Disclaimer: As unfortunate as it may be, I do not own either the characters or the central theme of this story.
My first FF. Reviews much appreciated.
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1. Roommates
It seemed to Galinda that the girl sitting on the bed across the room from her couldn't possibly scrunch herself up any smaller than she already had. It was a little strange to Galinda that the girl could stand to stay in that position for so long without moving. She was as skinny as a rail and, it seemed, had very little cushioning with which to protect herself from the constant pressure of her own elbows digging into her thighs while she read. Her head rested on her hands, and the fingers which subsequently resided on her high cheekbones were incredibly long and, surprisingly, graceful. The long hair which fell thickly to each side of her face was so black it seemed blue in the sunlight. And she was green.
Galinda felt she had a long way to fall before she should have legitimately been forced into rooming with a GREEN girl. It was upsetting to say the least. The girl was introverted and spoke little. She spent all of her free time sitting cross-legged on her bed, her tall, thin body scrunched down over her knees to study the book residing in her lap. She cared little for the way she looked, disdained everything about the "social life," and neglected to even notice Galinda, which of course, was the worst thing of all.
Being raised as royalty, Galinda was used to being admired and fawned over by everyone around her. Or at least noticed and complimented for her almost ethereal beauty. The fact that her roommate seemed immune to the natural exquisiteness which caused even women to stare at her in awe, nettled her to no end. At the very least she should have noticed.
With a huff, Galinda flounced down into the pink armchair at her desk, her back against the wall, facing Elphaba's side of the room they shared at Shiz. It was only the third day since she had arrived at Shiz and discovered that she would have to room with the awkward green girl, and already Galinda felt sure that this would be the worst five months of her life. She had however already made scores of friends who admired her and looked up to her, and oddly enough, her situation with the green girl only seemed to make her more popular. Everyone thought her some sort of martyr, but really she and Elphaba had only exchanged two or three words since being forced to room together on the first day and nothing else had really happened. Elphaba kept to herself, and didn't show any interest in anything that had to do with her perfectly manicured roommate.
Galinda's closest friends, all of which were considerably wealthier than her, but could not compare to her looks, were the most inquisitive. They spent hours questioning Galinda about everything from Elpahaba's family to her clothes to her "relationships."
"I heard that she is the Thropp third descending from Nest Hardings," said Pfannee who, like Elphaba was a munchkinlander, though of a more normal height (or lack thereof) for the region. "Her family is well respected in those parts."
"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," responded Milla with a smirk, "look at how she dresses," she continued, eyeing the dull dark blue frock which hung loosely off Elphaba's bony frame that day, "No one of 'royal' blood would dress so distastefully."
"It appears that she doesn't care at all about her appearance," Shenshen observed to muted gasps of horror from the girls. "I can't imagine that she has any hope for future relationships, dressing as she does." It was well known that one of the reasons wealthy girls came to Shiz was to meet boys from the neighboring campus or surrounding town who would be suitable for marriage in later years. Elphaba, it seemed, had little hope for that.
Galinda always made an effort to assure her friends that she was indeed, no martyr, but someone who had been given a test so as to prove herself to those around her. She also took every opportunity she got to remind her friends of how foul Elphaba actually was. It was not only her green skin, she reminded them, which made her such vile company, but her self-important attitude and sarcastic nature which cemented the deal.
Across the room a knock sounded on the door, pulling Galinda from her thoughts. She glanced at Elphaba, who was much closer to the door than she, but the green girl did not look up from her book. The knocking came again, and the green girl again neglected to pay it any heed. With a loud huff at her roommate's laziness, which Elphaba did not pay any more attention to than anything else, Galinda removed herself from her cushioned pink seat and moved to open the door to their room. Outside the door stood a messenger with a gaudy bunch of red roses, addressed to "Miss Galinda Upland." With a bright smile, Galinda accepted the roses and shut the door behind the messenger.
Flouncing across the room to the table which separated their beds, Galinda placed the roses in the most prominent spot possible, to show off the fact that she already had an admirer, not even one week into the semester. The obnoxious new arrival to their room finally drew Elphaba out of her reverie.
After looking curiously at the flowers for a moment, Elphaba suddenly spoke. "Those must be from someone you just met, huh?"
"Why would you say that?" Galinda asked with an expectant smile.
"Because," her new roommate replied with an evil smirk, "I can't imagine anyone who had actually spent any time in your presence wanting to encourage it to happen again."
The unexpectedly cold remark threw Galinda off balance for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. Choosing to ignore the green girl's bait, she replied, "Well I can't imagine you would understand, Miss Elphaba. "
"And how is it that you deem me too dull to understand, when clearly YOU have had no problem with it?" Elphaba asked almost innocently.
It took Galinda a moment to recognize the insult to her intelligence, and when she finally had she could think of nothing suitable to respond with and so she simply stomped her foot, rolled her eyes, and stalked back to her side of the room, her perfect nose held high.
Her green roommate simply looked at her incredulously and returned to her book without a word.
Returning to her seat at her desk, Galinda pulled out a piece of scented pink stationary and began to compose a letter to her father, who was surely dying to hear from her by now.
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A few days later at breakfast, the talk turned to Galinda's green roommate's bathing habits. The discussion began as an idle question from Pfannee as to whether or not the "affliction" could perhaps be washed off. This question was met with gales of laughter from the other girls.
"Of course it couldn't be washed off," replied Shenshen nastily, "do you think that she would still be green after almost a week of being here? Surely she's showered since she arrived here." Then she turned suspiciously to Galinda. "She HAS showered, hasn't she?"
Galinda bit her lip in thought as she attempted to remember the last five nights she had spent with the green girl. It slowly dawned on her that she had not once heard the water running when her roommate was readying herself for bed each night. It had not occurred to her before that perhaps her green roommate had indeed brought her unfortunate condition down upon herself, by neglecting to bathe. Her friends sat eagerly awaiting her answer.
"Now that I think on it," Galinda replied to the waiting girls, "I cannot recall her even once bathing since we arrived here."
The girls at the table stared in shock at their poor, beautiful, unfortunate Galinda who had been forced to room with a musty green girl for the semester.
After a moment, Milla giggled. "Moldy Toady… Galinda is being forced to room with a moldy toad."
Pfannee choked on her juice and let out a laugh.
Galinda giggled and made a face at Milla who immediately started singing "Moldy Toady, Moldy Toady, it's quite unfortunate for our little 'Goldie.' Rooming with a dirty pickle, I hope she doesn't…" She suddenly stopped as the subject of her song entered the lunch hall for her usual morning cup of coffee. Elphaba's entrance made the girls laugh harder still, and it was all Milla could do to keep from yelling her new nickname for the green girl across the room.
Elphaba ignored them and left as soon as she had her cup filled.
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That night, Galinda waited impatiently for her roommate to enter their shared bathroom for her nightly bedtime ritual, whatever it may entail, so as to find out if her friends were right about Elphaba's "affliction." She even rushed her own nightly bath and hair and skin care so as to be sure that she would be awake when the green girl finally decided to call it a night. Her friends had come up with the idea for Galinda to walk in on Elphaba while she was getting ready for bed that night and find out the truth about her bathing habits or, as seemed much more likely, her NON-bathing habits.
Catching herself humming "Moldy Toady" for the fifth time that night, Galinda began to grow impatient with the green girl who was so obviously absorbed in the book hiding in her lap. Nothing seemed to distract her when she was reading. It was as if the long, dark hair which hung in silky waves on each side of her face formed a protective barrier through which only the most arrogant of noises would dare to cross. Despite herself, Galinda found herself intently studying the green girl from across the room. As she watched her twirl a stray strand of hair around her finger over and over again, it occurred to Galinda that there was no way Elphaba's hair could look so clean and soft if she had not washed it for a week. And her skin, besides being green, was flawless, something which Galinda herself, contrary to popular belief, had to work at incessantly. And though she had never really been close enough to tell, Galinda hadn't ever noticed that her roommate smelled bad. There was nothing about her, other than the color of her skin, to suggest that she did not take care of herself and bathe regularly.
She was so intent on her thoughts that she did not notice when Elphaba closed the book in her lap and leaned her back tiredly against the wall behind her bed. After closing her eyes for a moment, Elphaba turned her head to the right, and with a yawn reopened her eyes to find Galinda staring at her from across the room. "Earth to Galinda," she said loudly enough to frighten the pink nightgown clad girl out of her thoughts.
Galinda scowled at her roommate and pretended to be studying the book which she had been assigned in her "History of Popular Culture of Oz" class that afternoon.
With an unfriendly snicker, Elphaba stretched her long arms and got up from her bed. Galinda's eyes discreetly followed her roommate as she made her way into their bathroom. Now was her chance.
After giving the green girl a few minutes to begin whatever routine she followed each night, Galinda quietly rose from her bed and traced her footsteps to the door separating the two rooms. Her roommate had neglected to shut the door all the way, so Galinda was afforded the opportunity to spy on her through the crack between the door and the frame instead of walking in and risking the green girl's notorious temper.
Elphaba was standing naked in the middle of the bathroom, facing away from Galinda, the dress she had worn that day thrown in a heap against the wall. She was shaking a small bottle of something thick and clear in her left hand. When she seemed satisfied, she opened the lid of the bottle and dribbled the liquid down her chest and arms. Galinda saw small goosebumps pop out on her skin where the cold liquid landed. Setting the bottle down, Elphaba then proceeded to rub the liquid into her skin in a smooth, circular motion. After she had covered her entire body from head to toe in the clear liquid, Elphaba deliberately scrubbed it off with a rough towel. When she was finished, she grabbed a neatly folded black tank top off the sink. She still had not turned around, and so had no idea that she was being closely observed.
Galinda watched, sickeningly entranced, as her green roommate pulled the tight shirt over her head, the smooth muscles in her back and shoulders flexing as she moved. She completed the outfit with a small pair of black shorts which revealed her long legs to great advantage, should anyone care to notice. Galinda certainly didn't.
With a sigh, Galinda turned away from the crack in the door and returned to her bed. This was getting nowhere. She didn't even bother to pretend to read, and instead waited impatiently for her roommate to emerge from the bathroom. Obviously the green girl DID bathe, but not with water. So what was the problem? Galinda decided her best bet was just to ask her roommate.
However, when Elphaba finally opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out, Galinda felt herself grow nervous. Her roommate was really quite imposing, to tell the truth. Her green skin reflected the muted light in the room, giving her an almost faerie-like quality. Her big brown eyes were sharp, like her facial features, and seemed to absorb all the light her body reflected. Her hair was brushed out and reached halfway down her back, the front framing her face in a way that made her look almost sultry in the dull candle light. And she was tall. At least seven inches taller than Galinda, she had to have been close to six feet. Besides her height, what Galinda could see of her body was all smooth, toned muscle. There was not an ounce of fat on her. Imposing, indeed.
"Earth to Galinda!" Elphaba said in a loud voice, for the second time that day. "Is there something you'd like to tell me about? Do I have something in my teeth? Is my hair frizzy? Is my skin a weird color? Because if not, I'd love for you to stop staring at me."
Galinda blushed and lost her nerve. She couldn't bring herself to ask her roommate about the water. When she didn't respond, Elphaba seemed to grow angry.
"For Oz sake, Galinda, what is your problem? Have you just realized that your roommate is a green bean? It must be terrifying for you." Elphaba continued venomously. Then, after a moment, she rolled her eyes, blew out the candle, and climbed into her bed. She was asleep in minutes, safe in her hatred of the bouncy, pink clad blonde girl.
It took Galinda a lot longer to fall asleep.
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