🍭Esme's P.O.V 🍭

We stepped into the inventing room as the machines hissed and popped out new candies. I think I loved this room the best, mostly because it had the most places to hide and machines to fix.

"Now this is the most important room in the entire factory" Willy announced "Now everyone enjoy themselves, but just don't touch anything, kay?" He waved us off and Violet and Mike ran off first.

I was about to say something to Willy when Violet yelled "Hey, Mr. Wonka! What's this?"

"Oh!" said Willy "Let me show you." An oompa loompa handed him a round candy. "These are everlasting gobstoppers! There for children who are given very little allowance money, you can suck on it all year and it'll never get any smaller! Isn't that neat?"

"It's like gum" said Violet.

"No" stated Willy "gum is for chewing and if you tried chewing one of these gobstoppers, you'd break all your little teeth off. They sure do taste terrific!"

We moved onto another table and Willy picked up another candy. 

"And this is hair toffee!" he explained "you suck down one of these little boogers and in exactly half an hour a brand new crop of hair will start growing out all over the top of your little noggin! And a mustache! And a beard!"

"Who wants a beard?" asked Mike, snappishly.

"Well, beatniks, for one. Folk singers and motorbike riders. You know, all those hip, jazzy, super cool, neat, keen and groovy cats? It's in the fridge, Daddy-O!  Are you hep to the jive can you dig what I'm laying down? I knew that you could! Slide some skin, soul brother?" Willy put his hand down for a high five. Mike just stared at him confused.

I burst out laughing, Willy smiled at me.

"Unfortunately the mixture isn't quite right yet" said Willy "because an oompa loompa tried some yesterday and well..."

We watched as an oompa loompa came forward covered from head to toe in hair.

"How are you today?" asked Willy.

He gave two thumbs up.

"You look great!" Willy complemented him. 

I could tell he felt bad about turning him into a walking hairball. The other oompa loompa's tried to shave him, but the hair just kept growing.

Willy and the group walked away, but I stayed behind and looked at the hair toffee mixture. I figured out the problem after a few minutes. The trouble wasn't the mixture, it was the machine! It was set to extra hairy instead of regular hairy! 

I turned the dial to the proper setting and smiled to myself.

"What are you doing?" Willy asked.

I spun around and saw him looking at me with a little half smile.

"I-I'm sorry" I told him, biting my lip.

"For what?" He asked.

"Well, I shouldn't have touched your machine without your permission" I said, tucking my bangs behind my ear

"Oh pish-posh!" He said with a wave of his hand "you didn't break it, did you?"

"No, I guess not..." I said "in fact I made a little adjustment."

"What adjustment?" He asked, curiously.

"Well you see, the problem with your hair toffee wasn't in the mixture" I explained "it was the machine that mixed the ingredients. It was set to extra hairy instead of regular hairy."

Willy looked at the machine and nodded. "Huh!" He said "why didn't I think of that? You're brilliant, Esme!"

I smiled "thank you."

"How do you know so much about this stuff?" He asked.

I tensed. "Um... I-I like to work around   machines..." I said.

"Are you a mechanic?" He asked.

"Not really" I said.

"Well, if you like machines, you'll love  this one!" He seized my hand and dragged me over to his new gum machine.

The tour group gathered around as Willy smiled and said "watch this!"

He pulled a leaver and the machine came to life, hissing and popping and squealing loudly. A mechanical hand unfolded in front of us and finally out if it came... a stick of gum.

"You mean that's it?" Snapped Mike.

"Do you even know what it is?" Asked Willy.

"It's gum" answered Violet. Obviously...

"Yeah!" Said Willy "It's a stick of the most amazing and sensational gum in the whole universe, know why? Know why? Cause this gum is a three course all by itself!"

"Why would anybody want that?" Asked Mr. Salt, cluelessly.

Willy read off his cue cards, which he only does if he doesn't know what to say.

"It will be the end of all kitchens and all cooking!" He read aloud "just a little strip of Wonka's magic chewing gum and that is all you will need at breakfast, lunch and dinner. This peice just so happens to be tomato soup, roast beef and blueberry pie!"

"It's sounds great!" Said Charlie's grandpa.

"It's sounds amazing!" I grinned.

"It sounds weird!" Veruca frowned.

"Sounds like my kind of gum!" Said Violet, taking out her gum and sticking it behind her ear.

I shuddered disgusted.

"I rather you didn't" said Willy "there's still one or two things I have to--"

"I'm the world record holder in gum chewing!" Violet said arguably "I'm not afraid of anything!"

She shoved the gum into her mouth and began chewing away.

I gulped remembering what happened to the last few oompa loompa's that tried that gum.

"How is it, honey?" Ms. Beaurgaurde asked her daughter.

"It's amazing!" Replied Violet "tomato soup! I can feel it running down my throat!"

"Yeah" Willy said nervously "spit it out!"

"Listen to him, you little--" I started but Violet cut me off.

"It's changing!" She said "roast beef with baked potato! Crispy skin and butter!"

"Keep chewing, kiddo!" Said Ms. Beauregarde "my little girl is going to be the first person in the world to have a chewing gum meal!"

"I can't believe your encouraging this!" I glared at Violet's mother.

"She needs to stop before the--" Willy started.

"Blueberry pie and ice cream!" Said Violet.

"That part" Willy nodded knowingly.

"What's happening to her nose?" Asked Veruca.

Everyone looked at Violet, curiously.

"It's turning blue" stated Mr. Salt, narrowing his eyes.

Ms. Beauregarde stared at her daughter. "Your whole nose has gone purple" she said worriedly.

"What do you mean?" Asked Violet, touching her nose.

"Violet! You're turning violet!" Her mother panicked. "What's happening?" She asked Willy.

I backed up beside Willy, nervously, wondering if Violet will grow bigger than the oompa loompa's that also tried the gum.

"Well, I told you I hadn't quite gotten it right, because it goes a little funny when you get to the dessert" Willy said nervously. "It's the blueberry pie that does it... I'm terribly sorry..."

He grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a nearby machine.

Willy and I huddled together behind the machine.

"It must be all the the blueberry juice" I wondered out loud.

"That's what I thought too!" Said Willy "I think the ice cream might've melted with the pie so that might've added to the liquid intake."

"How big is she now?" I asked, fearing the answer.

Willy and I peeked out from behind the machine and saw Violet had grown almost as high as the ceiling. We both looked at each other, cringingly and went back down into our hiding place.

"Yikes" I said.

"I know, it happened to quite a few oompa loompa's too" said Willy. Then he grinned and said "watch this!"

I watched as Willy crawled on his hands and knees around the group and snuck up behind Violet's mother. I giggled as she jumps when he spoke.

"I've tried it on, like, twenty oompa loompa's and each one ended up like a blueberry" he laughed slightly "It's just weird!"

"But I can't have a blueberry as a daughter!" She said "How is she supposed to compete!"

"You could put her in county fair!" Veruca said.

I giggled at that, soon the oompa loompa's began to sing again. This time the beat was techno and catchy. I came out and stood beside Willy, bopping my head to the music with him.

I looked over and saw Ms. Beaurgaurde glaring at us. Willy looked at her and stopped dancing.

"I want you to take Miss Beauregarde into the boat and take her along to the juicing room at once" Willy told an oompa loompa.

"The juicing room?" Asked Ms. Beauregarde "What are they going to do to her there?"

"Their gonna squeeze her like a little pimple" said Willy "we have to get all that juice out of her immediately."

Ms. Beaurgaurde ran off to help her daughter.

Willy looked at all of us. "Come on!" He said "let's boogie!"