So... Another Monday, another update...
Thanks once again to my reviewers.
Scot - I take your point, and indeed, you are correct - the film was shot in Europe. However, going by the points made in my first chapter, I still don't believe it was meant to be set there. I do think that 'wonderland' type films are meant to make you think that they could have take place 'not so terribly far from here' to the audience. The fact that most of the actors are American (except for those who were meant to have been of different nationalities like the Gloops and the Salts), and that the books are fairly clearly based in America, it makes sense for the story of the film to be set in America, even if it was shot in Europe.
Turrislucidus - you are so right on how the dynamics are changing. In some ways, while it may well wobble on-and-off for a while, as far as I've got so far, I'm thinking this is one of the pivotal points for settling in happening properly.
LinkWonka... After everything that has gone before, it probably was a shock for Ellie to change her mind so completely. I think she's finally had enough of her son being treated the way he is. That other children would tease him was sad, but could only be expected. That the teachers, people who should have nurtured and protected him, actually encouraged that kind of behaviour by acting that way themselves... Unacceptable. Trust broken, time for Charlie to be educated elsewhere.
Enough from me - on with the story! :)
Charlie took Willy by the hand and dragged him into the living room. Everyone looked up at their entrance, and Grandpa Joe immediately asked him. "Why didn't you tell us Charlie?"
Charlie pushed Willy into a chair, and then sat on top of him, causing the man to glance bemusedly around the room. Then Charlie deigned to answer. "I thought it was normal Grandpa Joe. It has been for me anyway."
Ellie came over to the rest of them, and raised an eyebrow at Charlie's choice of seat, before handing him a substantial snack. "The kitchens sent this up for you Charlie. It's the start of the diet the doctor mentioned you were to begin." She informed him.
Grandpa Joe frowned at him. "Well, you need to tell us if anyone else treats you like that Charlie – it isn't normal, and we all hate to think that you attended that school for so many years only to have the teachers treat you like that!"
Charlie looked up at him, as he finished the mouthful he was eating. "OK Grandpa Joe, but I trust the Oompa Loompa's. And with my starting my schooling here now, it's only really them and Mr Jopeck I'll come across regularly." He pointed out.
Joe accepted this statement with a frown. "Just as long as you do tell us if anyone doesn't treat you right!" he insisted testily. At this Charlie admitted defeat. It didn't matter what he said, his Grandfather was going to make sure that he was protected. While this gave Charlie a warm fuzzy feeling, it also made him want to push his family away, as if they were smothering him, but he knew they only tried to insist because they loved him.
After a few minutes more conversation, Charlie suddenly turned round and asked if he could go to bed. Ellie bustled up to him and felt his forehead, to have Charlie swipe it away. "I'm not ill Mom, just tired. It's been a very long day, with lots of unexpected stuff to it. I just want to have an early night for once.
"But what about if you get hungry in the night Charlie? You know you need to eat properly now." Grandma Josephine asked anxiously.
Here Willy stepped in. "I'm sure that the Oompa Loompa's can arrange for some snacks to be delivered to his room in case he awakens during the night. Leave the food on the tray – the trays they use at night keep the food at the correct temperature, and have sensors on them that will let them know when Charlie has eaten something. When one tray is finished another will be sent up in its place."
With that last concern sorted, Ellie sent Charlie off. Then she came and spoke with Willy for a bit. "Wonkanta," she started hesitantly, "I know that we said that Charlie would spend two from three school nights with you. Is it OK that if he isn't well, or has a night like tonight, that we keep him here until he's more like himself again?" she requested.
Willy looked up at her. "I'm pleased to have you back Ellie-Belly-Bee." He commented, apropos of nothing. After she'd finished gaping at him, she requested an explanation. "I'm sorry." He apologised. "It's just hearing you fall into calling me Wonkanta again more regularly causes me to feel that you're beginning to see me as you used to, way back when. It's nice to see that relationship developing again."
While Ellie was processing this response, Willy finally decided on an answer to her question. "I have no reason to object to your looking after proper medical concerns Ellie. There may be times that I would ask he could spend some down time with me, because I think that Charlie might like it. However, I totally agree that when he's not well, you will want to look after him and make sure he's recovering well. Especially when he finds himself coming home and then heading to bed soon after."
Ellie smiled at him. "I guess I am starting to see you as I used to Wonkanta, and I'm glad you're noticing it." Then, after another pause. "In which case, I think I'd prefer it if he returns here after homework club tomorrow, and we can reassess each evening."
Willy agreed with that idea, and soon after he decided it was time for him to return to his own suite for what was left of the evening.
When he returned to his suite, Willy was finally able to consider all that had happened that day. Charlie, his apprentice, had been dealing with demoralisation all these years. Those who were supposed to educate him, had only taught him how to doubt himself and feel like he would never achieve anything. His contemporaries had simply followed suit, and had treated Charlie as a laughing stock.
When he thought about it, Willy was amazed at how well Charlie was doing, at how loving he was. So many others would have turned bully themselves if treated in such a way consistently enough. Yet Charlie hadn't. His Mom and grandparents had done a good job bringing him up, even if they had missed things, and even if he was missing having a father figure.
Slowly Willy made up his mind that he would do everything he could to encourage positive interactions for Charlie, regardless of what they may be. Charlie had to have a skewed view of his own worth and abilities due to all the negative feedback he'd been given, something that it was long since past time to change.
Quite how he was going to do this, Willy didn't know, but he knew that it was something he would do – with the help of everyone else inside the factory. He knew that they would be keen to aid him in any way they could.
Ellie ended up keeping Charlie home for what was left of the week. She let him do his paper round at the end of the day, and he was encouraged to attend the homework club, where he could start learning about how the Oompa Loompa's did things, but she felt that he needed a rest as much as she did.
Occasionally, in the late afternoons, Wonka was invited round, and encouraged to take Charlie out to play. Willy laughed at being told to 'go and enjoy yourselves somewhere boys!" Ellie was younger than he was, and yet, when she was with him, he suspected that she viewed him as a contemporary of Charlie's, rather than being a good deal nearer her own age. But then, even with the hardships he'd passed through, Willy had retained a youthful spirit and exuberance for enjoying life.
The two had spent one afternoon at the ice skating rink, and the rest of the time they had gone to the various outdoor like rooms that the factory boasted. Charlie had particularly enjoyed it when Willy had taught him how to fly a kite, using a simulated wind to produce just the right conditions to get it up in the air. On the Friday he'd even taken a fancy stunts kite into the beach room, and the two of them had enjoyed attempting different moves with that.
While Willy was with the boy, Ellie and James went out into the world outside the factory, where Ellie dealt with all the necessary steps to move Charlie schools. Thankfully, James had all the details of Charlie's new school, and it didn't really take to long to sort out everything else. Charlie would be ready to start in his new educational institution the following Monday.
Charlie would leave Willy to continue with his paper round. Sometimes Willy would walk part of the way with him, so that he could enjoy the park Charlie walked through to reach the paper stand. If he was honest, Willy would admit that he was somewhat nervous of the dangers that a lad might meet when passing through the park, however, he was also adamant that he enjoyed the opportunity to be out in the fresh air – and James agreed that Willy tried to get out to the park at least every second day. Charlie and his family tended to shrug off this decision. They reasoned that the man would do as he wished, and while Charlie did find it a bit over protective, he felt warmed by the fact that the man cared enough to want to accompany him through the well-known trouble spot on his way to his job, and also relieved that he trusted Charlie to go on his own most of the time. Ellie just waited and watched, looking for anything that would help her guide her decisions about her son, hoping that those she had made were the right ones.
