Five Children.

It was nearly time for the tour, but as the weeks drew closer to the day he had considered a grand day, Willy lost his enthusiasm for the whole thing. When he had come up with the idea of the tour, Willy had been excited since he would be meeting, what he hoped were children who would enjoy being in his factory, but as he had gotten a look at them through their television interviews, Willy's business experience of being aware you could not judge someone based on what they said or even looked like initially was shaken.

The television interview with Mike Teavee on the other hand had shaken him completely. Okay, Willy had been impressed with Mike's skills with technology and how he had known how to find the right chocolate bar with the Golden Ticket inside but to discover he didn't even like chocolate…!

Why?

Why had he even look for the Golden Ticket in the first place? Was it to prove something? On thinking that, Mike had commented on how it had been easy to find the Ticket by using his understanding of technology to do the job. Had he merely wanted to find the Ticket to say he had?

Willy had turned it over and over in his mind countless times since he had first watched the interview, but it still did not make any sense to him. One thing was for sure, as much as he found Mike Teavee disgusting at the moment he and Violet Beauregarde were the only true possibilities he had for an heir.

Unfortunately, he was beginning to wonder if they would even want the job.

Violet was more interested in competition. Mike only seemed to care about computer games and proving points, but could one of them potentially run the factory? Willy believed so; unlike Augustus and Veruca, Mike and Violet both seemed to have the intellect and the drive to do it, he hoped.

However as the weeks passed and the final Golden Ticket remained unfound - someone tried to con the rest of the world into believing he had found the last Ticket, little realising that Willy planned to scan every single Ticket that arrived. Willy had no idea how the criminal had managed to copy a Ticket, but it wouldn't make any difference. He had designed the Tickets and he knew how to verify if one was a fake.

Because he had no intention of getting this wrong. Willy might know he was eccentric, but he was far from stupid. He saw himself as an inventor of confectionery and chocolate, and he had designed the Tickets very carefully to tell the difference between a genuine one and a fake one. Willy did not care one little bit about the motives, but as he stared at the calendar on his wall marking down the days to the tour, he found himself nonchalant and apathetic about the final ticket.

It seemed to have disappeared, and as the weeks became days and then hours, Willy blew out a breath as he contemplated the need to find someone to take his place from the sorry selection he had.

X

On the day before the tour, Willy went on his way back to the apartment. He had spent the entire day touring the factory, making sure the preparations were ready. The Oompa-Loompas were smart, efficient; but then again this tour had been in the works for a while and they had been making preparations ever since.

He just wished he could muster some more enthusiasm for the tour. But he couldn't.

Willy had just opened the door of his apartment when he heard the sound of running footsteps. "Mr Wonka!" A squeaky but strong voice called, and Willy looked around and saw one of his assistants running towards him and stopped at his feet. "What is it?" He asked.

"The last Golden Ticket has been found!" The Oompa-Loompa squeaked.

Willy closed his eyes and he nodded. "Alright. Thank you."

"You're not happy?" The Oompa-Loompa questioned with a frown.

Willy sighed. He had expected his mood to have been noted by the Oompa-Loompas and they had, but did they know who was coming? He decided to clear the air. "No, not really. Have you seen the interviews, all of the children are obnoxious? I don't even know if having them in the factory is a wise move."

"You don't know for sure, sir. Surely one of the children is a good candidate?"

"Just two," Willy admitted with a sigh, "one of them is competitive although I don't know too much about her mind and a boy who is good with a computer. That's it. But it looks as if none of them has the spirit I'm looking for."

"Are you going to cancel the tour?"

"No. It's too late for that; the children and their parents are already here. They must have arrived days ago with time to spare. In any case, I need to see the children and spend time with them to know what they are really like. I didn't like them, but I knew from experience not to judge someone by first impressions," Willy said.

"Are you sure?" The Oompa-Loompa looked pointedly back up at him.

Willy shrugged. "I honestly don't know," he admitted with a sigh. "I'd better get inside and check the interview. By now it should be happening. Carry on with what you were doing; report to me tomorrow morning on the final preparations."

With that, he stepped into the apartment and turned on the television. It didn't take long for him to find the interview, and within the first few minutes of the interview, Willy learnt about the boy who had found the final Ticket. His name was Charlie Bucket, and the moment he saw the boy and the small room he was in with a large double bed with four old people with a man and a woman who looked like they were in their forties, if it wasn't for their poor clothing.

The boy himself…

The moment he saw the boy, Willy liked him instantly. Charlie Bucket appeared as small as Mike Teavee and Violet Beauregarde, but unlike them, he was dressed in clothes that appeared old, but well worn. "I wasn't expecting to find the Ticket today," the boy was saying without any of the arrogance of Veruca or Violet but he had something all of the children just seemed to lack, "I just found a coin in the streets and used it to buy some chocolate, when I found the ticket."

"And how did the chocolate taste?" One of the reporters asked, and Willy wondered if the reporter remembered the horrible interview with Mike Teavee, and wanted to learn if he was another chocolate hater, although at the same time he thought the question was redundant. He had the feeling the boy was more of a fan than Mike anyway.

The boy's face brightened and Willy listened as the boy said he loved Wonka's chocolate and how creamy and sweet it was, but Willy sat down in awe as he listened to the boy speak. This Charlie Bucket was completely unlike the other children, and as he listened to the boy, Willy felt the stirrings of hope.

This boy was not as gluttonous and as piggy as Augustus Gloop.

He lacked the spoilt arrogance of Veruca Salt, and indeed his parents and his family looked like they were in no position to spoil anyone; Willy wasn't degrading the Bucket's for their living conditions, far from it. He had met many poor people over the years, and he hated the fact he owned a large chocolate factory, but he refused to let anyone else inside. But it was for his own security. But in Charlie's case, being poor seemed to have made him appreciate the finer things in his life (Willy noted the loving looks he gave his family, which the reciprocated; there was no way that was faked, and it worried him about his options for getting the boy into the factory if he proved to be the one, but he was leaning on this one the most).

He wasn't competitive like Violet Beauregarde, and he seemed more humble; indeed when the reporters asked him about how he felt about the other kids, his fellow winners, Charlie merely wished them luck.

But what he liked the most about the boy was how he liked chocolate, and he didn't seem to give a damn about proving a point. To Willy, Charlie Bucket seemed just lucky.

But that did not matter.

Charlie Bucket seemed to be the rightful heir to the Wonka factory.