Chapter 10
"Finding Charlie"
Hastily leaving the factory, I grabbed a taxi and raced over to the nearest candy shop, Bill's Candy Store where we had recently sent over a shipment of our products. But upon arriving, there was a flurry of activity in front of a newspaper stand right in front of the store.
"What is going on here?" I asked the seller, a man named Jopeck. "Has the final golden ticket winner been found?"
"Yes, it has. Who are you?"
"I'm Arthur Wilkinson, a representative of Willy Wonka's. Where is the boy who found the ticket?"
"He went that way," Jopeck said, pointing to the east towards a tunnel. Taking this advice, I proceeded to follow towards the tunnel. There I saw the boy, a blond haired kid who was probably the one God told Wonka about. Immediately, I snuck into the tunnel and stopped the boy from going any further. Of course, being a little boy, I had startled him, but that wasn't my intention at all.
"I congratulate you, little boy. Well done," I began, deciding to give this boy my instructions out loud instead of whispering. "You've found the fifth Golden Ticket. May I introduce myself? Arthur Slugworth: President of Slugworth Chocolates, Incorporated. Now, listen carefully because I'm going to make you very rich indeed. Mr. Wonka is at this moment working on a fantastic new invention: the Everlasting Gobstopper. If he succeeds, he'll ruin me. So, all I want you to do is to get hold of just one Everlasting Gobstopper and bring it to me so that I can find the secret formula."
I then reached into my suit pocket and pulled out ten thousand dollars, neatly stacked together.
"Your reward will be ten thousand of these," I continued, flipping through the stack of money. "Think it over, will you. A new house for your family, and good food and comfort for the rest of their lives. And don't forget the name: Everlasting Gobstopper."
Having said my piece, I walked silently away and back towards the factory. It was apparent that Wonka was going to be demanding that I tell him the entire truth about what I saw and no sooner did I walk into his office, did I guess correctly.
"Well? Did you find him?"
"I did sir, yes," I replied, taking my hat off in front of him. "He was frightened, but that wasn't my intention at all."
"That's all right," Wonka remarked. "I reached out to the papers and asked them to send me an advanced copy of tomorrow's front page. I requested that the real recipient of the Golden Ticket be placed smack on the front page and that the false winner be placed at the bottom corner as a warning to any future pretenders."
Wonka was very adamant about what he had just said and had a look on his face that signified he wasn't going to tolerate pretenders.
"And," he continued. "One of the Oompa Loompas who had been scouting Bill's Candy Store, gave me this report on the boy in question. His name is Charlie Bucket and he lives in a poor rundown neighborhood with his mother and four grandparents."
"Does he have a father?"
"Sadly, no," Wonka sighed. "His father died when he was only 2 years old."
"Of what?"
"Drank himself to death."
"Then, it is clear he doesn't have a father figure in his life. Do you think that maybe this Charlie Bucket could not only be your successor, but the son you have been always looking for in your life?"
Those were the words that continued to play over and over again in Wonka's mind for the rest of the night. What was more was that the finding of the fifth Golden Ticket was right on the deadline. The candidates were coming to the factory and we needed to have everything up and running.
"Might as well get some sleep, Arthur," Wonka sighed, ignoring what I had just said. "Tomorrow is going to be a very important day for us."
Acknowledging this, I got on my hat and left Wonka's office for the night.
…
The next morning was October 1st. When I arrived, the crowds were already starting to arrive. Some of whom had been camping out throughout the night trying to get a glimpse of Wonka when he first came out the door.
"The crowds are anxious for you to arrive, Mr. Wonka," I said to Wonka as he sat in his office, reading the newspaper that he had requested the day before.
"It is good, Arthur," Wonka replied, reading the paper. "So it seems to me like I have a personal favorite for my successor judging from what I see here."
The smile on Wonka's face made it clear that this Charlie Bucket was someone who would make a decent heir to the throne. However, there were still four other candidates to consider in addition to Charlie.
Then Wonka came up with an idea.
"Arthur," he said, turning his attention from the newspaper and back to me. "How has the Fizzy Lifting Drinks testing been coming along?"
"Well, we have been testing it for 3 days now and it appears to work."
"Good, because as much as I like this Charlie Bucket, he stills needs to have his character tested. And sure enough, if he passes this test, then he can be truly seen as my successor."
I couldn't help but wonder to myself, but Wonka was creating a situation where this Charlie Bucket would get himself into a situation where he would violate the rules of his contract and thus, have his character tested.
"Mr. Wonka," Millicent said, peeking into the office. "The candidates are here."
We then looked up at the half clock in Wonka's office. It was 9:30, a half hour before Wonka would make his appearance to the crowd outside.
"Well Arthur, I need you to go outside and keep an eye on the candidates until I come out at 10:00," Wonka ordered. "If they make any sudden or suspicious movements, disqualify them at once. Understand?"
Acknowledging this, I made my way outside and blended amongst the crowds, keeping a close watch on the five candidates that were all about to enter the factory thinking that they would be guaranteed a lifetime supply of chocolate when, in reality, it was much more than that. For thirty minutes, I kept my eyes on them. Then, at 10:00, the bells rang ten times and the crowds fell silent. A few moments later, the door open and out stepped Wonka, walking with a cane, pretending he was old and crippled.
"Sir, what are you doing?" I thought to myself. "You aren't crippled."
Suddenly, he stuck the cane in the ground and slowly came to a stop. Then, he bent forward and did a somersault to the delight of the crowds.
…
Wonka's evaluation and narrowing of the successors was about to begin…