life would be sweeter / charlie and the chocolate factory ✔️

12

// A/N: There's some light angst in this chapter. //

Willy looked at us as if we were the luckiest people on the planet. "You mean, you're the only one?" he asked.

With a sure grin, I nodded.

"What happened to the others?" he added. I looked around and shrugged. We immediately shared a hearty handshake.

"(Y/N), that means you've won! Oh, I do congratulate you, I really do. I'm absolutely delighted. I had a hunch right from the beginning. Well done," he explained, his fingers then gently ruffling my hair.

"You know what they say: great minds think alike!" I replied.

Willy released my hand and turned to Miss Mitchell. "You've got quite an impressive child here. She's not only creative but also remarkably sensible," he playfully remarked. Miss Mitchell chuckled in response.

"Now, we mustn't dilly or dally. We have an enormous number of things to do before the day's out." He began to lead us to the elevator. "But luckily for us, we have the great glass elevator to speed things along-"

Willy bumped his head and fell comically. Miss Mitchell and I looked away briefly before he stood up again. "...Speed things along," he groaned.

He pressed the button and urged us to come in. We proceeded inside after I noticed a name that stood out. "Willy, what is 'Up and Out,' and what kind of room is that?" I asked, turning to face him.

"Hold on!" he said, grabbing my hand as Miss Mitchell followed his motion. Willy pushed the button, and we took off.

After a few seconds, he looked up. "Oh, my goodness. We're gonna need to go much faster; otherwise, we'll just never break through."

"Break through what?" I asked.

"I've been longing to press that button for years!" Willy grinned. "Well, here we go. Up and out!"

"But do you really mean...?" Miss Mitchell asked, but her voice trailed off as he nodded.

"But it's made of glass! It'll shatter into a million pieces!" exclaimed Miss Mitchell. I gripped her hand tighter to reassure her that everything would be fine.

The elevator's speed surged until it shattered the glass roof, reaching into the very heart of the clouds. Then, it gradually began its descent. We held each other's hands until Willy confidently pressed a greeb button.

At that moment, four rocket boosters lit up and kept the elevator in mid-air. We all peered out over the front gates, where the other contestants had been left behind.

Augustus was a living chocolate boy; Violet was a blueberry contortionist; Veruca and her dad were covered in trash; and poor Mike was sadly stretched into a bubble gum length.

His eyes were fixated on the contestants below. "They truly deserve it. Parents these days have no control over their children," Willy mused.

I offered a more optimistic perspective, "Not all parents, Willy. While there may be some who struggle, I believe the ones down there will certainly learn a valuable lesson from this experience."

"Where do you live?" he asked. I turned my heads towards him and said, "It is the big building called Roseville Orphanage."

Then he led the elevator to the roof, but not before Miss Mitchell directed it to the landing pad. Yes, as strange as it may sound, we have a landing pad for all flying activities. Elevators, in this case..

One of the children ventured over to see what was happening and returned with a look of astonishment, capturing everyone's attention. In no time, more than 30 children and adults hurried to the landing area.