"Remind me again why I allowed myself to be dragged into this?"
Beside her, Galinda simply huffed. "Because our friends and your sister are participating in the concert tonight and it might be nice to be there to support them." Tightening her grip on the green girl's arm, the blonde quickened her face, pulling Elphaba along with her. "Come on! Fiyero promised he would save us seats, but we still should be there early."
"This from the girl who rushes into class two minutes before it's scheduled to start." Elphaba muttered, but followed her roommate through the doors of Shiz's auditorium.
"Oh, look! There's Fiyero now!" Returning the wave Fiyero sent them, Galinda dragged Elphaba down the aisles to where The Prince sat. "Hello, dearest."
"Ladies," he greeted, lightly kissing Elphaba 's cheek and Galinda's lips. As they took their seats, he remarked, "So, Nessa is in the concert tonight?"
Nodding, Elphaba settled into her seat. "She's been playing the flute for as long as I can remember. When she found out about the renowned band here at Shiz, she had to be a part of it."
Galinda turned to Fiyero. "Didn't you say Avaric was performing tonight as well."
"As hard as it is to believe, yes." Fiyero chuckled, casually crossing one long leg over the other. "He's quite proficient in the percussion section."
"I have a difficult picturing Avaric Tenmeadows as a member of the Shiz full orchestra," Elphaba commented.
"Believe me, you're far from the only one," Fiyero replied. "In his exact words, 'the only instrument worth playing is a drum. After all, drummers' and I quote, 'get all the chicks'".
The green girl flashed an amused smile. "I can only imagine the look on his face when he realized he would need to play much more than the drum."
Fiyero grinned. "Priceless was the only way to describe it. Unfortunately, he signed up as a class, so he's been required to attend all semester. I hear one piece features him quite heavily on the triangle."
"That will have the girl's running for him," Galinda commented dryly. "But, to be honest, dearest, he certainly seemed to have brought this on himself."
"Which is exactly why it would be rude of us to miss his grand debut." With a cheeky grin, the Prince slid one arm around each girl. "While I'm sitting in the audience with two lovely dates."
Galinda blushed whilst Elphaba simply rolled her eyes. As the auditorium darkened, she shrugged out of his grasp and whispered, "Quite, you two. The concert is about to start."
A matter of moments later, the Shiz concert band sprung to life. Settling deeper into her chair, Elphaba closed her eyes and let the music wash over her, each notes resonating deep within her soul. Beside her, Galinda held tight to Fiyero's hand, clearly enjoying the music and often leaning over to comment quietly on a particular piece.
When the band concluded it's set, the three friend cheered especially loud, causing Nessarose to blush from her place as second flute, knowing it had been a well put on event.
The full orchestra took its place next, this time with Avaric joining Nessa as member of the Charmed Circle currently on stage. Once again, the maestro had outdone himself. The music swallowed the auditorium, echoing to the highest balcony as well as it did to those seated in front. Strings and woodwinds flew high on a celestial melody while brass and percussion provided a steady heartbeat. Through it all, Avaric dutifully struck his triangle, over and over, and with such intensity that the three friends could find no excuse to tease him as previously thought. When the last notes faded away, the entire audience was on its feet, souls and hands lifted in applause.
At intermission, Elphaba excused herself, complaining of a need to find the nearest facilities. Galinda waved her off, her mouth spreading into a smile as Avaric and Nessa joined them in the audience, quickly beginning to congradulote them on a job well done.
"Where's Elphaba," Nessa asked as the light began to dim again, signaling the second part of the concert was about to begin.
"I'm not sure," Fiyero commented, taking his seat between Galinda and Avaric, who now occupied Elphaba's vacated seat. "Galinda, should you go check on her?"
"I don't want to miss the choir!" The blonde protested, but cast a lingering glance toward the door. "I'm sure she'll be along any moment, dearest. Not to worry."
That seemed to placate the Prince and he took her hand again as the choir began to assemble on the stage. Absently scanning the many faces in the crowd, he suddenly started to attention as his eyes fell on a vey familiar face amidst the many strangers. "Galinda, is that…"
"Yes, it is." She whispered, her breathless tone indicating that she was just as surprised as he was. Turning to Nessa, she asked, "Did you know Elphie was in the choir?"
The younger girl shook her head, eyes wide. "She would hum around the house every now and then, but I never thought she would be a part of a performance group."
Powerless to do anything but watch, four sets of eyes watched as the girl in questioned suddenly separated herself from the crowd and stepped down to the solo microphone in front of the choir.
The moment the first notes left her throat, a stunned silence fell over the crowd. Elphaba's voice was pure and high and sweet, nearly a direct contrast to the personality so many knew. With just a few notes, she had the entire audience entranced, including those who loved her most. Nessa's shock had melted away into a proud smile, Galinda's mouth hung open in a most unattractive fashion, and Fiyero had released Galinda's hand to lean forward in this seat, arms crossed with chin placed atop. Eyes closed, he was lost to anything but the sounds of her voice, its rich, velvet tone caressing his ears like a lover.
All to soon, the song ended and the audience leapt to its feet, the applause thunderous, but no more so than four people halfway up the mezzanine.
"I had no idea she could sing like that," Galinda murmured, eyes still wide.
"Neither did I, " Fiyero concurred, "But if I have anything to say about it, she'll be doing it more." Returning his gaze to the stage, where Elphaba shyly bowed, smiling her thanks to the whoops and cheers resounding the auditorium, he smiled.
Shine on, Elphaba. You deserve it.
