Disclaimer: With the exception of Mrs. Brooks and Willy and Ronnie's unnamed classmates, I don't own anything in this story!

A/n: Thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter! I know I've said this before, but I LOVE reviews, so please keep them coming (flames, of course, will be thrown in the Chocolate River!)!

Ronnie was shocked, to say the very least, that Willy Wonka had sent her something. After the way she'd run out of the factory on him, she was amazed he was still interested in talking to her. Not to mention the fact that it was no secret that Willy was very shy and dealing with people wasn't exactly his favorite thing. "Does that mean that he..." Ronnie interrupted her own thoughts by shaking herself. "Calm down, Ronnie! Open the envelope and see what's inside before you get all excited!" she chided herself.

Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Ronnie opened the envelope. Inside was a large piece of card stock shaped like a candy bar. On it was written the following message:

Good Morning, Starshine! The Earth says Hello! As you know, your tour of my marvelous factory was cut short due to unforeseen circumstances. I would like to invite you to come back to the factory so we can finish it. If you wish to accept this invitation, please come to the factory gates on February 14th at 10:00 a.m. sharp! I do hope you are interested in finishing the tour!

Willy Wonka

P.S. The envelope is one of my newest inventions: eatable envelopes! I hope you enjoy it!

Ronnie was so happy that she got up and started dancing around the room! Willy actually wanted to finish giving her the tour! As she was dancing around, Ronnie suddenly realized that something that made her stop in her tracks. "February 14th? Wait a minute, that's Valentine's Day!" she thought aloud. Did that mean he had ulterior motives? "Where did THAT thought come from?" Ronnie asked herself. Whatever Willy's reasons for scheduling the tour on Valentine's Day were, it was definitely going to be fun spending the holiday with him at his factory. Thinking about Willy and Valentine's Day suddenly made Ronnie remember something....

It was Valentine's Day, and Ronnie and her fellow classmates were preparing to celebrate. Earlier in the week, everyone in the class, including Mrs. Brooks, had made "Valentine Mailboxes". Now it was time for Ronnie, her classmates, and Mrs. Brooks to deliver their Valentines. Obviously, it was strongly recommended that the students give a Valentine to everyone in their class, but it wasn't a requirement.

Ronnie wished it were, though, because she had a feeling that Willy Wonka wasn't going to get very many Valentines. With that in mind, she had made Willy a very special Valentine (Ronnie always chose to make her Valentines rather than buy them, as, even at that young age, she was very artistic and loved being creative!). On the front, she had drawn a picture of Willy and written: "You're One of a Kind...." Then, on the inside, she had written, "...That's why I like you!" She had signed the Valentine "From your Secret Admirer".

She also included a chocolate with each of her Valentines...including Willy's. She knew Willy's father didn't allow him to eat candy...but she also knew that what Dr. Wonka didn't know wouldn't hurt him (or Willy!). As she slipped Willy's Valentine in into his box, she smiled. She couldn't wait to see Willy's reaction to her Valentine. Unfortunately, Ronnie and her classmates weren't allowed to check their Valentine Mailboxes and open their Valentines until the afternoon!

After what seemed like forever, the afternoon finally arrived and it was time for the class Valentine's Day party! Mrs. Brooks handed out cupcakes (which Ronnie's mother and a few of the other students' mothers had baked for the occasion) and "Valentine Punch" (a.k.a red Kool-Aid.).

Then she announced, "Okay, class, you may check your Valentine Mailboxes". Ronnie and her classmates happily jumped up and ran to the Valentine Mailboxes. "Kids, no running!" Mrs. Brooks gently scolded them. Ronnie and her classmates quickly obeyed. "No running" happened to be one of the classroom rules, but every once in awhile Ronnie and her classmates got so excited they forgot.

Ronnie picked up her Mailbox and headed back to her desk. She then opened the box and took out her Valentines. She had gotten one from everyone in the class, including Mrs. Brooks. As she opened her Valentines, she glanced over at Willy. She was sad to see that he had only received two Valentines, the one from her, and one she assumed was from Mrs. Brooks (naturally Mrs. Brooks gave a Valentine to each of her students).

Suddenly, as Ronnie watched Willy open his two Valentines, she saw a huge smile spread across his face, and he hugged the Valentine to his chest. Ronnie knew that it was the one she had given him. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one who noticed Willy hugging the Valentine. Some of her and Willy's classmates began snickering. "Willy's got a girlfriend!" they taunted. Willy blushed crimson and hurriedly set down the Valentine. Unfortunately, he bumped his glass of "Valentine Punch" in the process...spilling it all over the floor.

"What a klutz!" jeered one of Ronnie and Willy's classmates. "Hey, it's spilly Willy!" cried another one. "Spilly Willy, spilly Willy!" chanted most of the rest of their classmates. "No name calling!" Mrs. Brooks said sternly (needless to say, "no name calling" was another classroom rule). Then she turned to Willy. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Brooks. I didn't mean to spill," Willy said softly. "It's all right, Willy. It was an accident, and accidents happen. Just get some paper towels from the boys' room and mop it up," Mrs. Brooks said gently.

As Willy went off to get the towels, Ronnie went back to opening her Valentines. She soon came to an envelope that was a different size than the rest. She opened it and found a homemade Valentine. On the front was a drawing of a girl who was obviously supposed to be her. Underneath the picture was written: "I think you are kind, I think you are cute..." On the inside was written: "...I'm glad that you don't mind that I'm a little different! Thanks for not teasing me! It was signed: Your Secret Admirer. Ronnie knew immediately that it was from Willy...

Ronnie snapped out of her flashback, blushing at the thought of Willy finding her cute way back in third grade. Then she remembered the eatable envelope. "How did he know I love strawberries?" she wondered. She picked up the envelope and began eating it. It was delicious, the best strawberry-flavored product she'd ever tasted! Suddenly she was more excited than ever about going back to the factory!

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Several days later, it was February 13th, the day before the factory visit, and Ronnie was no longer excited. Instead, she was a nervous wreck. Somehow she managed to get through her shift at Slugworth's okay, but once she got home, her nerves had kicked in, big time. She stood in front of her closet, trying to figure out what to wear for the tour. She wanted it to be comfortable and casual, but at the same time she didn't want it to be so casual that she looked like she'd just come from working in the garden or something!

Ronnie pulled a skirt out of her closet. It fit the comfortable and casual bill....but as she looked at it she suddenly remembered the glass elevator. She definitely did not want a bunch of Oompa Loompas (or Charlie's family, for that matter) to see her underwear! A skirt, therefore, was out of the question. Ronnie sighed and tossed it onto her bed. She looked at several more outfits, but none of them seemed quite right. Before long, she had about half her wardrobe laying on her bed.

Just as she was about to give up, a shirt caught her eye. It had a big heart in the middle of it. Above the heart was the letter "I" and below it was the word "Chocolate". The "I love chocolate" shirt was perfect, Ronnie thought, considering she was going to a Chocolate Factory AND the tour was on Valentine's Day. She quickly found a pair of pants to go with it and breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally!" she cheered.

With her outfit picked out, Ronnie headed into the bathroom and began taking a bath. She wanted to make sure she looked her best for Willy! As she soaked in the tub, she wondered if she should give Willy a Valentine, and if she did, what it should say. She also wondered if she should give Willy some sort of Valentine gift. She definitely wanted to. The trouble was that she had no idea what to get him! Considering he was the owner of a chocolate factory, chocolate probably wouldn't be very meaningful to him (since he had it all the time!). Flowers were a nice traditional Valentine's Day gift...but not usually for a guy. Finally, just as she finished her bath, Ronnie came up with a gift idea, as well as what to write on the Valentine.

After finishing her bath, Ronnie spent the rest of the day making her Valentine and Valentine's gift for Willy. When it was finally time for bed, she wondered how on Earth she was going to sleep that night. She couldn't wait until the next morning!

A/n: I'll bet you're curious about just what Ronnie decided to give Willy for Valentine's Day, and what she wrote on the Valentine. Well, you'll just have to wait and see. :)

Chapter 10 Preview: The big day arrives!