Disclaimer: I do not own Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

The wind was a bit chillier today as I trudged down the street. I shoved my hands into my pockets, my mind absently contemplating the weather. It's the last day of September, and already pretty cold. I need to start saving up money to help heat the house for the winter. Charlie's gotten bigger since last year, Mum and I should check his winter clothes to make sure he hasn't outgrown them. We're going to need them for this winter.

I was shaken out of my reverie by the sign on Bill's candy store. They were selling Wonka bars again. Seeing the name on the sign made my heart sink uncomfortably, remembering Charlie's reaction to the last ticket being found.

"If there was ever a miracle to happen, it would be that the last ticket was a dupe," I murmured, turning away from the shop. "It would be that the last ticket is a fake and Charlie would find the real one." I gave a bitter laugh and crossed the street to the warehouse on the other side, directly across the candy store. "Wouldn't that be great."

I took a deep breath and steadied my nerves before I approached the door. I couldn't get bitter over this. I needed to keep being cheerful. I needed to keep morale up and help my family not to lose hope. I can do this.

With that, I opened the door to the employee's entrance and marched determinedly into the room.

My shift was passing at a snail's pace. Chaplin was in an especially foul mood today, probably over the last Golden Ticket being found. He hadn't said anything about it, but didn't everyone harbor a secret desire to find a ticket? Well, mostly everyone, I suppose. I wanted my brother to find one a thousand times more than I wanted to find one.

Mr. Payne took a break halfway through our shift to go across the street and grab a newspaper from his friend, Mr. Jopeck. It was the time of day that the newspapers would be coming out anyway, and Charlie would have just gotten out of school.

Chaplin had just entered the break room, his face a storm cloud. He began puttering around the coffee maker, and I grabbed an old magazine off the table to give me something to do to avoid awkward conversation with the man who caused a great deal of anxiety.

I had only just managed to read the first two lines of an article when Mr. Payne burst into the room. "Amie!" he said, yelling excitedly. Chaplin, a paper cup of weak coffee in his hand, had a shocked expression that was mirrored on my face. I had never seen the elderly man show such an outburst of emotion before.

"Mr. Payne, what is it?" I asked, alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all is wrong!" The elderly man beamed and thrust the newspaper at me. "Look, look!" I barely caught a glimpse of the headline – FIFTH TICKET FRAUD – before he grabbed my shoulders.

"Mr. Payne-" I started, but he cut me off.

"Charlie! Your brother, Charlie! He found it! He found the last ticket!"

I froze, and my heart stopped. My jaw dropped open. "Charlie...?" Mr. Payne's beaming grin was suddenly infectious. "My younger brother found it? Charlie found the last Golden Ticket?!"

"Yes!" Mr. Payne bobbed his head up and down. "I saw it myself!"

I looked down at the newspaper. The fifth Golden Ticket was a fraud... Charlie found the real one... Charlie found the last Golden Ticket.

A laugh escaped me, and I was grinning, smiling harder than I had in a long time. I jumped out of my seat and hugged Mr. Payne, still laughing. "He did it! Charlie found it! He did it!" I dashed to the back of the room and grabbed my coat off the hook.

"Stop!" Chaplin ordered. I had forgotten that he was still in the room. "You leave here now, Bucket, you're out of a job!"

The happiness spreading through me made me feel as light as a feather, and I threw all caution to the wind. "My brother just got the best news of his life! If leaving here to go celebrate it with him means I'm out of a job, then so be it!" Throwing one last goodbye over my shoulder to Mr. Payne, I dashed out of the room and left the building.

I raced through the streets, my unbuttoned coat flapping in the lazy gusts of wind. I probably looked like a madwoman, but I didn't care. Giddiness was sweeping through me, and I felt as though if I tried to fly, I would be able to. As I ran past Wonka's factory, I turned to look at it through the gates. Suddenly, it didn't seem so cold and far away.

I burst through the door of the house. "Charlie!"

My brother's grinning face seemed to light up even more at the sight of me. "Amie! Look!" He dashed forward and pressed the Golden Ticket into my hands. Breathing hard, I collapsed in a wooden chair, staring at the ticket in my hand. Was it really only a month ago that we had first heard of the contest? It seemed impossibly long ago, and here we are at the end of it, with Charlie finding a Golden Ticket.

"You did it," I said, recalling my earlier words. If there was ever a miracle to happen, it would be that the last ticket was a dupe. It would be that the last ticket is a fake and Charlie would find the real one. "You found it, Charlie." Tears sprang to my eyes and I leaned forward, grabbing my younger brother in a hug.

He pulled away after a second, looking at me. "Amie, I want you to come with me."

My eyes widened. "Come...with you? To the factory?"

Charlie nodded. "It says I can bring one person with me, and I want you to go."

I let out an astonished laugh. I would be able to see the factory as well? Meet Willy Wonka, the amazing chocolatier? "Charlie, I would be honored."

"It's set for the first of October, and that's tomorrow," Mum said, coming forward. "Amie, will you be able to get off from work this early?"

Trickles of guilt and slight horror began to worm its way through me as I realized what I had done. I had walked out and lost the only job I had. I was completely jobless now. How was I supposed to help my family now?

Worry about that on October second. Don't let this ruin Charlie's special day. I forced a smile that I hoped could be passed as nonchalant. "Don't worry about it. I'll be able to get it off." Charlie accepted it, but Mum's face shifted, and I knew that she guessed what I hadn't said. I sent her a look that said 'later', and turned to face my younger brother.

If anyone deserved a Golden Ticket, it was him.

"How long do you think it'll take him to fall asleep?" I asked, smiling slightly as Mum and I sat at the table. I was fixing a hole in my nice black pants, which I was planning on wearing tomorrow to the factory.

Mum chuckled. "Probably a while." The grandparents were already snoozing, and I looked over to where Grandpa Joe had his eyes closed. After the excitement had mostly settled down yesterday, he had retold all the old stories that we've heard so many times, and made us solemnly promise to tell him everything we could remember. In a way, I wish that he would be able to go to see the factory as well, but he had been bedridden for over twenty years, and it would take a miracle to get him up out of bed.

I set my pants down on the table, knowing that I had to tell Mum. "I lost my job today."

Her knitting needles slowed. "What happened?"

I shook my head, guilt sweeping through me. "I ran out once I heard Charlie got a Golden Ticket. I didn't think about the consequences, and I lost it."

"We'll manage," she said softly. "We always have." She looked down at her knitting before speaking again. "You're twenty-three years old, and already have so much on your shoulders. I can't stop thinking about how you could have graduated college by now, and be working in a nice job. You could be living your own life right now, could have found a husband by now."

I leaned forward and put my hand on top of her wrist. "Mum," I said gently. "We didn't have the money for college then, and we don't have it now. Even if I did get financial aid, I wasn't about to leave you to provide for the six of you by yourself." I smiled at her, trying to show her that I meant every word I was saying. "This family is the most important thing to me. I don't mind working the hours that I do if it means taking some of the weight off of your shoulders, and to help you all live somewhat comfortable lives. Who knows? Someday I might be able to go to college, to learn about music or science or literature."

I stood up from the table, gathering my pants up and walking over to the line to hang them up. "For now, though?" I turned and looked at her, grinning. "I'm going to Wonka's chocolate factory with my little brother, and we're both going to have the time of our lives. After that? I'll try Bill's Candy shop. He might need a helper in that store, with all those kids."

Mum stood up from the table and wrapped me in a hug. "You're so brave, Amie," she murmured. She backed up a bit and kissed the top of my head, smiling at me. "And you're as sweet as can be."

A/N

So Charlie found the Golden Ticket! Next chapter is where Amie meets Wonka himself!

I'm not sure if I'll be able to have the next chapter out as fast, but I'll do my best! I'm in the last month of the semester, so college work will get crazier. I'll try to write the next one soon! Reviews help, though. I love hearing any and all suggestions/comments!

Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed, favorited, and followed my story!

Please review!

~SirAvery