Secret 4 - The Seventh Ticket Winner

Author's note: Hello, dear readers! It's been a very long time since I last updated this "story", and this will likely be the final part. The reason why it took so long was because I accidentally deleted everything in regards to who I'm calling Jenna 1.0., but I did remember not changing too much around when I wrote the interview for the final version of Jenna in "Next in Line". Thankfully, I realized I had a copy of the original chapter on one of my USB flash drives, and that is what you're about to read!

As for future "secrets" such as Oompa-Loompa songs and demises, please keep in mind that I've never actually written them down, so I would be trying to write them from scratch, and given how much work I'm already doing, that would be overkill for me. Besides, Gs33022 is rewriting "Next in Line" using many of the scrapped ideas that I gave him, and his version is called "Kind At Heart". Please read it if you haven't already, because it is truly a stellar work, and there is a lot more detail with the plot and character interactions. Now, time to reply to your reviews!

Gs33022, you already know the answers to your questions by now. XD

TheFastFox, I did take some influences from the 1971 Beauregardes (especially with Jack Perry), but the similarities stop there.

Sonny April, I understand your indifference towards Stephanie, and to an extent I do agree with you there. Part of me wishes I would have included her in the story; if not as a contestant, then maybe as a background character. Stephanie does have a prominent role in Gs33022's story, though, so you could read that if you wanna see some more of her.

JOHNHAMMOND1993, "How it's Made" was one of my all-time favorite shows as a kid. Even though I'm not very mechanically inclined, I have always been interested in seeing what makes machines do what they do.

MysteriousMaker1185, unfortunately, I am marking this as Complete for now, so you probably won't end up seeing Stephanie's demise. I'm sorry. As for Stephanie's insecurity, that was what my intentions were while describing her. I'm glad you caught that.

Guest, the update is here! Now, on with the final secret (for now)!

"There are only three more tickets left, and none of the winners so far seem to be suitable candidates for our next heir," Mr. Wonka lamented as he and Charlie watched the news three days after Stephanie Perry found her ticket. "I mean, some of them are almost good enough, like Yuna, but I still have yet to find someone who is just as good as you."

"Mr. Wonka, I think you're setting the bar just a tad too high this time," Charlie told him. "I understand that you want someone just like me to eventually replace both of us. You knew all along that I would be the perfect heir since you first laid eyes on me, but the truth is, there's no such thing as perfection. You can get so close to perfection that the distance between you and it is microscopic, but you'll never actually get there. No one can."

"This is just in," the news anchor announced on the TV. "The seventh Golden Ticket has been found in Birmingham, Alabama, by a twelve-year-old ballerina named Jenna Adams."

"A ballerina?" Charlie wondered, stroking his chin with his index finger. "Hm, this should be interesting."

The interview took place inside a large performing arts theater. A large crowd of reporters were gathered in the building's expansive lobby, which had a high ceiling and crystal chandeliers hanging from it.

Jenna was seen walking down a flight of stairs from a second-floor mezzanine towards the lobby. She had long red hair, sapphire eyes, and a very pale, almost ghostly, complexion. She wore an orange ballet dress with matching shoes. Once she reached the bottom, she flashed a radiant smile and curtsied in front of the cameras.

"Hi, everybody!" Jenna enthusiastically greeted the reporters.

"Hello, Jenna! Can you please tell us about yourself?" one of the reporters asked.

"Well, I'm the seventh Golden Ticket winner, and I am twelve years old," Jenna replied with a crystal-clear voice. "As you can see, I'm a proud member of Birmingham Ballet, and we just finished a rehearsal for a brand-new show called 'The Fires of Eternity'!"

"That's amazing," one of the reporters commented. "It's always nice to see talented, young performers like you. Is there anything about the show you'd like to tell your viewers?"

"The show is at 7 PM tomorrow if anyone wants to watch me perform live," Jenna smiled. "I know you guys watching on TV would love to see it, especially if you're in the area."

"Thanks for sharing that with us," a male reporter commented. "Now, Jenna, can you tell us how you found your Golden Ticket? That's what the world wants to know right now."

"Well, I don't necessarily care for chocolate or candy in general," Jenna told the reporters, "but I have always been curious to see what Willy Wonka's factory was like inside. I spent about five-hundred dollars of my own money on Wonka Bars earlier this morning before rehearsal, and not long after, I found myself a Golden Ticket. My parents will eat most of the chocolates that I bought, and for the rest, I'll just give them away to other people. I'm not saying I hate candy by any means. I'll have a candy or chocolate bar once a year on my birthday, but other than that, I could do without them. That's just me."

"But if you said you found your Golden Ticket before your rehearsal," another reporter asked, "did any of your fellow performers know?"

"I kept it a secret for the time being," Jenna replied, "because if I told them, that would be all they'd think about, and our rehearsal wouldn't have turned out well. I'm dedicated to my role and to this organization first and foremost, so I did not let the Golden Ticket distract me from doing my best on stage this afternoon. I am super excited to see Mr. Wonka and Charlie Bucket in person, so if the two of you are watching this, I'll see you on the first of September! Have a great day!"

"Well, this time I'll admit that she doesn't seem too bad," Mr. Wonka said, "but why on earth would I give my factory to someone who doesn't like candy?"

"She will at least get what she wants," Charlie told him, "and that would be a tour of the factory. Remember, she said that she doesn't totally dislike candy, so you should maybe consider her to be your heir, if the next two turn out to be truly rotten."

Mr. Wonka stood up from his chair. "Well, even if Jenna turns out to be a nice kid after all, I'm still going to write a song about her for the Oompa-Loompas. It would at least suit her, since she's a performer herself."

Charlie sighed as he got up from his chair to look directly at Mr. Wonka. "Very well," he said calmly just before Mr. Wonka turned to leave the room. "Let's just hope that Jenna really is as nice as she seems to be."

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed reading about Jenna 1.0! As you can see, she isn't really all that developed as a character in my opinion, but I made major edits and changes to this chapter, and that is how the metalhead version of Jenna came to be. I based Jenna's looks on a girl I had a crush on during high school, and I figured that since we were both metalheads, why not inject some more of this girl's traits and personality into the character? As I already said, PLEASE check out "Kind At Heart", where Jenna plays an even bigger role than she did in "Next in Line"! She also has a younger sister named Isabelle, who is—guess what—a ballerina! It's a nod to this original version of Jenna, but I'm certain that everyone here prefers metalhead Jenna over ballerina Jenna. Please feel free to review, and stay tuned for updates to Gs33022's "Kind At Heart"! :)