Scrub Scrub - Willy Wonka x OC

Chapter 1

It had been months now. Summer had been torn from her grasp and passed her by. Now, every day grew colder and more unbearable. Winter was approaching fast. She had been given a room in the working quarters and a thread bare blanket that did almost nothing to warm her. The room had leaks coming through the ceiling when she had gotten it, so she had to find old buckets to catch the water.

However, during her time there, Carmen had gotten the privilege of getting to know a little girl named Noodle. She was a sweet girl with dark skin and fluffy hair. Her eyes were such a deep shade of brown that they nearly appeared as black. One thing about Noodle that Carmen had learned was that she loved to read.

Noodles' love for reading went well with Carmen's passion for writing. Their shared love for literature paired well together, especially as a pastime when they weren't scrubbing a strangers undergarments. Carmen would write, and Noodle would read her works. Carmen also had a few books that she had picked up along the way. She even let her read her travel journal, which contained stories of her adventures all over the world.

Noodle was glad for the new stories instead of reading the same things over and over again, and Carmen was glad that someone enjoyed reading her writing. Having someone to write for gave her more motivation, even though Carmen hadn't been very good at making up plots or building worlds from her own imagination. She usually stuck to poetry and short stories. She wanted to write more extravagant things for Noodle, but whenever she tried, she was hit with an extreme case of writers block.

Even though this upset Carmen, Noodle didn't mind one bit. She loved reading Carmen's poetry. In fact, she found it refreshing to read something so beautiful and fascinating. She also loved the challenge of trying to decipher the words herself. When she asked her what something meant, Carmen would tell her, "it means whatever you think it means, Noodle."

Over the months that Carmen had spent there so far while she scrubbed away next to Noodle and the other workers, or rather prisoners, she found that she and Noodle had a lot in common, other than literature. They both liked the color green, and they found the way some of the floor boards creaked to be a little eerie, especially at night. They also discovered that they had similar senses of humor. They spent most of the working hours exchanging jokes, and then they spent their evenings sitting side by side in Noodles' bedroom while Carmen wrote, and Noodle read.

Every once in a while, Mrs. Scrubitt would send Noodle to town during the day to deliver and pick up laundry. In the beginning, it was very rare, but it gradually grew to become every day. Noodle got to go into town and feel the sun while Carmen was left to scrub away and make small talk with the other workers. She enjoyed chatting with Piper and Abacus, and she smiled at Larry's attempts at comedy. She would have liked to also speak with Lottie, but every time she tried, it was a tad bit awkward, and she was met with either small and timid responses or silence. Despite that, Carmen had grown close with each of them, Noodle, especially so, being like a little sister to her. Carmen figured that these would be the only people she would know for a long time.

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One day, after Noodle had returned from her daily delivering chores, all she could do was jump and shout about what she had seen when she was in town. Carmen was shocked and even confused at the jumble of gibberish that was spilling from the little girls lips.

"Slow down, Noodle! What has gotten into you!?" Carmen interrogated.

"The man! At Gallery Gourmet! He made them fly!" She exclaimed.

"What?"

"I saw a man at the Gallery Gourmet! He was wearing a funny coat and hat, and he made chocolate that made everyone fly!" Noodle got out in one breath.

Carmen stood for a moment, processing what her friend just said.

"Well, I think that's..." She couldn't find the right words.

"Spectacular?" Noodle tried to finish for her.

"Um," Carmen contemplated, telling her how ridiculous the story sounded. It made her think that maybe Noodle should be the one writing and Carmen the one reading. But, instead of crushing her spirit, she settled for, "I suppose so, yes. Too bad I can't meet this magic man!" She teased.

'Well..." Noodle started, suddenly less excited. "You just might get to."

"What do you mean?" She asked her.

"Well, I saw him last night, speaking with Mrs. Scrubitt and checking out a room..." Noodle trailed off towards the end of her sentence.

Carmen was suddenly filled with a sense of urgency. She didn't believe in the whole flying thing, but it was very plausible that there really had been a man. A man who was very likely to find himself in their situation, and that worried Carmen. "Did you tell him to read the fine print?" She urgently prodded the young girl.

"I tried to, but Mrs. Scrubitt caught me. That's why I was put in the coop last night." Mrs. Scrubitt had a habit of putting people in the chicken coop when things didn't go according to plan, but that wasn't why she was worried. That poor man had fallen into her trap, and soon, he would fall down the laundry chute just like she had all those months ago.

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Sure enough, later that day, towards the early evening, while Carmen was folding a few garments, she heard a yelp from the other room. Following the yell, she heard her friends introducing themselves to someone. Although eager for a new face, Carmen was scared for the first time in a long time. It was like she had developed some form of social anxiety. So, instead of rushing into the next room to say hello, she busied her hands with folding the load of laundry that had finished drying. That was until Piper called out to her.

Carmen sighed and set down the piece of cloth on the table, and slowly headed for the other room.

"Yes?" Carmen asked as if she hadn't heard the dramatic entrance of the new - Comer falling down the laundry chute.

"Come meet the new guy!" Piper beckoned her as Carmen turned the corner.

Then, finally, she came face to face with... the most gorgeous hazle eyes she had ever seen.

Standing in front of her was a very tall and handsome man with defined cheekbones and a very charming smile. He wore a pink colored coat and an old looking top hat that he paired with a walking stick. His lips were very pink, perhaps from the cold, and his brown curly hair was fluffy. He was very colorful and very, very handsome. And again, for the first time in a long time, Carmen felt butterflies flutter in her stomach. Or maybe that was her heart skipping a few beats in her chest.

"Willy Wonka!" He happily introduced himself with a gleeful smile and offered her his hand. Gosh, even his voice was smooth. Everything about him almost made her melt.

It took her a moment to snap herself out of her trance so that she could respond, "Carmen Loveless, it's a pleasure to meet you." She reached forward to shake his hand. His skin was warm and smooth. It made her own skin tingle.

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Loveless." He gave her a toothy grin. It was safe to say that Carmen was infatuated and couldn't wait to know him better.

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