literature

Alas Poor Veruca

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Chapter 29:  The Other Children Go Home


            “We must go down and take a look at our little friends before we do anything else,” said Mr. Wonka.  He pressed a different button, and the elevator dropped lower, and soon it was hovering just above the entrance gates to the factory.

            Looking down now, Charlie could see the children and their parents standing in a little group just inside the gates.  “I can only see three,” he said.  “Who’s missing?”

            “I expect its Mike Teevee,” Mr. Wonka said.  “But he’ll be coming along soon.  Do you see the trucks?” Mr. Wonka pointed to a line of gigantic covered vans parked in a line nearby.

            “Yes,” said Charlie.  “What are they for?”

            “Don’t you remember what it said on the Golden Tickets?  Every child goes home with a lifetime’s supply of candy.  There’s one truckload for each of them, loaded to the brim.  Ah-ha,” Mr. Wonka went on, “there goes our friend Augustus Gloop!  D’you see him?  He’s getting into the first truck with his mother and father!”

            “You mean he’s really all right?” asked Charlie, astonished.  “Even after going up that awful pipe?”

            “He’s very much all right,” said Mr. Wonka.

            “He’s changed!” said Grandpa Joe, peering down through the glass wall of the elevator.  “He used to be fat!  Now he’s thin as a straw!”

            “Of course he’s changed,” said Mr. Wonka, laughing.  “He got squeezed in the pipe.  Don’t you remember?  And look, there goes Miss Beauregarde, the great gum-chewer!  It seems they managed to de-juice her after all.  I’m so glad.  And how healthy she looks!  Much better than before!”

            “But she’s purple in the face!” cried Grandpa Joe.

            “So she is,” said Mr. Wonka.  “Ah, well, there’s nothing we can do about that.”

            “Good gracious!” cried Charlie.  “Look at poor Veruca Salt and Mr. Salt and Mrs. Salt!  They’re simply covered with garbage!”

            “And here comes Mike Teevee!” said Grandpa Joe.  “Good heavens!  What have they done to him?  He’s about ten feet tall and thin as a wire!”

            “They’ve overstretched him on the gum-stretching machine,” said Mr. Wonka.  “How very careless.”

            “But how dreadful for him!” cried Charlie.



Epilogue.



            Veruca stomped into her bedchambers, freshly dressed in her royal blue nightclothes, still fuming over the treatment she had received.  How dare he!  She, of all people, treated in such a common, degrading manner!  What gave Wonka the right to tell her what she can and cannot have?  And after that, he dumped her- her of all people- down the garbage chute.  

            It had taken Veruca nearly a week to wash all the refuse and debris out of her hair.  Veruca nearly clawed her mother’s eyes out when she suggested Veruca cut her hair as a solution.  Her father, Mr. Salt, had kept her out of school for the entire time, buying her every whim she could think of to help her overcome the whole dreadful ordeal.  

            “Daddy will get even with that horrible man,” fumed Veruca.  “He will if he knows what’s good for him!”  She tossed back the covers of her bed violently, and threw herself hard onto the soft mattress.  Still furious, Veruca hit her pillow repeatedly, fluffing it and venting her adolescent rage.  Temporarily sated, she daintily brushed wrinkles from her matching blue top and bottom before turning to the nightstand.

            Veruca turned down the lights as she flopped back into her bed.  She could feel her cheeks flushed; true, the other children had far worse fates befall them.  But they were stupid; they deserved what they got for being such simpletons.  She, however, did nothing wrong!  She was, after all, Miss Veruca Salt!

            She closed her eyes and tried calming herself.  Her breathing had just begun returning to normal when she felt the sheets flutter.  Her eyes shot back open, peering into the darkness.  The large balcony window was open slightly, sending a gentle breeze through the room.

            “Mrs. Kingsport!” Veruca yelled.  “Mrs. Kingsport!” she yelled again, calling the housekeeper.  She did not recall opening the window.  Most likely it was that buffoon of a housekeeper; that she did not answer Veruca’s summons only confirmed her guilt.  Veruca swore she would have Daddy fire Mrs. Kingsport first thing in the morning.  She did not realize that this was the house staff’s evening off, and most had left the grounds, due in no small part to the young Salt girl’s endless tantrum over the last seven days.  Veruca’s own parents, long since adapted to their daughter’s rants, had taken up residence in the far part of the house, out of earshot.

            “Bloody idiots!” Veruca swore as she sat up and swung her feet to the floor.  She inhaled to curse again when a movement in the shadows caught her attention.

            “Can it, you nit!”  Veruca spun wildly, seeing for the first time the other girl in her room.  The intruder’s clothes were dark, her face even darker.  It wasn’t until she stepped forward into the moonlight that Veruca saw the purple sheen of her skin.

            “What!” Veruca stammered.  “What are you doing in here!?”  Her fists opened and closed, leaving little red marks on her palms.  As she stepped toward the purple girl, Veruca felt two sets of hands grasp her upper arms.

            “Stop squawking!” Violet clicked on the light, illuminating the room.  Grinning through indigo lips, the purple-skinned girl stepped right up to Veruca.  She stilled smelled faintly of blueberries.  Looking quickly to her left and right, Veruca saw the now wiry frames of Augustus Gloop and Mike Teevee holding her fast.

            Veruca opened her mouth to scream again.  “My Daddy will-” Her voice was cut off by Violet’s pudgy hand covering her mouth.  The smell of berries was strong in Veruca’s nostrils.

            “Your Daddy isn’t here to help you, you twit!” Violet hissed.  “Look at us!  We get the short end of the stick, and you raise a ruckus all because someone dumped your butt in a pile of garbage!”

            Veruca’s eyes grew wide as Violet continued, “No, we can’t even go out in public anymore.  We haven’t even been able to leave town because of all the newspaper reporters crowding around!  Imagine the TV camera crews, trying to catch a glimpse of us!  Our parents have been sitting here with us the entire time, waiting for all this to blow over so we can go home!”  Violet paused.  “So…Augustus, Mike and I decided you should share in our fun.”

            Veruca struggled to break free, but the boys kept her arms pinned firmly to her sides.  Violet raised her other hand to Veruca’s face and slipped something between her fingers and into Veruca’s mouth, her hand clamping back in place before Veruca could spit it out.

            “It took us a while to figure it out,” Violet explained.  “But we didn’t have much else to do in the hotel.  After that, it was simply a matter of sneaking back into the Chocolate Factory.”  Veruca’s gaze darted back and forth, suddenly realizing what was going on.  It began subtly at first, a tickle on her tongue, the warm taste filling her mouth.  Tomato soup!  She was tasting tomato soup!  Out of reflex Veruca swallowed to keep from choking, the frothy rich fluid sliding down the back of her throat.  It was hot and creamy and delicious just as Violet had described it.

            She shook her arms and stomped her feet, but Veruca was unable to move, held by the two vile boys while Violet kept her mouth held firmly shut.  Tears began rolling down her cheeks as the flavor of tomatoes faded, replaced by the strong aroma of exquisitely juicy roast beef and a steaming baked potato smothered in butter.  Veruca tried not to chew, but the tastes in her mouth made it almost impossible not to.  Mouthful followed mouthful, filling Veruca’s stomach as she felt herself gorged.  She held her breath, fearful anticipation marking her expression, as she knew what was to follow.  Her vision became blurry as she realized she was openly crying.

            Veruca “mmpphh’ed” loudly in protest as she felt the first hints of sweetness fill her mouth.  She redoubled her efforts to get free in vain.  Unable to move, Veruca felt as if she were dining on the largest-ever dessert portion of blueberry pie covered in sweet cream.  She groaned loudly, looking around for a means to escape as she swallowed great mouthfuls.

            Violet watched smugly as Veruca’s nose darkened, her cheeks growing flush.  Veruca’s throat worked up and down as the gum continued it’s inevitable course.  The blushing spread, darkening as it crept up her ears and down her neck.  Veruca turned a brilliant shade of purplish-blue, a rival to Violet.  Even her tears turned blue, now smelling strongly of blueberries.  Violet grinned maliciously as Mike and Augustus chuckled.

            Veruca gasped as her stomach churned loudly.  She could not possibly eat another bite, she was so stuffed.  Even beyond stuffed, Veruca grew more full.  She was sure she was about to burst at the seams.  Violet stepped back slowly, smiling as she removed her hand from over Veruca’s mouth.  At this cue, Mike and Augustus loosened their hold on her as Veruca instinctively rubbed her sore arms.  

            Looking down, Veruca saw for the first time the purplish hue of her formerly perfect, unblemished skin.  Even though she had seen it happen previously to Violet, she was ill prepared for the reality of it happening to her.  Veruca turned to Violet, vengeance in her eyes.  She stopped suddenly in mid stride, a long, low moan escaping her swollen, violet lips.

            “I feel funny,” Veruca gasped, clutching her stomach.

            “I’m not surprised,” said Violet, matter-of-factly.

            “I feel ill,” Veruca gasped again, clutching her stomach harder.  But although she tried to clench her fingers down, she felt them spread slowly.  Veruca looked down in horror as her midsection bulged slowly, inflating inexorably outward.

            “Help!” Veruca exclaimed.  Her waistline grew rounder and rounder, making it difficult for her to stand.  She spread her feet further apart and assumed a shuffling gait as the ballooning spread from her body to her limbs.  Her arms pushed upward, difficult to bend as her thighs puffed up thick and full.  Her hips flared outward, curving to meet her incredible, swollen torso.  Still the pressure increased.  Veruca’s bedclothes popped and stretched, straining to hold her inflating form in check.

            Panicked, she took a few ungainly, waddling steps, trying to circumvent her three tormentors and make it to the door and ultimately help.  Violet did nothing to stop her; after three short steps, Veruca could move no more.  She grew bigger and bigger, no longer able to peer over the massive globe of her body.  She was blowing up!  She was blowing up like a balloon!  No, wait, her mind raced, a blueberry!

            She was becoming a blueberry!

            “Help!” she exclaimed again.  “Help!” she yelled, hoping that Daddy would hear and race to her rescue.  But there were no footsteps echoing in the hall outside, and the door to her room did not burst open.  It was only her, helpless and swollen and bloated, pumped full of juice, looked upon by Violet, Mike and Augustus.

            “Do something!” Veruca pleaded, exerting an effort to turn her bulk to face Violet.  “Do something before I explode!”  Purple tears stained her already darkened cheeks and ran down her neck.  Mike reached forward tentatively, pressing long, stretched fingers into Veruca’s immense belly.  Her skin was firm, stretched taut as the pressure continued to build inside her.

            “The Oompa Loompas rolled me around for a good twenty minutes before we finally got to the juicing room,” Violet said, her expression never changing.  “Each passing moment I felt myself swell up bigger and bigger, sure from one second to the next that I would burst.”  Violet let her fingers glide over the now-spherical body of Veruca.  Veruca flapped her hands in protest, but could do nothing to stop her.

            “But I didn’t pop,” Violet explained.  She paused, apprising Veruca’s incredible size.  “You have plenty of room left.  For now.”  Violet grinned, and nodded toward Augustus.  Veruca craned her neck to see what the boy was doing, but she could catch no more than a glimpse.  

            “Don’t think you’re going to have it any easier than the rest of us,” Violet said cryptically.  Veruca heard a loud “POP!” and nearly screamed.  Her heart was pounding with fear as she realized it wasn’t her that made the sharp sound.  Veruca watched as Augustus handed Violet a large glass bottle, its liquid contents bubbling with carbonation.

            “Fizzy Lifting Drinks,” Violet said.  “Mike told us about it.  How it fills you up, and makes you float away.”  Veruca heard the skinny little brat laughing under his breath.  Violet lifted the bottle to Veruca’s lips and forced her to take a drink.  Then another.  

            The over-carbonated soda went down roughly, adding its gas to Veruca’s bloated form.

            “We know it doesn’t take much,” Violet said sternly as she forced another swallow on the hapless girl.  “But you are quite the blimp.  It might take a bit more gas to lift you.”  By now the bottle was halfway empty, its contents adding to Veruca’s already tortured girth.  She could imagine herself still swelling slowly, her skin shiny and shimmering like a balloon on the verge of popping.

            Then something funny happened.  Veruca’s stomach did a somersault, and someone released a swarm of butterflies in her belly.  She tried to say something, but her own body pressed upward so much she could barely open her mouth.  Her hands still flapped up and down, a feeble attempt to fend off what was happening.  Her heels lifted up slowly off the ground as she started bobbing in the air like an honest-to-God balloon.  Eyes wide with fear, Veruca realized Violet’s plan was to not only blow her up like a balloon, but to make her float away like one too.  

            “You won’t get away with this!” Veruca swore through clenched teeth.  She heard the creak of the balcony doors open, exposing her terraced room to the night air.  Palm flat on Veruca’s belly, Violet nudged her easily toward the doorway.

            “Look on the bright side.  At least you don’t have to be rolled.” Violet said evenly.  “I figured out, just one piece of gum really isn’t able to blow up someone enough to explode.  Sure, you grow round and swollen like an overripe blueberry, but eventually the juice runs out, leaving you, well, like you.”

            Veruca felt her feet brush the ground as she neared the balcony door.  “You bitch!” she hissed.

            And Violet lifted a second piece of Wonka’s Three-Course Chewing Gum.  She shoved it quickly into Veruca’s mouth, followed by the bottle of Fizzy Lifting Drink.  Veruca gulped loudly, swallowing the gum and with it, any chance of spitting it out.  The last vestiges of the ultra-carbonated soda trickled down her throat.  With one last gentle nudge, Violet pushed Veruca floating into the night sky.  Veruca let out a soft moan as she felt the second piece of gum begin to go to work.

            “You don’t know the half of it,” Violet responded as she watched the swollen girl disappear in the distance.
Just a brief piece using two or three plot elements I've had bouncing around somewhere in my head. Those familiar should find it at least mildly amusing.

Note: the opening part of the story is an except from the book Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. That except, from the very end of the book, is necessary to set a certain mood.
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