Chapter 6: Best Friends Forever
Author's Note: Hello everyone, and welcome to the next chapter of Kind At Heart! As older readers may notice, the title of this chapter doesn't refer to the third Golden Ticket winner. What could happen in it? Be sure to read on, but first, it's time to respond to your reviews. :)
emeraldphan, I'm glad you're enjoying Antonio and Yuna so far! As for whether or not Antonio will be the first to go, you'll find out as the story progresses. His potential demise may surprise you, so I hope that you look forward to what I have planned for him. I'm also glad that you liked the inclusion of the Music Conservatory. It was present in Next in Line, so it made sense to carry it over into the rewrite. To be fair, in the original, Willy did have Charlie with him to discuss the winners, but I see what you mean. Mr. and Mrs. Bucket being present here certainly livens things up, doesn't it?
This is the longest chapter of the rewrite so far, and the one which I believe has the best descriptions so far as well, so I hope that you'll enjoy it, everyone! On with the story!
It has been five days since Yuna Sayuki found the second Golden Ticket. While all of this was going on, Chris and Jenna were standing in front of a department store watching a replay of Yuna's interview through a television window display.
"What do you think about her, Chris?" Jenna asked.
"She actually seems pretty nice," Chris admitted. "She gives to the poor, so that's a very good thing compared to Antonio. Speaking of Antonio, what do you think of him, Jenna?"
"Although he seems like he could be a fun friend to have," Jenna remarked, "considering his daring personality, I think that could get the best of him during the tour. I also don't agree with how he thinks he can get away with everything."
"I think so too," Chris responded, "but how would we know whether or not your predictions end up being true? We don't have Tickets, and as such, aren't allowed on the tour."
"Don't give up hope yet, Chris," Jenna smiled. "After all, there are still five Golden Tickets left."
"What are the odds?" sighed Chris. "We don't have a chance."
"Cheer up, Chris!" Jenna said encouragingly. "Think positive!"
Then, she began to sing, gripping Chris' shoulders as she did so.
"Think positive, Chris! My best, best friend!
Please cheer up, as we're friends until the end!
Ticket or not, we'll always be together.
I'll comfort you with words as soft as a feather!
I promise you, Chris, that I'll be with you forever,
And I will never leave your side- never ever!"
Right after Jenna was done singing, a tough-looking boy covered with tattoos walked up to the duo.
"Hello!" Jenna smiled. "What can we do for you?"
Instead of turning to Jenna, the boy turned to Chris.
"Haha!" he laughed, pointing at him. "What a weakling, having to be comforted by such a stupid-looking girl! She looks like she stepped straight out of some wonky Alice in Wonderland reboot!"
"What did you say about her?" Chris murmured.
"Chris, no," Jenna said soothingly. "Just ignore him. If you're going to do what I think you're going to do, please calm down."
"Aw, is the little lovebird offended?" the boy teased in a mocking voice, and Chris jerked his head up. His face was red, and he had a look of anger on his face.
"Nobody makes fun of Jenna!" Chris yelled suddenly, running towards the bully, and Jenna grabbed his back, preventing him from going any further. "Hey, what's this all about?" He looked at Jenna, then slowly began to calm down as the bully walked away while chuckling to himself.
"Hehe," he said to himself loud enough that Chris and Jenna could hear him. "What a weenie!"
Chris turned to Jenna, and she gripped his hand.
"Chris," she said soothingly, "I know that you meant good, but please don't go around attempting to attack people like that."
"But he-" Chris said, before Jenna interrupted him.
"I know that he was being rather cruel," Jenna remarked, "but you need to control your anger too, you know. If you end up going on the tour, it could get you into trouble, just like Antonio and Yuna."
"I guess you're right," Chris sighed, beginning to calm down, and Jenna smiled.
"That's the spirit!" she said. "Now, let's see what's going on around town, shall we?"
"That's a great idea, Jenna," Chris smiled. "It could also help me to calm down. You always know the right things to say."
Jenna smiled back at Chris, and the two of them began their walk around town, looking at the department store one last time as breaking-news stories continued playing, both on Antonio and Yuna, as well as other worldwide happenings.
The two of them looked up at the sky. It was a bright blue color, and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The occasional aeroplane, as well as a group of migrating birds, could be seen flying in the sky in the usual "V" shape. A warm breeze was blowing, causing Jenna's hair to occasionally get into her eyes, and she whipped it back by shaking her head.
"It sure is a nice day, isn't it?" Jenna remarked, looking around her environment, and Chris was doing the same.
"It sure is," Chris agreed, smiling at Jenna. "Look, over there!" he said suddenly, pointing over to a tow truck driving by them. It said, "PERRY AUTO REPAIR." The duo waved to the man in the truck, and he slowed down and stopped in front of them.
The man in the driver's seat had jet-black hair and eyes the color of emeralds. He was wearing a black leather jacket and faded blue jeans, along with brown steel-toed boots and a pair of thick grey gloves.
There was a tall and rather muscular twelve-year old girl in the passenger's seat who looked almost exactly like him, except her hair was longer. Her gloves also had oil stains on them.
"Hello, Chris!" the man smiled. "Hello, Jenna! Me and Stephanie are back, just taking a break in the States! Don't worry, some of our employees are taking over our auto shop while we're away! Remember, with Jack P., it's a guarantee!"
He then handed Chris his business card, and the boy politely placed it in a pocket that he had in his corduroys. Both Stephanie and his father smiled at the two, and they smiled back.
"Would you like a lift?" Stephanie smiled. "It looks like you two have nothing to do, so why not come over to our special place that we have just for over here?"
"What do you think, Chris?" Jenna grinned. "How about it?"
"Sure, why not?" Chris responded, and Jack Perry, Stephanie's father, got out of the driver's seat of their truck in order to open the door for them. They stepped inside, one after the other, and buckled in and closed the door.
"Let's go, then!" the man announced, pushing down on the gas pedal of his vehicle, and his truck began to move once again. Stephanie looked back at the duo, turning her head in order to face them.
"How are you, Stephanie?" Jenna asked.
"I'm doing great!" Stephanie Perry responded. "Me and my father just got word that our employees got done restoring a 1975 Chevrolet Camaro! How cool is that?"
"It's amazing, Stephanie!" Chris grinned. "You and your father truly do own the best auto restoration company ever!"
"Why thank you, Chris!" Stephanie smiled back. "How is your grandma, by the way?"
"Grandma's doing pretty good," Chris responded. "She's an expert on all-things Wonka, so this Golden Ticket contest has her really excited!"
"That's fitting," Stephanie chuckled. "I'm excited as well, because I've admired Mr. Wonka and Charlie Bucket ever since I was in preschool!" She turned to look at Jenna. "How are James and Isabelle, by the way?"
"They're doing pretty good as well," Jenna answered. "James is over at Chris' house, and Isabelle is back in Birmingham. Unfortunately, her ballet classes made it so that she couldn't come over."
"That's unfortunate," Stephanie remarked as the truck began approaching a more isolated section on the edge of Chris' city of Columbus, Ohio. There were a couple buildings sitting next to each other, and an awning hung over all three of them. The first one was red and white striped, and above it, it said, "FICKELGRUBER ICE CREAM." Moving to the left, there was a blue and white striped awning, and that one said, "PRODNOSE CHEWING GUM." A third awning, the grandest of them all, had the word "SLUGWORTH'S" above it, and on the awning itself, it said, "CANDY BALLOONS." It was green and white striped, and pink balls that looked like bubble-gum bubbles surrounded it. Three men were outside by these buildings, and Jack stopped his truck as they approached him.
"I'll take care of this," he told everyone in his truck as he rolled down its window. The man that walked by the window looked absolutely horrifying. He was balding on the top of his head, and he had grey and white hair and a wrinkly face. His nose was scrunched up, and his teeth had a yellow tinge to them. He looked into the window of Jack's car, then turned his head to peer into the very back of the truck. He noticed Chris and Jenna, and gave them a sinister smile, showing yellow crooked teeth.
"Hello, sir," Jack said brightly. "Is there anything that I can do for you?"
"On the contrary," the man grinned, "I was wondering if there was something that I could do for you?"
"Like what?" Jack asked, then smiled at Chris, Jenna, and Stephanie. "I'm in a hurry, so please make it quick."
"I noticed that you had two kids in the back seat," the man explained, "and I was wondering if they would perhaps be interested in one of my candy balloons, perhaps?"
Candy balloons? Chris thought. That sounds strangely familiar.
"Oh, don't worry," Jack assured the man. "We have plenty of candy at our place, although we won't hesitate to come back here if we run out. Have a good day!"
He waved to the man, then rolled the window of his truck back up. A few seconds later, he was driving again, but Chris and Jenna couldn't help but notice that the man was still grinning evilly at them even as they drove away.
"Drat it all!" said one of the other men. He had a crooked nose, and the top and sides of his head were thinning. The remaining hairs that he had were grey and white, just like the man that had talked to Jack, and he was wearing a dark grey sweater. "Foiled again!"
"Don't you worry, Percy," the man that had talked to Jack smiled. "The next person will fall for us, I'm sure of it."
"That's what you said about the last one, Elmer!" Percy barked. "And the one before that! And that!"
"Maybe I should do the offers next," the third man suggested. This man was wearing a dark blue suit with a large bowtie, along with light-blue pants. He also had grey hair which came together to form a point above the center of his forehead. "That way we all get turns."
"Fear not, Frederick," Elmer said. "You'll get your turn eventually. I couldn't help but notice something as I was talking to that guy in the truck…"
"What was it, Elmer, sir?" Percy asked, walking up to Elmer and placing one hand on his shoulders.
"He had two kids in the back of his truck," Elmer explained. "I don't know why, but I detected something special about them, as if…"
"As if what, sir?" Percy asked.
"I don't know exactly what, but I'm definitely going to find out somehow," he grinned, showing his yellow tinged teeth once again, "or my name's not...Elmer Slugworth."
Jack was driving in nature-filled territory now. They were surrounded by giant trees, all of them with beautiful red, yellow, and orange leaves contrasting with their brown trunks. Birds could be seen chirping and flying through the air, preparing for migration, and Chris and Jenna could see the occasional squirrel climbing up one of the trunks and stepping out on thick tree branches, looking down at the ground below. The ride was also getting to be bumpy, as he was driving on a road made completely out of grey pebbles.
"Who was that creepy man, Dad?" Stephanie asked her father as he continued driving through the bumpy road.
"Not man," Jack corrected. "Men. The man that talked to us was none other than Slugworth himself, and the two behind him were none other than Prodnose and Fickelgruber."
"What?!" Jenna exclaimed. "You mean, the men that sent in spies back before the original tour in order to steal Mr. Wonka's secret recipes?!"
"The one and the same, I'm afraid," Jack answered. "You see, after they stole Mr. Wonka's recipes, they lied to the public eye, saying that Mr. Wonka had allowed them to use his recipes as long as they gave him a cut of their profits. This was found out to be a lie, however, when Mr. Wonka closed down his factory and sent all of his employees home, with one of them being Charlie Bucket's Grandpa Joe."
"What happened next?" Stephanie asked, intrigued.
"After the three were caught lying," Jack explained, "the courts ordered them to quit making the knock-off products. Fickelgruber became the maker of normal ice cream rather than ice cream that never melts, Prodnose became the maker of normal chewing-gum, and Slugworth was forced to manufacture normal candy balloons. This greatly affected their profits, so in embarrassment, they moved over here away from Wonka's factory, where they occasionally trick someone's old grandma or something like that into thinking they are actually buying Wonka's products at a discount price."
"I remember hearing a lot about those three from my grandma," Chris remarked. "Apparently, her dead husband, my grandpa, used to be a former Wonka employee, so she has a huge grudge against the trio."
"I don't blame her," Jenna said. "I'd have a grudge against them too, if they caused my husband to lose their job, especially at a place like Wonka's factory."
She gripped Chris' right hand and placed it in between both of hers.
"We're here!" Jack said proudly, stopping his truck in front of a small building made out of red bricks. It had a wooden door, and Chris and Jenna stared at it in awe.
"She sure is a beauty, all right," Jack chuckled, noticing Chris and Jenna's reactions. "Now let's go inside, shall we?"
As everyone got out of the truck, Jenna whispered to Chris, "You know, I'm a little nervous knowing that those three horrible people are so close to you."
"I am as well," Chris admitted. "I even noticed that Slugworth was staring at us as we were driving away from them, so I sure hope that they're not up to any of their old tricks."
Jack opened the door to the building, and what they were all met with looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. This building only had one room in the entire place, and there was a brown table in the center of it all with a small picture on it. There was also a fireplace, but it was not going at the moment. At the other end of the room, on the wall, there were three pictures, all of them framed. Chris and Jenna walked inside the building after Stephanie and her father, and their feet made the floor creak as they walked into it.
"Welcome to our humble abode!" Jack proclaimed. "This is where we take breaks when we're not working on cars. Me and Stephanie, that is."
"It's amazing," Jenna gasped.
"Thank you," Stephanie grinned. "Me and Dad built it with our bare hands, and we're very proud of it."
The duo walked over to the three photographs at the other end of the room. Jack saw them and walked over, and Stephanie followed.
The first picture showed a woman that looked almost exactly like Stephanie, except she was holding a wrench in her hands, without gloves. She was smiling while she was completely covered in black oil.
"That's my wife," Jack said. "Her name was Amelia."
"Was?" Chris asked, and Jack looked at him with a sad look on his face. Stephanie sighed sadly, and her father patted her back encouragingly. "Did I say something wrong?"
"It's alright," Jack said. "Stephanie was only six when Amelia died, but she remembers it vividly. One of our customer's cars was hoisted up above her as she was working underneath the vehicle, and the part collapsed, causing the car to topple right on top of her, killing her instantly. I won't go into detail about what happened afterwards, but it was a very sad moment. You could say that we still haven't gotten over it, even after all these years."
He then guided Chris and Jenna over to the second picture. This one showed her and Jack smiling together, and the third one showed her and Stephanie together, grinning with happiness while making funny faces.
"This is the last picture that we took before she died," Jack said, guiding the duo over to the wooden table and picking up the photograph that was in the center of it. The two of them looked, and the entire Perry family was together in it. Amelia was in the middle, surrounded by her husband and Stephanie.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Jenna said.
"Thanks a ton," Stephanie said, looking at Jenna and giving her a weak smile. "That means a lot."
Jack placed the photograph back down on the table, and a knock was heard on their door.
"It's probably the newspaper," Jack remarked. "Since our break house is all the way out here, surrounded by nature, we don't watch television. Instead, we read the newspaper to get what we need."
Stephanie walked over to the door and opened it, and indeed, there was a rolled-up newspaper, secured by a rubber band, laying on the doormat in front of their building. She picked it up and brought it inside, then placed it on the table. Jack removed the rubber band, then flattened the newspaper so that everyone could read the cover story. It said, "THIRD GOLDEN TICKET FOUND."
Author's Note: Wow, this certainly was a unique chapter, wasn't it? From Chris getting angry, to the three rival chocolate makers returning, and the third Golden Ticket being teased, a lot really happened in this one!
By the way, Stephanie Perry was a Ticket winner that Matt was originally going to feature in "Next in Line", but he scrapped her, leaving the story with the seven winners that you all will discover in this story. You can find her original version in one of Matt's stories called Next in Line: Secrets from the Vault. However, I must note that before new readers check it out, it does contain spoilers to upcoming Golden Ticket winners, so you have been warned. Stephanie previously appeared in Charlie's Chocolatey Adventure as well, but how does it feel to have her back in the 2005 canon at last, Matt?
Also, Chris' anger in this chapter was intended to expand on his character from Next in Line. As the people who have read the original know, Chris was shown to have tendencies to lash out, but it was only shown at the end of the story. It felt kind of rushed and shoved in to me, so I decided to fix it here by showing his full personality right at the beginning in order to build up to the tour (if he goes on it, that is). Also with Chris, her grandmother was also mentioned in the original Next in Line as a person who told him about Fickelgruber, Slugworth, and Prodnose. While rewriting that story, I decided to build on that, making her a sort of Grandpa Joe-like figure to the boy. His grandfather wasn't mentioned, and I added him for world-building purposes.
Fun fact, the appearances of the three rival chocolate makers were based off how they looked in the 2005 film, but I made them look older to show that time has passed. Speaking of them, the name Elmer Slugworth came from Roald Dahl's first draft script of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which you can read in a novelization form in one of my other stories, titled, What Could Have Been. The name Percy for Percy Prodnose was created by me, and MysteriousMaker1185 came up with the name Frederick for Frederick Fickelgruber. What purpose will they serve in this story? You'll find out as it progresses, so I hope you'll look forward to that.
As usual, feel free to review and leave your thoughts, and stay tuned for the next chapter tomorrow, which will feature the third Golden Ticket winner!
Until then,
Gabe S. :)