Tickets To Neverland

Chapter 7: Oompa Loompas and XY's on Manic Monday

"Are you ready guys?" I asked excitedly.

"Ready as we'll ever be Erin Brooks." Grace answered for everyone in the group.

Grace and I have this thing that we do ever since we started college together. The people who go to the school are kind of used to it by now. Actually, not really, they just call it the Crazed Escapades. We do weird, crazy antics right in our school home, California State University, Long Beach.

Today is Monday, and we decided over the weekend to do a massive collaboration with some of the pranksters and actors at our school to do this stunt. Grace and I are going to do some sort of stunt in each class as a small way to show our school spirit. We spent all day yesterday trying to gather our crew to help with this prank. Grace and I just decided to wing the other stunts because first impressions are more important, right?

"Then let's do this. 1, 2, 3, Charlie go!" We all split up and went to our position. I saw Casey, a bigger guy with red hair hop into the big water fountain that is now filled with chocolate. He started swirling around the now, chocolate fountain yelling, "Help! Help!" I'm going to drown and get stuck!"

Laura, also with big red hair started running into the scene, looking flustered, exclaiming, "Help my dear baby! Someone please! He can't swim! Help! Someone's coming for you baby!"

But then, Casey got stuck in the fountain and the chocolate stopped swirling. Ben, who's playing Willi Wonka entered the scene and looked at Casey and started to hum while Daniel, who's playing Charlie, came in and yelled, "Look! The Oompa Loompas!"

I got out of my hiding spot along with Grace and a few others and started humming, nodding our heads and making random noises. We were literally orange with green hair and wore our white overalls over our gingerbread colored shirts. We decided to mix the two movies up because why not?

I heard someone asking, "What are they doing?" which Willy Wonka answered back, "Why I believe they are going to treat us with a little song. It is quite a special occasion, of course, they haven't had a fresh audience in many a moon."

All us Oompa Loompas started marching/ running around the campus while yelling "hey! hey! hey!" as an introduction for our song. We arrived in a line and did our dance routine while singing the song,

"Augustus Gloop! Augustus Gloop!

The great big greedy nincompoop!

Augustus Gloop! So big and vile. So greedy, foul, and infantile.

'Come on!' we cried, 'The time is right, To send him shooting up the pipe!

But don't, dear children, be alarmed; Augustus Gloop will not be harmed, Augustus Gloop will not be harmed." Some of the Oompa Loompas started to get in the fountain and float in the chocolate.

"Although, of course, we must admit. He will be altered quite a bit. Slowly, the wheels go round and round, The cogs begin to grind and pound; We boil him for a minute more, Until we're absolutely sure. Then out he comes! And now! By grace! A miracle has taken place! A miracle has taken place!"

The chocolate fountain started to swirl faster as an effect which Casey then dived into the chocolate fountain to show that the tube sucked him up.

We finished our song singing, "This greedy brute, this louse's ear, Is loved by people everywhere! For who could hate or bear a grudge. Against a luscious bit of fudge?" then marched away in sync.

Some people started clapping looking genuinely impressed while others were still hangover, drinking their coffee and attempting to block the noise out. I heard one of them say, "It's just another Manic Monday. I wish it were Sunday. 'Cause that's my fun day, my I don't have to run day. It's just another manic Monday." Huh, that was a clever Bangles reference.