If he hadn't known any better, he would've guessed they were completely different children. But, he had seen that their outer appearance hadn't changed, only what ills that were within them. The children were more vivid, happier and completely delightful.
"It's pleasant to see you took my advice.", he stated, pleasantly.
"We were glad to take it, Sir.", Augustus replied, bowing his head slightly.
"My my. Such politeness. Your improvement is off the charts.", he said. Just for that, the lot of them had the chance to indulge in his specialty dessert; banana splits, as their reward. Sadly, the friends' visit with Charlie soon came to a close and they had to say goodbye. Compassionately, he hugged them all before they left, and their parents hugged him as well.
"I am delighted to say this isn't so much an ending for us, but a beginning. I do so hope you can come by more often. As far as I am concerned, the more here in my factory, the merrier.", Willy said, as he clapped his hands and gave the children all a little golden ribbon for their achievements. The children gladly thanked him and said their final goodbye to Charlie, his family, as well as Willy and his father.
The friends considered the chocolate maker's final words to them.
"It isn't so much an ending, but a beginning. How profound.", Violet said, in reverence.
"Indeed it is, and tomorrow will just be the start of a new day for us.", Veruca said as she hugged her newfound friend from the side. After leaving Augustus' van, the friends went their different ways and then to bed, dreaming of the adventures they would have in the days that followed.
The End