Auhtor's Note: Hello, dear readers! I… eh, nevermind. I'm too lazy to bother with author's note today. Let's get on to the story.
Charlie was trying to keep his eyes open as his chemistry teacher droned out the periodic table and all its wonderful perks. He tried to count the periodic table's perks… at least he wasn't in Trigonometry. Well, there's one. What made it worse was that he knew most of the material being taught, and this droning tone made it even harder to pay attention to. Firstly, he was experimenting with formulas such as these at work, and secondly, his aunt had taught him a lot about science back when she was a-
"Mr. Bucket, are you listening to me?" the teacher asked, eyes half-closed.
"Hm? Oh, yes ma'am. Every word," he said politely, sitting up.
"Mm," the teacher said, unconvinced, turning back to her lesson. Her voice seemed to have a narcotic effect on even her. Charlie went back to his notes. A few minutes later, the bell rang. Charlie grabbed his books, and tunneled his way to the inner clump of adolescents shuffling their way out, so as not to attract attention and avoid a good "talking-to" from the teacher after class. When he was out of the classroom and safe, he turned to go to his next class, but was stopped when a soft voice came from behind.
"Er, Charlie?" it said. Charlie whirled around, to see a small girl with smooth skin like porcelain and a rosy blush, with lips the color of cherries and hair the color of maple. She shifted uncomfortably. His eyebrows raised into his shaggy brown hair. "Hey. I d-don't think I've ever introduced myself before, I'm Chelsea Brown. Listen, I've been meaning to ask you this for sometime- um…" she paused, looking up. Her eyes were a dewy, clear green. She looked for words. "Mrs. Jennings is a real witch, isn't she?" she said, smiling.
Charlie's eyes were as wide as saucers. He didn't hear her for a minute. "Y-yes." He managed to say.
"Yeah. Well, she's threatened to fail me because of my grades, but whenever I ask her to explain her material after school she just shrugs it off. I think I might need a tutor or something. It's not that I'm stupid or anything, I'm just a little slower to learn than the rest. S-so, I was thing, you know, if you're not too busy, that maybe I could, um, go over the material again with you, because, you know, you're so smart and all."
Charlie's mouth was gaping open, and he shut it. He was making A's in most classes, but no one had ever flattered him like that. "Th-thanks," he stuttered.
"Oh. You're welcome. So, would you mind?" her eyes looked hopeful. It was like some sort of wave of endearing flooded from those eyes, and it made you want to melt, give her the world, and hold her, all at the same time. After a few seconds of dreamy similes and metaphors, Charlie composed himself and said, "No- I mean yes- I mean no, I wouldn't mind."
Chelsea smiled. "Great! Well, I'll see you around…."
They stood awkwardly like that, before one of her friends called her name, and she hurried over to meet her. "See you around," Charlie said quietly, turning and walking on.
Charlie wasn't really popular. You would expect him to be, after the famous world-wide search for the five Golden Tickets, and for some time he was; people learned of how he was the last person to discover a ticket and go into the colossal and mysterious factory. But Willy had thought it was best if Charlie kept the amazing insides of the factory still a secret, just to be safe from "idea-stealing-no-good-awful-lying-back-stabbing-malevolent-cads." So, when he finally returned to school (Mrs. Bucket didn't think Oompa-Loompa tutors was a very good idea,) he gave very short, vague answers to the billions of 'what was it like in there's, or 'what was Willy Wonka like's, and the occasional 'was Willy Wonka really hot, was he single's that desperate schoolgirls would pester him with, giving him very gross visions in his head that he didn't want in there. But eventually, all the questions and masked popularity died off, Charlie going back to the same quiet, passive, nice, poor image that he was normally known for. No one had any idea he was the heir to the most ingenious candy maker in the universe. But now- a girl talked to him. A hot girl talked to him. A slow grin spread across Charlie's face. He was beginning to have one of those optimistic feelings that things were going to get better. He checked his watch. But they might get worse if he didn't hurry on to class.
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Meanwhile, in the complex labyrinth of the Chocolate Factory, Aunt Sarah was experiencing no feelings of optimism at all. Rather, boredom. Her schedule for six years involved waking up at dawn to have a nurse poke her with medicine, and then wandering aimlessly for the rest of the morning around the dull grey facility, trying to block out all the moans and squeals of all the other nut-jobs. The thought of nuts made Sarah even more bored. A whole factory outside waiting for her, and she had instructions to stay in the house. Sarah got up from the couch to see if there were any nuts in the house. Nope. She hadn't really expected there to be. After all, there was probably a rich supply of them outside. Mrs. Bucket was out shopping for groceries. The old people were still asleep. And the faint sound of those little people's footsteps in the distance was welcoming. Sarah took a few strides to the door, looking out the side window. Oooooohhh… everything was very shiny and colorful. Maybe just a short walk outside around the house…
Sarah's hand slowly unturned the knob, and she found herself stepping out into the light. There were little people a short distance away. They looked up at the sound of her. Sarah thought it best to not be rude, and go up and talk to them.
"Lovely morning, isn't it?" she smiled. The little person looked up at her, and nodded gravely. He was probably 1/3rd of her size, but he seemed to have the intensity of a giant.
"Do you think anyone will mind if I'm out here?" she said, eyes darting over her shoulder to the house. The little person shrugged. "Good. You see, it's just so terribly boring in there, and I don't have anyone to talk to at the moment."
The little man nodded, and continued on with his work. Sarah supposed he meant for her to talk to him while he worked. "So, what was your name again?"
The small guy pointed to his nametag. It read Larry, (Oompa-Loompa #1,856,395,930).
"Ah. Nice to meet you. So, Oompa-Loompas are the little men who look exactly like you running all over the place, working?"
Larry, or Oompa-Loompa 1,856,395,930, nodded. Sarah didn't ask him how many Oompa-Loompas there were working in the chocolate factory, because obviously he didn't say much and he couldn't tell her on his little chubby fingers. So, she proceeded in engaging in a thorough discussion of seahorses and their lifestyle. Larry was a good listener, she liked him. They made their way around the chocolate room, Sarah talking of how interesting it would be if human males bore children, and if Oompa-Loompa males bore children. Larry gave her a very long stare, and Sarah supposed that meant no. She sat by a bright yellow tree with curvy branches, with little striped candies hanging at the ends. Sarah plucked one off the branch, and asked if she could have it. Larry nodded, plucking the rest off the branches and putting them into a sack. Sarah began to devour the little candy like a little kid. It was like nothing she had ever tasted before. It tasted of strawberries and some sort of melon, swirled together in a creamy sensation that made her mouth tingle.
"It's wonderful!" Sarah said through her candy. Once she had swallowed it, Larry beckoned her to open her mouth, and checked inside. Her tongue, to her amazement, and turned the exact color of the candy- swirls of pastel pink and green.
"Ooooh… that's cool," she said, but really since her tongue was out it sounded like, "Woooo… dath cuwel," Larry nodded. Suddenly, a faint sloshing sound echoed from the tunnel over the brown river. Larry looked up, alarmed, and began to push Sarah back to the house. That unforgettable girly voice was enticed was the echoes coming from the tunnel. From the shadows emerged a busy Wonka chatting with a little Oompa-Loompa in big glasses with a check board. They were sitting on a bright pink boat in the shape of a dragon.
"Okay, so now that the Klonko-soda-whizsnappers making machine is back to normal, we should probably lay off from trying to push the manufacturing of Klonko-soda-whizsnappers. The sails weren't doing too well anyway. I think I had better take the recipe back to the Inventing Room. Now, I think I might check on how the Oompa-Loompas are doing in here before I-" he stopped. Sarah gulped. He had obviously spotted her. The boat suddenly jerked to a stop. Wonka was practically hurled from his seat. "I thought we were fixing the brakes," Wonka snapped at the head rower. The head rower shrugged. Wonka sighed, getting out of the boat and briskly heading over to the frightened woman and the still silent worker. "Who's this?" he asked Larry, staring at Sarah, who was a little insulted that he had so easily forgotten her after the ruckus he made yesterday. Larry pulled Wonka down, whispering something in his ear. Wonka jerked straight back up again, whether it was because he was in shock or because he was just so tall that he repelled from that position like a spring, and turned towards Sarah.
"Oh! You're the Squeezledork!" he said, looking her over. "The one who attacked me yesterday!"
"I am not a Squeezledork," Sarah said, now just a tad hurt, "I'm a human being, just like you. I think. You are a human, right?"
"Well, I've always thought I might have a bit of Giant Langloftian in me, but yes, I am human. Even though I do wish I was half-Oompa-Loompian at sometimes, just to see what it's like." Wonka replied.
"Hm, that would be pretty interesting," Sarah said, wondering what the world would be like if you were only 3 feet tall.
"What are you doing here?" Wonka said, getting back to his point.
"Um, I'm sorry, Mr. Wonka, I was only taking a walk and having a nice conversation with Larry here," she looked for protection in her new Oompa-Loompian friend, who gave her an encouraging smile, "and we were just admiring the vibrant scenery. Very lovely. Except the brown river, it looks kind of gross. What is it, sewage or something?"
"It most certainly is not!" cried Wonka, very insulted, "It's a chocolate river!"
"Oh!" Sarah gasped, standing on her tiptoes to see the river, "That's remarkable," she said.
"Of course it is, Miss Bucket, I came up with it," Wonka said, allowing his pride to stand out like some bright read pimple against pale, smooth skin (like his own), "The river is made of pure chocolate, which churns it and keeps it light and frothy, which gives the chocolate a extraordinary taste."
"Wow…" was all Sarah could say. She gazed at the moving river with eager anticipation of a child. "That's really… wow."
"Yeah. Wow." Wonka smiled at his lovely river. He paused, and was tossing the idea of offering some to her around in his twisted, sugary, Tim-Burton-influenced head, but Sarah started to talk instead.
"Yes, it's quite extraordinary, everything in here is. I was having a conversation with Larry over seahorses while taking a walk through here, and I must compliment you on the lovely scenery." Sarah said, "Lot's of shiny things."
"I've always liked shiny things," Wonka smiled, shoving his thumbs in his vest pockets and staring at the brilliantly gleaming candy. "And I like seahorses too,"
"Did you know that the males bear the offspring?"
"You don't say?"
"I do say. I just said it. Weren't you listening to me?"
"Yes, but it was a figure of speech."
"Oh."
"About seahorses?"
"Oh yes, I think they're marvelous," Sarah gave him an absent-mined, wild smile. She was shorter than him by a few feet (with the hat that is), he would say about five foot two, with mousy brown hair that came down in frizzy little wisps. She had shaggy bangs like Charlie's, Willy could see they were definitely related. But it was more than that- sometimes, when Charlie was with him in the Inventing Room, he would get this weird gleam in his eye that kinda freaked Willy out occasionally. That gleam was there in his aunt's eye too. It was… oh, he couldn't describe it… it was like when a Shnozzle-dozzle-bloompa-wheeler candy fresh out of the oven, with its strawberry glaze still aglow. Luminescent. Yeah. Luminescent. Her eyes were the color of chocolate when it has just been churned- that creamy, yummy brown. The only time he hadn't liked that shade chocolaty brown is when Augustus Gloop was drowning in it. At that thought, he shuddered. Sarah stopped from her seahorse sermon. "Something wrong?"
"No. No, I'm fine. I have a lot of work to do." Wonka said, getting back to his point.
"Oh. Okay. Well, I just wanted to explain why I was out of the Bucket house in case you were… mad… or anything."
Wonka paused. Well, she probably couldn't do too much harm outside of the Bucket house. She seemed to have a pretty sensible head on her shoulders. And she made more sense than Charlie's p-p-p-p-p-p… ah, forget that word. "Well, I guess you can come out here if you like. Just don't go anywhere else in the factory. And don't eat everything in here. That would be rather rude."
"Goodness! I'm not that hungry as to eat inedible things!" Sarah cried, now a little insulted.
"Didn't anyone tell you?" Willy's eyebrows were raised. "Everything in this room is edible. Just like that tongue-turning-tasty-toffee you consumed." He nodded at her tongue. Sarah clamped her mouth shut. "Well, goodbye." He said, turning on his heel and making his way out of the vibrant room. He pushed the doors open, and exited into the halls, disappearing from sight. Sarah watched him.
"What an interesting character. Don't you think, Larry?" she looked down. Larry was busy gathering more candies, several meters away, humming a happy little tune.
Review, or I shall attack your village with my army of lovable characters that resemble Johnny Depp which I do not own! Go, Edward Scissorhands, slice away! Hehe… but seriously… please review.
