Chocolate Love (Willy Wonka Love Story)

Chapter Five

Aurora p.o.v.

"Room service!" I giggle at Noodle's joke as I knock on the open door. 

Mr. Wonka turns from looking out the window to see us in the doorway, and his face brightens immediately. 

"Told you to read the small print." Noodle says in an 'I told you so' way as we walk in.

I lean against the wall next to the desk and she sets the bucket of slops we brought next to my feet.

"Hm...light problem with that." He replies, sounding somewhat defeated.

Noodle and I glance at each other, and connect the dots at the same time. 

"You can't read, can you?" Noodle asks, carefully.

He shrugs. "I focused my studies almost exclusively on chocolate."

"I see..."

"For everything else, I've relied on the kindness of strangers." 

"And look where that got you:" I gesture around the room. "The staff quarters. You've got a bed." 

Mr. Wonka walks over to said bed and sits on it, which prompts the frame to collapse under him. He lets out a little yell of surprise and I giggle at the sound.

"You had a bed." Noodle continues. "Desk, and wash basin slash toilet. The water comes in two temperatures. Cold,"

"And colder." I finish for her.

Noodle comes back over to stand next to me. "How much do you owe them?"

"Ten thousand." He replies, and I snort.

"Count yourself lucky. I owe thirty."

He's shocked. "What? How do you owe them money? I thought they found you down the laundry chute."

She nodded. "Oh, they did. Took me in out of the goodness of their hearts and charged me for the privilege."

"You're kidding me..." 

"Unfortunately, she's not." He then looks at me and my body goes tense, I know he's going to ask me the same.

"How much do you owe them?" It's like his eyes see right through me.

"...Fifty thousand." I try to sound as nonchalant about it as I can, but his mouth falls open.

"What?? That's more than what Noodle owes!"

"Mhm...but it's not something I really like to talk about." I wave my hand, brushing the subject away.

"What a pair of monsters." Anger is rising in his tone.

"The greedy beat the needy, Mr. Wonka." Noodle interjects and shrugs, pouring some slops into a bowl for the poor man. "It's just how the world works."

She goes to leave, the conversation putting her in a bad mood. I almost follow her but Mr. Wonka keeps talking.

"Oh, come on, Noodle that's just your orphan syndrome talking." He said, as if that was just the most natural thing in the world, but it stops us both in our tracks.

"My what??" She spins back around to look at him.

"Your orphan syndrome. And we're certainly not going to be eating any slops." He dumps the slops in a nearby bucket of water that sits under a leak in the roof.

"What are you doing?" I ask cautiously as he picks up his suitcase and sets it on the desk.

"I'm makin chocolate a' course. How do you take it? Dark? White? Nutty? Absolutely insane?" He gets a goofy tone to his voice and tilts his head back and forth like a puppy. I have to keep my cool at this adorable motion.

"I dunno, I've never had any." Noodle admits.

He looks at her like she sprouted a second head and mumbles some nonsense. "WHAT??? YOU'VE NEVER HAD CHOCOLATE??"

"Still no." She sounded unimpressed. I was enjoying the interaction.

"Well lucky for you girls, I have a selection of the world's finest ingredients right here in my travel factory." He's suddenly super excited as he opens his case. Inside is an almost impossible array of flasks and beakers, a miniature gas stove, and jars full of magical ingredients. I moved forward to get a closer look, and Noodle did the same.

"Woah!"

"This is incredible!"

"Where to begin, that's the question...Ah! I know! Silver linings! Made of condensed thunder clouds and liquid sunlight. Helps you see that faint ray of hope beyond the shadow of despair. Just what we need, wouldn't you say?" His smile lights up the room.

We watch his every move with curiosity.

"Did you always wanna make chocolate?" Noodle asks him.

"Oh no. Back when I was your age, I wanted to be a magician. My mom was the cook. We lived on the river, just the two of us, in a perfect little world of our own..." He then told us the story about his mother and how she made chocolate for him.

"So what was it Willy?" Noodle asks after he's done. "What was the secret?"

"I never found out. Soon after, she fell sick and before I knew it...all I had left was her bar of chocolate."

"I'm so sorry Willy..."

I put one hand on his shoulder, to offer some comfort, and sparks shot up my arm. He looks and smiles at us, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"That's why I'm here girls, so I can feel the same way I did back then, eating chocolate with her."

"What do you mean?"

"My mom once promised that when I share chocolate with the world, she'd be right there beside me...and I know it sounds crazy, but I'd always hoped she'd somehow keep that promise. She might even tell me her secret." 

We both offer comforting smiles, knowing all too well the pain he's going through. A few silent seconds later, the silver lining chocolate was done.

"Here, try one." He put one in each of our hands, his fingers lingering on mine perhaps a little longer than they should've. We each take a bite and Noodle puts hers on the desk.

"I wish you hadn't done that." She says, upset.

I watch as his face falls. "You don't like it?"

I pop the rest in my mouth as Noodle keeps talking. "No I like it...it's just now each day I don't have chocolate will be a little harder." I nod in agreement.

His bright grin reappears. "Then how would you two like to have all the chocolate you can eat every day for the rest of your lives?"

"A lifetime supply?" I ask, with a suspicious raise of an eyebrow.

"A lifetime supply." He guarantees.

Noodle glances at me then back at Mr. Wonka. "What would we have to do?"

"Not much, just get me out of here..."