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The Last Golden Ticket!

"All you had to do was track the manufacturing dates, offset by the weather and the derivative of the Nikkei Index. A retard could figure it out."

Mike Teavee was a prick of a child from Denver, Colorado. He was rotten, no doubt about it. Reckless. And he cheated, finding out exactly where one of the Golden Tickets would be.

Mr. Teavee explained to the news reporters, "Most of the time I don't know what he's talking about. You know, kids these days, what with all the technology..."

Suddenly, Mike shouted at the top of his lungs, screaming at his video game he played while being interviewed. "Die! Die! Die!"

Mr. Teavee sighed, seeming bored and hopeless. "Doesn't seem like they stay kids very long."

Mike threw his controller onto the floor, and finally looked up at the reporters. "In the end, I only had to buy one candy bar."

A press man asked Mike, "And how did it taste?"

Mike shrugged. "I don't know. I hate chocolate."

Those words set both Grandpa George and I off. I bit my tongue, clenching my hands into tight fists, thinking not-very-nice thoughts about the little brat.

Grandpa George went on a full-blown rant, on the other hand. "Well, it's a good thing you're going to a chocolate factory, you ungrateful little—"

I covered my ears, not wanting to hear such vulgar words. Mr. Bucket covered Charlie's ears as well. I looked at Mr. Bucket smugly. He half-heartedly smiled back.

Grandpa George huffed a final breath, slumping back. I uncovered my ears as Mr. Bucket uncovered Charlie's.

We continued watching the news. The man on the news then stated the question everyone in the world was wondering. "That question is, who will be the winner of the last gold—"

Charlie switched the television off, and faced his dad, a curious expression appearing on his face. "Dad?

Mr. Bucket replied, "Yes, Charlie?"

"Why aren't you at work?" my little brother wondered.

I frowned at his question, knowing the real answer.

Mr. Bucket lied a little to save Charlie from worrying. "Oh, well, er, the toothpaste factory thought they'd give me a bit of time off."

Charlie wondered, "Like summer vacation?"

Mr. Bucket nodded and smiled gently.
"Sure. Something like that."

He looked up at me and I nodded back at him in understanding. I would say the same to him if I had lost my job.

The recent upswing in candy sales had led to a rise in cavities, which led to a rise in toothpaste sales. This gave the toothpaste factory the opportunity to remove the workers and replace them with machines. With the extra money, the factory had decided to modernize, eliminating Mr. Bucket's job completely.

Mr. Bucket walked outside to go and help Mrs. Bucket gather cabbages for dinner. I went outside to help as well, overhearing Mr. Bucket tell Mrs. Bucket, "We were barely making ends meet as it was."

Mrs. Bucket faced him and reassured him, "You'll find another job. Until then, I'll just, um... Well, I'll just thin down the soup a little more. Don't worry, Mr. Bucket, our luck will change. I know it."

"She's right, Mr. Bucket. Everything will turn out okay in the end. It always does. If you want, you can have my job," I offered, startling them by accident.