Chapter 19 – Inventions Galore
Sorry, for the long wait guys.
"Now remember," Mr. Wonka was leaning against the doorway, preventing them from going through. "No touching, No tasting, No telling anyone about anything you see, smell or hear inside this room." He emphasized the no's with a waving finger and made direct eye contact with all of the children in turn before addressing the adults.
"This room contains all of my most secret inventions. Many of them are untested and unfinished. They could be dangerous."
He looked at the children again. "Old Slugworth would shave his bushy eyebrows to have just five minutes inside this room."
At the sudden mention of that name, Isabelle frowned. She was standing at the back of the group and noticed that all the children fidgeted and stared up at their parents. It was immediately clear to her that Charlie hadn't been the only one Slugworth had contacted. Isabelle was determined to have nothing more to do with that sleazy man.
Even Charlie tugged on her sleeve.
"Slugworth." He whispered and Isabelle whispered back. "Forget about him Charlie."
She wondered if Mr. Wonka had any idea what Slugworth had been up to. Their historical rivalry was no secret thanks to the media. They had delighted in hyping up the so-called Chocolate Wars so that the names Wonka, Slugworth, Ficklegruber and Prodnose once more became household names.
She watched as Mr. Wonka finally removed himself from the doorway and allowed everyone to shuffle past. Once again, he admonished sternly "Don't taste anything!"
As she wandered through, she thought back to Mr. Wonka's comment about Slugworth. What an odd thing to say. She couldn't remember the man in the alley having particularly bushy eyebrows. Had he really been Slugworth as the man had claimed? She never did have the time to research the man.
She glanced at the chocolatier briefly as she passed. Should she mention the incident to him? No. She decided against it. What would be the point? What exactly was she expecting him to do about it anyway?
Charlie tugged her sleeve and she put Slugworth out of her mind. He wasn't important right now. She stepped fully into the room and stood still behind Charlie, who, like her, had stopped in astonishment and the crazy sight presented to them.
The inventing room was impressive, Isabelle thought, but messy, very messy. It appeared to be the domain of a stereotypical mad genius. Bits and pieces lay everywhere. Many items were covered with large sheets and there were trip hazards everywhere. Vats of colourful liquid bubbled and steamed on every surface.
She carefully stepped around a large container that was placed on the floor with a stick poking out into the walkway. She nudged it gently to the side with her knee, hoping no one else would walk into it. Who knew what it contained?
Oompa-Loompas roamed all over the place. Some glanced over at the group, but most simply ignored them in favour of checking and tapping various instruments and flashing lights, making adjustments as necessary.
The whirr and buzz of machinery and electronics created a cacophony of background noises. Every now and then, a loud 'pop' or 'wheeze' or 'whoosh' could be heard.
The inventing room was clearly a hive of energy and eccentricity.
Their little group slowly wandered further into the room, gazing about themselves in wonder. No, not wonder, she corrected herself. The adults once again began unkindly levelling their criticisms at their host.
Isabelle believed the title 'Inventing Room' was misleading. The open space was divided into several rooms, not just one. Some rooms had floor to ceiling glass dividers and doors, whilst others would best be described as roomettes or cubicles; separate, but still part of the whole.
Whilst most rooms looked clinical, all sleek and shiny, others were a jumble of messy wires and bits of crumpled tubing and boxes. One item looked bizarrely like half a trumpet. Isabelle blinked.
Wonka sidled up next to them.
"Feel free to explore, but remember, don't touch anything."
Their group split apart as everyone explored at their own pace.
Charlie and Isabelle wandered over towards a towering steel vat that reached up to the ceiling. Inside, the clear liquid bubbled away as large coloured balls of various sizes floated around. Oompa-Loompas in diving gear were inspecting them and either collecting or discarding them for seemingly random reasons.
A whistling screech drew their attention and they watched as a very odd-looking contraption emitted smoke of different colours. They jumped, then laughed as the entire device gave a tremendous shudder and puffed out a giant cloud of smoke with a guttural growl. The smoke cloud turned the attending Oompa-Loompa ten shades of green. He coughed and waved the smoke away as his co-workers crowded round and started laughing at him.
"This place is amazing." Charlies eyes were huge as he tried to take in everything at once. There were so many sights that he didn't know where to look next.
Isabelle privately wondered how anyone could think when surrounded by such chaos.
'Bang!'
The loud noise made everyone look up as Mike stumbled backwards and crashed into some ladders and pans, knocking everything over, including a random Oompa-Loompa, and making a huge commotion.
The group crowded together to watch as his father glared and hauled him up by one arm. Charlie scurried into the mess to free the poor Oompa-Loompa trapped underneath.
"Exploding Candy." Mr. Wonka seemed completely unfazed by everything. "I did tell you not to touch or taste, silly boy." He reminded as he breezed past them all.
Mike's mouth was still smoking as he said, "Woah, that's great stuff."
"Fantastic for school yard bullies, but it's still too weak; needs more gelignite." Mr. Wonka wandered along and scrutinized his various inventions, pausing here and there to chat with the workers, or to fiddle with the liquids.
The group dispersed as everyone continued to explore.
Isabelle almost tripped over a walking hairball. It was being led away by two giggling young Oompa-Loompas. Long curly green hair followed in their wake, seemingly getting longer by the minute. Isabelle reminded herself firmly not to touch anything in this room and glanced around. Where had Charlie disappeared to?
She quickly became distracted by some brightly coloured fans decorating the outside walls and wandered over to inspect them. Charlie was smart, he would be fine. She reminded herself that he didn't need her to hover over him every second. Let him explore, this was his greatest dream come true after all.
Charlie had decided to follow Mr. Wonka and watch what he was doing. The man spent a lot of time ignoring his own advice and tasting whatever the Oompa-Loompas offered him. He tinkered and stirred, offered advice and generally ignored the other people around him.
Charlie hung back as he didn't want to get in the way of his work, but his hero had this marvellous ability of drawing Charlie into his conversations, and he soon found himself once again, asking a million questions. He couldn't believe his luck by being here.
A shoulder tap had him glancing up at Mr. Wonka, who held out a beaker of blue liquid.
"Pour this into that large beaker over there Charlie."
"Me?" Charlie asked.
"Go on. Let's see what happens."
The Oompa Loompa held onto the glass beaker that was twice as tall as him, and watched as Charlie carefully poured in the liquid.
It exploded in a gentle puff and Wonka hastily pulled Charlie back as the liquid gently changed into blue powder.
"What does it smell like Charlie?" He asked as the Oompa Loompas began their notations.
Charlie paused and closed his eyes.
"Banana?" He eventually guessed, and opened one eye to gauge the chocolatiers reaction.
"Well done Charlie."
Wonka smiled and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Now let's investigate over here."
They wandered into one of the messier side rooms. There was clutter of all descriptions on every surface. Charlie watched Mr. Wonka stick his arm inside a barrel full of steam and give a big shout. "What's the matter?" He asked. "Too hot?"
"Too cold, my boy, far too cold." Wonka answered, as the threw in some random blankets, scarves and gloves before wandering over to a different area and dipping just one finger into the next container. He tasted the liquid thoughtfully, then added a single football shoe to the mixture.
"Does it need a kick Mr Wonka?" Charlie giggled with delight. "Only a little one." Was the answer he received as Mr. Wonka gave him a wink and a mischievous smile.
"This isn't really how you make chocolate is it?" Charlie asked with a sly grin as the man nimbly jumped onto half a bicycle and began peddling, cheerfully splattering a pale-blue frothy substance all over Mike as he wandered passed.
"Invention, my dear Charlie, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation and 2% butterscotch ripple." He kept a completely straight face as he said that and Charlie suppressed a quiet laugh.
"That's 105%." Mike grumpily flicked the foam off his sleeve and glared at them as he walked away towards Violet.
"There are none so blind as those who do not wish to see." Wonka muttered forlornly as he hopped off the bike. He looked down at Charlie.
"Shall we go and find Isabelle? You two seem to have been separated again."
The pair wandered across the room. Wonka suddenly swerved across Charlies path, causing him to pull up short or risk being run over. His unasked question was answered as he saw where the man was headed. Veruca and her father were peering intently into a bubbling vat, their faces so close that it appeared as if they were trying fall climb inside.
Charlie hurried after Mr. Wonkas long strides and watched as he grabbed a random alarm clock and plopped it into the vat. They both reared back in shock. He looked the surprised pair in the eye and said cryptically "Time is a precious thing; never waste it," before whirling away and tripping into Charlie who was right by his side.
"He's nuts." Mr Salt commented as Wonka steadied himself and waltzed away. "Bonkers." Veruca agreed.
"He's just having fun." Charlie admonished them before scurrying away from their stares and falling into step alongside the chocolatier. Mr. Wonka began humming as he skipped along, adding a few fancy steps seemingly at random.
He soon broke into a jolly little song about springtime, bells a-ringing and birds singing. He quietened as they approached Isabelle, who was avidly watching the Oompa-Loompas removing brightly coloured cloths from a machine and deftly folding them into butterfly wings.
"Ms Isabelle, I yet again find myself reuniting the two of you." The chocolatier didn't know why, but he felt like a grand gesture should have followed that statement.
Isabelle laughed with Charlie and was just about to reply when alarms began ringing and lights flashing.
"No, no, no. Stop! Stop, please!" Mr. Wonka turned and bolted into the next room. Violet's mother looked vaguely guilty and stepped to the side. She had clearly been trying to peek underneath the large sheet that was hiding a special looking machine.
The machine in question stood apart from everything else in the large space, surrounded by golden ropes and covered in a sparkly golden cloth. Isabelle wasn't at all surprised it had gained the attention of one Mrs Beauregard.
In fact, now that she was aware of it, Isabelle couldn't help notice that it was the only, machine in the entire room that was covered in such an attention-grabbing way, almost as if it was begging to be investigated.
The other children slowly gathered in front of the machine; the loud alarms having gained their attention. The adults wandered over shortly afterwards. In no time at all, the chocolatier was once again, the centre of attention as he explained just how secret this machine was.
Isabelle almost rolled her eyes. It was exactly the wrong thing to say to a bunch of children. It was almost as if the man was deliberately goading them on with the mention of secrets.
In fact, that was exactly what he was doing, she decided as she watched his impish grin grow wider.
Isabelle tuned into the conversation at the mention of 'Gobstopper.' Charlie squeezed her hand tightly and she glanced down nervously; they were both thinking of the same suspicious man in the alley.
"Did you say gobstopper?" Veruca repeated.
"Yes, you can suck on them forever and they never get smaller. They're great for children with very little money." Wonka looked pleased. He had a big grin on his face.
"…so it's kinda like gum?" Violet was sceptical as she popped her gum.
"No, not like gum, not at all like gum." Mr Wonka corrected. "Gum is for chewing, and if you chewed one of these you would break all your tiny teeth. Also, gum loses flavour and my gobstoppers do not."
Violet withered under her mother's disapproving stare.
Mr Wonka leant against his machine and stared at the group. His eyes twinkled. Isabelle could tell he was just itching to show off this invention; so much for being 'the most secret machine in his entire factory.'
"Would you like to see them?" He asked the group. They all nodded vigorously. "As I said, this is my most secret invention and you must all solemnly swear not to tell another living soul about this." He eyed the children carefully. "Ever!" He emphasized.
"I swear." The children promised.
"All right then." Mr Wonka uncovered the machine with a flourish and hit a switch.
Isabelle stumbled slightly as the other adults crowded closer for a better look. Mikes father seemed the most insistent, stepping on her toes as she tried to sidestep and regain her balance. The man was completely oblivious to her as he stared intently as the machine noisily wheezed to life.
Row after row of oddly shaped candies were spat out onto a tiny runaway before passing out of sight into a grinding machine. Eventually, perfectly round, bite-sized spheres dropped out and were collected into trays. Each sphere seemed to shift colour as it rolled to a stop.
Wonka switched off the machine as he picked up a tray.
"Who wants one?" He asked with glee.
"Me! Me! Me first!" Each child held out their hand excitedly except for Charlie. Isabelle thought he looked a bit ill as he tried to slide to the back of the group. She honestly felt the same, she didn't know if she wanted Charlie to ask for one or not.
"Hey, she got two!" Veruca yelled accusingly at Violet.
"I did not!" Violet screamed back showing her open hand, a single gobstopper on display for all to see.
Mr. Wonka huffed as he stepped in and clearly stated, "Everybody received one, and one is enough for anybody." He began walking away but stopped at Mikes comment.
"Liar." Mike muttered quietly.
"What was that? I'm sorry, I'm a little deaf in my left ear, could you please repeat that?" Mr Wonka challenged.
"Charlie didn't get one." Mike glared accusingly up at Mr. Wonka.
"Did you not take one Charlie?" Mr. Wonka asked in surprise as Charlie shook his head. He felt uncomfortable being stared at like that.
"Well, then here's one for Charlie." Mr Wonka dropped a gobstopper above Charlies hand, and the boy caught in on reflex.
"Everybody happy now?" He looked over the whole group but didn't allow enough time for anyone to respond. "Fantastic, on we go, I simply must show you this." He twirled away in a flourish and headed across the floor, confident that everyone would follow him.
Isabelle shared a look with Charlie, who just shrugged and stuck the gobstopper into his pocket.