Well, here is chapter number TWO! Things should start getting interesting…
A Rose By Any Other Name Chapter 2
Rosaline McCleary worked at the very old ice cream parlor down on 18th street. Her friends, which she had very few of, called her Rose affectionately. She was twenty years of age, and was a very smart young woman at that. She had soft, dark, curly brown hair which hung a little below her waist, and was usually tied up in a bun to keep her cool at work. Her pale skin was flecked with freckles here and there, and her bright blue eyes could light up the whole room. She had a rather silly smile, though, what with her braces that she had not been rid of for at least five years. Her orthodontist, Mr. Wilbur Wonka had made sure her teeth were practically perfect. Her father was a friend of his.
Today was a rather busy day at work. She had many customers waiting on her to fix them something. Poor Rose's wireframed glasses kept trying to slip off her nose. She sighed. "This is going to be a long day…" she mumbled under her breath.
Once the day was over, she cleaned up the messes that little children had carelessly made on the tables. She liked owning an ice cream store, though. Seeing smiles on children's faces was what she lived for. It was a lonely place to work at, though, seeing as she was the only one working there. Everyone in the town liked her, though. She was always ready to serve, with a friendly smile on her face. Even so, Rose was a rather lonely young woman with little or no excitement in her life.
Finally, she was done cleaning up shop. She turned off the lights, and headed out the door with her bag. It was six o' clock, and the sun was just about to set. Rose stopped on the street corner to glance up at the factory. I wonder what kind of life that Charlie and his family are living, now that they've had their house moved into the factory. Better yet, what kind of a life does Willy Wonka lead? Better than mine, most likely. I'd like to meet that man. It couldn't be too lonely in there. He has everything.
Though Rose put on a winning smile every day for her customers, her heart ached. She wanted something more out of life than being the sweet young ice cream parlor owner that everyone knew her as. She wanted…well…what did she want? She couldn't really put her finger on it. She missed her parents, who had left the ice cream parlor to her before they up and left her for Hawaii. She hadn't heard from them since she was 16. But that couldn't be what was really pulling at her heart.
She saw several couples come into her shop sometimes. They all looked so content and happy with each other. She wanted to feel that way with someone. But not just any someone. She didn't want someone ordinary…ordinary people will hurt you, she'd learned. Maybe I'm just crazy… she thought, as she unlocked the door to her tiny apartment. Throwing her shoulder bag on the floor, she collapsed on her bed. She dreamed some very strange dreams about that foreboding chocolate factory.
The next morning, Charlie woke up early. He had his heart set on taking Mr. Wonka out for a walk. He wanted him to get to interact with other people. Most of all, he wanted him to meet someone. Not that he'd had anyone in particular in mind, he just wanted Willy to interact with the people of the town, and maybe then he wouldn't be so lonely.
Charlie ran as fast as he could to Mr. Wonka's bedroom after he'd gotten into his clothes. Without even knocking, he bolted through the door and jumped up on his bed. "Wake up! Get up! We're going out! Get dressed!" Charlie said all in one breath. Wonka opened one eyelid, then shut it immediately. "Little boy…you are not the boss of me. I'm the boss of you. Go back to sleep for at least 345,986,457,765 more seconds. Then, and only then, will I get up." He said without opening an eye, or even moving from his position on the bed.
Charlie frowned. He then whispered, "You have a bad haircut", into his boss's ear, which made him jolt up and scowl at him. "I do not! You're just jealous!" he whined, and threw a pillow at Charlie's face.
"Oh well. You'll never find someone if you're lazy." Charlie said, shrugging his shoulders slightly. Willy then remembered his father's ever-present nagging voice, "You will never succeed, Willy, if you are lazy. I won't have a lazy son. A woman will not want a lazy husband."
Willy rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. Getting up." "Good!" Charlie smiled. The things I do for this boy…Willy thought. But even though he didn't know it, Charlie would be doing a bigger favor for him soon.
Although Charlie had quite a time getting Mr. Wonka to walk out the door, the two friends and businessmen finally walked outside. It was the first time Wonka had been outside in almost a year.
"Heheh…well. This will be fun." Said that unmistakeably sing-songy voice of Willy Wonka. Charlie hoped he was right. I'm doing this for you. You'd better make it worthwhile…thought Charlie. The two stepped outside the gates, and walked toward town.
Is it alright so far? Have any ideas? I'd love to hear from you guys! Chapter three should be up soon .