life would be sweeter / charlie and the chocolate factory ✔️

10

We walked out of the room and proceeded down the hallway. I attempted to quicken my pace, but Miss Mitchell gave me a stern glance, prompting us to hold hands once more.

"Without the boat, we'll have to move double-time to keep on schedule. And there's too much to see." Willy remarked.

"Willy?" I inquired, prompting him to turn his head and acknowledge my question. "Why did you decide to let people in?"

"Oh, so they could see the factory, of course," he replied.

"But why now, and why only five?" I asked again.

But Mike nudged me away and questioned, "What's the special prize, and who gets it?"

"The best kind of prize is a surprise!" he giggled.

Then, Veruca pushed Mike and said, "Will Violet always be a blueberry?"

Willy looked ahead. "No. Maybe. I don't know. But that's what you get from chewing gum all day. It's just disgusting."

"If you hate gum so much, why do you make it?" Mike glared.

"Once again, you shouldn't mumble cause it's kind of starting to bum me out." Willy deflected the question.

"Can you remember the first candy you ever ate?" I curiously asked. Then, Willy stopped in his tracks.

"No..." Willy replied, his face wearing an uneasy expression. The silence hung in the air, and I couldn't remember how many times this had occurred. I gripped Miss Mitchell's hand in fear, convinced I had made a mistake again.

Then he suddenly snapped out of his thoughts and apologized, "I'm sorry, I was having a flashback."

"I see," Mr. Salt reassured Veruca and he guided her away with a hand on her shoulder.

"These flashbacks happen often?" Mr. Teavee eyed Willy suspiciously.

"Increasingly... today," he sighed, then continued to lead the way to another room.

"I'm sorry, Miss Mitchell, I-" I began frantically, but Miss Mitchell hushed me.

"There's nothing to be fearful of, (N/N). Mr. Wonka just had a memory he'd rather forget. None of this is your fault," she comforted, gently brushing my (h/c) hair away from my face.

I mustered a weak smile and continued walking with the rest of the group.

🍫🍫🍫

We arrived in front of a door leading to a room known as the "Nut Sorting Room." When Mr. Salt spotted the sign, he proudly exclaimed, "Ah, this is a room I know all about. You see, Mr. Wonka, I am in the nut business myself."

Mr. Salt extended his business card to Willy, but when no one was looking, Willy discreetly discarded it.

"Are you using the Havermax 4000 to do your sorting?" Mr. Salt inquired.

"No," Willy laughed. "You're really weird."

He swung the door open, and I could hear the cacophony of clattering and chattering in this the room. Were those...squirrels that I heard?

I couldn't help but admire the swirly floor and the vibrant colors in the room. All I could say was that the squirrels were hard at work, efficiently distributing the nuts by either inspecting them or extracting them from their shells.

It was fascinating, but one thing puzzled me – why were they tossing some into that hole?

Miss Mitchell made sure I hadn't tripped, so I clung tightly to the railing. To be honest, I had never seen a squirrel up close, so the experience was overwhelming.