Willy Wonka x Child!Reader

Chapter 10

"Are you using the Havermax 4000 to do your sorting?" He inquired. Mr. Wonka laughed in-between his next sentence. "No... You're really weird." He then walked to the door and opened it, making sure you were still with him in the process. The room had the nonstop sound of nuts hitting metal and lots of squeaking bouncing off the walls.

The floor had white and blue in a swirly striped pattern, and in the center was a large hole. The whole area was full of numerous round seats that had squirrels sitting on each one. They were all being distributed nuts and they cracked the shells of each one they got, leaving the nut inside to go along a white half-pipe that led who knows where. Though occasionally they would toss one behind them into the hole.

You were on the very left with Mr. Wonka staying on your right, he was next to Veruca and Mr. Salt while they were next to Mike and Mr. Teavee. You held onto the railing that prevented anyone from going down, watching the squirrels with a smile. You had never seen squirrels so closely nor from a distance, due to the cold weather seeing them was a very rare sight, so you tried to take in as much detail as you could.

"Squirrels." Veruca said excitedly as she looked at all of them. "Yeah. Squirrels. These squirrels are specially trained to get the nuts out of shells." You looked up at the machine and watched as the nuts continued to fall from out of nowhere and into the top of the machine, then looked as the nuts fell into glass containers that were in front of the squirrels, the tubes that stuck out would shoot out a nut each time the squirrel finished one.

"Why use squirrels? Why not use Oompa-Loompas?" Mr. Salt asked. "Because only squirrels can get the whole walnut out almost every single time." Mr. Wonka explained. Mr. Salt nodded and continued to watch. "You see how they tap each one with their little knuckles to make sure it's not bad? Oh, look-look!" He pointed over to a squirrel on one end, and you saw it messing with it's nut, banging it against the edge of the half pipe and putting it to its ear.

Mr. Wonka furrowed his brow as he watched. "I think that one's got a bad nut." The squirrel tossed the nut behind it and it went rolling to the hole. Veruca looked up at her father and said demandingly: "Daddy, I want a squirrel. Get me one of those squirrels. I want one." You gulped, fearing that this was going to end badly like with Augustus and Violet.

"Veruca, dear, you have many marvelous pets." Mr. Salt tried to convince her. "All I've got at home is one pony and two dogs and four cats and six bunny rabbits and two parakeets and three canaries and a green parrot and a turtle, and a silly old hamster. I want a squirrel!" Veruca stated angrily. You and Mr. Wonka both eyed her dumbfoundedly, she certainly was a spoiled brat.

"All right, pet. Daddy will get you a squirrel just as soon as he possibly can." Mr. Salt gave in. "But I don't want any old squirrel, I want a trained squirrel." Veruca added. "Very well." Mr. Salt nodded. Mr. Wonka glanced back at you slightly on edge, you looking at him the same way. He tried to cover up his nervousness by smiling again.

"Mr. Wonka." Mr. Wonka looked to Mr. Salt. "How much do you want for one of these squirrels? Name your price." Veruca then looked up at Mr. Wonka with a wide, fake smile. "Oh, they're not for sale. She can't have one." Mr. Wonka refused. With that Veruca's face turned into an angry, puffed up look. She quickly and almost ferociously turned to her dad again. "Daddy." Mr. Salt flinched back slightly, almost as if he were frightened a bit.

You couldn't blame him, you'd be scared too if you were in his shoes. You already were just by being in the same room as her.

Mr. Wonka puckered his lips and did an impression of Mr. Salt, and you tried to stifle a giggle of amusement at his childish joke. "I'm sorry, darling. Mr. Wonka's being unreasonable." Veruca then stated to her father: "If you won't get me a squirrel, I'll get one myself." Then suddenly shoved past Mr. Wonka, leaving you unprotected. You cowered as she stepped up to you.