Chapter 16

"Fall of the Fourth Candidate"

With two candidates remaining, Wonka led them into an all white room with a large camera operated by Oompa Loompa's that were also dressed in white.

"Wonkavision," Wonka explained, leading them towards the camera. "My very latest and greatest invention."

"It's television," corrected Mike.

"Uh, it's Wonkavision," Wonka corrected back. "Now I suppose you all know how ordinary television works. You photograph something and…"

"Sure I do," interrupted Mike. "You photograph something, and the photograph is split into millions of tiny pieces and they go whizzing through the air down to your TV set where they are all put together again in the right order."

However, Wonka didn't take kindly to being stood up like that.

"You should open your mouth a little wider when you speak," he warned Mike. "So I said to myself that if they could do it with a photograph, why can't I do it with a bar of chocolate?"

Right on cue, four Oompa Loompa's came in holding what appeared to be a large Wonka Chocolate bar, bringing it towards the camera and laying it down in front of it.

"I shall now send this chocolate bar, from one end of the room to the other," Wonka continued. "It has to be big because whenever you transmit something by television, it always ends up smaller on the other end. Googles on."

Everyone in the room placed their googles as Wonka ordered the camera snapped.

"Lights! Camera! Action!"

The camera flashed while Mrs. Teavee screamed in shock.

"You can remove your googles now," Wonka said.

"Where's the chocolate?" Charlie asked and Wonka directed them up towards a bunch of pieces floating in the air. "It's flying over our heads in a million pieces. Now, watch the screen."

He directed them towards a small screen where after twisting a few knobs, the chocolate bar reappeared, now much smaller than before.

"It's just a picture," Mike remarked.

"It's real, but it's just gotten smaller, that's all."

"It's perfect," gasped Charlie.

"It's unbelievable," added Mrs. Teavee.

"It's a miracle," gasped Grandpa Joe

"A TV dinner," said Mike in a smart alek voice.

"It's Wonkavision."

"It could change the world."

Watching from the Taffy pulling room, it was becoming more and more clear to me that Mike was going to have his character tested. At that moment, an Oompa Loompa from the Fizzy Lifting Drinks room came in with a message from Francis and Peter. The ceiling had been cleaned and sterilized. However, part of me was beginning to wonder if Wonka was really going to be acting or show genuine anger.

"Mr. Wonka," Mike asked. "Can you send other things? Not just chocolate, I mean?"

"Anything you want."

"What about…people?" Mike suggested, leaving his mother with a distressed look on her face.

"People? Hmm…I don't really know. I suppose I could. Yes, I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure I could, but it might have some messy results."

But Wonka's warning fell on deaf ears as Mike ran over to the camera.

"Look at me!" he said excitedly. "I'm going to be the first person in the world sent by television!"

"Mike, get away from that thing!" cried Mrs. Teavee.

"Stop! Don't! Come back!" added Wonka, although his voice had no emotion.

"Lights! Camera! Action!" Mike shouted and with a flash of light, he was gone much to the shock and horror of his mother.

"Mike! Where are you?" she screamed.

"He's up there, in a million pieces," said Grandpa Joe.

"Mike! Are you there?" cried Mrs. Teavee.

"No use shouting, my dear lady," advised Wonka. "Watch the screen."

Hastily heading to the small screen, Wonka attempted to rematerialize him while Mrs. Teavee remained scared and frightened.

"Mike? Why is he taking so long?"

"A million pieces take a long time to put together."

"Oh, where is he?"

"There's definitely something coming though," added Wonka. "It's hard to tell…"

"Is it Mike?"

Sure enough, it was Mike, but now an inch taller much to the further horror of his mother, who let out a small wail upon seeing her son the way he was.

"Our little group is getting smaller by the minute," cried Grandpa Joe.

"Look at me everyone, I'm the most famous person in the world to be sent by television!" called Mike. "It's like everything I've always dreamed."

"Mike, you get out of there right now!" cried Mrs. Teavee.

"Relax mom, don't worry about me," reassured Mike. "I'm famous, I'm a tv star! Wait til all the kids at home hear about this."

But Mrs. Teavee was having none of it and grabbed her shrunk son from the screen.

"Nobody's going to be hearing anything!" she scolded to her son.

"Where are you taking me?" cried Mike as Mrs. Teavee placed her son into her purse. "I don't want to go in there."

"Shut up," ordered Mrs. Teavee before closing the purse on her son and directing her attention towards Wonka. "Well?"

"Well, fortunately, small boys are extremely springy and elastic…so I think we'll put him in my special taffy pulling machine. That should do the trick."

Mrs. Teavee felt her heart sink upon hearing and couldn't figure out what was about to happen.

"To the taffy pulling room," he whispered to the Oompa Loompa in white. "You'll find the little boy in his mother's purse. But, be extremely careful."

"T…t…taffy…what…what's he saying?"

"No, no, I won't hold you responsible."

However, those words did little to help Mrs. Teavee and she fainted in Grandpa Joe's arms, horrified at what they were about to do with her son.

"And now, my dearest lady," Wonka said to the fainted Mrs. Teavee. "It's time to say goodbye."

The frightened mother let out a loud moan upon hearing this.

"No, no, don't speak," Wonka advised. "For some things in life, there are no words. Run along now."

Still fainted, two of the Oompa Loompa's dragged Mrs. Teavee away while Wonka watched with a small smile on his face and the tension in him continuing to build.

"Adieu, Adieu, parting is such sweet sorrow."

…

Sure enough, the young boy was brought to the taffy pulling room and stretched out to his normal self while I supervised.

"Michael Teavee!" snarled Mrs. Teavee as she dragged her newly pulled son out of the taffy pulling machine. "You are in so much trouble, young man!"

"But, mom…"

"Don't but mom me!"

"Mr. Teavee, I'm Arthur Wilkinson, vice president of Wonka candies and I'm sorry to tell you that you are no longer considered for the lifetime supply of chocolate."

"That's just the beginning of his troubles," shouted Mrs. Teavee. "Isn't it?"

Dragging her son by his ear, Mrs. Teavee led her son away. Little did I know at that moment that another copy of the fizzy lifting drink report had been placed in Wonka's coat pocket and there was no denying the fact that Wonka's contained frustration and his contained anger was about to break loose on the last candidate.

Charlie Bucket was about to face his true test of character…