The Needy Beat The Greedy (Wonka 2023 fanfiction)

Chapter 1

Third person

Felix Fickleguber watched people below him streaming in and out of his shop like water running from a fausit. These people will always be below him, physically and otherwise. Peasants, he thought, grinning at all the money they were making him.

He heard the door open behind him. His daughter stood there. She looked exactly like him, with dark brown hair and eyes, pale skin and sharp facial features.

She took off her coat and hung it up on the only thing in the room: a coat hanger. There was nothing else. No furniture, no decorations, not even a light. 'To maintain aesthetics,' her father had said. He didn't like things in the background. It made Melrose wonder why he didn't just put in a curtain, but she didn't ask questions.

"Melrose," he snarled, voice echoing. "You're late." She glanced up at the clock. 10:02. "I'm sorry," she sighed. "It won't happen again." "It better not." She walked over and stood next to him, heels clicking on the marble floors as she walked.

Once a week, Wednesday at 10 to 8 Melrose would join her father to stare at customers walking in and out of their shop.

And he would say the same thing every time; "one day, you will carry on my legacy, and don't you dare think about pursuing anything but." And then she would give a small bow, replying with a quiet but assertive, "yes, father," that would echo through the empty room, lit solely by the window. Then they would continue to sit in silence, Mr. Fickleguber sipping his wine delicately.

And today was no different. It all played out how it should, but there was something different in the air, Melrose could feel it. Something almost... magical.

"So quiet up and listen down!" A boy's voice called out from the old abandoned shop. "No wait, scratch that. Reverse it. I present to you: the hoverchoc!"

A crowd formed around him, getting the Fickleguber's attention. Fickleguber wanted to see if the boy was a threat, Melrose to see if he looked like he could survive whatever they had in store for him. He didn't. He looked like the human embodiment of a marshmallow.

Her marshmallow-man theory was confirmed when he started singing.

"In a jungle in Mumbai, there lives a little hoverfly, who's wings go at a thousand flaps a second, that's no lie!"

'Oh, he'll be easy to knock off,' Melrose thought. Well, that's what she would've thought if the chocolates didn't start flying. Yes, flying. Literally dancing in the air like a bird.

Melrose tried to keep as little expression as possible, as her father didn't like expressive faces, but it was kind of difficult when you're, you know, watching chocolate fly?

The boy looked up at Melrose, tipped his hat and winked. Melrose, who could barely breathe, managed a wave, small enough for her father to be unaware of it.

Fickleguber spat out his wine, his face going visibly pale. Before either of them could process what they were seeing, the man aggressively took Melrose by the wrist and dragged her downstairs, where they met two other furious chocolatiers and the police.

Rest in peace, Marshmallow Boy.

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587 words
Hi!!! First chapter done, and to be honest, it kind of sucks. I always find the first few chapters aren't all that good. I go back later and try to fix them, and they're still the worst chapter's in the book. Idk it's weird. It gets better, I promise.
- Amelia