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Thanks everyone for the lovely reviews! I really appreciate them. Y'all are great! Here's chapter 3.


Galinda was scheming. When Fiyero had followed Elphaba out of the cafeteria that afternoon, Galinda had begun to suspect that some sort of unlikely friendship existed between the two.

Of course, it never occurred to her that the feelings involved may not be strictly friendly, at least not on Fiyero's part—that would be silly. He was perfect, after all, and Elphaba was green. 'How very goodly of Fiyero to take pity on her,' Galinda decided.

No, there was certainly nothing of a romantic nature going on—but a friendship could be used to her advantage. Feeling very clever, she hopped onto her bed, pulled out her fluffy pink notebook and its matching fluffy pink pen, and began to write down what she thought was a most elaborate and thrillifying plan.

Galinda's plan was this:

Make "friends" with Elphaba

Use "friendship" with Elphaba to spend time with Fiyero

Once Fiyero sees how perfect and adorable I am, he'll realize that we're perfect together.

WE'LL GET MARRIED!

Finishing with a flourish, Galinda read through her plan, and, convinced that it was foolproof, she giggled with glee, kicking her legs in the air.

"Oz," she sighed. "When did I get so smartical?"

Suddenly a lightbulb went on in Galinda's head, disrupting her pleasantly fluffy thoughts of wedding gowns and color-coordinated wedding bouquets. She sat up abruptly.

"But wait! I need to make it obvious that we're friends, or Fiyero might not notice…" She thought for a moment. "Ooh, I know!" she squealed, then seized her notebook and began writing feverishly.

Give Elphaba a makeover to draw attention to "friendship"

Surely Galinda's goodliness in doing such a thing would not go unnoticed by the prince. Her daydreams returned full force.

She looked up as the bedroom door opened, and Elphaba floated into the room with a dazed, almost dreamy expression on her face. Galinda decided to play dumb.

"Where have you been?"

Elphaba jumped, and her face assumed its normal, curt expression. "Lunch," she answered shortly.

"Lunch with Fiyero?" Galinda asked with a sly smile.

Elphaba turned sharply. "What makes you say that?"

A hint of color tinged her cheeks, and that's when it dawned on Galinda. 'Elphaba likes Fiyero! Oh, the disrespectation!"

Realizing she had yet to respond, she said vaguely, "Oh, nothing," and began twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

It was time for Step 1 of her plan.


"Elphaba, I've been thinking lately," Galinda began.

"You too, huh?" 'What is the world coming to?'

Galinda blinked, then continued as if nothing had happened. "I think we should be friends, seeing as we're roomies and all."

"Friends?" Elphaba repeated skeptically.

"Yes, friends!"

"But we can't stand each other."

"So? Please, Elphie?" Galinda wheedled.

"If I say yes will you promise never to call me Elphie again?"

"Yep!"

"Umm…okay?"

"Yay!" Galinda beamed.

Silence.

'Well, this is awkward…' Finally, Galinda stood and flounced from the room. "See you later Elphie!"

Elphaba sighed. 'So much for that promise…'

The next morning, Elphaba was rudely awakened at the crack of dawn by a horrible racket.

"Wake up, wake up! We have work to do!"

'What is that infernal screeching?' She cracked an eye open to see her diminutive blonde roommate bouncing up and down on the edge of her bed with far more energy than should be allowed at such an ungodly hour.

"Galinda, shut up and go back to sleep."

Galinda frowned. "Elphie, you're being very rude." She grabbed Elphaba's hand and yanked.

Elphaba slapped her away. "Galinda! What in Oz do you want?"

"Well, you see, Elphie—"

"Don't call me Elphie."

Galinda ignored her. "Now that we're friends, I've decided…" she paused dramatically, "…to make you…" another pause, "…my new project!" She clapped her hands together and gave a little squeak.

A wide-eyed Elphaba inched as far back on the bed as possible. "Oh, you really don't have to do that."

"I know! That's what makes me so nice. Now—" She grabbed a sparkly, powder-blue bag overflowing with glittering makeup products in every shade of pink and purple imaginable, and advanced toward Elphaba, who shrank back against the headboard.

"No…Galinda, I am not agreeing to this. Don't come any closer!"

In a sudden flurry of frills and ruffles, Galinda pounced. Before Elphaba knew what was happening, she was pinned to the bed with her hands bound together by a pair of pantyhose.

"Get off of me!" she ordered, spitting a strand of Galinda's hair out of her mouth.

"Only if you promise to cooperate."

Elphaba glared. "Untie my hands."

"Nope." Galinda smiled deviously, and Elphaba began to feel very nervous.

"Galinda, I'm warning you..."

Forty-five minutes later, after trying unsuccessfully to curl Elphaba's hair, Galinda was attempting to coax Elphaba into a corset dress.

"No," said Elphaba flatly.

It was Galinda's turn to glare. "Do you want me to untie your hands or not?"

They stared each other down for a moment, and Elphaba relented. "Fine. I'll try it on. That doesn't mean I'm going to wear it. And you'd better pick a different color—I refuse to touch pink or sequins."

Before Elphaba had a chance to change her mind, Galinda untied her hands and thrust a relatively simple, deep purple dress into them. She pointed to the bathroom and ordered, "Go."

Elphaba stomped off to the bathroom and emerged a moment later, exasperated. "How in Oz are you supposed to lace this thing up?"

"Turn around." Galinda began wrestling with the corset strings.

"Galinda…" Elphaba gasped. "Can't…breathe…"

"Well, that's the whole point, silly! 'Cause when you breathe, your stomach gets bigger. Honestly, Elphie, you're supposed to be smart…"

Next was makeup. Clearly enjoying herself, Galinda bounced across the room to search for a tube of mascara.

"Lalalalaaaaaa!" she yodeled at the top of her lungs.

'Oh, for the love…' Elphaba thought she sounded rather like a dying cow, and would have said so, had they not been interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Oh, the disrespectation," Galinda huffed as she went to answer it. She flung the door open. "What do you—oh! Milla, dear…what brings you here this fine morning?" She flashed a dazzling smile.

Milla's expression was worried. "Galinda, is everything alright in here? I was awakened by the most horrible noise; it sounded like…like a cow dying, or something."

Elphaba couldn't suppress a cackle. Milla shot her a strange look and continued. "Do you know what it might have been?"

"I haven't the foggiest, Milla dear. Elphie, do you know what she's talking about?"

Elphaba shook her head, eyes wide. "Oh no…I didn't hear any cows."

"Well, alright…" Milla reluctantly said goodbye.

"Now, where was I?" Galinda thought for a moment. "Oh yes—lalaaa lalaaaaaaa! I'm gonna make you popular!"

She applied the mascara, then stepped back to study her creation. "There! All finished."

"Galinda, you can't honestly expect me to wear this to class—"

Galinda slammed her makeup bag down on the bed, then leaned toward Elphaba until their faces were only inches apart. Her eyes narrowed.

"Oh, you will. If you ever want to sleep again, you'll wear it and be grateful!" She grinned. "Anyway, you can't wipe it off without makeup remover—and you don't have any."

With that, she spun on her heel and pranced into the bathroom, not to emerge for the next couple of hours.

Elphaba flopped onto her back and groaned. 'This is going to be a long day…'