Chapter One: The Opening in Cincinnati

"I still can't believe that we're going to see Wicked!" Alyson Draw told her friend Lily Elum. Alyson, called Aly by her friends, had long, dark brown hair and dark eyes, while her friend Lily was the opposite. Lily had shorter, to her shoulders light blonde hair, blue eyes and faire skin. Let's just say that Aly looked like Elphaba, minus the green skin and Lily looked like Galinda minus the bubbles.

The two had been friends ever since Lily had come to their school in third grade. Now, they were in 7th and 8th grade. Lily was only a year older then Aly, but that didn't stop them from being friends.

"I know! I still can't believe your mom got back stage passes!" Lily said excitedly. Her eyes sparked with anticipation. Aly smiled. She was proud of her mom for getting the backstage passes.

"Just you wait; I'll be up there someday, singing 'Defying Gravity'. And you'll be up there with me, singing 'Popular'." Aly promised. Lily laughed and tossed her blonde hair behind her shoulders.

"Popular! You're gonna be popular. I'll teach you the proper ploys! When you talk to boys! Little ways to flirt and flounce!" Both Aly and Lily had gotten Wicked scripts off the Internet and saved them to their computers. Aly had memorized Elphaba's part and in turn, Lily had memorized Galinda's lines. Then, the lights in the theater dimmed. The green light, illuminating the Emerald City turned off. Aly saw actors, dressed up as flying monkeys come out and dance around the stage. The map lifted and the monkeys went off stage. Stephen Schwart's brilliant music filled the theater.

"Good news! She's dead!"

"And nobody! In all of Oz! No Wizard that there, is or was! Is ever gonna bring...me...DOWN!"

"I hope you're happy!"

"Look at her! She's Wicked, GET HER!"

"Bring me down!"

"So we 'side to bring her..."

"AHHHHH!"

"DOWN!"

The lights flicked on as the audience sat, spell bound, in their seats. Aly and Lily's jaws had dropped before Popular and had stayed there.

"Wow..." Aly croaked

"Eh...?" Lily whispered in a hoarse voice.

"Girls? It's intermission." Aly's mother, Mrs. Draw, had to shake the girls hard before they could move. She bought them each a cookie and went to the bathroom, leaving Aly and Lily to talk about the play so far.

"How did they get her to fly in Defying Gravity? It would be a nightmare to sing in a harness!"

"Toss, toss! Sparkle, sparkle!"

"I think I'll be talking Ozian all day tomorrow at school."

"Hey look!" Lily said, pointing to a number of people gathered around a stand.

"The Oz Dust Boutique..." Aly read the signs set up around the stand. Lily turned to Aly and grinned

"I feel my inner Galina needs to shop!" she said, pulling Aly to the stands.

"O.K. how much stuff did you buy?" Aly asked, incredulously as she and Lily walked back into the theater.

"Just a few things," Lily said, pushing all of her purchases under her seat.

"You know, it's would be fun to sit in Nessarose's chair." Aly said. "I mean, it would be fun to roll around onstage." Lily nodded, still trying to push a bag under her seat. "Hey! Maybe when we go backstage, the cast will let us sit in the chair!" Aly said.

"They might...phew." Lily sat back in her seat, all of her bags crammed under it.

"Shhh! It's starting!" Aly said excitedly, as the curtain rose for the second time. The actors were already in position and the orchestra started up again.

"Everyday the Wicked. Everyday the terror grows. All of Oz is ever on alert..."

"No one Mourns the Wicked! Wicked...WICKED!" The curtains closed for a second time, only to reopen, revealing the Ensemble, taking their bow. Then, the main character came out, by part size. Chistery, Elphaba's mother and father, Dr. Dillamond, The Wizard, Madam Morrible, Boq, Fiyero (All the girls gave him a huge round of applause), Nessarose and then finally, Glinda and Elphaba, arm and arm. The audience exploded. Aly couldn't even hear her own thoughts. It took a while for the audience to stop clapping, only then did the cast of Wicked leave the stage. Mrs. Draw hurried the girls out of the theater.

"I want to beat the crowd, so it won't take forever to get to the backstage door." She told them. Aly and Lily were only too eager to oblige, the excitement of seeing the magic of Wicked getting to them. They hurried through the lobby and out the door. The backstage door was at the side of the theater, a crowd was already waiting outside, hopping to get some autographs for their Wicked merchandise.

"Excuse me!" Mrs. Draw told the crowd. She showed the bouncer the backstage passes and he let her in. Lily could hardly contain herself.

"Oh my god! I can't believe it!" she nearly fainted when she saw Chistery walk out of a door in full costume.

"Girls? Can you wait right here? I need to use the bathroom." Mrs. Draw said. Aly groaned

"Mom! Can't you hold it?" She asked. Mrs. Draw shook her head and asked the nearest stage crew member were the bathrooms were. As soon as she left, Lily pulled Aly behind the curtain.

"What?" Aly asked. Lily pointed to some props sitting in the corner. Nessarose's chairs. "Wow..." Aly said softly, fingering the fabric on the fancy one and the wickerwork on the old one.

"I call the cushioned one!" Lily said. Aly sighed.

"Fine, then I get a turn." she said. Aly made to sit in the old wheelchair when Lily stopped her.

"Wait! At the same time. Count off, one."

"Two..."

"Three!" The twosome sat down in the chairs at the same time. And at the same, the strangest thing happened to the two friends.