Chapter 21: The Inventing Room

Author's Note: Happy Thursday, dear readers! As promised, here is the next chapter of What Could Have Been! This chapter contains my third favorite moment in the script, in fact! I'll keep the other two a secret so you'll be surprised, of course. Now, let me respond to your reviews. :)

ABBAbethTheHamster, thanks for the compliments on this story! That brandy moment reminds me of that part as well. I wonder if it's in the script (I forgot if it was)?

Guest, I love the has bean pun, too. It's one of my most favorite moments in the book.

Now, on with the story, everyone! Enjoy!

With that, the Oompa-Loompas stopped rowing, and the stern of the boat was guided next to a red door. Leaning on the side of the boat, Mr. Wonka grabbed the knob on the door to hold the boat steady. The red door said:

"INVENTING ROOM

DANGER- KEEP OUT"

Mr. Wonka took out a keyring.

"This is the most important room in the entire factory!" the chocolatier beamed. "Old Fickelgruber would give his front teeth to get inside here for just five minutes!"

Unlocking the door, he ushered everyone in, saying, "In you go! But no messing about! No touching! No meddling! No tasting!"

Everyone looked around the Inventing Room. It was enormous. It was like a witch's kitchen. Pots were boiling and bubbling on huge stoves, and kettles were hissing. Pans were sizzling. There were strange machines scattered throughout the room, and pipes were everywhere. In the far back of the room, there was a gleaming tower of metal- the biggest machine of them all.

Oompa-Loompas were all over the place. They did not speak, just going about their duties. Some Oompa-Loompas were even assistant cooks in a vast kitchen.

(Here, Dahl noted that, "In the book they were not present in this room, but I think they will add greatly to the effect.")

"Don't touch a thing!" exclaimed Mr. Wonka, greatly excited. "Don't nose about! Don't knock anything over!"

In this room, he seemed to become tremendously animated. As he talked, he began to hop up and down, peering into pans, lifting up lids, and taking in smells.

"All my most secret inventions are cooking and simmering in here!" Mr. Wonka exclaimed. "...Ah, beautiful!...Just right!..."

Mr. Wonka danced over to a machine that made constant phut-phut-phut-phut-phut noises, and beckoned the group to gather around him.

"Everlasting Gobstoppers!" Mr. Wonka said excitedly.

The group noticed that every time the machine went phut, a large object that looked like a marble dropped into a basket below it.

"...For children that don't have much pocket-money," he explained. "You can suck 'em for ever and they'll never get any smaller!"

"It's like gum!" Violet Beauregarde said.

"It is not like gum!" Mr. Wonka answered. "Try chewing one of these and you'd break your teeth off! But they taste terrific and they change color once a week! And they never get any smaller. At least I don't think they do. Let's check."

Mr. Wonka turned to a door in the wall that said:

"TESTING ROOM No. 124

KEEP OUT"

Everyone saw a glass window in the door, as well as a speaking tube by the window. The group crowded around the door to see what was inside. They saw a single Oompa-Loompa sitting comfortably in an armchair. He had a big lump in his cheek.

"How long you been sucking it now?" Mr. Wonka asked through the speaking-tube.

"One year five weeks exactly," the Oompa-Loompa answered with his mouth full.

"How's it going?" Mr. Wonka asked.

"Going great, Mr. Wonka, sir!" the Oompa-Loompa answered, retrieving the Everlasting Gobstopper from his mouth. "No change!"

"Good work," Mr. Wonka said. "Keep it up."

Mr. Wonka skipped over to another machine.

"Now this machine is making Hair Toffee!" he beamed. "One of my latest inventions…"

The Hair Toffee machine was making strange noises that seemed almost like a melody. Towards the bottom of the machine, there was a small spout that let out a thick, runny blueish toffee. The runny liquid went down a chute, where it went into a smaller machine. The smaller machine went clickety-click, clickety-click, clickety-click, and each time it did so, a small wrapped toffee popped out.

"Hair Toffee!" said Mr. Wonka proudly. "Great stuff for bald children. Eat just one little piece of it and in seconds a rich crop of hair will start growing out of your head! And a beard!"

"Who wants a beard, for heaven's sake?" Mrs. Beauregarde asked.

"It'd suit you very well, madam," Mr. Wonka said.

Mr. Salt was thinning on the top of his head. He reached for one of the pieces of Hair Toffee.

"I'll have a go," he said.

"No no, sir!" Mr. Wonka exclaimed suddenly. "Don't! It's not quite ready yet."

As with the Everlasting Gobstopper, Mr. Wonka beckoned them over towards another door with a glass window and speaking-tube. That door said:

"TESTING ROOM No. 278

ONLY AUTHORISED OOMPA-LOOMPAS ADMITTED"

The group gathered around the glass window and saw an Oompa-Loompa that was completely bald. He was seated on a stool, and a second Oompa-Loompa was standing beside him. Meanwhile, in the background, there was a third and fourth Oompa-Loompa, both of them holding garden shears and clippers. Behind them, there was a fifth Oompa-Loompa with a lawn mower!

"All right, boys," said Mr. Wonka through the speaking-tube. "Action!"

The second Oompa-Loompa handed the first one a piece of Hair Toffee. The first Oompa-Loompa popped it into his mouth. Suddenly, hair started to grow from the head and the chin of the first Oompa-Loompa. In seconds, he was completely engulfed in hair. The hair had reached the floor and was now spreading rapidly. The other three Oompa-Loompas began to spring to action with the shears, clippers, and lawn mower…

"Mixture too strong," said Mr. Wonka, slightly frustrated. "But I'll get it right in the end. And then there'll be no excuse any more for little boys and girls going about with bald heads!"

"But little boys and girls never do…" Veruca Salt said, before being interrupted by Mr. Wonka.

"Don't argue, my dear child, please don't argue," Mr. Wonka said. "Now over here," he continued, "if you step this way, we have something rather special…"

Mr. Wonka led the party over towards the gleaming tower of metal that they saw when they originally entered this room. On the top of it, there were many glass tubes that curled towards and came together in a bunch, where they were over a large tub that had a mixer in it.

"Here we go!" exclaimed Mr. Wonka excitedly. "Watch this!"

He pressed a button, and a mighty rumbling sound began ensuing. The machine began to shake, and steam was coming out of it. Runny liquid in vibrant colors began pouring down the tubes and going into the tub. The tub quickly filled, and Mr. Wonka pressed another button. As soon as he did this, the runny liquid stopped pouring and the rumbling sound went away. The mixer in the tub began whirring at an enormous speed, and the liquid became frothy. It turned blue, then red, then yellow, then black, then back to blue again.

Click!

The whizzer stopped whirring, and the frothy liquid was quickly sucked up into the main body of the machine. It was complete silence, followed by a slight rumbling sound, then a groan. With that, a tiny drawer popped out of the side of the machine. In it laid a thin, small grey object that looked like a piece of cardboard.

"There!" said Mr. Wonka triumphantly. "It's done!"

"That's all?" Veruca Salt asked.

"That's all," Mr. Wonka responded. "Don't you know what it is?"

There was a pause, followed by many members of the group shaking their heads.

"Looks like an old railway ticket to me," Mr. Salt remarked.

"By gum, it's gum!" exclaimed Violet Beauregarde. "It's a stick of chewing-gum!"

"Right you are!" said Mr. Wonka. "It's a stick of gum, the most amazing and fabulous and sensational gum in the world!"

Author's Note: That's the Inventing Room! I'm pretty sure you all know what'll happen next, but like the Chocolate Room, I wanted to give the Inventing Room its own chapter. So, what'd you all think of it? Do you like this scene or the final one better? As for me, my favorite moments were the brand new scenes that were expanded from the book, with the Everlasting Gobstopper and Hair Toffee.

Feel free to review, and stay tuned for the next chapter, which should be published tomorrow or Saturday! :D

Until then,

Gabe S. :)