Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story.
A/n: Well, here it is, the next chapter of Confusion. I hope Willy isn't too OOC this chapter! Oh, and as usual, please review!
Chapter 3: Factory Tour
Charlie and Willy got back to the factory as fast as they could. Even so, they were still late for dinner. "Where have you two been? I was starting to get worried!" exclaimed Mrs. Bucket. "Sorry, Mom. We were on our way home for our walk, and a woman crashed right into Willy! The two of them got talking and we completely forgot the time," Charlie apologized.
"What's the woman's name?" asked Mrs. Bucket. "Veronica, but she prefers to be called Ronnie," said Charlie. Then, he remembered something else. "Mom, you'll never believe this, but Willy invited Ronnie to the factory!" he exclaimed.
Mrs. Bucket was shocked, to say the very least. "Willy, is this true?" she asked. "Unfortunately, yes," the Chocolatier groaned. "I think that's wonderful!" Mrs. Bucket said. "She's probably one of those despicable spies, though," said Willy. Mrs. Bucket had to stifle a giggle. "I'm sure she's not, Willy," she said reassuringly.
Suddenly, Mrs. Bucket thought of something important. "When's she coming to the factory, Willy?" she asked. "This Saturday. I'll never be ready in time!" exclaimed Willy. "The Oompa Loompas and I will help you," Charlie spoke up. Willy managed a smile. "'Kay," he agreed.
On Saturday morning, however, Willy was a nervous wreck. He barely ate any breakfast, even though Mrs. Bucket had made french toast, one of his all-time favorites. When it was nearly ten, he and Charlie headed to the front gates of the factory.
Meanwhile, Ronnie was waiting anxiously. She couldn't believe that she was about to see the world-famous Wonka factory! At exactly 10:00, the gates opened. "Please enter," said a voice (which Ronnie was positive was Willy's) over a loud speaker. Taking a deep breath, Ronnie did so. "Come forward," the voice instructed. Before long, Ronnie had reached the front doors of the factory and found herself face-to-face with Willy Wonka.
Willy giggled nervously. "Good morning Starshine!" he began. "The Earth says 'Hello'!" Ronnie finished. Willy smiled. "'Kay then, let's move along!" he announced. He led Ronnie inside the factory and down the front hallway.
"This is a very important room. After all, it is a chocolate factory!" Willy said excitedly as he stopped at the end of the hallway. "If I may ask, why is the door so small?" Ronnie asked. "To keep all the great big chocolaty flavor inside!" Willy answered. Then, he took a key out of his pocket, unlocked the door, and (to Ronnie's surprise) pushed on the wall.
Ronnie gasped as the wall (which she quickly realized was actually a door) opened up, revealing the most beautiful room she had ever seen. Tons of delicious candy plants were to be growing all over the place (at least, Ronnie assumed they were candy plants). And was that a chocolate river running through the middle of the room?
"This is incredible!" Ronnie breathed. "Try some of my meadow!" Willy offered. "You can eat the grass?" Ronnie asked, amazed. "'Course you can! Everything in this room is eatable, even me! But that is called cannibalism, and is in fact frowned upon in most societies," Willy explained. Ronnie blushed, although she wasn't quite sure why.
Willy gestured for Ronnie to help herself to whatever candy she wanted. He smiled as she ran around like a little girl, trying one candy after another. Just as Ronnie was finishing her candy binge, Willy heard the all too familiar sound of the candy boat coming down the river.
"All aboard!" Willy announced as the boat pulled up to the shore. Ronnie was amazed. She was going to get to ride in a pink candy boat? "I like your factory already!" she announced as she climbed into the boat. Willy grinned as he climbed in beside her. "Onward!" he told the strange little men who were rowing the boat.
Ronnie felt a tingle of excitement as the boat started to move. "Willy, what are those things?" she asked, pointing to the little men. "They're Oompa Loompas, imported direct from Loompaland!" Willy eagerly explained. "What's Loompaland?" asked Ronnie. Willy explained about how he had found the Oompa Loompas and brought them back to the factory after discovering how terrible Loompaland was.
Not long after Willy finished telling Ronnie about Loompaland, they came to the tunnel. "Full-speed ahead!" Willy announced. Ronnie squealed as they went over the chocolate rapids. This was exciting! Suddenly, the boat turned sharply and Ronnie lost her balance. She fell over, right into Willy's lap! Feeling awkward, Willy began absent-mindedly stroking Ronnie's hair. It felt soft and silky and…. "What am I doing?" Willy thought. Horrified, he pulled his hand away.
Ronnie couldn't believe it. Had Willy Wonka actually stroked her hair? It had sure felt nice! She started wondering how Willy's hair felt. "Stop that!" she mentally scolded herself. She had barely met Willy, and she was thinking like she…. "Stop the boat!" Willy said suddenly. Ronnie was extremely grateful for the distraction.
Willy opened the door to the Inventing Room and motioned Ronnie inside. "This is the most important room in the entire factory! Now, please enjoy yourself, but just don't touch anything…. 'Kay?" he announced.
Ronnie couldn't help but notice that Willy looked a lot more nervous than he had in the Chocolate Room. She realized that he was probably worried she might steal some of his recipes. After all that business with the spies, he had a right to be! Suddenly, she noticed a large, water-filled tank. An Oompa Loompa was in it, dressed in diving gear. He kept diving down to retrieve something. "What's this?" she asked Willy.
Willy jumped. Ronnie had startled him! He walked over to the tank. "I'll show you!" he said. The Oompa Loompa diver surfaced and handed him something. "These are Ever-lasting gobstoppers! They're for children who aren't given much allowance money," he explained. "Neat!" said Ronnie.
Willy held up the gobstopper. "You can suck on it all year, and it'll never get any smaller!" he announced. For some reason, Ronnie blushed. Willy shrugged and went on to explain about hair toffee.
After Willy had shown Ronnie the Inventing Room, he showed her the Nut Room. Then, he led her to the Glass Elevator. "This is the Great Glass…"Willy began, just before Ronnie ran smack-dab into the afore-mentioned object.
Embarrassed, Ronnie picked herself up. "You know, you ought to be more careful where you park that thing!" she said. Willy giggled. "My thoughts exactly!" Then Ronnie understood that Willy must have problems with running into the elevator, too.
Of course, Ronnie didn't realize that the elevator wasn't just an ordinary up and down one. When it leapt to the side, Ronnie, unprepared for it, fell over. To her absolute embarrassment, she landed right on top of Willy!
The Chocolatier felt extremely awkward with Ronnie leaning on him, pressing him against the wall of the elevator. As he looked down at Ronnie's face, now inches away from his own, he felt a strange warmth fill him. A few seconds later, he felt his blood flow change, heading southward.
Ronnie was surprised to find that it felt good to be leaning against Willy. In fact, she thought that she could stay like that forever! She reached up a hand and felt the smooth, soft skin of the Chocolatier's face.
Suddenly, Willy realized that the Oompa Loompas could easily see them through the walls of the elevator (it was made of glass, after all!). Embarrassed, he pushed Ronnie off of him. Ronnie blushed, snapping out of the moment. "I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry," she apologized. Willy giggled. "Well, on with the tour?" he asked.
A/n: I hope you liked it!
Chapter 4 preview: The tour continues!