The day arrived just like any other. Another cold, snowy day. For someone with central heating or a big fireplace, this may have been a beautiful day. For Cameron, it was the opposite. Aside from the small fireplace and the stove, heat was hard to come by in the Wilkins household during the winter. Thus, Cameron was not feeling all that well on his birthday; It was cold, wet, and generally miserable. At school, there was still considerable buzz around Cody Jameson-Anderson, who seemed more focused on his computer or his phone than on anything else. However, even though he was feeling down about his slim chances of finding a golden ticket, Cameron was excited nonetheless. On his way home, he couldn't help but sniff at the gates of the Mclean factory again. As he entered his home, his family all had matching birthday hats on.
"Surprise! Happy birthday, Cameron!", they all shouted. A hasty cake had been thrown together, which appeared to be little more than vanilla frosting over shortbread, with a candle stuck on top. Cameron was thrilled. This was the most exciting day of the year for him, and his family had gone all out for him. The six Wilkinses watched TV, laughed and enjoyed each other's company. After a while, one of the grandparents gestured to Mr. Wilkins, who revealed a present wrapped in newspaper. It looked suspiciously like a candy bar.
"Happy birthday, son. I hope you like it" Mr. Wilkins said as he handed the present over to Cameron.
Cameron tore apart the newspaper to reveal a Mclean brand candy bar, specifically the Peanut Chocolate Blitz variety. His face lit up with a grin that could light up the whole town. "This is fantastic. Thank you, everyone!"
"Well, this could be the lucky bar! Have a look!" said Grandpa George.
Cameron remembered that there was still one Golden Ticket left, and his heart started pounding. He felt all five pairs of eyes on him, shivering with anticipation.
"Come on, Cameron, open it! I don't think my heart can take much more of this suspense!", said Grandma Josephine.
Slowly, Cameron began to open the candy bar. He was debating whether to open it slowly or if he should just yank it all out; He eventually decided on the latter. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Cameron tore apart the wrapper. The silence in the room was palpable: you could hear a pin drop. Cameron slowly opened his eyes and saw….
Nothing. Just an ordinary candy bar. Granted, a delicious candy bar, but no Golden Ticket to be found. All the energy in the room, all the positivity that everyone had was sucked out in that moment. Cameron sighed.
"Well, that's that, I guess. It was worth a shot. So who wants some chocolate?" Cameron asked.
"What? Cameron, that's your birthday present. That's yours, and none of us would take it away from you!" Mr. Wilkins said.
"Actually, Cameron, I'll take a small a little bit later. Enjoy your bar, and save, oh I don't know, maybe a small square for me", said Grandpa Joe. Everyone else glared at him. "What, he offered it, I may as well take him up on it!"
Cameron sadly smiled and went off to his room, where he lay in his bed, dejected. In between bites of gooey peanut and sweet chocolate, he lay there heartbroken. Why didn't he win a Golden Ticket? Maybe he wasn't good enough. Maybe he wasn't worthy of a Golden Ticket or a spot in the tour, even though he doubted that the other winners were worthy themselves. Maybe that's just the way things were for Cameron. He lay in his bed for what seemed like hours before he remembered Grandpa Joe's words. He still had a small square of chocolate left, so Cameron went to the living room and found everyone sleeping, save for Grandpa Joe, who was wide awake.
"Cameron, my boy! I thought you forgot about me!", Grandpa Joe said as Cameron handed him the chocolate. "Well, I must be honest with you," he said as he ate the bar "I kind of had an ulterior motive for having you bring me the chocolate. Take a look at this!" And with that, Grandpa Joe reached under the bed and pulled out a dirty sock.
"Really, Grandpa? That's what you wanted to show me? A sock?", Cameron asked.
"No, no, inside the sock!" Grandpa Joe reached into the sock and pulled out some coins. "I've been saving these up for a while now. Pension just ain't what it used to be. I was planning to use these to buy a coffin, but I think you need these more than I do. When I die, just toss my body in the dumpster."
"Grandpa, I can't take your money! It's yours!"
"Ah, but you must. Go out tomorrow and buy yourself another chocolate bar with this money. You deserve another chance, and what's more, you deserve that last ticket, dammit!"
Cameron hesitated before nodding slowly and taking the coins from Grandpa Joe's hand. He felt bad taking his grandfather's hard-earned money, but it seemed like Grandpa Joe wanted to spend it this way now. Cameron went to bed with, for what seemed like the first time in months, hope.
He woke up the next morning, which was a Saturday, feeling tired but excited. He walked down the hall to the living room, where his father had already left. Cameron knew that Mr. Wilkins had a job interview that day. The grandparents were asleep as usual. With a smile and a glance at Grandpa Joe, Cameron exited the house and headed towards the Mclean candy shop. When he reached the front doors, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Hey, spazz! I'm surprised you have enough money to sniff around here!" Scott stood walked over to the door and leaned against the wall. He was smirking deviously as Cameron cowered. "Heard about your dad, you little dork. When does the first unemployment check come in?" he asked with a cackle.
"Oh, hey, Scott. I appreciate your concern" Cameron said with a similarly devious, albeit nervous, grin. "But my family is doing just fine, I assure you."
" Well, don't let me stop you from buying a bar. Can't wait to see the face after you don't get a Golden Ticket and I do. Matter of fact, I may just take a picture of it!"
And with that, the two boys entered the candy shop. Cameron saw Hatchet standing behind the counter, who gave him a brief nod. As Cameron walked the aisles, he could hear Scott chuckling to himself a couple aisles over; Cameron tried to shrug that off. Eventually, Cameron settled on a Marshmallow Nougat Splash bar and headed up to the register. He smiled at Hatchet, who returned the gesture.
"Finally deciding to hop on the contest train, huh kid? Can't say I blame you, but you started awfully late, hehe. That'll be one dollar", the large man said; He looked almost comical in the red and white striped uniform he had to wear. Cameron handed his money over to Hatchet. As Cameron walked away, he noticed that he still had about 95 cents left over; Grandpa Joe must have saved up only $1.95. But that didn't matter: what mattered was the chocolate bar he just bought.
Cameron started to get that feeling in the pit of his stomach. He closed his eyes and slowly peeled away the wrapper. He opened them to see…
Nothing, yet again. Cameron was devastated; this was probably the only other chance he would get to buy a bar, and nothing had come of it. He started eating his chocolate bar as Scott came over to him, eating his own chocolate bar.
"Haha, nice try, dork, but that's all she wrote. I didn't win either, but you know the good part about that? I actually have money to buy more if I wanted to!" Scott dug in his pocket and flipped a nickel over to Cameron. "Enjoy your pity nickel, loser!"
Cameron got excited. Although it had been demeaning, Scott had just given him the nickel he needed to buy another candy bar. With a grin slowly starting to work its way onto his face, Cameron walked towards a shelf, picked up another Marshmallow Nougat Splash, and went to the register.
"One more, please, Hatchet. I've got just enough, thanks to a donation made by a charitable party." Cameron said as he looked back at a confused Scott.
"Alright, kid, good luck." Hatchet said indifferently. Cameron took a step back from the register and took a deep breath. This was it, he thought to himself. My true last chance. Nervously, he peeled the wrapper off.
A glint of gold flashed in Cameron's face. Excited, he ripped off the rest of the wrapper to find a rectangular ticket, roughly the size of the candy bar. It was colored shiny gold.
Cameron was speechless, as were Hatchet, Scott, and the other shoppers in the store. Hatchet was the close his jaw and speak.
"Y..you did it, Cameron. You found the last Golden Ticket!" he cried, shocked yet joyous.
Cameron stood in utter shock, a smile the size of Brazil plastered on his face. He didn't even want the chocolate anymore; He had just won. He got to tour the factory. He got an unlimited supply of candy. It was him, and this was his moment.
"Wait a second, I gave him that money! I deserve that ticket!" Scott whined, breaking Cameron out of his trance.
"Well I don't recall you paying for that chocolate bar, I don't recall seeing you open it, and I sure as hell don't recall you finding that Golden Ticket! Now get out before I have to make you get out!" Hatchet threatened. Scott's expression went from one of shock, to one of disbelief, and finally to one of rage.
"This isn't over, spazz! Just you wait!" he said as he ran out the front doors. Cameron thought he saw a single tear roll down Scott's cheek, but he couldn't be certain. He looked around the room at all the people whose eyes were now on him.
"Get out of here, kid! Go back to your family and tell them the good news!" Hatchet yelled. Cameron did not have to be told twice. He bolted out of the front doors and let out a joyous yelp that was heard for many blocks over. Cameron's day had finally come.
Well, what did you think? Sorry for the delay on this one, I was just overloaded with schoolwork and didn't have time to write, but I hope you liked the chapter, and I have enjoyed reading your reviews. Thank you for following along!