Chapter 2 Toffee and Taffy

"Hmm…" Gummy put her hand to her chin as she studied the Nut Room, looking slightly disappointed by everything she saw. Fizzy honestly had no idea why this was because she was ecstatic to be here. The squirrels getting their work done so briskly and efficiently was quite the sight to see. She didn't know exactly who trained them, whether it was Mr. Wonka or some other Oompa Loompas, but whoever they were, they did an immaculate job. The squirrels didn't stop, just cracking open nuts like it was the exact thing they were born to do.

Fizzy let out a sigh, a smile growing on her face. "Man," she said out loud. Again, this was the first time she had ever laid eyes on a squirrel of any kind, so it made her heart do and feel things she never would've thought it capable of before. It was amazing… but there was something about the sight of these squirrels. As much as Fizzy didn't want to admit it… they made her think.

These squirrels obviously came from somewhere outside the factory, maybe even from a part of the city Fizzy knew the factory had been built in. And because of this fact, these little fur-bearing rodents had more knowledge of what it was like outside the factory than Fizzy ever had. How bizarre was that? How crazy was that?

"Hmm," Gummy mused again. "They seem to be working at a decent pace." She wore a frown, a frown that made her orange face look a lot less lively than before. "But I think some of them are slowing down."

Fizzy took the time to think about that. "Well… I think that makes sense," she said with a shrug. "After all, squirrels age just like the rest of us. I think it's safe to assume that some of these guys are getting old, and they need to retire sometime soon."

Gummy nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense." She stopped, blinking as she did. "Wait… oh, that's a problem." She tapped her foot, scowling as she did. "We're going to need more squirrels…" She reached into her pants pocket, pulling out what looked to be some sort of walkie-talkie. "Excuse me, Beanie? Are you there?" A crackly voice sounded through the radio, causing Gummy's face to look slightly more relaxed. "Do you think there's any chance that we could find a way to get and train more squirrels?" A crackly "what?" was asked through the device. "You know, the squirrels. In the Nut Room. They aren't going to live forever; we need to figure out a way to replace the ones we're going to retire." Another round of crackly dialogue came through the speaker, dialogue that Fizzy unfortunately had some trouble making out. Gummy seemed to hear it loud and clear though, as she frowned again and shook her head. "Of course…."

"Of course what?" Fizzy asked as Gummy put the walkie-talkie away.

"He said we're going to need to talk with Mr. Wonka." She put her hand to her head, titled her head back, and groaned. "But he's always so busy; I'll never be able to get an audience with him!"

"Never say never!"

Both girls blinked and turned to see two male Oompa Loompas coming in through one of the Nut Room's many miniature doors. Fizzy had no idea who they were, but Gummy's face flashed with recognition when she saw them.

"Hey, Toffee. Hey Taffy," she said. Fizzy didn't know if it was her imagination, but she sounded a tad bit annoyed.

The Oompa Loompas giggled. "It is nice…"

"To see you here! Especially with…"

"The new recruit! It's always a treat to see new Oompa Loompas…"

"Learning the ropes!"

Fizzy blinked, feeling completely and utterly baffled by this display. "Uh… how did…?"

"Don't mind them," Gummy said as she walked over. "They're twins."

"Ah." Fizzy studied them, her attention going back to the first line the twins said when they entered the Nut Room. "Wait, do you guys have a way to talk with Mr. Wonka?"

"Of course we do!" said one of the twins (Fizzy had no idea which one). "Don't you know? The two of us…"

"Are basically his righthand men!" They giggled. "Trust us. Being efficient workers…"

"Always helps one move up the world."

Gummy snorted. "I don't know if it's fair of you guys to say that. You always work together, meaning you accomplish double the work in half the time." She shook her head, a playful yet also baffled sparkle in her eyes. "Kind of makes the rest of us look like chumps."

"Still though," Fizzy said, drawing the conversation back on track, "It'd be nice if you could talk to Mr. Wonka about the squirrels! And possibly get him to figure out a way to get more!"

One of the Oompa Loompas giggled. "Oh believe me. That wouldn't be that much of an issue if Mr. Wonka had gotten any females at all!"

Gummy rolled her eyes as the twins fell into a laughing fit. "Not even the great Willy Wonka is immune from mistakes, boys!" A beeping sound came from her pocket, causing her to blink. She pulled out a device that looked like a stopwatch and gasped. "Oh! I completely forgot! I have to be down by the Administration Offices." She put the watch away. "Sorry Fizzy, I'm afraid this is where I leave you." She rushed over to the Great Glass Elevator. "Toffee, Taffy, take good care of her! And no horsing around!"

"You have our word!" The twins said in unison, doing a mock salute right before Gummy vanished. Once she was gone, they grinned at Fizzy. "We'll take extra good care of you, newbie!'

Fizzy looked at these two, frowning as she did. "Um… okay. Sure." She looked around the room, at the squirrels who were still hard at work sorting nuts. Her mind went to all sorts of different places while looking at the. She wondered who would be tasked with going out to get the new squirrels. Surely, it wouldn't be Wonka himself, right? But… if it wasn't him, who…?

"Come on, newbie!" One of the twins called out, alerting Fizzy to the fact that they had walked over to the room's entrance. "We're taking you…"

"To the Golden Egg Room! There are…"

"Some tasks we think you can do there!"

Fizzy did a double take. "Oh." She smiled. "That sounds good." She ran after them as they held the door open for her. Once she caught up, the twins smiled the biggest, brightest smiles ever. This sight made Fizzy feel a little better, although it still didn't do a good job of distracting her from her thoughts. For the strangest reason, she thought back to the conversation she had with Gummy in the elevator. Surely, the real world was more interesting than Gummy gave it credit for! Surely, it had some cool things to offer!

"You're being awfully quiet."

Fizzy did another double take. "Oh!" She saw the twins, standing in the middle of the hallway as they stared at her with furrowed brows. She cleared her throat and wiped some dust off the front of her overalls. "I… sorry, I'm just… thinking about some things."

The twins exchanged a look before shrugging. "Fair enough," said one. "There's nothing wrong…"

"With thinking. As long as it doesn't distract…"

"From your daily life."

Fizzy's face grew warm. "Right. Right, I'm sorry." She put on a smile. "I'll be more attentive from here on out. I promise."

One of the twins snorted. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

Fizzy shrunk back a little bit, her face growing even hotter. She mostly walked in silence as Toffee and Taffy led her down the hallway. She decided that she wasn't going to let her thoughts distract her anymore. She was a worker, and she was going to do work. She didn't care how hard it was, or how laborious the tasks were. She was going to do her work, and she was going to do it to the best of her ability. It was the least she could do, as she would be more helpful to the factory as a whole if she wasn't letting her questions about the real world get her off track.

Of course, when push came to shove, she was still curious about the real world. And her curiosity only increased when she heard what Toffee and Taffy were talking about while leading her to the Golden Egg Room.

"Do you think we could go to that animal shelter again?" one asked.

The other shrugged. "Possibly. Although, it might not have as many squirrels as we would like. I think we need to go somewhere else…"

"In the city?" The first twin snorted. "If by that you mean go into a park and hunt for some squirrels, then I think you're crazy! I mean, shoot, Wonka is currently making a gum that turns people into blueberries, and somehow that's less ridiculous than the idea you're presenting!"

Fizzy's jaw almost dropped the more of this conversation she heard. "Wait!" Both twins turned to her. "You… you guys have been outside the factory?"

The twins smiled. "We have, actually. It was quite…"

"The experience, given how we mostly went out in the winter." They shuddered. "Let me tell you, winter…"

"Is not like Loompa Land in the slightest. It makes you shiver. It makes you wonder…"

"How anybody could be insane enough to live in a place with snow."

Fizzy's heart pounded, and she felt looking squeeing. "I… I can't believe it! I didn't know some Oompa Loompas went outside! That's… that's incredible!" She got closer to the twins. "What's it like out there? You've got to tell me what it's like out there!"

The twins frowned. "Well, for one, it's very…

"Gray. And we can't just walk around in plain sight like we do in the…"

"Factory. After all, there are a lot of humans out there. Humans who've never…"

"Seen Oompa Loompas."

"Huh," Fizzy said. She supposed she should've expected them to say something along those lines. Still though, she wasn't satisfied with this explanation, so she was going to keep digging until she was. "Well… is there any cool stuff outside, at least?"

"You mean aside from the snow?" The one twin laughed while the other playfully slugged him in the shoulder. "Well… yeah, I suppose. It's very scenic. Even though it's not as…"

"Colorful as the factory, there's something about the outside world." They resumed with walking. "I mean, we've heard all sorts of horror stories about it, but even with that said…"

"Just from looks alone, it doesn't appear so bad." The twin laughed. "At least, it's nothing in comparison to Loompa Land, that's for sure!"

Fizzy smiled. Oh man, I had been thinking I was all alone when it came to curiosity about the real world! If they have been AND actually liked it… There was just so much that could happen from this point out! Maybe, if she played her cards right…

"Hey, Toffee and Taffy," she said just as they arrived at the Golden Egg Room, "Do you by any chance think you could take me outside the factory?"

The twins blinked. "You?" they exclaimed in unison.

"Yeah. Me." Fizzy's heart pounded extra hard. "I want to know what it's like out there. I want to be able to see it, and get to know what it's like outside. So… please?"

The twins wore contemplative looks. "Well…" one said as they pushed the door in front of them open. "I don't know if that would be…"

"The safest. I mean, it's a human's world. It doesn't treat Oompa Loompas kindly, and it isn't exactly…"

"Built for us either. If humans aren't looking, they could easily…"

"Trample us underfoot." He gave her a concerned look. "And you're so young. We don't want anything to happen to a youngster like you, especially on our watch."

Fizzy felt like crying, but she pushed back her tears. "I… I can see why you'd be worried." She took a deep breath. "But I really want to see the outside. Even if it's just once, I want to know what it's like. Besides, if you two accompany me outside, and we all three stick together, then we'll be just fine. Right?" She allowed herself to feel hopeful. "You guys know what I mean?"

Toffee and Taffy hesitated, looking like they didn't know whether to listen to Fizzy's words or their own words. Fortunately, after a little bit, they both swallowed lumps in their throats and turned back to Fizzy.

"We'll talk to Wonka," one of them said. "See if he's…"

"Willing to send three workers out on an errand."

Fizzy felt like shouting at the top of her lungs and dancing. "Thank you." She smiled. "Seriously guys. Thank you so much."