Video Games • Mike Teavee

25- Winners

When, we arrived at the television
room, we quickly got out. The room was such a bright white, it burned my eyes.

'Here,' Mr Wonka pointed to some boxes, with glasses in them at the front of the room, putting some on himself 'Put these on quick, and don't take them off whatever you do. This light could burn your eyeballs right out of your skulls. And we certainly don't want that, now, do we?'

I quickly put a pair of glasses on, along with the others. I probably looked like an idiot, but I'd rather that, than go blind.

I looked around the room. Just about everything was white. At one side of the there was a TV, and on the other side of the room, there was a platform, and a giant telescope-like machine pointing at the platform.

We walked around the room, heading towards a desk, where some Oompa Loompa's sat.

'This is the testing room for my very latest and greatest invention, Television Chocolate. One day it occurred to me... Hey, if television can break up a photograph into millions and millions of tiny little pieces and send it whizzing through the air, then reassemble it on the other end... Why can't I do the same thing with chocolate? Why can't I send a real bar of chocolate through the television, all ready to be eaten?' Mr Wonka was saying. I gave a amazed cough.

'Sounds impossible.' Mr Teavee said.

'It is impossible. You don't understand anything about science. First off, there's a difference between waves and particles,' Said Mike 'Duh! Second, the
amount of power it would take to convert energy in matter would be like nine atomic bombs.'

'Mumbler!' Said Willy Wonka, loudly, causing me to jump a bit 'Seriously, I cannot understand a single word you're saying. Okey-dokey. I shall now send a bar of chocolate from one end of the room to the other, by television. Bring in the chocolate!'

We all stood behind the desk. Oompa Loompa's walked in, carrying a giant bar of chocolate. It was literally giant. About four times my size, and that's big for a bar of chocolate.

'It's gotta be real big, cause you know how on TV you can film a regular-size man, and he comes out looking this tall? Same basic principle.' Wonka said. The Oompa Loompa's placed the chocolate bar on the platform, and stood back. Wonka pressed a button, and the platform started to rise up, the chocolate bar starting to float of the ground. My eyes widened. And, then, all of a sudden, it disappeared

'It's gone!' Charlie said.

'Told you. Now, that bar of chocolate is now rushing through the air above our heads in a million tiny little pieces. Come over here. Come on.
Come on. Come on!' We ran over to the television on the other side of the room. On the screen, there was some sort of nature program playing, with apes.

'Watch the screen. Here it comes,' A chocolate bar started to appear on the screen 'Oh, look. Take it.'

Mr Wonka was looking at Mike, but Mike shook his head 'It's just a picture on a screen.'

'Scaredy cat. You take it,' Wonka said to Charlie, instead 'Go on. Just reach out, and grab it. Go on.'

Charlie reached into the screen, and pulled out the bar of chocolate. Wow. I was amazed.

'Holy buckets.' Charlie's grandfather said.

'Eat it. Go on. It'll be delicious. It's the same bar. It's just gotten a little smaller on the journey, that's all.' Wonka said.

Charlie ripped it open a tiny bit, taking a small bite 'It's great.'

'It's a miracle.' His grandfather said.

'So imagine, ah, you're sitting at home watching television, and suddenly a commercial will flash onto the screen, and a voice will say "Wonka's chocolates are the best in the world. If you don't believe us, try one for yourself". And you simply reach out... and take it. How about that?' Wonka smiled. I nodded.

'Would you like some chocolate?' Charlie nudged me, holding out a reasonably large hunk of chocolate, he had broken off.

'Thank you.' I gave him a soft smile, and I took it, nibbling it. I was determined to see how long I could save this bar for.

'So can you send other things? Say, like, breakfast cereal?' Mr Teavee asked.

'Do you have any idea what breakfast cereal's made of? It's those little curly wooden shavings you find in pencil sharpeners.' Wonka said.

'But, could you send it by television if you wanted to?' Charlie asked.

'Of course I could.' Mr Wonka said.

Mike's eyebrows raised 'What about people?'

Oh god, I knew what he was getting at.

'Well, why would I want to send a person? They don't taste very good at all.' Willy Wonka said.

'Don't you realise what you've invented? It's a teleporter! It's the most important invention in the history of the world. And all you think
about is chocolate!' Mike said, frustrated. I sighed, watching him out of the corner of my eye.

'Calm down, Mike. I think Mr Wonka knows what he's talking about.' Mr Teavee said.

'No, he doesn't. He has no idea. You think he's a genius, but he's an idiot. But-' Mike started.

'M-Mike,' I tugged on his sleeve 'Don't. Just... Shush.'

He went quiet. I went quiet. Charlie went quiet. In fact, everybody went quiet.

Finally, Wonka interrupted the silence 'So, who wants a go?!'

No one answered.

'Anyone?' Wonka asked.

'At the teleporter?' I asked, quietly.

'Yep.'

No one answered.

'Anyone? Little boy?' Wonka asked, looking at Mike.

Mike glared at him 'No. I want to keep my height, thank you very much.'

'Are you sure?' Mr Wonka asked.

'Yes!' Mike said.

'Er, fine, I wasn't expecting this,' Mr Wonka mumbled, turning to Charlie, and I 'How about you two?'

'No, sorry, Mr Wonka.' Charlie said. I shook my head. I didn't need to get even shorter.

'Well, someone has to go. We can't have three winners!' Protested Wonka.

'Winners?' Mike asked.

'Well, I guess, now... My dear children, this means you've won. I do congratulate-'

'You said there was going to be only one winner.' Mike furrowed his eyebrows.

'Yeah, well, I was planning on only two, not three, but, things didn't turn out the way I expected.' Wonka said.

'But, sir, you didn't say there would be two-'

'Saying we'd have two winners doesn't sound as flashy as one, does it? No, of course, it doesn't.' Mr Wonka answered his own question.

'What's the prize?' Mike asked.

Mr Wonka ignored him 'Now, we mustn't dilly, or dally. Because we have an enormous number of things to do
before the day's out. But luckily for us, we have the great glass elevator to speed things al-'

Wonka then crashed into the elevator. I let out a little laugh.

'Speed things along,' He rubbed his forehead 'Come on.'

I felt excitement flow through me, as we boarded the elevator.

Life was really going to change. Hopefully for the better.