6 Day D

On Friday, 15th April, great crowds gathered in front of the gates of Wonka's factory; crowds so large they had to be kept away from the gate by policemen. One by one, the finalists came. When Cheryl arrived in the company of Deborah and Mrs Storm (both on business here) she could see she was the last. She got out of the taxi and immediately caught all attention. Admiring sighs and shouts were coming from the crowd, someone even clapped their hands. Cheryl went nearer to the policemen where she had to show the golden ticket. A policeman nodded and before he let her in, he smiled at her. "You look great. I will keep my fingers crossed for you, beauty." Cheryl beamed at him and stepped into a semi-circle at the gate where her competitors stood. She noticed they showed signs of disconcertion when she came. She looked at them with as much interest as they looked at her with.

Celia Clark was wearing a suit, as expected; her fair wavy hair was tied back in a bun. She was frowning at Cheryl from under her sunglasses. Next to her there was Bea Grammos who set to her Greek origin and curiously enough, managed to have an appearance one could observe without being sick. The reason was a gown reminiscent of robes of antique goddesses and Greek jewellery in her hair and on her arms. On the whole, though, Debbie was right. Even with her long black curly and otherwise very nice hair Bea resembled a pillar of Parthenon. Dawn Fidget looked fantastic – if she could look even better than on TV recently. She was wearing a short black satin dress that appeared more like a slip. She was flinging her blonde hair about, casting reflections from her lipstick and nail-polish and Cheryl wondered she doesn't break a leg on heels high like that. Last one, Tara Norden, was a great surprise. On TV then she looked weary but today she was glowing with energy. She had her hair cut so it looked ragged and untidy but made her visibly younger. She decided not to wear dress, for she didn't feel good in it and instead she chose a narrow-strapped T-shirt with sporty capri jeans. She managed to emphasize her trained figure really well; even Dawn noticed it and was annoyed. She obviously thought she had the game in her hands.

With the strike of ten the fifteen-years-closed gate opened at last and everyone shivered with anxiety. A voice coming from a loud-speaker invited the five lucky women to come in. They didn't hesitate a moment and rushed joyfully forwards. The gate closed behind them and they stood in the courtyard. The voice told them to go on, so they continued to a factory wall which opened all of a sudden and revealed a small stage. The curtain opened and the visitors could watch a merry show in which puppets of confectioners sang a song about Willy Wonka, lavishing with superlatives. Everything went fine until subsequent fireworks set the whole show on fire and crozzled it to coal. They looked around, uncomprehending what that was supposed to be, but at one end of the row, next to Tara, stood a man in a top hat and sunglasses, clapping his hands enthusiastically.

"Magnificent! I think it was getting a bit dodgy in the middle part, but that finale... wow!" Then he climbed on the stage and looked at the comers.

"You are Willy Wonka!" said Bea, recognizing him. The ladies beamed and tried to smile as much as they could.

"Good morning, starshine, the earth says hello!" said Willy Wonka as a greeting. He saw smiling, yet uncomprehending faces, so ho pulled out some flashcards with a bit more normal speech. "Please come in," he called upon the visitors and passed through the debris on the stage. The ladies followed him.

"Don't you want to know our names?" asked Celia.

"Names aren't that important," said Wonka calmly. They came into an empty corridor covered with a red carpet. "There is so much to see, so we'd better hurry."

Dawn decided for an early attack. She stepped up to Wonka and stroked a lapel of his coat and the neck of his shirt. "I'm Dawn Fidget. You look great," she said flatteringly and snuggled up to his shoulder. Wonka backed a few steps, horrified. "Ladies, please," he stammered. He realized he was in a lion's den and taming the lions will be darn difficult. Dawn was getting ready for another charge but somebody grabbed her by the arm.

"Don't overhaste it," said Celia poisonously. "There will be enough time for that when you marry him – or, I mean if you marry him at all," she added derisively. "My name is Celia Clark, you must have heard of me." She held out her hand. Wonka shook hands with her reluctantly.

"I am Bea Grammos," the Greek held out her hand too. Wonka also shook hands with her and hid his utter fright behind a wide grin which Bea interpreted as a sign of favour.

"Tara Norden," said Tara and shook his hand so violently he had to rub it when she let him loose.

"Cheryl Rosebay," said Cheryl and gracefully held out her hand for him to kiss. Wonka paused but didn't spoil it. The four others now looked at Cheryl with unconcealed grudge. Cheryl was in the lead and became their common enemy.

"I just want to say that if any of you wanted to end the tour for any reason and go back home, she can. One of my workers will escort her out," he informed them.

"Why would we do that?" said Tara.

"What are your workers like?" said Dawn curiously.

"All in good time," replied Wonka. "Please, follow me."

"Why are we going to see the factory when we want to get to know you?" asked Celia.

"Because the factory is my life. The factory is me. Who wants to get to know me must get to know my work too." He got to a door at the end of the corridor. "This is the heart of the factory, maybe the most important room of all."

"Why is the door so small?" demanded Bea.

"To keep all the big chocolatey flavour inside," Wonka smiled mysteriously and unlocked. Then he pushed the doors a little; they opened wide and revealed a marvellous valley with a chocolate river at its bottom. It was coming from a waterfall at the other end of the room. They went in and didn't know what to look at first.

"It's unbelievable," sighed Cheryl.

"Beautiful," praised Bea.

"Oh yeah, it's very beautiful. All my rooms are beautiful," said Wonka with pride. He showed them the chocolate river and explained the importance of the waterfall that mixed it. He spoke about pipes which brought the chocolate to all rooms where it was needed. The ladies were silent and listened very carefully. He surely wasn't an ordinary chocolatier. There was something more in him.

"Try some of my grass," he said. "Please do. It's so delectable and darn good looking."

"You can eat the grass?" Tara wondered.

"Everything in this room is eatable. Even I am eatable," said Wonka and tried not to look at Dawn who licked her lips. "But that is called cannibalism and it's in fact frowned upon in most societies," he added. Celia shook her head incredulously.

"Enjoy," he said. The ladies scattered over the valley, tasted the things and didn't stop praising. Cheryl sat down on the grass on a moderate slope near a chocolate tree and nibbled on the grass and branches. She must have made a nice view because she found out Wonka can't take his eyes of her. She waved to him and smiled. "The grass is terrific," she said, "I'd never imagine eating grass."

"Mr Wonka, what's this made of?" Dawn appeared all of a sudden and held out her hands with some candy in them. When he was examining it, she cast Cheryl a resentful look.

"This is strawberry jelly and marshmallow," explained Wonka. "Don't you think it's a great combination?"

"Excellent," laughed Dawn, staring at him.

"What is it there?" said Cheryl suddenly. "Something is moving there, a little person!" All of them looked the way she was pointing. "There are more of them! What are they?"

"These are my workers, the Oompa-Loompas," informed Wonka. "Imported directly from Loompaland."

"Loompaland?"

"You don't know it? It's a terrible country, and very dangerous too. I visited it during one of my journeys around the world -"

"You are a traveller!" exclaimed Tara. "An adventurer! We have a lot in common," she smiled at him. Wonka glanced at her and went on. He told them about the discovery of the Oompa-Loompa tribe and how he made an agreement with them. They would work in his factory in exchange for cocoa beans which they desired and which he had plenty of. Cocoa beans were their favourite food. They acclaimed to move to the factory and now they live here quite happily.

"They are your employees. How do you take care of them?" said Celia who was among others a president of a civil rights protection movement. "Do they have a trade union at all?"

"Trade union?" said Wonka, astonished. "What for? They've got everything they think of."

"But... but nobody knows about it! Nobody monitors the situation here!"

"And why should they?" said Wonka curtly. This woman didn't appeal to him at all.

"This is not right," murmured Celia.

"What is not right?" Tara snapped at her. "That people can agree on things? I admire you," she turned to Wonka, who smiled. "Ok, shall we continue?" he said.