Ah, finally! Here rings the bell, signalling the beginning of the lunch period.

It's spring and my duckies usually spend their lunch periods with their friends lounging about in the gardens. My old bones don't care much for sitting on the ground. Besides, other Amas - like Ama Clipp for instance - cover this shift only too happily: to them there is nothing more interesting than gossip and figuring out who is enamoured with whom.

Me, I already know what I need to know. So, like every other day, I fetch myself a nice little lunch from the cafeteria to take it up to the solitude of my room, where I intend to fall asleep reading.

On my way across campus I see flocks of students mounching about, not a care in the world. Off to the side, sit their Amas - knitting, chatting, enjoying the sun. I greet them as I pass. Oh, how we have become all but obsolete, our little protégés growing up so fast.

My little duckie, too, might think she has outgrown her old Ama, but I know better, there is still plenty for me to do.

It is only my role in her life that has changed: In the past I have been her caregiver: I have fed her, clothed her, nurtured her.

Now, as her chaperone it is my role to observe and to subtly guide her in the right direction, keeping her from making a mistake.

Now, some people might accuse me of doing the exact opposite, that I in fact might have led her astray.

I assure you, that is not the case. I have my reasons for doing what I'm doing and I stand behind my decisions.

When I first came here -And I would have come here sooner, mind you, hadn't it been for that dreadful incident with that rusty old nail – my little Galinda had already settled in all by herself: She had planned her classes, had made friends and had already rallied quite a few suitors around herself. Blaming me for getting stuck with that green roommate of hers, she hardly ever told me where she was going, considering my sudden presence a nuisance at best.

Back then their room was nothing short of a combat zone. My little duckies were throwing insults at each others head whenever they had the chance. They were so good at it, they even had me fooled: I truly believed they hated each other. And it would have made perfect sense: they were from very different backgrounds with extremely diverging interests.

However, it wasn't long until I started noticing the glances. At first they were rare, but every now and then, I would notice Galinda's mind had wandered off from the conversation her friends were having. I would follow her gaze and I would spot Miss Elphaba there, sitting under a tree in the distance, engrossed in a book. Other times I would look around the classroom, and I would catch Miss Elphaba sneaking a peek at Galinda scribbling away in her notebook.

Had I not had my suspicions before, the fact that my little socialite was suddenly focusing on her studies would have tipped me off. And it wasn't just in that way that Galinda was growing: When I first came to Shiz she had been the queen bee of the rumour mill, providing it with hair-raising stories about her roommate.

Now you hardly ever found her muttering a bad word about anyone, not even that little lovesick puppy eyed stalker of hers. By the way, that boy really ought to be ashamed of himself! Does he not have even an ounce of dignity?!

But I'm digressing. To come back to Galinda and Elphaba:

Now, other Amas might have found these developments abnormal and might have tried their best to nip them in the bud. I, however, couldn't have been happier.

Galinda, however adorable she had been as a child, had invented herself anew during puberty, and I couldn't say I cared much for the self-absorbed little snob she had become.

Now that she had met Miss Elphaba, she was opening her mind up. She started to care about people other than herself again.

Most importantly, however: My little girl was in the process of falling in love for the first time and her love was being returned. So, what did it matter, that her crush was on another girl? They were experiencing something beautiful and I sure as hell wasn't going to stay in the way of their happiness!

It wasn't long until the shouting stopped. I believe Miss Elphaba even attempted to tutor Galinda a couple of times: My girlies had finally learned how to get along.

After a while, however, the blushing started. Let me tell you, that was an awkward phase!

They would catch the other staring or they would start to speak at the same time. It didn't matter, the end result was always the same, they would both blush - one pink, one purple - and then one would make an excuse and flee the scene. It got so bad, that outside of class and during the night they stopped staying in the same room altogether.

Finally I had had enough, there is only so much teenage crush-related clumsiness that an old Ama can take: I came up with a plan: Under the pretence of taking them shopping to buy their dresses for the annual mandatory – yes, Miss Elphaba protested heavily - Lurlinmas ball, I lured them into town.

Upon arrival, I convinced them to start the day off by visiting a cosy little café - only to discover right after ordering that I had a terrible headache, which left me no choice but to return to my room to lie down. After some protest and various offers to help, they reluctantly stayed behind.

As predicted my plan worked, only a couple of days later I caught them locking lips rather passionately behind the gardener's supply shack.

I'm no fool. I know it can't last forever. Society and Miss Galinda's parents in particular would never allow it… They are very traditional and another girl as their little girl's betrothed would never do, never mind a green one at that. Can you imagine? The horrors!

So, there will be heartbreak in their future, but the way I see it, at least they will have had this period of happiness, however short it might be. If anything, it will be something to remember fondly when they are stuck in loveless marriages some day. My duty as Galinda's chaperone is to keep my mouth shut for now, let her experience love and to help her pick up the pieces as soon as we cross that bridge…

Well, here we are, now, if I could just get that key into that keyhole – my eyesight really isn't what it used to be - old Ama Clutch is about to enjoy her lunch period taking a little nap, while the young folks are out there, living their lif-

- "AHH!"

- "Oh sweet Oz!"

- "…!"

- "This is not what it looks like!"

Not so much for "out there", I see. I guess I should have seen that one coming…