Chapter 3
Willy Wonka
Rating: T (Language)
Warnings: Language
Disclaimer: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The only thing I own is a sad drawing of Willy Wonka.
Theme song for chapter: "Pure Imagination (Arrangement)" By Helen Marshall
A/N: Reviews are very much appreciated :)
When I arrived, there was a large crowd surrounding the gates of the factory. 'Large' is an understatement, really. There were hundreds, possibly thousands, of people crammed up in the streets, trying desperately to get a glimpse of the enigmatic chocolatier. Cars honked impatiently at the people standing on the road and cameras flashed madly. When the driver managed to get to it's reserved park up the front, he stepped out, got my luggage and helped me push through the sea of people. I saw three people, already standing by the gates, easily distinguished from the rest of the crowd. Security Guards stood in a semi-circle around the gates, keeping the others back. I dug around in my purse, and pulled out my letter of acceptance from Willy Wonka, showing it to one of the security guards.
"I'm Alice Hatts," I said. The Guard nodded. I took that as a 'Yes, you can go through' type of gesture. I thanked the driver, and took my luggage off of his hands, pushing past the guards and assuming my place next to the other three people. I looked at the people standing next to me, who were also observing me in mild interest.
"I didn't think this would be so public." Said the girl next to me. She seemed to be of Asian decent and spoke with an odd accent. Kind of a mix of Irish, Chinese and English.
"I know right? I wonder what all the fuss is about." The guy standing next to her said wondrously, casting a wide-eyed glance over his shoulder to the immense crowd. Judging by his accent, he was from the states, like me. Good old 'murica. This guy had dark brown hair, almost a bit reddish in the sunlight. His eyes were light green, nice looking. He had a handsome face. I looked back at the crowd, wondering idly why so many had showed up. I mean sure, there's the chance that they'd get a glimpse of Willy Wonka, but why would you go out of your way in this weather just for a glimpse? I saw there were quite a few 'I love you, Willy' and 'Marry me' signs scattered amongst the crowd. Oh. Fangirls. That explained it.
"Oh, I'm Hayden by the way. Nice to meet you." He addressed us all with a smile.
"I'm Kim." Said the girl next to me. She was hugging her torso, teeth chattering slightly.
"I'm Tim. It rhymes." The guy at the end said with a chuckle. He flipped his sandy blonde hair. He seemed like one of those surfer-dude types. He was wearing bootleg jeans and a button up T-Shirt, his hands dug into his pockets. He didn't seem to be too affected by the cold. Lucky weird bastard.
Another girl arrived and stood next to me, struggling slightly with her suitcases. Her red hair flew around her face angrily as a gust of wind blew. She was tall and skinny, but in a graceful, willy type of way. Her eyes were pretty- large and honey-colored.
Kim groaned. "When do we get to go inside? I'm fucking cold." She muttered. I don't think the others heard.
"Probably soon, now that the last person is here." I said, wishing I'd brought a warmer coat, or at least worn something else underneath.
We waited for a few more minutes when the door of the factory opened. To my surprise, the 'three doors' actually opened to be one door. Behind the door were rich, crimson colored curtains, with golden tassels and a 'W' in each corner. It contrasted oddly with the monochromatic factory, and in extension, city.
The curtain parted slightly and two figures stepped out from behind. One was tall and slim, almost androgynous in appearance. The other was small and youthful, obviously a child. I couldn't really make out what they were wearing from this distance. All I could see was a splash of dark azure blue, and a deep plum color. Even from the distance, I could see the taller man wore a top hat and walked with a cane.
The crowd roared as he raised a hand in greeting. The young boy also waved. He was an almost perfect replica of the Chocolatier.
They walked down the steps together, all the while the crowd still crying out, and stopped at the bottom. The man with the top hat, who I assumed to be Willy Wonka, walked with a slight limp. I noticed now that he was using a cane.
They paused for a few seconds, observing the star struck crowd.
"Open the gates." A majestic voice commanded. Even though its tone seemed to be serious, you could hear the childlike undertone.
The huge gates slowly opened. I held my breath.
I looked over to the others, wondering if we should walk in now. Hayden shrugged when he saw my glance.
"Come forward." It ordered.
There we go, problem solved. We walked forward in a line, passing through the gates and into the massive, amazing, world famous factory.
"Close the gates," He said in his serious tone.
I could have sworn I heard a small giggle at the end.
We stopped a few meters away from the bottom of the steps, where they were standing.
At this distance, I could fully appreciate the finely made outfits they were wearing.
The man, was wearing a deep plum colored coat, which seemed to be made out of velvet. It fell down to about his knees. The checkered trim of his hat matched the coats color. Underneath, he wore a black vest and black trousers. There was a silver chain that fell over his vest. A pocket watch, perhaps. His shiny black shoes, adorned with small silver W's, had heels.
The man himself could barely be seen. The giant, insect-like glasses covered most of his face. The only thing I could see was the ethereally pale complexion and a stained red mouth, which stretched over perfect, white teeth. If I wasn't mistaken, he seemed maybe as nervous as I felt. There was something forced about that smile. I couldn't see his eyes. It was unnerving. Chocolate colored, bobbed hair covered the sides of his face and neck.
The young boy standing next to him, who I assumed to be his heir Charlie, was wearing a dark, azure blue vest with buttons running down two sides.
He wore a similar coat to Mr. Wonka, except in a dark velvety blue. He wore shorts and socks that came to just below his knee.
Willy Wonka stood there for a few moments, observing us. The position of his mouth did not give away what he was thinking. In all honesty, I thought he was fucking creepy. He seemed almost frozen.
I cast a glance at the girl with red hair beside me. She looked frightened out of her wits. There was a long silence.
The young boy, Charlie, suddenly leant in and nudged his mentor. Willy Wonka jumped, grin disappearing for a split-second before plastering an even wider one on.
"Good Morning, Starshine! The earth says 'Hello!'" He said, brightly.
"Morning!" Replied Kim, unfazed. The others seemed somewhat lost for words. He saw the confusion on the rest of our faces, and pursed his lips.
Willy Wonka certainly looked much younger than what we were expecting. I'd seen the occasional picture of him, but they were all from 20 or so years ago. He remained mysteriously unchanged. The only thing that had changed was his hair, really.
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a bunch of cards.
"Dear Guest, greetings! I shake you warmly by the hand." He said quickly and extended a latex clad hand out, but then pulled it back with a squeak and a slight wince. "My name is Willy Wonka." He continued with a giggle.
"You're Willy Wonka?" Tim said, brushing his sandy blonde hair out of his eyes, disbelief coloring his tone.
"Sure am." He cocked his head to the side and smiled again. "Alrighty, then. Let's not stand out here in the cold! Come quickly, far too much to see." He turned on his heel and proceeded to walk up the steps, Charlie by his side.
The rest of us followed. We passed through the curtains.
"What's this?" I asked, surprised at what I saw. There were doll-like things all around, stuck to brightly colored backboards. There were giant candy canes and lollipops.
Mr. Wonka spun around to look at me. "All in good time, little girl. You'll get to see it later! 'Kay?"
"I'm not a little girl." I retorted. "I happen to be 16."
He snorted "16? Yeah, you are. And y'know what little girls do?"
"Play with dolls and look innocent?"
"No." He shot my answer down quickly. "Little girls mumble and that just so happens to be what you're doing right now. I can't understand a word your saying."
"Then ho-"
"On we go?" He spun on his heel and continued walking. I huffed and followed after him, passing through a long black curtain and into a long hallway. It was warm.
"Just drop your coats and bags anywhere." He said, removing his glasses and coat.
I removed my coat and put my bags on the ground. Almost immediately, they started floating upwards, disappearing through an opening in the ceiling.
"Where do they go?" Hayden asked in fascination as he watched his own luggage fly upwards.
"Why, they go to your very own rooms!" Willy Wonka said proudly.
"How do they know which rooms they go to? And whose coats are whose?" I asked.
"You remind me a lot of a little boy I used to know." He replied, otherwise ignoring my questions. "Oh! Speaking of little boys, I forgot to introduce Charlie. This is Charlie, the heir to my factory! You probably would have seen him on TV or in the newspaper."
"Hello," Charlie said to us, somewhat shyly. He stood closely by his mentors' side, tugging on his sleeve.
"You have no idea how famous you are, kid." I chuckled lightly, remembering the 'Charlie Bucket Fanclub' a group of girls made at my school. About 20 people actually joined, and they had daily meetings and activities. The whole shebang.
"Mr. Wonka?" Kim said.
"Yah?"
"I'm Kim Chen. Thanks for inviting us. It's an honor. I really love your hat, by the way. It's pretty hot." She winked at him.
Willy Wonka's brows shot up, then knitted back together in confusion. He placed a hand on his hat. "Really? My hat seems quite cold.. Anywho, yer' most certainly welcome!"
"My name's Hayden. It's a pleasure to meet you." Hayden said.
"I bet it is." Willy responded in a sugary sweet voice and an even sweeter smile. The narcissistic bastard.
"I'm Tim." Tim added simply.
"Well, since everybody's introducing themselves, I'm Alice Hatts." Mr. Wonka grinned and opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, raising his hand to point. I quickly added, "Before you make an 'Alice in Wonderland' joke, I swear to god I've heard every single last one of them." I said.
Mr. Wonka pouted and lowered his hand. "Darn. I had a good one." He suddenly turned to the girl with the red hair expectantly.
"Oh, uh. I-I'm Candice." She said nervously, stretching her sleeves around her hand.
"Super! Marvelous! Well, now that everyone is introduced, let's get a move on. We've got a lot to see!" He spun on his heel and continued down the hall, Charlie tripping over himself to keep up with the chocolatier.
