The Tour of the Factory

Anne was sat down at the small table near the front door and was given more than enough helpings of scrambled eggs. Charlie's mother was very kind. The two of them talked throughout the breakfast as the grandparents in the bed started to stir.

Mrs. Bucket never asked how Anne had come to the factory, which was a bit of a relief for Anne. "A memory I want to forget," she thought to herself, finishing her third plate of eggs.

The plate was taken away and Charlie's mother took the seat across from Anne, a mug of coffee in her hand. She smiled kindly. "Willy's usually here by now. I wonder where he is."

Anne felt the excitement rise in her chest and could feel her fingers tingling for her notepad. "Does Mr. Wonka always join you for breakfast?"

"Yes," Mrs. Bucket answered. "Willy is a very good man; Charlie and he get along very well."

Right as she said it, the front door opened. Anne turned toward it eagerly, but found instead a different man walking into the house.

He was wearing denim overalls over his long-sleeved shirt. His eyes were narrow, but twinkled with delight. His smile was genuine as he looked down at Anne. "Hello there," he said heartily.

"You haven't got the proper introduction, dear," Mrs. Bucket said. "This is Anne."

Mr. Bucket placed down his briefcase to shake Anne's hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"And you," she said politely.

He crossed over to the coffee pot on one of the counters by the door. "It's good to see you're doing well, Anne. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine; thank you." She hesitated. "Just hoping to see Mr. Wonka soon and thank him for bringing me inside."

Mr. Bucket turned around with a mug in his hand. "Well, Willy should be here any minute now." He smiled down at his wife. "How did you sleep, darling?"

She looked up at him with as much affection as he had. "Great."

It was simple, yet amazing as to how much love was etched on each of their faces. Mr. Bucket walked over, leaned down, and gave a quick peck on the lips of Mrs. Bucket. She smiled, he sat down beside her, and the two of them started to eat.

Amanda felt a slight wave of jealousy rush over her as she stared at the happy couple. She had never had much luck with the guys. Sure, many men wanted to date her, but she just never found a guy that kept her interested for too long. Amanda's family called her "a woman looking for a chase." It was a very difficult thing to be called.

"Amanda, dear?"

Amanda came out of her trance and looked up.

Mrs. Bucket was standing on the other side of the table, holding the pan of scrambled eggs. "Would you like another helping?"

"Oh…no…I couldn't possibly," Amanda said, holding up her hand. "Thank you very much though," she said smiling.

Mrs. Bucket smiled back and put the pan back on the stove. "Dear," she said, turning towards the table. "Would you like to show Amanda to Mr. Wonka's office?" Amanda's heart rose. "I think she would like to go talk with him."

Mr. Bucket placed down his mug and looked at Amanda. "Would you like me to?"

"Oh no! You don't have to…"
"I wouldn't mind," Mr. Bucket interrupted, standing up from the table.

"Well," Amanda said hesitantly. She smiled a little bit. "I was actually hoping I

could wander around the factory. I've been dying to see what's inside."

"By yourself?"

"If that would be all right?"

"Of course that's all right!" Charlie's father exclaimed, sitting back down at the table. "I'm sure you'll run into Willy somewhere."

Amanda felt goose bumps rise up her arm in excitement. "I'll just go change and then I'll be off!" She ran past the waking grandparents to the foot of the ladder. Before she climbed up, she turned to the kitchen. "Mrs. Bucket?" The woman turned around, a soapy mug in her hand. "Thank you for breakfast."

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Amanda had dressed quickly behind the dresser in Charlie's room. The child was still asleep so she quietly put on her green, flowy skirt and white tank top. She looked in the mirror and put her wavy hair in a low ponytail. Making sure that all her pens and her notepad were in her jacket, she put it over her shoulders, and made her way down the ladder.

The grandparents were all awake now and smiled at her as she made her way into the room. "Hello," she said.

They all introduced themselves and Amanda politely excused herself. She said a word to the parents and then stepped out of the house.

Amanda's mouth dropped open.

Her feet were standing on fake, edible grass and she was surrounded by life-size candy. Surrounding the house, there were peppermint trees and spotted mushrooms. Far in the distance, she could see bushes and flowers and other trees that were all made of candy. The sidewalks curving their way throughout the room had candy hearts and candy necklaces inside them. There was another surprise when Amanda spotted a large, spewing waterfall in the distance. "Is that chocolate?!" she asked herself.

She finally came out of her state of shock and made her way down the sidewalk. She dared not touch anything, in case she wasn't allowed, but instead stared hungrily at her at the heaven surrounding her.

The notepad was out and Amanda began to scribble every different candy that she could see. She crossed a lollipop bridge which crossed over the chocolate river. She kneeled down beside it and began to describe how smooth and glossy the surface of the pure chocolate looked.

Amanda felt like a child again. A smile was spread across her face as she wrote about the delights. She continued to describe how delicious and perfect the chocolate river looked. It seemed like there was not enough to describe how amazing it looked.

She must have been so enraptured with the purity of the chocolate, she did not even hear the footsteps behind her. Suddenly, someone touched her shoulder. Amanda screamed and flew around.

Willy Wonka was standing behind her. He jumped back as she screamed and smiled nervously. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to frighten you."

Amanda laughed breathlessly. "No…no…you're fine. I'm sorry. I was just so…" she pointed towards the chocolate river. "…captivated," she finished with a laugh. She slipped her notepad and pen into her coat pocket.

Mr. Wonka put his hands together and nodded. Amanda looked him up and down. Against his pale, white skin, he was wearing a magenta suit and holding a cane in his right hand. On top of his head was a tall hat that matched his suit and underneath his hat was his perfectly trimmed hair. His face almost looked like porcelain, so fake and smooth. His teeth were perfectly straight and white, very surprisingly, and he looked scared to be in front of her.

Then, Amanda looked into his eyes. They were dark, chocolate brown, and Amanda saw that this man was not fake at all. She saw warmth and kindness in them and suddenly smiled at him.

He stood up straighter and walked closer to her. "You were noticing my river?"

She hesitated. "Oh…oh yes!" She looked behind her. "It's absolutely amazing," she said quietly.

"That's because it's the only one in the world," he said excitedly.

"Oh?" she asked, turning back towards him.

"Yes." He held up his hands and started to use them as he talked. "You see, this makes the chocolate perfectly smooth. The waterfall churns it, making it frothy and…and…well…just darn great," he said, laughing awkwardly.

Amanda stared at him and forced a laugh. "Yes…"

There was a moment of silence as Amanda thought of something to say. Finally, she moved closer towards him. "Mr. Wonka?"

He moved back right away. "Yes?"

"I just want to say…thank you…for last night." He stared at her and she felt her cheeks redden. "I…I probably would be in a lot of trouble if you hadn't found me out there."

Mr. Wonka nodded, his hands fidgeting. "Well…couldn't leave you out there in the rain."

"Right."

There was another awkward moment and all that was heard was the rushing of the waterfall.

"Well!" Willy suddenly exclaimed. "You'll be wanting to see the rest of the factory, no?"

Amanda's eyes lightened. "I would love that!"

"Let's go then!" Willy said in his bright voice.

The two of them walked up from the river, crossed the bridge, and passed the Buckets' house. "How come you didn't come over this morning? They said you come over every day," Amanda asked Willy.

"Well, I was a little busy with an experiment I'm trying to finish." They walked towards the far end of the room. "As you well know, Charlie's taking over the factory after me and I want to get in as much as I can before I leave."

"When you say 'Charlie's taking over the factory after me,' does that mean you're leaving soon?" Anne asked kindly.

Willy shrugged his shoulders as they stopped in front of a large door. "I'm not exactly sure yet. It's still a mystery as to when it's my time to go." He looked up at the door as if it had just appeared in front of him. "Oh!" he gasped. He smiled at Anne. "Let's make our way through here."

He slowly pushed the door open and walked through the doorway. Anne followed him into a hallway full of mirrors.

Willy was walking a little ways in front of her and Anne stared at his back. How could a man at his age be so strange? How could he not notice how socially awkward he was with her? It was sad to see such a thing. Willy was a good guy, but Anne was talked to like a child.

Willy made it to the end of the hall where another large door was. "And where does this one lead to?" Anne asked.

"This," Willy said, his cheeks flushed, "is where I'm keeping my new experiment."

Anne's heart skipped a beat. "Is it?" she asked quietly.

Willy nodded looking up at the door. He then turned towards her, awkwardly holding his hands out towards her. "You must promise not to tell!" Amanda nodded and Willy stepped closer towards her, his face serious. "You must understand how important this is to me. This is my prized possession and I haven't even shown it to Charlie yet." He set both hands on her shoulders. Anne curiously looked down at them and Willy shot back, stuffing his hands in his suit pockets. "Sorry," he said with a nervous laugh.

The door was opened and steam immediately poured out of the room. Willy dramatically coughed and waved his hand around. "What's with all the smoke, gentlemen?" He walked into the room quickly, disappearing in the cloud of smoke.

The smoke hit Anne's eyes and went up her nose. She shut her eyelids as they bitterly stung and went into a coughing fit. "Come in!" Willy cried from inside.

Anne, still coughing, walked into the room, blind as a bat. She narrowed her eyes as tight as she could while they were still open and looked around for Willy. "Willy?" she croaked, and went into another coughing fit.

"Walk farther in!" Willy cried again.

She closed her eyes and stepped carefully around. The smoke was starting to clear so she could see better, but her coughing continued.

"This is my experiment room!" Anne looked up and saw that Willy was standing right in front of her, his hands in the air. She put her fist up to her mouth and Willy frowned. "I really am sorry about all the smoke. It's my experiment you see," he finished with a smile.

"And where exactly is your experiment?" Anne asked with frustration.

"Well, right next to you, silly."

Anne turned to her left to see Willy's new invention. Her head rose and rose until her eyes reached the top of the structure. Her back straightened and she took her fist away from her open mouth.

There were too many pipes and too many hunks of metal to tell exactly what it was. Anne didn't need to know what it was to know that it was one of the most spectacular things she had ever seen. The smoke was billowing from some pink pipes, but she ignored it as she walked closer. Mechanical hands were holding different kinds of food and putting it down chutes and putting wrappers on them. She stared at the beginning of the process, where some type of liquid was being poured down a funnel, and right down to the end, where the small candy was dropped into a bin.

"Do you like it?" Willy asked eagerly behind her.

"It's amazing," Anne said quietly, still staring.

Willy came up next to her. "Well, of course it is. My workers and I have been experimenting for months." She looked up at him. "You don't know how hard it is to get the Oompa Loompas to taste one of my candies for the first time," he finished with a laugh.

Anne stared at him. "What's an Oompa Loompa?"
Willy laughed and walked over to the machine chute. "Well, they're my workers of course."

Anne followed him and watched him play with the mechanical hands. "Where exactly are your workers? I haven't seen any of them yet."

"They're out and about. Much too busy to sing a song for you right now. Anyway…" Anne stared at him like he was crazy…which she was pretty sure of. Willy turned back around to face her, his hands clenched together. "What else would you like to see?"

Anne's eyes brightened and she stood on her tiptoes. "Everything!"

Willy laughed. "It would take weeks to show you the whole factory." Anne put her feet flat on the ground. "Well, don't worry," Willy said desperately, moving towards her. "You're still gonna get a darn good tour."

Anne smiled. "Thank you, Willy."

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It was five hours later and Anne and Willy walked through a large door that led to the main room of the factory. Willy was laughing hysterically and Anne was stone-faced, staring down at her clothes, which were completely covered in blue jello.

"Can you believe that?" Willy said wheezing. He was also covered in the blue snack and it was dripping off his top hat. "I haven't seen that much distance in all my life."

"Amazing," Anne said sarcastically, flicking a large chuck off her shoulder.

They started to walk towards the Buckets' house as Willy kept laughing. "I mean…really…I haven't been in that jello room for a long time, and yet every time, it still gets me just as hard."

"Yep."

Willy turned to her and they walked past the chocolate garden. "Didn't you like that?" he asked seriously.

Anne sighed. "To be quite honest…no. But I did like every other room in the factory."

"What?!" Willy cried. "How can you not like the jello room?" They were walking down the path past the chocolate waterfall. "The way that machine just shoots it out into all the small packages…it's amazing!"

"That's my question, Willy. Why couldn't you just…pour the jello into the packages like any other normal jello factory?"

Willy stopped in his tracks and stared at her. She retraced her steps and stood in front of him. "Well, that's what makes my factory so special. It's different from everyone else."

He walked ahead of her towards the house, but Anne stood in her spot staring at his back. True, he was a very strange man…but something about him made Anne wonder. Willy was so carefree…like nothing bothered him. He didn't care what anyone thought about him and that really struck Anne as amazing.

Willy turned around as she reached the door of the house. "Well, don't you want to get washed up?"

Anne came out of her trance and started walking towards him, her shoes squishing the entire time.

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"How was your shower, dear?" Mrs. Bucket asked from her reading chair.

"Fine; thank you," Anne said, coming down the ladder in some jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Her hair was wet and she wrapped a towel around her head to let it dry.

The grandparents all smiled at her, except one of the men, and she walked past them to sit down in another armchair beside Mrs. Bucket. "Where's Charlie?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, he and Willy have gone to get some dinner for us. They'll be back any second."

"Oh."

Silence. The only thing heard was the crackling in the fire.

"So…" Mrs. Bucket stared. Anne looked at her. "Did you have fun with Willy today?"

Anne chuckled lightly and looked down at her hands. "You could say that."

"Oh…I know. Willy is a very strange man."

"You've noticed, too," Anne said, looking up at her.

Mrs. Bucket laughed kindly. "Everyone has noticed it because Willy isn't too shy about how unusual he is."

Anne leaned towards her. "Why is he like that? Is it something about his past…or does he not choose to be like that? Mental illness?"

Again, Mrs. Bucket laughed. "Willy doesn't have mental illness."

"Then, what is it?"
Becoming serious, Charlie's mother put her hands in her lap and sat up straighter. "Well, Willy doesn't really know what it's like to be in social situations. He ran away from home when he was just a boy."

'Bingo!' said Anne's journalistic mind. "Really?" Anne asked sympathetically.

"Yes," Mrs. Bucket said frowning. "I heard it was just he and his father and they didn't get along well at all."

"Do you know why that is?"

Right as she asked it, the door opened and Charlie ran inside. "Evening, mother. Evening, Anne."

He ran to his mom and kissed her on the cheek as Willy walked inside holding a picnic basket.

Anne smiled up at him and he kindly grinned back.

"Is that the food, Willy?" Mrs. Bucket asked, standing up from her chair.

"Yes, it is." He held it up like a prize.

"Great!" She walked over and stared to take out the food from it.

Charlie kept smiling at Anne nervously, like he didn't know what to do around her. "Mother," he suddenly said. "Where's Father?"

"He's at work. He's going to be gone until late."

Anne looked up at this. "Your husband still works?"

Mrs. Bucket looked at her, confused. "Of course he does. Why wouldn't he?" she finished with a laugh.

Anne shrugged her shoulders and started to help her take out the food. "I don't know…it just seems…that you…I mean…after…"

"It is what I have been trying to tell you," Willy suddenly spoke up. Everyone looked up at him and he was smiling at Mrs. Bucket. "He doesn't need to keep working. You're nice and safe inside here without getting extra money."

She laughed. "Don't be silly, Willy. We've already told you. As long as you're living in the factory, we're still your guests. We can't live here for free."

They went back to unpacking to food, chatting and laughing together. Anne stared at them in puzzlement. The Buckets were happy without a lot of money. The only thing they cared about was that they came across as polite and that they had each other under the same roof. Anne had never experienced that kind of love in her past.

"Anne?"

Anne looked up and saw that Mrs. Bucket was holding a plate up to her, with steaming chicken and rice. "Oh! Sorry!" Anne said, taking the food.

She sat down at one of the random chairs on the side of the table. Willy took the seat next to hers and Charlie sat across from her, beaming. Mrs. Bucket was pouring drinks at the counter, looking out the window. "Oh! Here he comes now! I thought he was working till night."

A few seconds later, the door opened and Mr. Bucket walked in, soaking wet. "Hello, dear!" he said breathlessly.

"Goodness! Is it still raining out there?!" Mrs. Bucket exclaimed as her husband kissed her on the cheek.

"It is…can't believe it." He set his briefcase on one of the desks next to the fridge. "Hasn't let up since last night."

At this, Willy and Charlie both glanced over at Anne, and then went right back to eating their food. Anne felt her cheeks turn hot and she pretended nothing had happened. She didn't want to think about the previous night.

"Well…sit down," Mrs. Bucket said as she took her seat. "The chicken is nice and warm. Willy brought it over a couple minutes ago." She looked over at the grandparents in their beds. "How is it?"

They smiled and muttered and continued to eat in silence. Anne giggled and Willy looked down at her with a smile.

"How are you, Anne?" Mr. Bucket asked, sitting down next to Charlie.

"I'm fine, thank you," she said with a smile.

She looked back down at her chicken, but saw Mr. and Mrs. Bucket look at each other nervously before digging into their plates.

The dinner went very well. Willy told a story of how one of his workers fell into one of the fudge bins and it took hours to get all of the chocolate off of him. Anne laughed so hard, she almost began to choke.

"Are you alright, dear?" Mrs. Bucket asked, laughing with everyone else.

She gasped, "Yes, I'm fine."

Anne felt strangely comfortable with the family. Sure, Willy was pretty different, but he was a funny guy. He was never dull and always had a fun story to tell. The Buckets were one of the most fabulous families she had ever met and treated her like she had been there for years.

"Thank you, mother," Charlie squeaked after clearing his plate. He stood up from the table, took Willy and Anne's plates with him to the sink.

"Don't thank me, dear. Thank Willy," she said, beaming at Willy.

Willy waved his hand. "Ohhh…don't thank me for anything. If it weren't for this family, I wouldn't have anyone to take over my business for me."

Anne looked up at this. "Weren't any of the other children in the competition eligible for the job?"

"Eligible?!" one of the grandparents screamed from the bed.

Everyone turned to him, smiles on their faces. It was the smallest of the men. He had large glasses that magnified his eyes to the size of a bug.

Mrs. Bucket said, "Now, Dad," in a warning voice.

The man continued, speaking for the first time. "All of those other children were spoiled rotten. Charlie was the only one that was right for this business," he said, smiling at Charlie.

"If it weren't for you, Grandpa, I wouldn't have won the challenge," Charlie said from the sink.

The grandfather smiled and went back to eating his food.

Willy stood up from his chair and lifted his hat. "Well…I better be off!" Everyone made noises of protest, but Willy held up his hand. "I've got to work on my experiment a little before I sleep, otherwise it'll drive me nuts!" At this, he gave a quick glance at Anne and she smirked.

"Thanks again for the dinner, Willy!" Mr. Bucket said from his rocking chair.

"Thanks again for the hospitality!" Willy exclaimed, putting his hat on his head. He opened the door and gave one last look back, his eyes setting on Anne. "Meet me tomorrow at the chocolate waterfall?"

There was silence. Everyone hesitated before gluing their eyes on Anne in shock. She stood in question for a second, completely surprised by this last request. "Oh…well…sure," she stammered.

"Great!" Willy cried. And with that, he shut the front door.

"Well," Mrs. Bucket said, smiling at Anne. She said it innocently, but it looked like she was looking at Anne with new eyes.

Hope you enjoyed! I'm really busy with school, and construction of my house, and my other stories. But please keep reading! Thanks!