Review responses!
Sonny April - Yes they are, and you can now see what happens right here!
Dragonserpent18- Things shall be different, and I'm glad I was able to impress you :)
Softkitty55- I loved writing the part where Samantha confesses everything too! I hope you like this chapter as well.
JOHNHAMMOND1993- Sorry about my vague reviews, I just didn't want to give the story away too much. However, I will tell you that this chapter a lesson could be learned ;)
LaraClover- Aw I'm glad you like Fernando and I'm sure you're not the only one there either. As for Eleanor, you shall have to keep reading to find out what happens with her. Oh and thanks for complimenting my story, it means a lot to me :)
MattTheWriter072- Yes there indeed is work for Charlie in regards to his heir. Anyway you shall now find out what Dessert island has in store!
Now let's move along and get reading :D
"Come on everyone, in we go!" Charlie exclaimed, leading the guests to the glass elevator. However, not all of them were convinced that this was a safe method of transport.
"Are you mad? You can't possibly expect us to ride in that!" Bryant shouted, pointing towards the chocolatier as if he was completely bonkers.
"Surely this isn't safe for us to even consider using" Judy added, she too expressing concern about the elevator.
Charlie then spent at least a minute on explaining how efficient the great glass elevator really was, informing them on how there was only a 0.1% chance they could crash.
"Stop faffing around, let's go in!" Mandy demanded seconds later, putting an end to the safety discussion.
As the guests gathered inside the elevator, some were looking around in astonishment at the impressive amount of buttons along both sides.
"Woah, look at all those button's auntie!" Eleanor exclaimed in admiration, her eyes darting around each button.
"Yes, they're quite magnificent" Fiona happily agreed.
Fernando also had the same look of curiosity as he asked, "how many rooms do you have in the factory?"
Charlie smiled slightly as he was about to answer his question, however, an interruption occurred.
"Mr. Bucket" Mandy began, walking towards the chocolatier with a sweet smile. "Let me press a button, I want to press a button!" Mandy then shouted, her smile vanishing as shortly as it appeared.
Charlie didn't respond as he pressed a button himself, earning a death glare from the blonde haired girl.
The elevator then jerked to the left as it took the guests to their destination, some of the group had their eyes squeezed shut due to the frightening speed they were traveling at. Then in a matter of seconds, the elevator landed with a thud, shocking the guests once more before realizing they had arrived in front of a door which said, Dessert island, in yellow and light brown flashing letters.
"Welcome to Dessert island!" Charlie said as the guests stumbled out of the elevator. Charlie then opened the door to reveal a room covered with all kinds of various desserts, including a yellow fluid that circled the outside of the island.
"This room right here is where I make some of the most delicious desserts ever made" Charlie began, as he turned to look at each and every person's reaction. Some of which were good, others not so good.
The chocolatier then took this as an opportunity to explain further. "To give you an idea of just some of the many wonders, if you look to your right you can see the rice pudding rocks. Then to your left, we have the cookie dough caves, along with the pavlova palm trees and the chocolate brownie sand."
"Sick bro" Joseph exclaimed in amazement.
"Incredible!" Eleanor added.
"Disgusting" Bryant muttered under his breath.
"Actually I think it's gorgeous Mr. Bucket" Fernando commented, smiling at the view. However, he and Bryant clearly weren't on the same page as he turned to give his son a stern glare, which Fernando put in a huge amount of effort to ignore.
Before Bryant could say anything, a sudden noise filled the room as a long object came around the corner. Once the object traveled closer towards the guests, some of them stared in awe as the object was revealed to be a bus in all different colors driven by an Oompa Loompa.
"Now this is the latest addition to the island, I would like to introduce you all to the around the clock dessert bus!" Charlie said, the excitement in his voice noticeable.
The Mai's, in particular, were intrigued by the vehicle.
"Mr. Bucket, how many kinds of desserts are on the bus?" Eleanor asked the same question which a few others were also interested in getting an answer to.
"Well this bus consists of lemon meringue pie at the front, cherry Bakewell tarts in the middle and ice cream sundae at the end."
Charlie then turned to look at the guests, as they absorbed all the information the chocolatier had told them.
"Can you sit in it?" Joseph asked, earning a groan from his younger brother.
"Oh yes, and the seats are made from the finest cheesecake so you can travel in comfort!" Charlie replied. Grinning when seeing some of the guests delighted smiles.
"Mother I want a beautiful bus like this, that's what I want" Mandy happily declared, beaming at the sight of the bus. But her happy moment didn't last long, as she soon turned to Judy, her earlier beam transforming into a commanding glare. "So you better make sure I get one!"
"What she wants is a good kick up the backside" Steven grumbled.
"Bro" Joseph whispered, elbowing Steven for his unnecessary comment.
"You shall get one, my dear, just as soon as I possibly can" Judy responded to a less than satisfied daughter.
Mandy was then about to open her mouth to protest until she was sharply interrupted by Charlie as he announced, "anyway people I think I speak for all of us when I say let's cut the chit-chat and explore!"
Charlie was then met with a few smiles and cheers, mostly from everyone except for Bryant.
"You can all speak for yourselves, but my son and I will not allow ourselves to be lured in with your sugary toxins," Bryant said, shooting a disapproving look towards the chocolatier.
However, Fernando didn't say or do anything to confirm any kind of agreement.
Looks like you're the only one there" Steven sniggered, distracting Bryant from saying anything else to Fernando.
At that very moment was when Charlie decided to intervene by dismissing the group to take a good look around the room, giving them a time limit of ten minutes.
Once the majority of the group had run off to do what they pleased, this left Fernando and his father on their own.
"Look at them all, stuffing their faces with those nasty sugary substances. But we shall not lower ourselves down to their levels" Bryant said in a serious lecturing tone.
But Fernando, on the other hand, had different ideas. Instead of acknowledging his father's words he dared to take a couple of adventurous steps forward towards the bus, reaching his hand out to grab some of the stunning sweet treats. That was until he felt himself being forcefully dragged back by his shoulder.
"Fernando!" Bryant hissed before adding, "what is the matter with you boy!" Uncaring of the fact that Oompa Loompa driving the bus gave him a look of irritation.
"I don't know where this foolish attitude has come from, but it goes right back where you found it!" Bryant continued, and when he saw Fernando hadn't taken any notice of him he growled in anger, his grip on Fernando's shoulder becoming tighter.
But unlike previous times, Fernando decided to stand up for himself by aggressively shoving Bryant's hand off his shoulder, surprising his father before running away. Bryant was about to chase after him when the Oompa Loompa who had been watching them moved the bus so it was blocking Bryant's view.
Bryant and the Oompa Loompa spent the next minute exchanging stern stares, that was until the Oompa Loompa reluctantly moved the bus so that Bryant was free to go and find Fernando.
"Oh great," Bryant mumbled to himself as he began to walk around, in search for his son.
Meanwhile further back into the island, Joseph Fox was currently investigating a tall tower made entirely from strawberry trifle. Just as he began to try climbing his way up to the top, Steven came up behind him with an unimpressed look.
"So your stupidity has once again come to guide you through another idiotic idea," Steven said, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
Joseph turned to face his younger brother with a smirk on his face. "Aw come on bro, turn that frown upside down and have some fun for once eh?"
Steven huffed in response.
"I bet I could get up to the very top way before you!" Joseph chanted, grinning at Steven as he spoke.
"You wouldn't get up to the top if your life depended on it, besides you're scared of heights" Steven bluntly pointed out.
Joseph sighed. "You know, maybe that blueberry girl was right about you bro" was all he said before proceeding to attempt to climb the tower. Leaving Steven to continue wandering around the island alone.
Only a few meters away Mandy Perkins could be seen rushing off towards a hut that looked to be made entirely out of gingerbread. Wasting no time in opening the door to reveal a bed that appeared to consist of butterscotch and bread and butter pudding, Mandy then shouted for her mother to come inside to see for herself.
When Judy arrived she too was astounded by what she saw.
"Mother, I want a bed just like this!" Mandy said, just as she had decided to try out the bed for comfort, which instantly gained her approval.
"But Mandy my dear, I only got you that leopard fur quilt last week," Judy said with a hint of shock in her voice.
Mandy's head whipped round to face her mother in pure irritation. "I said I want this one, and not just any old knock off one, I demand to have the real thing!"
Judy sighed as she saw her daughter stomp out of the house, knocking off a few crumbs of the gingerbread from the door as she swung it open with rage. "You always ruin everything for me!" Mandy whined, ignoring the guilty expression on her mother's face.
However, the bed along with many other things were soon forgotten about as Mandy feasted her eyes on the yellow liquid that covered the outside of the island. Her eyes widened as it suddenly dawned on her of how much of it there really was. Just as she was about to run up to the yellow liquid, Charlie who had initially walked past stopped her there and then.
"Mandy, I must stop you there, I cannot let human hands touch this substance!" Charlie exclaimed, causing her to become rather cross.
"And why not?!" Mandy snapped. Judy then made the effort to step in by gently pulling her daughter nearer to her, preventing any more arguments from taking place.
Soon afterwards the Fox brothers, the Beauregarde's and Fiona all gathered round to where they had heard all the commotion. As the little group stared between Mandy and the chocolatier, Charlie was the one to explain.
"Ok, since we're here I might as well show you my special edition to the dessert island. This yellow stuff I have right here is, in fact my Charlie custard." Charlie explained, earning a few glances in response.
So what's so special about this custard, other than the fact you've added your name to it?" Steven asked dryly.
Charlie tried his best to put a smile on his face before answering his question. "Well unlike regular custard this has the power to spell out the name of the person who comes into contact with it. Here I'll show you!"
All of a sudden the custard began to rapidly ripple for a few seconds before displaying Mandy's name in large letters, just as she had decided to take a couple of steps further to get a glimpse of what was happening. Mandy smiled gleefully as she fully embraced the magical moment.
"I want my name to come up again!" Mandy shouted once her name from the custard disappeared, transforming into spelling out Steven's name.
The blue haired boy huffed, taking no interest whatsoever.
When the custard went from Steven to Samantha, the jet black haired girl earned herself a few looks. All she did in return was let out a small smile.
But before anyone could do or say anything, shouting could be heard to the right which became louder as Bryant who had been the one shouting came up towards the little group. Groaning, when asking whether any of them had seen Fernando.
"Aw, has your little dog finally escaped from his leash?" Steven asked mockingly, earning himself a glare for an answer.
"Well, I can't say I'm not surprised" Violet mumbled under her breath.
Bryant grunted as he left to continue to search for Fernando.
"I want to try some custard," Mandy said as soon as Bryant had gone.
"And indeed you shall" Charlie agreed, "so if you all would like to come this way you may try some, providing that you use a ladle."
As Charlie dished out the ladles from a bright red bucket an Oompa Loompa had brought over, Mandy was the first one to snatch a ladle from him. Judy, the Beauregarde's and Fiona were next to take a ladle, while Steven reluctantly took one for himself with his brother following behind him.
Once everyone had kneeled down next to each other, they all dipped their ladles in at the same time. Most of them sighing with joy as the sweetness, along with the soft texture of the custard melted in their mouths.
During the time they had spent trying the custard, Eleanor was exploring the island from top to bottom. She had already tried various types of desserts which was evident by the small traces of food left on her hands. As she was skipping along she heard a small shuffling noise from the distance, being unable to work out where it came from she ignored it. Her attention turned to the chocolate brownie sand beneath her feet. Bending down to pick some up she heard the same noise for the second time, but this time closer to where she had previously been.
Now unable to ignore the noises, Eleanor took a few steps closer to where it was coming from. Once she was sure that the shuffling sound was becoming more noticeable Eleanor decided to carry on walking until it had led her to one of the Cookie dough caves.
Being brave enough to step inside, it took her eyes a few minutes to adjust to the inside of the cave, noticing the little chocolate chips standing out from the dark.
"Hello?" Eleanor called out, a little startled when she received a snuffle in response.
Deciding to take a couple of steps closer, she was greeted by a small figure which appeared to be sitting in a corner. As Eleanor made another move she then realized this figure was, in fact, Fernando huddled against the wall, with noticeable tear stains.
"Fernando!" Eleanor called, causing him to jump with fright.
"Sorry" Eleanor whispered straight afterwards, guilt invading her facial features.
"Is it ok if I sit here?" Eleanor quietly asked seconds later, earning a silent nod from Fernando.
"What are doing here alone in the dark?" Eleanor asked as she carefully sat down beside him.
"I'm hiding from my dad," Fernando said in a small whisper.
"Why?" Eleanor suddenly blurted out, placing a hand over her mouth as soon as it came out.
Fernando sighed, deciding to explain himself to her. "Eleanor, I don't get to experience the same joy as everyone else. I am confined to a life of strict boundaries and misery, all because of my dad's obsession for me to look good, no matter the cost."
"Even if that cost is your happiness and wellbeing?" Eleanor said, noticing Fernando's face crumple at the word happiness.
"Sometimes I just feel as if I'm an animal who's trapped in this cage, the cage being my father" Fernando explained, snuffling as he spoke.
"Why don't you try telling him" Eleanor suggested, earning a slow nod from Fernando.
"He wouldn't care" was Fernando's blunt reply.
"What about your mother, have you tried telling her how you feel?" Eleanor asked, keeping her voice soft to encourage Fernando to answer her questions.
Fernando silently shook his head. "She's even worse, she was the one who started this modeling business. My father was a nice man until it became our lives, he and mum often argue over it. Sometimes I listen in and it's those times when she will look at me as if I was dirt on her shoe. Once she even hit me, saying it was my fault and that I deserved it. Dad wanted to stop her, but one look from her and he changed his mind. Since then he's taken up the same attitude."
Fernando struggled to hold back a sob as a few tears slipped down his cheeks. Eleanor soon found herself wrapping him into a hug, smiling slightly as she felt Fernando snuggle into her embrace.
"I don't know how much more I can deal with" Fernando whispered into her shoulder, his breath tickling Eleanor's neck.
After staying in a hugging position for a few more seconds, Fernando lifted his head off of her shoulder and reluctantly picked himself up and made his way out of the cave. Eleanor followed soon afterwards, still concerned for him.
"Well I guess I should go find my father, I can't hide from him forever," Fernando said sadly, turning to look at Eleanor, his face the portrait of sorrow.
."You can always stay with me so your father can't hurt you." Eleanor suggested, smiling when seeing Fernando's grateful look.
"Yeah" was all Fernando could say as he suddenly tripped over. Landing on a piece of cookie dough that had come off the cave, which was splattered all over his red shirt.
"Fernando, your shirt!" Eleanor cried as she was about to help Fernando up. But when doing so she saw an unusual grin on his face. "Fernando?" Eleanor asked, unsure of what to expect.
Silently getting back up on his feet he grabbed some of the cookie dough from the cave. Shoving it into his mouth, his grin becoming even wider.
"Fernando, what if your father sees you!" Eleanor exclaimed with worry.
However, Fernando seemed to be anything but worried.
"You know what? For once I don't care" Fernando replied smugly, then all of a sudden he rushed off into the distance. Eleanor ran after him shouting for him to stop and come back.
Although Fernando could hear her, it didn't stop him from madly running up to everything in sight, grabbing as much of each dessert he came across as he could. He then stuffed it into his mouth, uncaring of the fact some went down his shirt.
"Fernando no, you'll get into trouble!" Eleanor exclaimed just as she had managed to catch up with him. Fernando turned to her before saying, "you told me I should tell him how I feel, so I am."
Before Eleanor could respond Fernando beat her to it. "I have lived under the word 'no' for years, it's time to show my father what I really think of him!" He then raced off towards where the others were.
"Fernando!" Eleanor called again while chasing after him, desperate to get to him before his father did.
The small group of guests who had been trying the custard turned their attention towards the commotion that was happening just a few meters away from them. Looking closely to what was actually going on, they could see a figure running towards them.
"Isn't that Fernando?" Samantha questioned as soon as she saw the familiar red shirt he wore.
Before anyone could answer, Eleanor could be heard frantically shouting out Fernando's name as she struggled to catch up with him. This caused everyone to shift their focus onto the two running children, some startled when seeing Fernando's messy appearance.
Once Fernando had stopped running, Eleanor nearly fell to the floor from the impact of the unplanned exercise. "Fer- nando- ple-ase- st-op" Eleanor panted out in between huge gasps for air.
But Fernando had other ideas as his eyes were soon attracted to the pool of custard. Giggling with excitement it took him no time at all to push his way in between Mandy and Joseph, before kneeling down dangerously close to the edge as he dunked his entire hand into the custard.
From within the distance, Bryant who had been looking for his son nonstop caught a glimpse of Fernando with the others eating custard.
"Fernando!" Bryant yelled as he rushed over to him, grimacing in disgust when seeing his son shove custard into his mouth.
"Fernando, get away from that vile stuff this instant!" Bryant shouted, his fists once again clenched.
"Seriously Fernando, you are way too close to the edge!" Charlie exclaimed straight afterwards. He ignored both their warnings.
Steven looked up at Bryant with a smirk. "Your dog no longer being loyal to you?" he asked in mock concern.
Ignoring the blue haired boy's comment, Bryant only became angrier at his son's act of disobedience.
"Fernando, if you don't obey me right this minute, the consequences for you will be severe!" Bryant viciously shouted through gritted teeth.
"I don't care!" Fernando shouted back, surprising his father and the others when turning to glare at his father.
"Oh and now your dog barks back" Steven scornfully chuckled, laughing more when seeing Bryant's reaction.
"Fernando- I have never experienced such a" Bryant was then forcefully cut off by his sons roared response.
"Shut up, you're always having a go at me!"
Bryant's facial expression darkened, almost pushed to his absolute limit.
"I'm warning you one last time Fernando, get back here, away from the sickly substance at once!"
Again his father's shouted out words went ignored, instead he turned to face him again with a big blob of custard in his hand. Bryant growled when noticing his son had no intentions of putting it down.
"You don't like that, do you!" Fernando yelled as he shoved more of the custard into his mouth.
Suddenly Bryant along with a few others saw the ground Fernando was kneeling on was gradually falling apart beneath his knees.
"He'll fall!" Charlie warned, worried for Fernando's safety.
However before an Oompa Loompa or the chocolatier himself could do anything, Bryant had already rushed over next to where his son was.
"That's got him worried" Judy stated, earning a few glares for herself.
"Fernando Cruz this is serious, you must listen to me when I say get away from here now!" Bryant cried, losing his patience when Fernando didn't make a single move.
"Why should I? All you care about is how I should present myself for those stupid modeling shows!" Fernando retorted.
Bryant was about to come up with a reply when the cracking of the ground became more extreme, which this time Fernando felt, causing him to panic.
Immediately afterwards Fernando began to back away, with the help of Eleanor and Fiona who grabbed his arms, leading him to safety
On the other hand, Bryant wasn't so lucky as when he made his way back to the group, the ground beneath him suddenly collapsed, causing him to fall in the custard.
"Dad!" Fernando screamed, just as Bryant had violently hit the custard with a huge splash.
Most of the remaining guests gasped in horror as they watched to see if Bryant managed to resurface.
"Aw no, he's ruined perfectly good custard now," Steven said with fake concern, all he got in return was a stern look from the chocolatier.
Stevens comment was soon forgotten as seconds later Bryant could be seen within the distance, his arms flailing around the custard with his face and body caked in the yellow substance.
"Dad!" Fernando shouted, trying to get to where his father had fallen from. But he was held back by Eleanor who told him it wasn't safe.
Suddenly Samantha started to notice something odd occurring with the custard. "Er guys what's happening down there?" She asked, getting everyone else to look around to see the pool of custard starting to vibrate.
"What's going on there man?" Joseph's asked.
"The custards moving" Judy added.
"What does it mean?" Fiona inquired.
"It's starting the whisking process" Charlie informed, just as the whisk made an appearance from the ceiling. Then in a matter of seconds, the whisk began the process of whisking the custard, meaning that Bryant was pulled by the force of the whisk
As the whisk twisted and turned, Bryant found it difficult to keep himself from going under. When the whisk finally stopped, Bryant let out a heavy gasp for air as he felt himself being lifted up by a strange force.
The groups questioning looks were soon answered as a group of Oompa Loompas could be detected lifting Bryant up onto a raft made from strawberry jam rolls. Four Oompa Loompas sat on the raft with him, while the others began to play a classical French style tune, featuring an accordion.
The remaining ones proceeded to sing and dance to the following words, some of the lyrics appearing on the custard. The group remained silent during the whole song.
Fernando Cruz, the "cool kid" with not a single bruise
The son of a man who's impatient and a short fuse
Who seems to find pleasure in being vain
Only to cause himself never-ending pain
But we all know without a doubt
Without the need to scream nor shout
That it is you who's the utter jerk
No wonder the little boy went berserk.
Looking like a starving, dull-minded seagull
while the thought of beauty is pressed in his thick skull
and with all those bright cameras flashing
Along with the hurtful, grating ear bashing.
He fails at looking up to you
because he hates what you say and do
You see Bryant Cruz, your words do hurt
Which make this boy feel like utter dirt.
Before you go, we must let you know
That Fernando's not a dog you put on a show
Maybe soon, you'll find the gall
To stop treating him like a Barbie Doll.
As soon as their song had finished the raft Bryant has been placed on snapped, causing him to once again be a victim of the custards grasp. Before anyone could say or do anything the pool of custard suddenly took a drastic turn, transforming itself into a giant whirlpool which Bryant was helplessly dragged deeper into.
Bryant's screaming was the last thing the guests heard and saw of him before the custard had eventually sucked him into where it would travel to its respective room. Just like water does when going down a plughole. The pool remained empty until a large pipe squirted out a whole new load of custard, automatically filling up the space the other portion had.
Fernando could only squeak in response, having no words to say on the matter.
"I thought we agreed on no demise songs!" Charlie hissed into the ear of the Oompa Loompa who had been stood beside him since the beginning of the disaster.
"Sometimes telling someone isn't enough, we must show them their fatal flaws in person" the Oompa Loompa responded, earning a sigh from the chocolatier.
"Alright fine, but as long as nobody gets hurt" Charlie whispered, the Oompa Loompa nodded in agreement.
"Mr. Bucket," Fiona said, "where has he gone?"
Charlie gave her and the rest of the group an apologetic look. "He's gone down to the packing area."
Just then one of the Oompa Loompas that had sung Bryant's son put on an orange scuba diving costume, wasting no time sending himself through the pipe on the other side to find Fernando's father.
An awkward silence then haunted the room for nearly a minute. "Will he come back?" Eleanor asked seconds later, breaking the horrible silence.
"Yes he will, I promise you that" Charlie replied in a more confident tone of voice.
"Perhaps he'll become a sweeter person" Violet stated, a few people turned around to look at her. Some with questioning looks.
Everyone's attention soon turned to Fernando who was sat by himself, staring at the pool of custard, rocking himself back and forth, shaking with fear.
"My dad" Fernando whimpered just as Eleanor had chosen to walk up to him.
"He'll be okay, don't worry," Eleanor said comfortingly, this got Fernando to look up her with tear filled eyes.
"I'm scared to carry on alone" Fernando admitted gently, letting out a shaky breath as he spoke.
"I'll look after you" Eleanor offered, holding her hand out to him. Fernando gave her a watery smile in return as he allowed her to take his hand into hers.
"Come on, let's get a move on!" Mandy yelled impatiently, stamping her foot to get her point across.
Charlie sighed. "Yeah okay, come, one people, we shall now be taking the around the clock dessert bus to see some very cool stuff."
While the group made their move towards the bus, Samantha let her gaze wander over to Eleanor, smiling slightly at how caring and considerate she was. It nearly made her wonder what had been going through her mind when deciding to use her kindness against her.
"Come along everyone, we still have lots to see!" Charlie exclaimed, temporally distracting her from her thoughts.
Samantha gave Eleanor one last look as she thought to herself, maybe Fernando's found that girl.
Wow! Sorry for the length peeps, I just couldn't have uploaded the chapter without it all as I wouldn't have felt right about it. (I'm not exactly known for short chapters)
I shall now say a massive thank you to Dragonserpent18 for helping me with the song lyrics, as without his help the song wouldn't exist!
So to end this, do you think Bryant will as Violet say's become a sweeter person from his experience?
That's all, enjoy your day and I look forward to seeing what you thought about this chapter :)