A/N: Thanks for reviewing everybody! Here are some generally informative responses:
- Lobs bowl of little green caterpillars at Kill Mary Sue and yells "Eat!" Neiko, regardless of your view of her, is not a "tragic" character at all. She's actually quite content. And she will NOT be shagging Willy Wonka in this feature, thank you very much! Yes, it is a Romance but I'd like to hope she has a bit more decorum than to jump him with all of you sitting right there! (Besides, I don't think I'd feel comfortable writing anything too racy with Wonka in it. I feel like I've known the character too long and it would just be weird.)
- As for the rest of you, you guys ROCK! And to anyone who commented on Dr. Wonka, from the end of the movie I kind of figured, because he did seem so interested in his son's life, that he might be overcome with curiosity as to his life's work. I also figured that, not only would he have probably been humbled and softened slightly from age and the loss of his son, but Willy's memory of him as a heartless tyrant could easily have been ever so slightly exaggerated since he had only childhood memories and impressions of him. And we all know that in childhood, the good seems incredible and the bad often seems unbearable. It's quite possible he was never really THAT bad. Perhaps only as aloof and unsociable as the son he produced. There's no reason that he should have to be truly evil. Kay? Good, I'm glad you're coming with me on that.
Look for more character information and random Author's Notes at the bottom of the page. Of course, all of the usual disclaimers and summaries apply to this and all future chapters. All right. Here's Chapter Two.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Two: Coming Home
Two hours later, Neiko, who had been delayed by a side trip to a local diner, unlocked the door to her apartment and went inside. The phone stopped ringing just as she got in the door. Typical. The machine was recording something but she wasn't paying attention. She took off her black jean jacket and threw it across a chair, savoring the warmth of her home. The room was about medium size and, while normally it might have been a living room, it was more to the point of an office. The walls were a crisp white and the furniture that wasn't black was stainless steel and glass. All of the lights were florescent white and threw the room in to even sharper contrast. A few large, framed prints, some in full color and some black and white, decorated the walls. Many of them were Japanese movie flyers and posters but some were photos she had taken.
Many people might have thought that the room was a bit too stark and they would have been within their rights, but Neiko loved contrast and this room only ever felt like home to her. She had broken the bank when she designed it but this was her haven for both work and play and she insisted she be comfortable.
She crossed the room and hit the playback button on her answering machine.
-"Hi. This is Alice at Bennet, Brown, & Associates. I hope it isn't too late to call but I just wanted to check on the project. Make sure it's still on schedule, you understand. Just give me a call ASAP okay? Good night."-
Neiko glanced at the clock over her computer. Eleven O'clock.
"Who are these people! No, your website did not get up and wander off in the 24 hours since you last saw it!" If only people would pay this much attention to their kids.
She rolled her eyes and pulled a camera out of her satchel. She it on the desk and went digging in the pockets of her jacket for a small film canister. Once she had found it, she grabbed the camera again and headed off to a small dark room that she had managed to cram into the walk-in coat closet and set to work developing a few stills she had taken earlier in the park. When she had reached a point that she could leave the prints, she walked into the kitchen to grab a soda and turned on the computer to check her email.
That same woman, Alice was her name, had left her a message there too. Aggravating cow. Neiko replied with a glowingly respectful and professional email of which she did not mean a single word (No trouble my ass.) and switched off the computer. She leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and thought lovingly of the day to come. Tomorrow was her day off and she would finally be able to focus on her own, self-designated project. Tomorrow would take she and her camera to the heart of the city and the great Wonka chocolate factory, in all its glory, would be her muse. And tomorrow was only the beginning. In her head, Neiko saw a gorgeous, full series study of the extraordinary structure mounted lovingly on her wall. It made her happy to no end. Still reared back in her office chair, she never saw sleep coming before it overtook her.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authors' Notes:
-Neiko works at a photo development place like a Kodak or something. She does the web design stuff on the side for a little extra cash. The actual photography part is only a hobby.
-Willy Wonka will be a little while in coming. I'm obviously a bit nervous about writing for him so I'm trying to develop Neiko a little more here in front of things before I've got them both loose, running amuck. Plus, I don't want the story to feel rushed. I know exactly when and how I want to bring him in already. He makes his début in Chapter 3 but he wont have lines until Chapter 4 or 5. You'll see. I'll try to get them out quick so you wont have to wait but I'm visiting a college this week so I can't make any promises.
-Sorry that this was short but I wanted to give everyone, myself included, a better feel for Neiko's character before she goes rushing off into action.
Also, a little side note: I'm not the only author who's been picked on a little about Mary-Sues and many are getting it far worse than I am so I really wanted to clarify something. A Mary-Sue is a character (usually and OC but it CAN in fact be a badly OOC canon character) that is perfect in every way. They have many talents and few to no personality flaws. They are usually either in love with a canon character or related to them and they are very beautiful. The character is most often the personification of the author and is what everyone wants to be and no one actually is. It is important to understand that every OC character is NOT a Mary-Sue. Not even those that are paired with Willy Wonka are necessarily Mary-Sues. The term 'Mary-Sue' describes a characterization flaw, NOT a plotline or pairing. I'm am asking people to kindly lay off in shouting "Mary-Sue" at every original character. I know it is 'in vogue' at the moment but those who are familiar with fanfic know that it is a particularly harsh dig at one's writing style and if you are going to say it, please have something to back it up. You can't call a Mary-Sue before the character has entered the story. That just isn't fair. I'm bringing this up because I hate seeing people get picked on almost as much as I hate getting picked on myself. "Mary-Sue." is not constructive criticism all by itself. Please, for the sake of people's feelings, find something helpful to say or don't review at all!