Response Time: To TheIndividualist, Well, I wanted to make the real bonding satisfying. To JOHNHAMMOND, you'll find the answer to that in this chapter. And there's more to it to come. To Tessa, Likewise! It's good to see you again. ;) And the answer is in this chapter. Now on to it!
Chapter 10: A Dance?
Rouge followed Damon down the hall, trying to stop him. "Damon, it's still the middle of the night! You should wait until morning!"
Damon stopped in his tracks. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Oh well, I'll remember later. Good night, Rouge."
"Good night, Damon."
The next morning, everyone woke up and went down to the kitchen. To their surprise, Mr. Wonka was sitting with them, having finally recovered from his illness.
"Good morning, everyone," he said with his usual smile. "Good morning, Damon."
Everybody looked up at him in confusion. Claudia asked him, "Umm…how come you're acting so calm?"
He looked up from his newspaper. He answered, "My dear child, when I am ill, my Oompa-Loompas act as my eyes and ears, even during the night. I've been filled in on almost everything. Except of course, for Damon's plan to catch the spy."
"Wait a minute, you know about that talk with Rouge?" Damon asked.
Claudia glared at him and asked, "You were alone with Rouge last night?"
Damon calmly said, "It is not what you think. She's just a friend, and not my type. You on the other hand, are my type. Rouge and I were just talking about our past, is all. I do remember that I came up with a plan."
They all went into the conference room, and the single light went on. "I don't care what anyone says," Mr. Wonka stated. "I like the single light for the reason of dramatics." Everyone could see Charlie giving them a "Told-ya-so" look.
"Okay, Damon," Charlie prompted. "What is your plan?"
"A ball!" Damon exclaimed. Everyone looked at him in a confused manner, so he explained further. "Rouge mentioned something that made me think about a dance. That's when it hit me. In about four days, it will have been five years since we came to the factory. So we have a reunion party. While we're 'distracted,' the spy won't be able to resist an opportunity to steal. That's when we catch him in the act."
"Brilliant idea!" Mr. Wonka exclaimed. "And I think I'll leave out a recipe I'm working on. That'll really help the plan."
"Great! Damon, say you'll go with me!" Claudia proclaimed.
Damon answered, "Thought you'd never ask."
Rouge walked up to Jake and tapped him on the shoulder. "Yes, Rouge?" Jake asked.
Rouge looked at him, and then looked at the ground. She put her arms behind her back and dug her shoes against the floor. "Umm…Jake…would you go to this dance…with me?"
Jake looked at her and said, "Sure."
Rouge's eyes lit up as she asked, "Really?"
Jake responded, "Yeah, it'll be fun."
Rouge hugged and squeezed tight, saying, "Oh Jake, you're wonderful!" She walked past Damon and gave him a high-five.
That night, Jake walked into Max's room. "Hello, Jacob. What brings you to my room?"
"Listen Max, I need your help," Jake explained. "Well, Damon's taking Claudia to the dance, and I'm taking Rouge. I have four days to come up with the right thing to wear. I don't just want to show up in a jersey, you know? I mean, Damon's a cool guy, you always look your best, Claudia's really pretty (I can see why Damon likes her so much), Rouge is smoking hot, but me? I'm just an 'average joe.' What do I do?"
Max smacks him and replies, "Get a hold of yourself, Jake. You have to remember, Rouge asked you. She sees something in you. Maybe it's the way you talk, the way you look, the way you play sports."
"I know that," Jake said. "But I only do sports because my dad never lets me use technology unless I have to. Nowadays, I can use technology whenever, but I don't usually do it very often. I guess if I was raised different, Rouge probably wouldn't like me as much."
"Don't say that," Max replied. "Rouge finds you attractive. You should feel lucky. Damon has Claudia, and you have Rouge. I'm alone. All I've ever had are just things. Mummy is usually too busy to deal with me, and daddy is usually too busy. Sometimes I wonder whether my grandparents were any different."
Jake answered. "Somehow I doubt that. My dad just did the same thing his dad did, just with a different hobby. My mom? Ha! She's not even around anymore. She left us when I was a toddler. I've hated her ever since."
Max put his hand on Jake's shoulder. "Sometimes, we're dealt with curses, even when people think we have it all. It's not happiness, but it's a nice distraction. Look at the man Damon's become. I kind of look up to him now. Trust me when I say we're doing just fine. Hey, I think I know the perfect thing."
He walked to his closet and showed Jake one of his suits. "It's perfect!" Jake said.
That's the chapter! Sorry it was late, but I still am sick. I finally finished, and I hope to see you guys in the next chapter. Have a great day!