Chapter 3: The Announcement

Author's Note: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the next chapter of Kind At Heart! The first thing that old readers may notice is that the title of this chapter doesn't refer to the first Golden Ticket winner. What could that mean? Be sure to read on to find out! But before we get to the actual chapter, it's review response time. :)

Matt, I'm so glad that you like the rewrite so far! Four years ago, eh? Time sure flies! It feels like yesterday when I was reading your original story, and here we are! That sure is astonishing.

emeraldphan, I'm glad that you're liking my ideas so far! They'll only get better as the rewrite continues, so stay tuned!

JurassicMilitary19, thank you so much! Now, on with the story!

"Wake up, Chris!" shouted a girl excitedly. "Wake up! Mr. Wonka's opening up his factory again, can you believe it?"

"Mr. Wonka what?" mumbled Chris sleepily, just beginning to wake up from his slumber. "What is it, Jenna?"

"Mr. Wonka's opening up his factory again for the first time in forty years!" Jenna said eagerly, and Chris sat up.

Chris Davidson rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and walked out of his bed. Not looking where he was going, as he was filled with tiredness, he accidentally bumped into his bedroom wall, and Jenna giggled.

"Let me help you, Chris," she smiled, gripping his arm gently and guiding him out of the doorway to his room.

Chris, along with Jenna, walked into his bathroom, and the two of them began brushing their teeth and combing their hair together. Jenna looked at herself in the mirror. She had long red hair, along with sapphire-colored eyes. She also had a pale complexion, almost ghostly, and she wore a black t-shirt from a heavy metal concert. Additionally, she wore skinny blue jeans, along with plain white socks.

Chris Davidson had black hair, with bright-blue eyes. He wore a red shirt with a white version of Mr. Wonka's signature curly "W", and he also wore brown corduroys and white socks, which also had Mr. Wonka's "W' just above the toe. As he continued waking up, his smile grew brighter and brighter, and his eyes had a shining glimmer to them, like water shining in the sun at a beach.

"You know, it was really nice of your parents to let me have a sleepover at your house," she smiled, "although my parents want me back home in Birmingham in a couple days. We have a Wormhole Citadel concert coming up, and I'll need to warm up with the bass so that I can have a rockin' good time!" She then laughed happily and made the sign of the horns.

"I understand, Jenna," Chris smiled. By then, he had finally awakened, and his hair was neatly combed. His teeth were also shining in the bathroom's light fixtures, resembling Charlie during his time just the day before. Together, the two of them headed out of the bathroom, and Jenna was eager to show Chris what she had seen on TV. Meanwhile, Jenna's big brother, James, was sitting on the couch, watching what was going on as well. As the duo walked into the living-room, James greeted them. He was wearing a Wormhole Citadel shirt, and he also had messy black hair. On his feet, he was wearing black boots with shining, fake 'spikes' on them. He waved at the duo, and they waved back.

"Good morning, sis!" smiled James. "It sure is a rockin' good day, isn't it?"

"It sure is!" Jenna smiled back. "Good morning, bro!"

Chris and Jenna sat down with James, and the three of them watched what was playing on the television. A news reporter was beaming with happiness as he looked down at a paper that he was holding in his hand.

"History has been made, folks!" he proclaimed. "Mr. Wonka, alongside his heir, Charlie Bucket, has decided to reopen the factory for the first time in forty years! They sent out the following message today:

Dear people of the world:

I, Willy Wonka, alongside my heir, Charlie Bucket, have decided to allow not five, but seven children to visit my factory this year. These lucky seven will be shown around personally by the both of us, and will learn all the secret and magic of my factory.

Seven Golden Tickets have been hidden underneath the ordinary wrapping paper of seven ordinary Wonka Bars. These seven candy bars may be anywhere- in any shop in any street in any town in any country in the world.

In addition, one of these children shall receive a special prize beyond anything you can ever imagine. Good luck to all, and happy hunting!

- Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket

"That's amazing!" Chris exclaimed. "I would love to go inside Mr. Wonka's factory!"

"Although I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate," Jenna admitted, "I've always wanted to see what it was like inside Mr. Wonka's factory."

"But it said that only one person would receive their 'special prize,' Chris remarked. "Does that mean only one of us have the opportunity to win? After all, we're best friends, and I couldn't imagine winning that prize without you."

"Me neither, Chris," Jenna said. "I wouldn't want to win it without you, either."

"That's assuming you two manage to get into the factory in the first place," James chuckled. "There are, after all, millions of Wonka Bars, and only two of you!"

"I guess you have a point," said Jenna, slightly disappointed.

"But you never know," Chris said. "If we end up going, they could change their minds or something. Who knows?"

As soon as the announcement broke that Mr. Wonka was opening up his factory again, just like the last contest, everyone wanted a chance to go inside. People who had never bought a Wonka Bar in their lives raided their local candy shops to buy the precious bars, and Internet servers were so overloaded that they had to be shut down for several days until they were able to be rebooted.

Even the original four children got into the action. Having learned from their experiences in the factory, they endorsed the new Golden Ticket contest as a fresh new experience, and encouraged people to try Wonka's candy. Even Mike, who back then hated chocolate, encouraged people to give his chocolate a chance.

Augustus Gloop, now a food critic, as well as a fitness coach, also praised Wonka's chocolate as the "berfect Hafdernoon snack" and encouraged his followers to try Wonka's chocolates, but in moderation.

Veruca Salt, who was now the owner of a mansion of her own, was also the proud mother of a little boy, but she refused to spoil him like her father did before her. She made him warm homemade meals as often as she could, and if he was good, she would give him a Wonka Bar flavor of his choice for dessert. Her son, whose name was Saladin, was well liked by everyone, and even helped to improve the reputation of the Salt family after their last incident in the factory forty years prior.

Violet Beauregarde was now a dentist, and even she promoted Mr. Wonka's candy, especially the Cavity-Filling Caramels. When asked why, she said that she recognized the importance of a balanced diet and keeping your teeth healthy, just like Augustus, and that chocolate would help in that regard, as long as too much of it wasn't eaten.

After his experiences in the factory, Mike was ridiculed for his slim appearance. Supposedly, he shrunk back down to his normal height in about a month, but that didn't stop him from changing his surname and escaping somewhere quiet where he could settle down and enjoy his life in peace. Despite this, he cited Wonka as one of his influences for becoming a better person. However, this didn't stop him from making the occasional smart comment from time to time, as he found his old habit hard to break.

With the introduction of the new Golden Ticket contest, seven new children would be allowed to go behind the walls of Mr. Wonka's factory. Both Charlie and Mr. Wonka, alongside Mr. and Mrs. Bucket, were eager yet nervous to see who the new winners could be. They were currently sitting in front of the cottage's television, watching the news to see when a Golden Ticket would be found, as well as who won it. Finally, after one week of intense waiting, the foursome finally got their answer. Would this first winner be bratty like Augustus, or would the person be someone kind, like Charlie? Only the winner knew that...

Author's Note: Well, what did you think of this chapter? As you can see, Chris and Jenna have been introduced rather early this time around. The reasoning for this is so that I can build up for their character interactions during the tour (that is, if they end up going on it) to make it better and improve it compared to "Next in Line." I also decided to reference the original four bratty children for world-building purposes. Additionally, it could also be fun to note that James Adams made his first appearance in my first Second Generation story, Charlie's Chocolatey Adventure, and while rewriting "Next in Line", I decided to carry him over to this story as well.

Additionally, credit for Veruca's son, Saladin, goes to MysteriousMaker1185. That name apparently comes from salicylic acid, a common treatment for warts, and I thought it was perfect! Thanks so much for the help!

As usual, feel free to leave a review, as well as your thoughts, and stay tuned for the next chapter, which will feature the first Golden Ticket winner!

Until then,

Gabe S. :)