Review response time.
Melonhead- Thanks!
ELANDO- Okay then, I'm sure they will appreciate the support!
Dragonserpent18-You may find out in this chapter, and I thought it would make a good change.
Sonny April- I enjoyed writing that part so much, and thanks as I couldn't have done it without Dragonserpent18!
Softkitty55- Yeah he did, you may now see if he's changed or not :D
MattTheWriter072- Yeah he sure did and thanks :)
JOHNHAMMOND1993- Hmm. I understand where you're coming from but I wrote it so Fernando would get the chance tp stand up to Bryant and his controlling ways. oh and after this chapter, there are six left!
Girlpower54- That's ok and I'm glad you liked it.
Let's read on people!
"Ah, here we are! Come along people, all aboard the dessert bus!" Charlie called out just as the guests had made their way towards the bus.
"About time too!" Mandy shouted, her arms tightly folded across her chest.
Before anyone could respond, the bus suddenly made a loud rumbling noise. The group then turned their attention to the roof of the bus that was slowly lowering itself down, to only display the seats in their places.
Charlie hummed in appreciation as he saw the guests reactions.
" As you can see this bus also has a special feature that can remove the roof top within seconds, didn't I mention that?" Charlie said with a smile on his face.
"In other words, it's one of those tacky looking tour buses" Steven commented. Charlie did his best to prevent a groan from escaping.
"Anyway as always, ladies first" Charlie then said, gesturing for the girls of the group to come forward.
Just as Eleanor had made her move to get on the bus, she was suddenly pushed aside by the impatient Mandy Perkins, with her mother following closely behind.
Judy huffed as she turned to look at Eleanor as if she was a peasant. "You heard the man, ladies first and that means Mandy." Judy said before hastily adding, "and no one shall dare to argue otherwise!" Pointing a finger to everyone else behind her.
"Yes your majesty" Steven responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm which Judy scowled at.
Soon afterward, the rest of the group made a move to get on the bus, up the stairs towards a seat. This ended up with the Perkins sitting next to each other, the Fox brothers doing the same but on the opposite side of them. The Beauregarde's sat at the back by themselves, leaving Fiona sitting by herself behind Eleanor who chose to sit with Fernando at the front with Charlie and an Oompa Loompa beside them on the opposite row.
Eleanor couldn't help but slightly bounce on the seat, calmly sighing in delight over how good the seat made out of cheesecake really was.
"Are we all ready to go?" Charlie asked before telling the Oompa Loompa driving to go ahead.
Once the bus started moving Charlie's voice could be heard echoing through a microphone, startling the group for a second before listening to what the chocolatier had to say.
"Over here are the desserts that I prefer to keep hidden for special occasions such as this" Charlie said, causing the guests to turn and look at what was in store for them.
"If you look to your left you will see the spectacular Sorbet sludge slide!" Charlie announced. The group all did what they were told to see this sight for themselves, some more interested than others.
Indeed in front of their very own eyes was a slide completely made out of Sorbet sludge, where two Oompa Loompas were seen taking turns in happily sliding down the slide. A few pieces of sludge lightly splashing the guests, some laughing while others groaned.
"Now if you look to your right you shall see the tiramisu trampoline, which may I add has more bounce to it than any other in the entire world" Charlie proudly stated.
A few from the group took the time to see the trampoline occupied by three Oompa Loompas bouncing around on it, laughing as they enjoyed seeing who could bounce the highest.
Eleanor's eyes went particularly wide as she saw how incredibly high above the trampoline could take someone in a single jump.
Eleanor then turned to Fernando whose gaze was also on the trampoline. Eleanor smiled as she patted his shoulder. "Wow, look at how high in the sky they are! Doesn't it look fun?" Eleanor enthusiastically asked, eager for a response from the quiet boy next to her.
"Yeah" Fernando nervously replied, wriggling in his seat when answering her question.
Not too far behind them, Mandy had also taken an interest in the trampoline. "Mother I want that trampoline, you better get me that trampoline!"
Judy turned to face her daughter with a tired facial expression. "Yes, Mandy" was her quiet response to her daughter's demand.
As the bus continued to gradually move around, the group were treated to various other unusual sights including a swing set made out of scones, bubble gum bubbles you could actually float around in, and a rhubarb roundabout that was faster than three race cars put together.
"And now I would like to show you one last thing before we stop" Charlie announced just as the bus had stopped in front of a pile of small square blue boxes. The strong smell of blackcurrant wafting through the air, right into the guest's noses.
Then out of nowhere little purply black fuzzy blobs emerged from the blue boxes, some making squeaky noises as they made their way towards the guests, who mostly squealed with excitement.
"Mr. Bucket, these are so cute!" Fiona stated just as a blob had jumped up on her lap, causing her to chuckle.
"Ah yes, these are my beat bullying blackcurrant blobs for those who struggle with the effects of bullying and could do with a friend," Charlie explained, smiling when seeing the groups looks of approval. Charlie then turned around to observe how each and every person reacted and in some cases interacted with a blob.
The first person he found himself looking at was Eleanor, and he knew without a doubt that she fully appreciated what was in front of her. The chocolatier didn't have to look at her for long to see his predictions had been correct.
His gaze then went to Fernando, who was more reserved with how he interacted with the blob. Nevertheless, it didn't stop him from giggling as the blob bounced on his leg, he even let out a small smile when realizing the blob was indeed harmless.
Charlie continued to watch them play with their blobs for a few more seconds before turning his attention onto the Fox brothers. As usual, Joseph had taken a huge liking towards them, on the other hand when Charlie focused his attention on Steven he didn't seem to have that usual look of boredom plastered on his face. Instead, he looked quite, bewildered at how friendly the blob was towards him. But what he didn't expect was for the blob to wrap him in its own version of a hug, however, what was even more shocking was that Steven did nothing to protest against it.
Needless to say, the chocolatier found himself gawping at what he had just witnessed as if he had just found out something about the blue haired boy, something he wished he hadn't.
The chocolatier could have almost been happy to hear Mandy's demanding voice, spitefully ordering her mother to take their two blobs for her so she could keep them as pets. The blobs immediately jumped off Mandy's lap in fear of being taken for her own pleasure, causing the bratty girl to hastily attempt to grab them as if they had no right to escape from her.
"Where are they? I want them, they're mine!" Mandy yelled, kicking the seat in front of her out of anger.
Charlie could only sigh, deciding he no longer wanted to watch any more of her tantrums. Instead, he turned his focus onto the Beauregarde's. While Violet like most of the others seemed to take an interest in the blob that was currently squeaking at her, Samantha was an entirely different story. The much younger Beauregarde seemed more interested in watching the others play with the blobs than the blobs themselves. Samantha's gaze was particularly fixed on Eleanor, her eyes darting around to watch her every move.
Before he could write anything down an Oompa Loompa patted his shoulder. "We should leave" was all he said to get a nod of agreement from the chocolatier.
Once Charlie had whistled for the blobs to return to their boxes, the Oompa Loompa next to him made a knocking noise with his foot. This signaled the driver to drive them to Charlie's chosen destination.
The rest of the journey was spent in tolerable silence as no one had much to say, apart from the occasional 'where are we going' which Charlie didn't answer, and he wasn't going to answer until the journey was over.
When the bus did slow down nearer to their destination, from the corner of everyone's eye came an Oompa accompanied by Bryant who remained coated in thick yellow custard. Fernando shrunk back in his seat when seeing his father standing on the platform, despite being unable to see his facial expression.
As the bus began to come to a halt Bryant then looked up towards it, his face no longer displaying the usual glare of anger boiling inside his eyes. In fact, it was safe to say that his high levels of rage had been replaced with deep remorse.
Within the distance whispers about Bryant could be heard.
"I see he's made a comeback" Judy bluntly stated.
"He looks like a soggy banana" Steven sniggered.
"I do hope his experiences makes him realize he must change his ways," Fiona said gently.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at our destination!" Charlie happily announced, distracting the group from making any more comments on Bryant. Charlie then gestured for the guests to step off the bus carefully. As they made their way to the platform one or two glances were directed at Bryant, which went unnoticed. While most of the group had done as Charlie said, Fernando stayed glued to his seat, breathing heavily as if he was going to pass out at any moment.
"Fernando, breathe, it's going to be okay," Eleanor said, acknowledging Fernando's quick breathing which had calmed down slightly.
Fernando then turned to look at the ginger haired girl, a look of worry plastered on his face. "I can't face him" he whimpered, rubbing at his arms as an act of comfort.
Eleanor then took a minute to glance at Bryant before turning back to Fernando. "Fernando, I don't think he's angry" Eleanor reassured before quietly adding, "he looks quite sad."
The French boy took a moment to get a good look at his father's facial expression, sighing when seeing his lost look for himself. "Do you really think he's changed?" he questioned, fear clear in his voice.
"Yes I do" Eleanor replied confidently but as equally comforting, confidence was what Fernando needed most.
Fernando hesitated for a few seconds before deciding he had done enough hiding. He then followed Eleanor down the stairs, cautiously stepping off the bus to where everyone else was standing waiting for them as if he was about to be attacked.
"I still don't see why we couldn't have just left them behind!" Mandy shouted straight after Fernando's appearance.
"Well now that everyone is here, we can carry on," Charlie said before any arguments could occur.
But just as Charlie had gathered everyone up, an almost unrecognizable small voice interrupted.
"Mr. Bucket, could me and Fernando have some time alone please?" Bryant asked, gaining the attention of everyone on the platform.
Charlie couldn't recall a single memory where Bryant had been polite towards himself or others before now. "Certainly" was all he could say in response, before leading the others to where they were heading.
Once the group had left them to it, neither Fernando nor Bryant spoke for what seemed like the longest few seconds of their lives. In the end, Bryant took a deep breath and prepared himself for something he didn't expect he would have to do.
"Tell me what you think of me," Bryant said, looking at his son who took a while longer to give him eye contact. "Come on son, I need to hear it from you."
With a shaky sigh, Fernando gave his father a sudden stern glare, now ready to take that chance. "Well, I think you're mean, cruel and nasty towards me. You're always on my back, telling me how often I mess up and how everything I do is wrong. And if you're not doing that you're having a go at me for the smallest of things, making me feel worthless like a turd on the ground."
Fernando took a deep breath, daring to step closer to his father before letting out his last admission.
"But the one thing I dislike about you more than anything else is the fact that you think it's okay to blame me for things that aren't my fault, emotionally hurt me and not show a single hint of guilt afterwards!" Fernando's voice rose with emotion within every word he spoke, his brown eyes glossy with fresh tears threatening to spill over his crumpled face.
"Fernando..." Bryant said softly, suddenly embracing his son into a much-needed hug and letting him cry into his shoulder, ignoring the squelching noise of the custard being spread onto Fernando.
"You were a kind father once" Fernando whispered seconds later, Bryant remained silent.
"But when you and mum got serious about this modeling thing, all that disappeared. In its place is a monster whose only priority is how I should look for the next magazine or photo shoot."
Bryant had now gained the courage to look at Fernando again, his own eyes not exactly dry.
"Sometimes I feel like a dog that's used only for show, then tossed away once it's no longer required," Fernando said in a barely audible whisper, in between sniffs and sobs.
"Oh god" he muttered, I don't want to be like that" Bryant whispered as he gently cupped Fernando's face with his hands. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize…" He ended up trailing off, unable to finish his sentence due to the amount of shock he was experiencing.
After spending a few seconds of trying to pull himself together, Bryant finally spoke up. "Fernando, I had no idea this was how strongly you felt about these circumstances. I have now come to realize that I am short tempered, foul mouthed and you may even say despicable. But I really didn't think it would lead to this."
"I just want to know why you treat me the way you do" Fernando replied, staring straight into his father's eyes as if to leach all the answers out of them.
Bryant let out a shaky breath. "To be honest son I guess I just let all the fame and glamor get the better of me."
Fernando said nothing, allowing his father to explain himself.
"Especially with your mother's rather high standards and precise views of how things should be. But when something doesn't go her way, things can get shall I say heated between us."
Fernando's eyes widened at the word heated. "What do you mean?" he anxiously questioned, concern now visible in his facial features.
Bryant shuddered, wiping some of the custard away from his eyes before answering his son's question. "Like I do to you, she does the exact same to me. Over time your mother's frustrations became mine which got passed onto you. It's a vicious cycle Fernando, a cycle you shouldn't have been part of!"
Fernando did a double take at his father's honesty, he then straightened himself out and looked deeply into his father's eyes.
"Don't follow in her footsteps father, I just want you to go back to the man who loved me no matter what!" Fernando pleaded, his eyes welling up with tears for the second time.
"Please don't be mad" was the last thing Fernando had to say to get Bryant to wrap him in a heartwarming hug. The kind of hug he had been missing for years.
"I'm not mad, if anyone should be mad it's you with me" Bryant replied, a tear slipping out from his own eye.
A few moments later Bryant lifted his own head up and whispered into Fernando's ear, "I truly am sorry my boy. I know sorry alone means nothing and it will take time to repair the damage I've done, but within time would you be able to forgive me?"
Silence filled the atmosphere for what seemed like an eternity, making Bryant whimper in suspense. Fernando glanced up at his father, then the floor, then back to his father who looked like a deer caught in headlights. Bryant closed his eyes as if he was awaiting a prison sentence.
"Dad" Fernando began with a shaky voice, which he soon managed to get control of. "If you promise from now on that you'll kick out the stranger with the short fuse and go back to the caring, lovely man I knew was still underneath the aggression, then I think I can."
"Yes I will my boy, I promise" Bryant immediately agreed before he and Fernando went back to hugging each other, but this time with no bad feelings.
Throughout their whole talk, the Oompa Loompa who had been driving the bus let out a small smile. Now satisfied that Bryant had well and truly learned something that would stick with him until the end of his days.
During the time Bryant and Fernando had spent making amends, Charlie had been leading the remaining guests along the corridor to look at some unexplored rooms.
"Mr. Bucket I must insist you tell us where we are going," Judy said, her sentence ignored as Charlie refused to give them any clues to where they were heading.
As they continued walking small groups of five Oompa Loompas were seen going into different rooms. The guests all looked at them then looking back at Charlie who still didn't say a word.
That was until his eyes brightened as if he had accomplished something. He then abruptly turned to the left, surprising the group with his sudden leap of action.
"Here we have the drinks den" Charlie stated, motioning for the guests to come and have a look for themselves before any questions could be asked.
The room wasn't as big as Dessert island, but it was a decently enough sized room to be able to fit a good amount of all kinds of different drinks. Some from the group sighed with relief as the feeling of thirst suddenly became known to them.
"Go on, have a drink. I can see you need it, but we cannot stay for too long" Charlie said before dismissing them off to drink what they wanted.
Judy and Fiona were the first ones to advance over to a tide pool made of green tea. Both women stayed far away from each other as possible during the time they took to drink their respective amounts.
Joseph Fox went alone to the pineapple juice pond, while Steven and Violet found themselves at the make your own smoothie lake. Mandy was happily drinking from the Milkshake streams, enjoying each and every flavor consisting of banana, strawberry, and chocolate. This left Samantha and Eleanor at the orange juice ocean.
They hadn't noticed each other until Charlie had told them it was time to move along. And when they did Eleanor backed away, rushing off to find her aunt. This left Samantha with a twinge of guilt fluttering inside her stomach.
Once they had left the Drinks den Charlie proceeded to show them some other rooms, including one that featured a swimming pool made out of lemonade, along with a hot chocolate jacuzzi.
"This is the sports room, it's not quite finished yet," was all the chocolatier had to say about that particular room.
Charlie then lead them into another room where Oompa Loompas were seen testing out brushes assembled from tiny pieces of honeycomb onto each others hair.
"Ah the blushing beauty room," Charlie said, causing some of the guests to gasp in amazement.
Steven was the only one to scoff in irritation. "Oh please, it's just any other beauty room but with a honeycomb brush."
"Actually these brushes are designed to create curls on people who wish to have curly hair, it saves a lot more time than using curlers and it lasts for over 48 hours no matter the weather or the circumstances," Charlie said in retaliation to Stevens comment.
"Where can I get one of these?" Judy asked as her daughter silently looked at her with interest.
"Limited edition" Charlie quickly replied, before leading the group away from the beauty room towards a brown door which didn't appear to have a label. Before any inquiries could be made about the mysterious door, the chocolatier proudly told the group this was the room he had been keeping quiet about.
No one said a word while Charlie took his time to carefully open the door, to reveal what was hiding behind the other side of it. "Brace yourselves," the chocolatier said as an unexpected amount of noise filled the group's ears.
Intrigued by what could be causing the excessive amount of noise, the guests rushed into the room to find a large variety of animal split into groups carrying out various tasks.
When the group looked around the room in awe Charlie soon put their minds at rest as he explained each group's responsibility.
"Over here we have the rabbits that make raisins for my ripe or rancid sweets" Charlie began as he pointed over to a group of rabbits shaping the raisin sweets with their paws, then tossing them into two separate tanks.
"Why use rabbits, can't Oompa Loompas do it?" Violet asked, earning herself a lighthearted chuckle from Charlie.
"Rabbits are required for the job as they are the only animals that can master the exact shape."
"What are these ripe or rancid sweets for?" Samantha asked soon afterwards, displaying a look of interest.
"Well they are like the bean boozled sweets, but these sweets can tell if a person has a good or bad personality. If they have a good one they get a ripe sweet, if they are bad they get a rancid one, it's quite simple really."
Samantha hummed, looking down at her hands in the process.
Charlie then went on explaining what a couple of other animals did until Bryant and Fernando had entered the room, the custard on Bryant's clothes having dried.
"Ah so good of you to join us" Charlie greeted, earning smiles from both Fernando and his father.
The Oompa Loompa standing with them gave Charlie a slow nod as if to say, that's one achievement so far.
Charlie weakly smiled in response just before turning his attention back to the Cruz's. "I have just been showing everyone how the animals help during production" Charlie explained.
"It's quite nifty if I say so myself" Bryant replied as he took a look at what they were doing for himself.
"You've changed your tune" Judy bluntly stated, frowning at Bryant's new attitude. Taking it in his stride Bryant shrugged off Judy's comment.
Eleanor them made her move to stand next to Fernando. "See, I told you he'd change," she said with a smile which Fernando happily returned.
"He sure has" Fernando agreed, letting himself be taken to be informed on what he had missed.
However, their conversation was soon interrupted when the sounds of shouting could be heard within the distance. When the shouting continued, one of the guests was soon able to spot something.
"Where's Mandy?" Samantha questioned, looking at everyone as she spoke as they soon noticed her absence.
"Mandy? Mandy!" Judy called out, receiving a shout in response.
"I believe the shouting is coming from our right" Bryant added, causing everyone to run towards that direction.
"Mother!" Mandy shouted again just as she along with the others had arrived to where her shouting was coming from. "Look at these hamsters!" she cried. Joy filling her eyes as they darted around each hamster that were twice the size of normal ones, spinning on hamster wheels in open cages, popping out small stripy brown sweets from the sides of the wheels, a few from each spin they took. The sweets were then carried onto weighing scales which determined if a humbug was to be boiled for usage or crushed if it didn't meet the required standards.
"I see you found the humbug hamsters," Charlie said to a beaming Mandy. "These hamsters produce humbugs at an astonishing rate of ten humbugs every five seconds, which is the required speed to be able to have a steady production line."
Mandy then turned to her mother, the beam from earlier replaced by her usual demanding look. "Mother, get me one of these hamsters I must have one."
Judy looked up at the hamsters who were still busy with their work, she then looked back at her daughter. "But darling, you have many other pets which are just as remarkable as these hamsters."
Yes but I don't have a hamster that makes humbugs!" Mandy retorted, her patience already beginning to wear thin.
Charlie winced at Mandy's tone of voice while Judy sighed. "I tell you what I promise to get you a hamster as soon as we get home," Judy said, desperately trying to compromise with her daughter, who wasn't having any of it.
"Did she just say no to Mandy?" Fernando whispered to Eleanor who nodded in shock.
"I don't want any old average hamster, I want one that makes humbugs. You of all people know that I deserve the very best of the best!" Mandy commanded.
Judy tried the compromising tactic one last time. "Mandy sweetheart, why don't we just move along and I'll get you the very next thing you want." Unfortunately, it was at that moment where Mandy decided to put her mother in her place.
"You listen to me you old hag! I didn't get my Oompa Loompa, I didn't get my dessert bus, I didn't get my butterscotch bed and I didn't get my blob. And now you're telling me I can't have one humbug making hamster!" Mandy roared.
Judy opened her mouth, only to let out a faint squeaking noise were words should have formed. Unfortunately, Mandy's demands weren't up for discussion as she took another angry step towards her mother, her dangerous facial expression glaring right into Judy's soul.
"I'm only asking for one hamster for heaven sake! One thing, JUST ONE FLIPPING THING!" Mandy screamed.
"Alright, I shall get you one right now" Judy replied with a hint of irritation, before racing down to where a ladder was placed below a hamster cage. Then in a matter of minutes, she was climbing up the ladder, showing no signs of stopping despite Charlie's numerous warnings.
"Mrs. Perkins, I strongly advise you not to go up there it's extremely dangerous, not to mention just a bad idea in general!"
Judy refused to acknowledge the chocolatiers words as the thought of getting her daughter that desired hamster filled her mind. Within seconds Judy somehow managed to get to the platform of the hamsters open cage, smiling slightly at Mandy's orders to grab it.
Doing what she was told she continued to ignore Charlie's increased warnings of potential disasters. Instead, she, witnessed by the others from the group, along with a few Oompa Loompas attempted to grab one of the hamsters which had stopped spinning in its wheel and looked at her with wide eyes.
"Judy, I beg you to get down, before it's too late!" Charlie yelled, pushing his way past several Oompa Loompas standing near him.
Judy shook her head,"not until my Mandy gets what she wants!"
Then at that moment when she managed to get the hamster by the tail, it jerked back from the impact of being touched, before it along with many others suddenly ganged up on Judy who was defenseless.
The hamsters then proceeded to team up against Judy as they began to swat at her with their large paws, causing her to fall backward, struggling to get back up. The hamsters soon took advantage of this as they all charged towards her, ready to knock her off her feet.
The last thing Mandy was able to see was her mother being forcefully thrown off her feet, losing her balance completely before disappearing entirely.
All the guests watched with loud gasps as they witnessed Judy being tossed off the edge of the platform, some closing their eyes when seeing her fall. However, nobody was as horrified as Mandy, this was shown when she let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"MOTHER!"
That's another chapter done and dusted, only six more to go!
The hamster room may remind you of the geese room shown in the 1971 make of CATCF, this is because I wanted to recreate that room but with my own twist to it.
I hope you enjoy this chapter and if there is anything you think I could improve on then please let me know! (As long as it's put nicely.)