Chapter 4 First Time Outside
Fizzy could barely contain herself. She and the twins were hard at work, getting ready for their trip outside. Mr. Wonka had told them all that they were going to have to put on a disguise if they wanted to leave the factory, a prospect that excited Fizzy. And right now, she, Toffee, and Taffy were almost done with the disguise in question; a trench coat that could be worn by three Oompa Loompas standing on each other's shoulders.
Just looking at the long coat made Fizzy smile. "Oh, man." She let out a breath, laughing as she put her hand up to her head. "I'm really doing it. I'm really going outside."
"Yes, indeed," said one of the twins. "Are you excited?"
"Is that even a question?" Fizzy laughed some more, her heart fluttering. "Oh, there's so much to see and do! I don't even know where to begin!"
The twins laughed. "We are glad you're looking forward to this." Both of their faces fell. "However, we feel…
"That we must warn you again. Outside the factory…"
"Is very different from the inside."
Fizzy frowned. She had heard many different people give her that very warning, and for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why. Sure, was it true? Of course, it was true; that was kind of a no-brainer. And… sure, things being different did mean that there was a certain level of scariness to this whole ordeal. It was only natural to be put off by something you had never seen before. But even with that said, Fizzy's glee wasn't anywhere close to diminishing. She wanted to face the scariness, she wanted to conquer the nerves. The world was her oyster, filled to the brim with treasures she had yet to unbury. She would gladly go outside. She would gladly ignore everyone who said it was a bad idea.
"I am well aware," she said, slowly starting to smile again. "And that's fine."
The twins exchanged a look before nodding. "Okay." One of them turned back toward the trench coat. "Let's go over the rules." They turned toward their brother. "Taffy, you will be on the bottom, and I will be on the top. Fizzy…"
"Will be in the middle," Taffy finished the thought. He turned toward Fizzy. "We will all balance on top of each other, and we will keep our faces hidden…"
"Until we get to the animal shelter. That provides us less of an opportunity to attract unwanted attention."
Fizzy looked at the trench coat once again. "I… that sounds reasonable." She looked at one of the buttons keeping the long garment closed. Even though she wouldn't pop out of the coat until they got to the animal shelter, as Toffee suggested, she would at the very least take some liberties with the directions. Surely, if she were to peer through one tiny hole in the coat, no one on the outside would notice. Surely, if she were to be sneaky, she wouldn't draw the ire and disapproval of the twins. It wouldn't hurt to get some glances at the world around her, would it?
"And with that said," one of the twins said while Fizzy was busy trying to form a concrete plan. "I believe now would be…"
"The perfect time to head out." Toffee gestured towards Fizzy. "Miss Fizzy, hop onto Taffy's back." Fizzy did just that. It was a little tricky, as it felt as though she was going to lose her balance and fall at any moment. But fortunately, she didn't. And as such, Toffee was able to hop onto Fizzy's shoulders without much trouble. Fizzy gripped his feet, firmly securing his position as Taffy held onto her feet. She tried to get her breathing under control, tried not to let the feeling that she was in a pretty precarious position bother her too much. Taffy began walking toward the coat, and Toffee slipped his arms into the sleeves. All three of them took part in buttoning the buttons, with Fizzy intentionally leaving one free.
"Okay." Toffe grabbed some sort of hat off a table and put it on his head. "Let's…
"Head out, shall we?"
Fizzy wanted to shout and jump for joy. This was happening! This was actually happening!
…
The three Oompa Loompas got out of the factory with ease. Toffee made sure to securely shut the lock, and together, they made their way through the streets. Fizzy tried not to giggle as they stepped out into the open. The first thing that she became aware of was the fact that it was cold, just like a lot of people had told her it would be. She shivered a little bit, not entirely sure how to feel about these temperatures. The fact that she had to huddle into the folds of the trench coat was a bit disappointing but… oh, she was outside. She shouldn't let something as silly as a little chill distract her from all the possibilities!
With an admirable pace, Taffy walked down the path. Every once in a while, Toffee would give him directions, like "turn right" or "head to the next street sign." It was pretty impressive how well the twins were able to operate; it was like they had been doing stuff like this for years. Which, Fizzy thought, might very well be the case.
"There are some people up ahead," Toffee said. "Lay low you two; don't do anything to draw attention to us."
"Right," Fizzy said, almost nodding until she remembered that she had a person on her shoulders. She once again huddled into the folds of the coat, unsure if she should indulge her curiosity and see just what kind of people were making their way through the streets. Sure… would it really hurt to get a look? A small peak wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
So, she squinted through the opening in the coat. She held back a gasp when she saw some people, walking down the sidewalk. They were so big! They looked like giants, like they could crush Fizzy underfoot like she was nothing more than a bug! And why… some of them had interesting skin colors too. There was white, black, brown… it was so fascinating. Fizzy had only ever seen people with orange skin. On top of that, they didn't look very bothered by the cold. They walked back and forth, looking as though this cold was just a by this freeze. Which very might well be the case, Fizzy realized. These people had probably adapted to this cold, to the sparkly white stuff that the twins had informed her was called "snow." That was absolutely incredible if that was the case. Humans were really something else, weren't they?
"Fizzy, pull back a little bit," Taffy said from down below.
A wave of disappointment overcame Fizzy. "Right, sorry."
"Don't speak so loud," Toffee said. "Otherwise people will get suspicious."
All of Fizzy face grew warm. "Sorry," she whispered. She gripped hold of Toffee's feet, hoping that they would get to the animal shelter soon. The twin had said before that the people who ran it knew who Oompa Loompas were because they had met the twins on some of the errands, so… well, maybe Fizzy could get a better look at all the people there?
The three continued walking. A breeze blew down the street, making Fizzy tremble. Her teeth chattered, sounding like Snozzwanger hooves pattering against cobblestone.
"Fizzy, are you okay?" asked Taffy.
Fizzy blinked before smiling. "I'm great, guys. This is precisely what I hoped for when I asked you guys to take me outside." She chuckled. "I'm loving every minute of this."
"Really? Well, that's…
"Good. Just be careful, okay?"
Fizzy rolled her eyes. "I know, I know." She paused for a minute. "You know, this is just one little section of the outside world. Do you think there are other places we could visit? Like, somewhere warmer, by any chance."
Toffee laughed. "That would require us to ride some planes."
Fizzy blinked. "Uh… what's a plane?"
"It's a vehicle that people use to fly. Humans used to call them flying machines."
Fizzy gasped. "Wow, that's cool!" Confusion settled in. "But… why would you want to use a plane when you have fizzy lifting drinks?"
Both of the twins laughed out loud. "That's the question of the hour right there," one of them said.
The rest of the walk was mostly spent in silence. Fizzy got some peeks out of the coat every once in a while, mostly because she wanted to see more than just the people. The buildings weren't as grand or as marvelous as the chocolate factory, but there was something about them. They were… charming in their simplicity, Fizzy supposed the correct way to say it was. She actually saw a few that she wanted to go into, including what looked like a store that said it sold Wonka bars on the front door. Of course, the three of them were on a mission, so they couldn't stop. Oh well.
After a few more twists and turns, Fizzy saw the animal shelter in the distance. This was probably the most charming building at all. It was constructed out of red brick, a nice contrast to the gray bricks of the other buildings. It had a sign in front of it, telling people that it was an animal shelter. The closer the three of them got to the door, the more Fizzy was able to hear the sounds of all sorts of different animals that she had no chance of naming. Her heart pounded. She had to use all her self-control to not jump up and down.
When they entered through the door, and it was securely closed behind them, the twins sighed and removed the coat. As soon as it was off of her, Fizzy took a deep breath. She also admired the lighting, how soft and welcoming it was. She and Toffee jumped off of Taffy's shoulders right as a woman with long red hair and freckles came up to them.
"Why, if it isn't my favorite Oompa Loompas, Toffe and Taffy!" The woman's lapis blue eyes sparkled. "I take it Wonka wants more squirrels?"
"You just read our mind!" Toffee said with a laugh.
"Splendid." Suddenly, she pulled on something from behind her. Fizzy gasped out loud when she saw the fluffiest, most excitable creature she had ever seen attached to a leash. Her jaw dropped, and she couldn't take her eyes off the animal as the woman pulled it back. "Down, Layla, stay back."
The twins must've noticed Fizzy's surprise because they laughed out loud. "That thing is called a dog," said Toffee.
"A dog?"
"Yep!" Taffy said. He walked up, petting the dog on the head. "The outside world has a lot of these." Right as he said that Layla the dog jumped up and licked his face, all while he tried to not delve into a laughing fit.
Fizzy observed this scene, the smallest traces of a smile appearing on her face. "It's… it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen…"
Toffee smiled before turning back to the woman holding the dog. "Karen, this is Fizzy. This is her first time outside of the factory." He turned back to Fizzy. "Fizzy, this is our good friend, Karen."
Fizzy looked up, making eye contact with Karen. "Uh…" she hesitated before extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"You too." Karen shook her hand. "I love seeing Oompa Loompas come to the shelter." Layla the dog barked, making Fizzy jump back and Karen laughed. "I take it the real world is a little scary for you, huh Fizzy?"
Fizzy put her hand to her chest to calm her racing heart. "It's… it's certainly new for me, that much is true." She smiled. "But I like it. It's different in all the right ways."
"Well, that's good." Karen pulled Layla back before looking back at Toffee and Taffy. "Well, let's not waste any more time. Let's get you guys some squirrels, okay?"
"Okay!" The twins exclaimed. Karen started walking off, and the twins followed after her. All the while, Fizzy stayed in place. It's not that she couldn't move, but moreso because she was taking the time to take the sights in. The honey-colored walls. The desk in front of the door, tall yet also somewhat welcoming. The sound of the animals, which now Fizzy was thinking were all different kinds of dogs being held in the shelter. Was… was it bad that she liked this? Was it bad that it was scary too?
"Fizzy, come on!"
"Coming!" Letting out a breath, Fizzy followed after everyone.
