Tonight, I Want to Cry

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Wicked. If I did, then Elphaba wouldn't have died and she would have ended up with Galinda. And Madame Morrible would have been an ape trapped in a cage. Ha ha.

Chapter One: Welcome to Paradise

For what had to be the tenth time that morning, Galinda Upland silently cursed Ama Clutch and that damned nail. She glared at all the other girls milling about the extravagant hall as their respective amas found suitable roommates for them. The usually peppy blonde couldn't believe her misfortune. Her ama, the one person who was able to make this experience slightly less terrifying had stepped on a nail during the trip to Shiz, the place where Galinda would receive her schooling. And now instead of having some high society snob with whom she could relate with as a roomie, she was stuck with a difficult decision: either she could live in a room full of deadbeats, or room with… she couldn't even bear to think about it.

She glared up at Madame Morrible who seemed to be enjoying Galinda's current predicament. "So, what will it be, Blondie?"

Galinda resented being addressed in this manner and was about to say so when she realized that it would be all too easy for the intimidating headmistress to throw her out for insubordination and bring shame to her family. Therefore, she decided it was useless to argue any further. The small blonde weighed her choices: 14 roommates or one, although most of the former were probably going to be at least slightly normal while the latter was just… unspeakable. But still, she would have more privacy with just one roomie and she was sure that the girl would be out of the dorm most of the time. Galinda looked in the direction of the subject of her thoughts. Her prospective roommate sat in a chair in the far corner of the room totally engrossed in a book. She was so focused on her reading material that she did not even notice the rude stares most of the other occupants of the room were sending her. Galinda smiled to herself. 'No, she would not be a problem at all.'

What Galinda didn't think about was how the rooming arrangement would affect her reputation. When the other girls found out that she, an Upland, was rooming with a…a… Oh, she couldn't even imagine what a hay day they would have with that information. How she longed to fit in with the popular crowd; to control the halls of Shiz and have every other student admire her. But she didn't see how that could be possible now.

For the first time since they had arrived at their dorm room, Galinda studied her roommate. She had learned that the peculiar girl's name was Elphaba Thropp. She was quite surprised that the girl came from such a renowned Munchkinland bloodline. The thing that made this young woman so odd was the shocking emerald color of her skin. It was the color that appalled so many of their peers and caused Elphaba so much grief. Besides the unnatural hue of her skin, Galinda noted, and of course the way she dressed, the girl was actually quite beautiful. She had a sheet of shimmering ebony hair that fell half way down her beck when it wasn't braided up for school. Her sharp facial structure was softened by the green of her skin and her chocolate eyes and although she didn't have as full of a figure as Galinda, Elphaba had some curves to boast of. However, these features were totally lost in her unflattering navy dress that looked like it was at least a couple of sizes too large.

Apparently, the green girl felt Galinda's appraising gaze because she lifted her head, met the blonde's eyes and raised a slender brow. Galinda blushed ferociously and turned away quickly, embarrassed that she had been caught staring.

"You know, you shouldn't feel ashamed." The girl in pink jumped as the voice ripped through the silence.

"W…what?" came the squeaked response.

"I mean, it's not like you're the first person who has gawked at me like I'm some kind of foreign virus under a microscope." Elphaba's voice was calm and sedated as compared to the racing of Galinda's heart, her panic mounting as the green thing addressed her.

"I…I wasn't looking at your skin… condition, I was looking at… er…" Her flushed face screwed up in concentration as she tried to find the right words. Elphaba began to laugh.

"Don't kid yourself. Of course you were staring at my skin, I'm freaking green!" Galinda just shook her head speechless. The green woman smirked and began to speak again.

"Let's just get this out of the way, hmm? I don't like you and you obviously don't like me so I'll make this short. You stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours. And stop worrying about your reputation. No, don't even try to deny it, I know your kind," Elphaba sneered harshly when the blonde tried to interject. "In fact, your friends will probably feel sorry for when they find out that you're rooming with a cucumber. And please don't stare at me anymore, it's kind of creepy."

With that, the cucumber turned away from her frightened roommate, opened her book and seemingly shut herself off from the world. Galinda just stared disbelievingly at the woman for several seconds, her mouth hanging open. Suddenly, her green skinned roomie snapped her book shut and glared at the petite girl.

"I thought I told you to stop staring!" She growled threateningly. Galinda squeaked and ran to the door and opened it only to bump into Misses ShenShen and Milla. They both seemed highly concerned about her overly excited state.

"We heard that you got stuck with that avocado." The girls spoke in hushed tones but it was still loud enough for Elphaba to hear every word through the cracked door.

"I did and she's awful!" Galinda's voice trembled as she spoke. Elphaba grinned at having frightened her so much.

"You poor thing!"

"I know! She yelled at me for just looking at her!"

"Well, who could blame you? She's hideous!" At this Elphaba's smile broke. Hideous? She knew that she was different, but not hideous. "Galinda, people like that don't even deserve to know you, or anyone important for that matter. People like that deserve to be killed as babies so they don't grow up to just be wasted oxygen."

The usually tough skinned woman didn't know why this was affecting her the way it was. She could feel her throat and chest tightening and the tears burning in her eyes. She furiously wiped away the little monsters before they could run down her sensitive cheeks. Then she heard Galinda speak.

"You're right. I shouldn't let her scare me. She's probably just mad because no one even wants to talk to her, I mean seriously, how do her parents even look at her when they made something that ugly?" The girls all began laughing loudly talking about going to the café for a drink.

Elphaba sat on her bed in stunned silence for several minutes contemplating what had been said about her. Before she knew it, tears began making their way down her cheeks, leaving scorch marks where they had run. Soon, she dissolved into sobs, choking on her tears into her gray pillowcase. At that moment she resolved that she was unable to love and that she, herself, was unlovable.

When Galinda entered later that evening, back from her outing with the elite of Shiz, Elphaba lay still, pretending to sleep, too hurt to even acknowledge the other girl's presence.

Well, that's the first chapter! Hope you all like it! I know it's slow right now, but I promise it will pick up soon. I just wanted to introduce the problem in this chapter. Please review!!!