A/N: Well, it's nice to see that we're off to a fairly nice start. Things are going to start picking up with this chapter, and then who knows? Anywho, I hope ya'll enjoy this next bit.
Disclaimer: Grrr…they're not mine, I tell you! Well, okay, a couple of them are, but not the ones that matter. So leave me alone already.
Yay reviewers! Many, many thanks to my wonderful reviewers! Chocolate for everyone!
VeganHippie: Glad you like. Truth, be told, I'm not entirely sure what Wonka's gonna do. I guess we'll find out, won't we? I'm not sure why, but for some reason we love torturing the characters that we love most. Don't worry, there will be much more bullying. Terrence hasn't forgotten about Charlie's insult. Hope you enjoy this next bit!
Sidpeeper: I hope I've updated soon enough to avoid getting hit with the candy cane. Although, since you said that in chapter one, and I posted two more chapters that day, it should be enough to satisfy you. Curious though…what wordplay were you referring to? I don't remember doing anything intentional…hehe, I've rarely been accused of cliffhangers. Don't worry, I don't think Wonka's going to do anything drastic. Probably just the whole freak factor. You'll find out soon!
LadyMaundrell: Oh good, I'm glad everyone's in character. That's something I try to pay close attention too. Beka is going to become much more developed as the story continues. Some pretty bad things are going to happen to her, but some good things too. So…you'll just have to wait and see. I'm going to hold you to your word; I'll keep updating and you keep reviewing. I do love loyal reviewers.
Valerie PhoenixfireGlad you enjoyed it. Here's some more for you.
And I want to thank whoever it was who posted my story in a C2. I don't know who you are, but many thanks. And thanks to all of you who have read and not reviewed; although just because I see the hits, doesn't mean that you don't need to review. If you don't like something, feel free to tell me, though be warned: if you flame me, I'll respond to you as I see fit.
Also, many thanks to Sidpeeper for the honey comment. I kinda stole it from her fic, "The Chocolatier's Surprise." So all the props go to her for that.
And to start a new tradition, Wonka quotes! At the beginning of each chapter you'll be able to find a quote from the Dahl book (and eventually from the movie, if someone will tell me what site they've been using) that I particularly like. Most of them are things Wonka says, but some of them aren't. So enjoy!
"Well, well, well," sighed Mr. Willy Wonka, "two naughty little children gone. Three good little children left. I think we'd better get out of this room before we lose anyone else!"
-Mr. Wonka, Chapter 22--"Along the Corridor"
Chapter 4: A Dream Come True…Or Is It?
Beka slowly tilted her head up and up, taking in the magnitude of the factory before her. This wasn't the first time that she had been outside the gates of Wonka's famous factory; she and Charlie used to pass it every day on their way to and from school. But somehow knowing that she was about to enter the marvelous factory made it seem even bigger than before.
Charlie led his wide-eyed friend around the corner, heading away from the main gates of the factory. "Where are we going?" Beka asked, looking over her shoulder at the main gates.
"Trust me," Charlie answered. A few minutes later they stood in the shadow of the factory on the east side. Glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention to them, Charlie slid a key from his pocket and unlocked a small side gate in the wall. He held it open for Beka before closing it firmly behind them.
"Mr. Wonka says that using the main gates will attract too much attention," Charlie explained as he relocked the gate. He led her down the narrow path to a small door in the side of the factory. Charlie pushed it open, leading his friend into the most magical place in the world.
A pale pink corridor filled Beka's vision as a blast of warm air escaped through the open door. Charlie quickly pulled the door shut behind them and began tugging off his scarf. "Come on," he urged as Beka stared at the tall corridor as though unable to believe that she was truly inside the great Wonka chocolate factory. She numbly followed Charlie down the small hallway to where it met up with a much bigger one.
"This is the main corridor," Charlie explained. Like the smaller hallway they'd just emerged from, this one was also a pale pink color. "Mr. Wonka hates for things to be dull and ugly," he added, as though reading his friend's thoughts.
Doors lined the corridor and many other hallways sprouted off of the main one. Beka stayed close to Charlie as they walked, afraid that if she wasn't careful she would lose him in the labyrinth of the factory.
As they turned yet another corner they spotted an odd man coming out of one of the rooms ahead of them. He was wearing a long burgundy coat and a matching top hat, and in one hand he carried a cane. Looking closer, Beka could see that he wore dark gloves that reminded her of the kind doctors wore as they examined patients. Hearing the children approach, he turned to face them, and shot them the whitest, strangest smile that Beka had ever seen.
"Hiya, Charlie," the man greeted, before shifting his gaze to Beka. For a brief moment a strange look came into his eyes, before he added, "Hello there, little girl."
"Hi, Mr. Wonka," Charlie answered, and Beka gasped ever so slightly. She had suspected that this strange man could be Mr. Willy Wonka, but to actually hear it out loud…
"Charlie…"she said softly, with a sidelong glance at her friend. The boy looked at her reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Beka. He's mostly harmless."
Mr. Wonka cocked his head slightly at Charlie's statement, grinning a little wider. Though he wasn't altogether certain as to why Charlie had stated that his mentor was mostly harmless, he was glad that he had. Charlie didn't know it, but he was helping Wonka in his plan to be rid of the girl. Then another thought occurred to Wonka. Maybe…maybe Charlie didn't really want the girl in the factory either! Maybe he'd just invited her there to be nice—that would, after all, be a very Charlie-like thing to do.
"Oh." The sound of Beka's voice snapped Wonka out of his train of thought. He found that the girl's gaze now rested on him. "So, you're…really him, then." Wonka looked a little confused, but continued staring at her with his peculiar blue eyes. A nervous smile broke out slowly on Beka's face. "Wow," she breathed.
"Mr. Wonka, this is Beka. My friend that I told you about," Charlie said, trying to be polite.
"Well, of course she is," Mr. Wonka answered brightly. "Now come on kids. I got something I wanna show ya." With that, he turned and began striding up the corridor. Beka and Charlie hurried after him.
"I'm so glad you're finally here, Charlie. I've been waiting all day for your help on this," Mr. Wonka said as they headed for the Inventing Room. "I can't figure out the flavors for my new line of Valentine's Day chocolates."
"What are you trying to do?" Charlie asked, walking quickly to keep up with his mentor's longer stride. Beka trailed along behind them, staying close.
"Well, I'd like to have a line of chocolate flowers that explode when you eat them." At Charlie's quizzical look, Wonka explained. "They're for giving to people who have broken up with their sweethearts near Valentine's Day." The trio paused as they reached the door of the Inventing Room, and Wonka leaned over to open the door. He caught Charlie giving him a strange look. "What?"
Charlie merely shook his head and entered the room. Wonka held the door open for Beka, who smiled at him nervously. He gave her an odd look before they stepped into the Inventing Room.
Once inside, Wonka took the lead once more, leading Charlie over to a tall table that had a variety of chemicals and things on it. Charlie climbed up onto the stool that sat on one side of the table and Wonka stood opposite him. Beka looked around at all of the different machines with wide eyes, but was careful not to wander too far away from the table. "Now, I know that I want the flowers to explode into a red hot fiery flavor. I was thinking something along the line of flosendrakes. What do you think?"
"Why not use jalapeños? Aren't they suppose to be the hottest peppers or something?" Beka asked quietly. Wonka gave her a degrading look.
"Jalapeños? Poppycock. Flosendrakes are the hottest eatable substance on the planet. Everybody knows that."
"Oh." Beka looked away from the strange man and took a sudden new interest in the weird machine that stood off in the corner. Wonka turned his attention back to Charlie.
"It sounds like you already know what you're doing," Charlie commented.
"Yeah, well, the tricky part is that I want to have another line of chocolate flowers, that look identical to the exploding flowers, but these, people would give to their sweethearts. But I don't know what flavor to make them." Wonka moved his hands through the air as though trying to conjure up the treat from thin air. "I want it to be something…different. Something mixed in with the chocolate, to make it sweet, but not too sweet. Just…different."
"Hmmm…" Charlie tapped his finger on his chin in thought. "What about…honey?"
Mr. Wonka's face wrinkled up in disgust. "Eww. Do you know what honey is? It's the stuff that bees chew up and spit out. Would you really want to eat something that's already been eaten? I don't think so."
"Okay then." Charlie continued to think, concentration showing on his face. Wonka's gaze wondered around the room as he thought, and it quickly settled on Beka, who was bending over peering at a vial of oddly colored liquid setting on a machine, looking as though she was on the verge of tapping it.
"Uh…little girl," he called, causing Beka to look up at him. "Don't touch that." He waited to see what would happen. Part of him expected her to ignore his warning and go on poking about, just like the other children had done. That same part of him was rather hoping that she would; the girl disobeying him would give him a clear reason to ban her from his factory, and if that particular vial were to spill on her it would dye her skin a most fantastic shade of pink. But to his disappointment, the girl looked alarmed at his warning, and she quickly raised her hands far away from the machine and took a big step back. Wonka turned his attention back to the brainstorming session.
Beka only paid ideal attention to the inventors sitting at the table. The Inventing Room was filled with strange machines and interesting things to look at. Though she was careful not to wonder, she couldn't help but be fascinated by the room. She caught sight of a strange looking little man—actually several little men—working around one of the machines. Bending over and peeking around a machine, she watched them, fascinated. After a moment, one of them turned and noticed her, and she waved at him with a smile, causing the group of the little men to cackle with laughter. Beka smiled broader—these must be the Oompa-Loompas that Charlie had told her about.
The brainstorming session was not making much progress so far. As Beka continued to explore, the steady flow of dialogue continued behind her. Most of it sounded painfully one-sided ("Caramel?" "No." "Peanut butter?" "No." "Strawberry?" "No." "Honeydew?" "Eww. No.") And so on and so forth. Charlie would constantly toss ideas up into the air and Wonka would throw them out just as efficiently. Beka circled back around towards the table, and propped herself up on a stool that was sitting nearby. She watched the discussion toss itself back and forth between the two like a tennis match,
"What about banana?"
"No."
"Orange?"
"No."
"Grape?"
"What are you, on a fruit kick? No."
"What about honeysuckle?" The quiet suggestion caused both Wonka and Charlie to look over to where Beka was sitting quietly. Charlie looked back at Mr. Wonka to see what his answer would be.
"What?" The chocolatier looked slightly confused by the girl's suggestion.
Beka looked down and shifted nervously. "Well, you know…honeysuckle. It's not as sweet as honey, and it comes from flowers, not bees. We used to have a patch of them behind our house. Remember, Charlie?" She looked up at her friend.
Charlie's face lit up at the memory. "Yeah. We used to pick the flowers and eat the nectar." He switched his gaze to Mr. Wonka. "It won't be too terribly sweet, and I certainly have never heard of anyone using it in candy, so it should be rather…different. It's worth a try at least."
Silence fell over the group as Wonka processed the idea. He stared at Beka with an odd look in his eyes as he thought. "Honeysuckle…yeah." A smile slowly formed across his face. "Well, okay then." Wonka straightened immediately and faced Beka again, giving her a real smile for the first time since she'd arrived. "Let's go try your idea, little girl."
Hmmm…yeah, so, Wonka hasn't actually done anything to Beka yet. But just because he likes her idea doesn't mean that he's going to warm up to her just yet. I need ya'll to chip in any ideas that you have about ways that Wonka can try to (subtly) frighten Beka away from coming to the factory. I really appreciate it.
And don't forget, save a muse, send a review!