Samantha stood behind the counter of the bakery resting her head in her right hand while her left continually tapped her fingernails in an irritated manner. Participating in Wonka's newest contest seemed like a grand idea when reading the script in front of her. After all, here was her one chance to let loose her millions of ideas without fear of personal rejection. Here was her one chance to be an anonymous voice with an idea that was confirmed by her best, albeit biased, friend. She was willing to take the leap, take the plunge and completely expose herself as either prosperous or a daydreaming fool but therein lay the problem.

She couldn't remember a single one of her ideas. Nothing. Not a one.

Jasmine was in the back room getting ingredients out and going through all the prep work so that things would be ready to go in fifteen minutes when they opened shop. Besties' Bakery, so named for the two best friends that owned it, believed in service both friendly and fresh where the food was prepared only upon ordering. For their small-sized business this helped not only build good customer relations but ensured no surplus leading to waste.

Soon enough, their one and only employee walked through the door and flipped the 'closed' sign to read 'open'. At nine o'clock on the dot, the bell on top of the door jingled and Jasmine's voice could be heard from the back, "Doth my ears deceive me or is that our favorite customer?"

"Hello dear!" Mrs. Jenkins, their most loyal customer answered. She came in every morning perfectly punctual and always ordered the same half dozen raspberry chocolate muffins with a lemon mint icing on top. Jasmine was always happy to hear this particular order as it had been one of the few items she had thought of herself and she was quite proud of its success.

"Hi Mrs. Jenkins, the usual?" Sam asked as she saw the older woman approach the counter.

"Of course love, I just can't get enough of those tasty treats you've invented." She replied with a chuckle.

"My idea by the way!" Jasmine said happily as she came from the back with a box she had begun preparing the moment they stepped into the bakery. She gave the package of goodies to Mrs. Jenkins with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Yes Jasmine we know, there's no need to announce it every single time we sell some." Sam replied with an amused expression crossing her face.

"Hey, it's not every day that I come up with an amazing idea rivaling that of the chocolate Gods from the baking heavens above. Unlike you who has invented fifteen/eighteenths of the original menu choices."

"But dear," Mrs. Jenkins said with a confused look, "there are only eighteen items on the original menu."

"Precisely." Jasmine replied, "Three of which are my ideas, fifteen of which are hers." She nodded her head in Samantha's direction. "Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to confront the dearly beloved chocolate deities on their unfair distribution of gifts. Though having said genius as my best friend means I get first dibs on whatever new masterpiece she invents. Though said masterpieces usually take a few tries to get right leaving the first few as horrible, horrible tragedies lingering on the poor unsuspecting taste buds littering on ones tongue. Hmm." She rubbed her chin in contemplation, "I must go ponder this while I sort through paperwork and such boring things." Jasmine turned around and disappeared into the back room leaving Mrs. Jenkins and Sam at the front counter trying their damndest not to laugh outright.

"I think I finally understand why someone almost completely inept at constructing baked goods is your business partner." Mrs. Jenkins chuckled.

"Exactly." Samantha replied, "That woman could make a lawyer tell the truth in a heartbeat. And here's the real kicker," She leaned in as if about to whisper a dire secret, "they wouldn't even realize they did!" Both women broke into peals of laughter as a sarcastic and disembodied `Ha-Ha' could be heard from the back.

The rest of the day was fairly routine with customers in and out with random intervals of dead silence. The topic of quite a few discussions was of course Willy Wonka's new contest and this sent Samantha into another spiral of anger at her own foolishness for forgetting her own ideas!

What really touched both the girls' hearts however was that all of the loyals that walked in that day asked if they had heard of the contest and were verbally forced into entering an idea. Whether they understood that Samantha was the brains behind the concoctions or not it did not matter, for they all had such faith in whatever the two girls marketed that they felt Wonka would face a grave loss should they not enter something.

"Sam darling are you going to be pouty all day because I really must say you're starting to kinda bum me out." Jasmine said in a flamboyant tone as she wiped down a few counters.

"I'm just thinking is all Jazz, but whatever I try to think of keeps eluding me by a hair width!" She slammed her head down onto the counter in front of her.

"Sammy doll you have just to say the magic words and your Jazzy babe'll take care of everything!"

Sam looked up at Jasmine and glared, "Hon are you secretly a poofter?"

"Is there something wrong with feeling bubbly? I did not think so now say the damn words so we can get you out of this funk." Jasmine snapped with a glare back at her friend, childishly sticking out her bottom lip to pout.

"What magic words?!"

Jasmine let out a large, heaving sigh before replying in a very 'duh' tone, "Jasmine, I need you to help me with this contest because I was too stupid to ever realize my ideas had any merit and didn't write any of them down unlike you who is so totally the most brilliant person I've ever had the pleasure of befriending."

Sam's face contorted into a shit-eating grin as she looked at Jasmine. She leaped out of her seat and glomped her best friend saying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Ahem." Jasmine said expectantly seemingly nonplussed by her friend's reaction.

Sam released her from the hug and recited in a high-pitched excited tone, "Jasmine, I need you to help me with this contest because I was too stupid to ever realize my ideas had any merit and didn't write any of them down unlike you who is so totally the most brilliant person I've ever had the pleasure of befriending. Now show me the damn things you wrote down!" At this point she was almost jumping up and down.

"Oh my, you do flatter an old friend." Jasmine replied with a whimsical sigh, "Very well I shall indeed show you the things of yours I've written down and perhaps together we shall contrive an idea most brilliant."

Samantha laughed and hugged her friend once more, "You have to be the most random person I've ever met but I love you all the same hon."

"Love ya too doll." Jasmine returned the affection, "Now let's go see what we've got eh?" The two friends locked up the bakery and went back to Jasmine's flat that was conveniently just above Samantha's.

As Sam moved to put the kettle on the stove, Jasmine went to her room where she kept her valuables locked away and returned with a small, black, leather-bound book. The two spent close to an hour and a half sitting on the couch, drinking tea, and going over the various ideas trying to decide the best one to enter but as Sam looked over each one she slowly began to realize the impossibility of her ideas and became downhearted. "Jazz, let's just give this up. There's no way I'm going to win with these crack-pot ideas."

"Okay that's it." Jasmine stood up angrily, "Choose five ideas from that book that you remember and like the most, I'll be right back." She walked off and returned shortly with a pin-striped fedora and five small slips of paper.

"You're kidding me." Sam replied.

"Nope. Let's go. Right now." Jasmine replied seriously. They wrote down the five ideas on the slips of paper and shook them up inside the hat. "Now reach in and pull out the very first one you touch but don't look at it."

Sam did as she said and as soon as a slip was in sight, folded and unreadable, Jasmine stole it from Sam's hand and tossed the remaining ideas in the paper shredder. "Now go home and go to sleep." Jasmine told her sternly.

"But what's the-"

"I'm not telling you. I'll write the idea down and seal it in the envelope and you will simply have to slip it through the mail slot when I give it to you."

"But why don't you just-"

"Sammy I'm doing this for your own good. If you don't know which idea it is you won't be so nervous. And before you ask the reason you have to slip it in the factory is because Wonka is guarding the gates, they're watched at all times remember? If one person enters an idea and another person accepts the prize what message does that send him?"

"Good point. Fine. I'll go to sleep and I'll see you tomorrow. But you'll walk with me when I go to turn it in won't you?"

"Of course! What sort of besty would I be if I didn't?"

Sam laughed before waving goodnight and leaving the flat for her own. Jasmine looked down at the slip of paper and smiled as she read it. This particular idea had always been one of her favorites. She took out a clean sheet of paper and wrote down Sammy's name, the business address (just for added safety's sake she didn't write her home address), and the business phone number. Once all the formalities were done, she copied down the idea and folded the paper into an envelope she had labeled Wonka's Winner-To-Be and sealed it tight. She then placed it on the coffee table with a smile and went to bed.