I'm already writing a couple stories right now and am just starting this one very randomly. I thought of some ideas and I hope that I can get some readers for this! This story is more based off the movie, so please go along with it! Thanks and enjoy!
The Big Story
Anne Gavigan walked through her office building, her light, brown hair patting gently against her shoulders. As she passed by, every head turned to follow her, watching her brisk walk towards the office of the head chief, Patrick Stewart. In Anne's hand, she was holding her small briefcase, holding one of the greatest stories she had ever written in her life. Her brown eyes were alive with excitement as she pushed through the door of the head office.
"Patrick, I have brought you…" she plopped her briefcase down on the wooden desk. "…the story you have been waiting for."
Her boss, a man of early thirty's, was looking up at her with complete boredom on his face. He sighed and went back to the papers that were lying on his desk. "I'm sorry, Anne, but the last time you came in here with the so-called heartwarming story you created on the eve before the meeting of the century, gave no warmth to my heart. So, forgive me when I decline on reading that little story of yours there."
Anne sighed and sat down on the seat across from Patrick's desk. "Please, Patrick, I promise you that this one is good." She crossed her legs and the blue pencil skirt she was wearing tightened across her legs. "I worked on it for four hours last night and I guarantee that it is top notch."
He sighed and lay down the papers on his desk to look at her. "Anne," he said, leaning forward with his hands grasped together. She looked at him with stern eyes. Patrick continued, "Forgive me for saying this, but I have every right to fire you right here and now."
Anne gasped and put her back against the chair. "You wouldn't dare."
"I would!" he said with pride. "This is the second time you have been late to work because of writing another one of those weak stories of yours."
"Weak?!"
Patrick held his hand up and Anne immediately silenced. His voice was quiet as he spoke. "Anne, I run a top notch newspaper here in this town of ours. It is my duty to see to the inhabitants of Salisbury, England that they get what they want in their everyday papers."
"I understand that, but…"
He held his hand up again. "You are one of my best here and you know that." He stood up and turned towards the window facing the streets below. "It just seems that your work lacks…" Patrick turned towards her. "…emotion."
Anne scoffed. "Emotion? Just last week I wrote about the child that grew up with unloving parents and it had plenty of emotion in it."
Patrick was sitting back in his desk. "You're right…it included emotion from the dear child. But there was nothing from you. All I read was a long biography and you, yourself had nothing to feel from it."
"Well, of course I didn't," Anne said laughing. "I know nothing of the child; I just wrote a story about him."
"And right there is what you're missing. I need to feel emotion from you. I need to feel that you're gaining something from what you're writing." He sighed. "I need to feel that you absolutely understand the subject that you're writing about."
Anne just sat there, at a total loss for words. Patrick shook his head and stood up. "I have a mission for you, Anne."
She stared at him. "A mission?"
"I'm sending you to Leamington, a small town about three hours away from here. I'm sure you've heard of the town before."
A light bulb went off in Anne's head. "It's where that boy lives…the one that won the Willy Wonka challenge." She looked up at Patrick. "And what am I sent there for?"
Patrick smiled. "You are sent there to live with Willy Wonka and the boy." He was grasping the chair, grinning down at Anne in pure excitement. When he realized she wasn't smiling, his grin faded and he stood up straight. "Why do you not seem excited about all this?"
Anne shook her head. "It just seems…odd, doesn't it? You're saying that you want more emotion in my work and you expect me to redeem myself in that department by living with complete strangers?"
He shook his head. "This story will be different…unique. All of our readers will get to hear the exciting and dramatic tale of your life in the never-dying chocolate factory. It will be a hit!"
"And how long do you expect me to stay there for?"
He shrugged. "Until you've got enough for a full story. Couple of pages to fill the paper."
Anne was still shaking her head, looking at him in shock. "I can't believe you want me to do this. Do you know what I've heard about Willy Wonka? I heard that he's a complete…loony. People say that he talks to himself and says strange comments all the time; and you want me to live with him?"
Patrick just stared at her, nodding and smiling. "You will learn about the factory: find wondrous things that people have dreamt to see, know secrets of the recipes, and learn about the mysterious inventor."
"How will I get invited to stay?"
Patrick stopped his speech. "Excuse me?"
"How am I going to get inside? Wonka won't just let me in for fun. I have to get in for a good enough reason."
Anne's boss started pacing the room. "You're right. Wonka is very protective of his work. He'll never let a stranger inside his factory without a valid reason."
Anne stood up from her chair. "I could say I'm an old relative of Charlie's."
"I'm sure Charlie will make sure of that through his immediate family. No, it has to convince Wonka more than anything." Patrick suddenly stopped walking and held a finger in the air. His light eyes were bright and he turned towards Anne. "Pretend to be ill."
"Ill? How will that work?"
Patrick began to pace again. "Well, it doesn't have to be ill; hurt…maybe. You could…pretend to fall down, start a coughing fit, and Wonka will have to let you inside to rest."
"Patrick, what if things go wrong? What if he can't hear me or see me from the factory? Then, how am I going to get inside?"
"Oh…it will work. Make sure he hears you, Anne, otherwise you will be in for a rough night."
"So, this is it. This is the story you want me to do?"
He turned towards her and walked around the desk. "No, Anne, I don't want you to do this story." Patrick grabbed her hands. "You want you to do this story. If this story does not have any of the emotion that I am expecting, I have no other choice but to fire you."
"Fire me?" Anne asked with fear.
"Yes…fire you." He hesitated. "So, get a bus tonight." He let go and sat back down at his desk. Anne stood there for a moment, wondering what to do with herself. Patrick looked back up at her. "Go on! I haven't got all day…and neither have you."
Anne jumped, grabbed her briefcase, and walked as fast as she could out of the office building. "This is going to be a long trip," she thought to herself as she walked the streets to her apartment.
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"I can't believe you're leaving tonight!"
"I know," Anne groaned, shutting her suitcase.
Anne and her best friend, Julie were sitting in Anne's room, putting together all the things Anne needed for her stay in Leamington. The lavender room was clean and simple, just like Anne.
"I'm so jealous though. You get to see the factory that everyone is dying to see," Julie said.
Julie was a truly pretty girl. When you first looked at her, she struck you as a model. Her height and hard look helped her in that department. She looked very commercial at times, which gave her the difficulty of trying to find a modeling job. When Anne had first met her, she did not immediately notice her looks, but after getting to know her and listen to her, Julie had suddenly become much more attractive.
Anne laughed and put her suitcase beside her bed. "I wish you could come with me. Then, I might actually find something to do while I'm there."
"I'm sure you'll find something to do. I hear there are more than one thousand rooms in the chocolate factory."
"Well, I'll soon find out." Anne sighed and plopped down on the bed beside Julie, who was drinking a large glass of wine. "I'm too old to be doing this story."
Julie looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"
"I mean…I'm thirty-four. I shouldn't be writing about a chocolate factory that is the figment of every child's dream. I should be writing about politics, war, or even about romance. Not this…"
Julie ran her fingers through her friend's dark hair. "You know what I think, Anne?" Anne grunted and Julie continued to talk. "I think that you can write any story and make it sound as good as you want it to be."
Anne sat up and looked her friend in the eye. "Do you really mean that?"
Julie smiled and her dazzling teeth showed. "Of course I do."
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"Excuse me? Do you know if this is the bus to Leamington?" Anne asked a man leaning against the bus.
The man grunted and pointed up to the bus. Anne looked and saw a digital sign that showed the words "Leamington" on it. She turned to the man with a "thanks" and then walked up the stairs to the bus.
Anne had prepared all of last night for her trip to the famous chocolate factory. Her bag was packed to the brim and she had brought every piece of equipment from the office. "Let's just hope that Mr. Wonka doesn't see any of this and gets suspicious."
She finally found a seat and sat down closest to the window. It was necessary for her to see the countryside as they drove; otherwise there would be no doubt of getting motion sickness.
A small boy took the seat right next to her and gave her a small smile. Anne smiled sweetly back and watched him as he took a book out of his bag. On the cover was none other than the chocolate factory. Its tall towers and smoking chambers gave Anne a feeling of emptiness. The boy saw her looking and she held her hand up. "Sorry, I'm just looking."
The boy with the ginger hair smiled at her again. "It's no trouble, miss." He went back to reading his book.
"How old are you?" Anne suddenly asked.
The boy looked a little taken aback and stood up straighter. "I'm nine…why?"
"Just wondering. You look about the same age as the boy who won the Willy Wonka challenge?"
The boy nodded. "We're about the same."
Anne felt the need to reach for her tape recorder sitting in her suitcase. "And what do you have to say about the winning child? Are you jealous of his win?"
His eyes lightened up. "I'd say! My mum spent two of her paychecks to get me and my sister more Wonka bars."
Anne laughed. "That's pretty generous of her."
He nodded. "But, I'm glad Charlie won. I heard that he was a nice person." The boy looked up at her. "I'm John by the way."
"I'm Anne." She held out her hand and shook the small hand. "What's in that book of yours?"
John looked down at the cover. "It's the story of Willy Wonka and how he got the factory together."
Anne's eyes shone with curiosity. "After you're done reading your part, would you mind letting me read a little of it?"
"Not at all, miss."
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"This stop…Leamington," the digital, female voice said at the bus's front.
Both Anne and John stood up to walk down the aisle off the bus.
The last half hour, Anne had read and read on Willy Wonka to learn about his history. There were many informative things in the book, even though it had been sweetened down for a good children's story: Willy Wonka as a child, his quest to become a chocolateer, secret recipes, and small sweet shops to the enormous chocolate factory, his betraying workers, and the new ones that took over. Anne suddenly felt much more confident as she stepped off the bus onto the Leamington sidewalk.
"It was very nice meeting you, miss," John said from behind her.
Anne turned around and smiled. "And the same to you. Thanks for letting me borrow that book of yours."
"My pleasure, miss." He hoisted his small backpack over his shoulders and walked away down the stoned street.
Anne looked around at the other fluttering passengers and walked away from the bus. The town was quite small, but had a beautiful downtown area. The streets were cobbled and lined with streetlamps. The setting sun shone against the shop windows and Anne felt a feeling of comfort.
Suddenly, her eyes caught a large gate in the distance. Anne focused her eyes and finally saw what she had been searching for.
The chocolate factory was towering and smoking against the cloudy sky. She felt chills rise up her arms as she stared at the huge landscape where Wonka and the boy were living right at that moment.
Anne took a deep breath and started to walk, not towards the chocolate factory, but towards a small pub on the corner of the street. She stepped through the doors and felt a great ease of warmth as the night air vanished off her skin.
The pub was almost completely empty. Two men sat at the bar and the one barman was cleaning out a cup with a filthy rag. Right as she entered, they had all turned their heads to look. She smiled, but could sense the desire in the men's eyes as she took her seat at the bar.
"Could I please have a glass of water?" Anne asked politely.
"Are you sure that's all you want, miss?" the wheezy old man asked.
"Quite sure, thank you." The man smiled and walked towards the other end of the bar.
Anne slowly turned her head to look at the men beside her and saw that they were both staring at her with hungry grins on their faces. She quickly snapped her head back and pretended to fumble with her briefcase.
One of the men's chairs slid back from the bar and she heard him step out of it. He slowly walked towards her and rested his elbow against the bar. He reeked of liquor and trash and stared at Anne in the face. "How ya doin, little missy?"
"Quite fine," Anne said shortly, and resumed to fumbling with her suitcase.
"I don't think I've ever seen you here before. You come from Leamington?"
"No, I came here to visit a friend." She immediately cursed herself for not saying 'boyfriend.'
"Ah, well isn't that exciting?" the man said with a hoarse laugh. He slid a stool over and put it right against hers. "Knew you couldn't be from here."
"How did you know that?"
"Never seen such a pretty lady before. I had to reckon you were from some big town far away from here. That's where all the pretty ladies are from."
"Well, you were wrong. I come from a pretty small town…just like this one."
The other drunken man laughed, but the one beside her continued to talk. "Why don't you stop fiddling with that suitcase and talk to me?"
"I'd rather not; thank you." Suddenly, her glass of water was sitting in front of her and she reached towards it.
Right as she held the glass up to her lips, the man lifted up her skirt and touched her leg. "Come on, stop being so…"
Anne's reflexes shot at her and she threw the water into the man's face and stood up from her stool. The man swore loudly and started to rub his eyes while his friend laughed right in his face.
Anne grabbed her suitcase and thanked the barman before walking back out into the cool, night air.
The streetlamps were lightened now and few stars lit the dark sky. She took a deep breath to calm her shaking hands and started to walk away from the pub. "I should have known that the men here would be scum. I have to get away from that one before he finds me."
Anne crossed the street and looked in at the shop windows. There were candy shops, book stores, clothing stores, and much more. She smiled at the cuteness of it all and resumed her window shopping.
It was about a half an hour later when Anne finished looking in at all the shops. She sighed and leaned against the glass of one window. "How am I going to get inside that factory?" she asked, looking up at building in the distance.
All of a sudden, a lightning bolt pierced the sky and thunder broke the still night. Anne gasped from the sudden noise and raindrop landed right on her nose. "Oh, great," she groaned. The rain started to come down harder and Anne started to run down the street.
The first store she got to, she grasped on the handle and pulled. It stayed shut. "What?!" Anne yelled. She desperately pulled again, but the door remained shut.
The rain was now pouring onto her and she was completely soaked through. Her hair clung to her face and she could feel her makeup running down her cheeks. "Oh no!" she cried as she tried opening a second door.
Anne ran into the middle of the street, looking left and right. "How can every store be closed?
Her suitcase slipped from her hands and her clothes went flying out. "Shit!" she cried. She knelt down on her hands and knees and quickly stuffed her wet clothes back into her suitcase. Luckily nothing was too soaked through and stood up again, holding tightly onto her bag.
Anne looked up and saw one man walking slowly down the street, his head bowed down. Anne's heart leapt and she walked quickly towards the man. "Excuse me?" The man resumed walking. "Excuse me?" She was right in front of him and he had to stop. "Excuse me…do you think you…could…?"
Her heart stopped as she looked into the face of the man she had thrown her drink at. A grin broke across his face and he looked her up and down. "Well well well…look what we've got here."
Anne turned and started to walk away, but the man grabbed her arm. She gasped and looked him in the face. "Let me go!" she cried out.
"No…I don't think I will." The man started to laugh and Anne tried as hard as she could to get away from him. He just kept on laughing and, once again, put his hand on her leg.
"No!" Anne cried out. She swung her suitcase as hard as she could and hit the man across the face.
He cried out and immediately let go of her. Anne ran. Her high heels were falling off her feet as she slid down the cobbled street. She didn't care where she was going; she just tried to get as far away from the man as possible. Tears were now running down her face and she called out random cries of help. She could hear the man running behind her, calling out words. The rain drowned them out and Anne just kept running as fast as she could.
Suddenly, there it was. The gates to the chocolate factory. Anne gasped and made way for it. The man was still chasing her, now calling out, "I'm gonna get you for this!"
She looked behind and saw that he was almost on her. "If I cry loud enough, Mr. Wonka will have to hear me." She had no shoes on now as she skidded against the metal gate. "Help me! Please, I need someone's help!"
The man jumped on Anne. She screamed and they both fell to the ground. He was on top of her, looking down at her with a smile. His face was bloody from the hit of the suitcase. Tears were streaming down Anne's face as she stared up into the man's scruffy face. "Please…please…"
Her arms were pinned to the ground and he slowly took off her stockings. She had no strength to do anything to the man. He was about to take advantage of her and she just lay there, admitting him to herself.
Out of nowhere, there was a slight creaking and Anne turned her head. The gates of the factory were slowly opening and she could see a man walking through the rain towards them.
The man on top of her cursed and jumped off of her. Before running away, he looked down at her and said, "You're lucky, miss. Very lucky." He laughed and Anne could hear the sound of his shoes clicking on the cobbled stones.
Anne was numb and couldn't even feel the rain on her skin anymore. She lay on the street, her stockings pulled down to her knees and her arms still lying where they had been pinned.
"Um…miss?"
She looked up into the face of a man. His face was pale and his features were large. The hair on his head was perfectly cupped against his cheeks. The fear in his brown eyes made her feel even weaker. She stared up at him, entirely emotionless. The man was holding an umbrella and was now holding it over her. "Oh…dear…" he said nervously, looking down at her stockings.
Anne groaned and let her head fall to the side. She heard the man struggling with what to do. He finally called, "Charlie! Charlie, please come here!"
A couple seconds later, a second voice was talking. "Willy, what happened?" a small child asked.
"Not sure, Charlie, but I need you to take this umbrella and her suitcase. It's right there beside her."
"We're going to take her inside?"
"Of course." Hands suddenly touched her and she cried out.
"No! No! Don't touch me! Don't you dare!"
The man was kneeling next to her and he shushed her. "Don't worry…don't worry. I won't hurt you." Anne suddenly trusted the man beside her and let her hands fall back down on her side.
The man tentatively put one of his hands underneath her back and the other on the underside of her knees. With surprising strength, the man picked Anne up and turned towards the factory. Anne could see the small boy running through the doors with her suitcase and the umbrella.
The man that was holding her was warm and Anne nuzzled her head against his chest. The comfort immediately made her feel relaxed and she suddenly passed out.
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Anne was warm and covered in sheets. Her bare legs were twisted around the woolen blankets and her head was resting against a soft, feather pillow. Her eyes slowly opened and she was looking through a hole in a roof. Memories of the night before finally got her to sit up and look around at her surroundings.
The small boy from the previous night was sleeping in a bed beside hers. She suddenly recognized him as Charlie Bucket, the boy who won the Willy Wonka challenge.
Anne slid her legs out from under the sheets and stood up. She was in a completely different setup: a nightgown with pink flowers etched on it. Suddenly, she heard a sink turn on.
She looked down and saw that the boy's room was open to the entire house. There was one room below, which involved a kitchen, a bedroom, and a living room. A large bed lay in the center, where four elderly people were sleeping. In the corner was a television, which was currently off. Anne looked at the sink and saw a short woman, with curly, black hair washing dishes.
The woman was wearing a raggedy dress with a yellow apron tied around her. Her eyes were dark, but had softness around the edges. The cheekbones on her face were high and gave her the look of a very, loving mother.
Anne smiled down at her and realized that it must have been her that gave Anne the nightdress. Anne passed Charlie in the bed and slowly climbed down the wooden ladder that led to the downstairs.
Right as her feet touched the floor, Charlie's mother looked up from the sink. She smiled and walked towards Anne. "Are you alright, dear? You had a rather rough night last night, didn't you?"
Anne nodded and the woman looked down at her nervously. "I hope you didn't mind that I had you changed. The clothes you were in were absolutely soaked through."
"That's fine," Anne said in a hoarse voice. She cleared her throat. "Sorry, I must be getting sick."
"That's no surprise. You were lying in the rain for who knows how long." The woman smiled. "Sit down and have some breakfast. Then, Willy will have to come see you."
Anne looked up at Mrs. Bucket. "Mr. Wonka?"