Lucy's POV
"Are you crazy?!" Noodle yelled , standing up from her chair. "Shh! It's easy! I'll get someone to cover my shift, and you can smuggle me out in your laundry cart - just
for a few hours. Nobody would even notice I was gone." He reassured us.
"What's the point of that?" She asked him. "To sell chocolate, of course! We'll split the profits and pay off Mrs Scrubitt in no time! " He said, smiling. "It's a nice idea, Willy..." I said. "It's a great idea," He said. "But it'll never work!" Noodle exclaimed. "Course it will! Eat your chocolate." He encourages. She eats the rest of her Silver Lining."You don't understand. Mrs Scrubitt's like a hawk." I stated.
"She keeps her beady eye on everything that comes in and out of the Wash House. Except... huh." Noodle looks like she has an idea. "What is it?" Willy said, turning around, waiting excitedly for Noodle to awnser. "No, it's nothing." She dismisted. "Oh, ok." He said, turning around. "Huh!" She said again after a few seconds.
"A double-huh! That's not nothing. That's the Silver Lining. It's given you an idea." He explains. "Ok. So the one time she dropped her guard was when this aristocrat came into the laundry. He was only asking for directions, but she was all over him like a rash. It was disgusting." Noodle said.
"Please don't remind me." I grimaced, shivering with discust."That's it, girls! All we have to do is find an aristocrat and slip out while she's distracted." He said enthusiastically. "Yeah, but where are we going to
find an aristocrat?" She asks him. He then eats a Silver Lining, thinking hard. Seconds later, Willy looks like he has an idea of his own. "Huh." He said. "Huh?" I asked, smiling.
"Huh!" He said with enthusiasm after a few seconds.
"A double-huh!" Noodle said. "Do you have a pencil and paper?" He asks us."Uh-huh." Noodle nodded.
"Why do you need a pencil and paper?" I asked him
"Because I've got an idea..." He said, smiling.
The next morning me and Noodle sat down at the front lobby, inspecting Willys drawing."You think this gonna work?" I ask her in a hushed tone so nobody can hear us. "Im not sure, but he seems to think it will. Do you think we should believe him?" She replied. "Maybe. I mean, come on, what he does is incredible, and I think we should help him. Who knows maybe it will all work out in the end." I said with a smile.
Just then, Mrs. Scrubitt came into the living room. As quickly as we could, we hid the paper. "What are you two hiding there?" She asks. "Nothing." We awnsered her simultaneously. "Do you like that coop, girls?" She said.
"Alright. We were collecting laundry from Professor Monocle the other day." Noodle began. "Yeah?" Mrs scrubitt said. "He's writing a book about the Bavarian Royal Family." I continued. "Boring." Mrs. Scrubitt mumbled. "He's got sketches of noblemen all over his wall." Noodle carried on. "So?!" Mrs Scrubitt said "This one looked rather familiar." She said and hands the sketch over to Mrs Scrubitt, who examines it.
"Blow me! It looks just like..." She stopped mid sentence,"Mr Bleacher." We simultaneously said. "Are you telling me Bleacher's a Bavarian aristocrat?" She asks, looking at us like this is some kind of joke. We nodded. "Go and get my gin!" She said after a few seconds and literally kicked us out.
A few minutes later , we successfully smuggled Willy out of the hotel. We walked for a bit till we knew it was safe and then stopped.
"All clear!" Noodle said, opening the bag a bit. Willy (whos still in the bag) looks at us with wide eyes, causing me to smile at his adorableness. "Really?" He asks. " Yep," I said with a grin."We did it! Well done, girls!" He exclaimed with happiness as he got out of the bag. "I can't believe it worked!" Noodle said in disbelief. "Me neither!" I said. "And wait 'til you see how much chocolate I made last night! We sell this, and we're gonna - oh no! " Willy said, pulling out a jar from his hat, but to our surprise, it's EMPTY.
"What's going on, Willy?" Noodle asks. "Where are the chocolates?" I ask him."I don't know how to tell you this, girls, but... they've been stolen." He states with a slightly angry expression."Stolen?" I questioned. "Mm-hm." He replied."Who by?" Noodle asked."The Little Orange Man." He awnered. "What?" " Huh??" Me and Noodle said, looking at him blankly.
"The Little Orange Man. Didn't I tell you about him?" He questioned."No, you didn't." Noodle said. He then looked at me. "Not that I recall of no." I said. "He's my nemesis! He's about yay high, comes in the dead of night, and steals all my chocolate. It's been happening every few weeks for the past ooh... three, four years now." He explained."Really?" "You don't say?" We both said in disbelief
"Sometimes I spy him in that strange realm,twixt sleep and wake, green hair glinting in the moonlight." He continued. "Green hair?!" Noodle yelled, getting slightly agitated. "One day I shall catch him, girls, and when I do...""Willy? WILLY!!" I yelled to get his attention. "Yes?" He said. "You don't actually expect us to believe this, do you? "I said, folding my arms.
"Course I do! What other explanation is there?" He asks us. "I don't know. That you go to sleep, dream about a little green man..." I said."Orange man, green hair." He corrected. "...and while you're dreaming, STUFF YOUR FACE WITH CHOCOLATE!!" Noodle yelled
"Stuff my -- that makes a lot more sense. Have I been eating my own chocolate?" He asks himself. "Why did I ever think this would work? " Noodle said, walking away.
"Noodle, don't go !" I said and looked at Willy for backup, but unfortunately, he was mumbling like the mad man his."Stupid Silver Linings," She said. Well, that definitely got him out of trance. "Hey! There's nothing stupid about my chocolate." He defended himself. "If Mrs Scrubitt had spotted us, we'd both
be in the coop right now!" Noodle yelled angrily.
" Look, I'm sorry, ok? But we can make more chocolate. The only problem is that I'm all out of milk." He states. "That's not a problem. Milk." Noodle said as she simply swipes a bottle of milk from the nearest doorstep. Willy, horrified, takes it and puts it back."a) That's stealing. And c) Willy Wonka does not use any old cow's milk. For this particular creation, I require the milk of a giraffe." He said. We realized it's easier not to argue.
"Ok, fine. As a matter of fact, there's one at the zoo." Noodle states. "BINGALA!" He yelled and strides off down the alley."But a) the zoo's not that way..." Noodle began."Gotcha." He turning back around. "...and b) they're not just gonna let you just walk in there and milk it." I continued. Willy then stood next to me and leaned forward, making my heart raise a bit. I blushed at the close contact.
"That, my dear Lucy, is why we're very lucky the little orange man didn't find this." He taps the top of his cane - and it opens up like a Fabergé Egg, revealing a single piece of chocolate in a tiny box....
