Chapter 12
Elphaba stopped before the glass doors to the clean white gallery hosting Anuu Veda's exhibition. Galinda already looked pleased and intrigued. She glanced at Elphaba. "You got help with this one, didn't you?"
"Barely."
Elphaba held the door for them and another person behind them. It was cool inside too - galleries always seemed very air conditioned. She wondered if that was for the artwork, or if it were simply part of the contemporary atmosphere. The place was very white and understated - minimalist, Galinda commented. Or it would have been, had Veda's work been differently arranged. The second you stepped into the exhibition space, there was a larger than life figure right before you, a great beast all exposed, except for a tweed jacket draped over its shoulders. Elphaba thought it was an Ox, maybe. Galinda stared at it wonderingly.
They slowly moved around the room. The walls were lined mostly with photos. The centre floor of the room was lined with big installations. Elphaba wasn't all that artistic, but she could tell Veda was skilled. She asked Galinda about the photos - if they were particularly good.
"Well, I'm not a photographer," Galinda began very humbly, "But I would say what makes them so intriguing is her composition and her lighting. It's very stark, so there's these great voids of negative space. It's eerie. And see here - she's scratched the photo as it was developing, and created this jarring pattern." Galinda glanced at her. "What?" Elphaba realised she had been staring.
"Nothing," Elphaba said with a smile.
Galinda didn't comment on the subject matter. Animals, all of it.
They came to a huge painting. It was done in stokes of oil paint so thick they stood from the canvas with visible texture. It was clearly a Lion, but had no solid detail, only the ingenious placement of colour. Galinda stared up at it - it was so large it loomed, and Elphaba noticed it was actually mounted on a forward tipping angle - she stared, and then looked at Elphaba like she'd just had an idea.
"This doesn't match the rest of the art," Galinda said.
Elphaba frowned. "What do you mean?"
"There's Lions all throughout her work. I assume they're about someone she loves, they're done so often, but this doesn't suit that. This isn't about him. It doesn't have any context. It's just imposing."
Elphaba glance between the painting and Galinda. "Literally imposing. See, they angled the painting."
"His name isn't even the name of the painting," Galinda said to herself.
"You seem very caught up on it."
"It's a good piece of art." Galinda moved onto the next artwork.
Elphaba wanted to keep discussing what Galinda thought of it, but she had began talking about the next artwork. Galinda had never been the vapid socialite Elphaba had first supposed she was, but when it came to Animals, Galinda really was back in Frottica twenty years ago.
The opposite side of the exhibition space was actually pretty crowded. Elphaba supposed the main artwork of the series was here - did exhibitions have main artworks? - but that wasn't the case. There was a wall of drinks and finger foods, and in the centre of the crowd, two very well dressed Animals.
There were Animals all around them, of course; most of the crowd were Animals, actually. It made sense. But these two were clearly the centre of attention. Elphaba recognised Anuu Veda immediately - she had seen a photo while they were googling her. The person beside her was a Lion that must have been two foot taller than her, with a magnificent sandy blond mane.
Elphaba nudged Galinda. "That's the artist, and we found our Lion, I suspect."
"He must be her muse or something," Galinda said, peering over at them. "We should go have a word. Especially you, Elphie."
"Why especially me?"
"Well, you're all about the Animals, aren't you?"
"You're the arty one," Elphaba said. "You'd have more in common." Galinda looked at Elphaba like she had two heads. There was that old way of thinking in her.
They went to the tables. There was champagne and expensive red wine, and several cheese platters, and other pretentious finger foods, most likely arranged by the gallery.
They were hanging around on the edge of the crowd, listening as Veda chatted with guests and glancing around the room. Elphaba and Galinda got a few bites and a drink and hovered around the group. While Elphaba was biting a quiche Galinda nudged her, and gestured semi-urgently to their left. Veda was walking toward Elphaba. The other people in the exhibition had noticed, but most of them looked away and carried on their own conversations politely - some, of course, didn't. Veda thrust out an elegant hoof. "Hey. I'm Anuu Veda." Elphaba blinked, took her hoof and shook it.
"Elphaba Thropp."
"Elphaba! Nice to meet you. Your skin is rad, man. Is that makeup?" Elphaba glanced at the crowd self consciously. A good number were staring at her. Of course, she got looks everywhere she went - she barely registered them - but this was a lot of people. Veda followed her eye. Her ears straightened rigidly, and she took back her hoof. She said, more quietly, "Shit, I'm sorry. Could we talk some time when the crowd has died down? Please?"
Elphaba was really confused. She grimaced and said, "I suppose so." Veda looked satisfied with that. She drifted back over to the Lion, who was looking at Elphaba with a casual kind of smile. The crowd didn't linger on her too long, thank god.
Galinda put an arm around hers. Elphaba looked at her.
"Are you alright?" Galinda asked.
Elphaba repressed a smile. "I'm used to worse," She said, sounding very serious. Galinda grinned and pushed her a bit with her shoulder.
They went along the opposite wall of art, then moved amongst the installations in the middle of the room. Elphaba wasn't sure if she just wasn't an artistic person, but once you'd looked at all the art, there wasn't much to do at an exhibition, and the looking happened fairly quickly. They hadn't been there an hour and Elphaba had seen everything. She supposed she could stare at it some more.
Galinda seemed to detect her restlessness, and lead them over to a hall off from the back of the space. The walls of the hall were painted black, as opposed to the open white of the main hall, and they absorbed all the light that hit them.
They leaned back on opposite walls. Galinda peered out over the exhibition. "This work is really nice. I've never seen work by an Animal artist." She glanced back at Elphaba. "I really wasn't expecting our night to be like this."
"What were you expecting?" Elphaba asked.
"I thought it would be a bit more awkward. I wasn't sure how much things might have changed with us."
"It doesn't seem like much has changed at all.".
"It doesn't feel like it," Galinda said quietly, "But I think it has. It was just a natural change. Bound to happen." Galinda looked back at Elphaba. A light from show room fell right over Galinda, casting stark shadows and lighting up her hair like one of Veda's photos. They stared at each other for a few long moments, and it was unusually comfortable.
Then Galinda's eyes wandered, and she pushed off of the wall and stood close to Elphaba. She curled a hand around her wrist and pulled them further into the hall. The arrangement of the showroom lights cast a deep shadow all down the hall past a certain point; Galinda pulled them to that point. The hall turned a corner. At the end was a fire escape door, and an unmarked service door. Galinda pressed herself back against the wall and held Elphaba in front of her.
"What are we doing," Elphaba murmured, surprised by her own voice and how quiet and awkward it had gone.
"Not overthinking things." Galinda had a hand on her shoulder. She curled it around the back of Elphaba's neck carefully, watching her for any sign of discomfort.
"Galinda…"
"I'm not gonna maul you in a gallery Elphie," Galinda said. She looked a little embarrassed. "I just… wanted to be close to you." She moved her hand from her neck and pressed it to her chest. "Your heart is beating like crazy."
Elphaba didn't know what to say to that. She held Galinda's waist and felt her face get hot from embarrassment.
"I know this is kind of weird," Galinda said. "I just… you know when you're in the type of place that feels so close you could say almost anything? It feels like that right now."
"What do you want to say?"
Galinda leaned into Elphaba, hiding her face in her shoulder. She turned her head so her mouth was right against Elphaba's neck. She didn't kiss her though. She sighed tremulously. "Elphie, I think I'm in love with you." She pressed her face into Elphaba's shoulder harder, then fell back against the wall and pressed her hands to her face. "Oh, god. I am. I'm so sorry. I wanted to be a good best friend, but I can't help it," She said, her voice wavering. She sniffled and wiped at her face. "I'm a mess. I didn't bring any tissues." She laughed and glanced at Elphaba, and covered her face again. "I'm sorry."
"No," Elphaba said weakly. She swallowed, it didn't do anything. "No, don't apologise. I…" Elphaba had no idea what to do or say, there were so many things rushing into her head that it all went blank. She went on autopilot and pulled Galinda into a hug, an arm around her waist and holding the back of her head. Galinda returned it but seemed to cry harder. God, she needed to say something and reassure her. She needed to be honest.
"Galinda, listen. I don't quite know how I feel about you. You're my best friend. And I - I love you," Elphaba managed. "I don't say that much, even to the people I love the most. I should have let you know."
"I do know," Galinda said, muffled by her shoulder. "I know you."
"I don't know exactly how I feel about you, but I know that you're not just a friend to me either." Galinda shifted in her arms. "I wanted to say something this morning, but I didn't know how to bring it up."
Galinda clung to her for a moment longer, then drew back. Her eyeliner was wild, but it still looked good on her, of course. "We were both sitting on feelings, huh?" Galinda smiled weakly. "That sounds about right."
"At least its out in the open now," Elphaba said. Galinda nodded. She was looking at her hands, resting on either side of Elphaba's waist. She took a deep breath, sniffled a bit. She looked up at Elphaba with a smile.
"So.. you like me, huh?"
Elphaba rolled her eyes and made some huffy mouth noise. They started laughing. It broke the tension. Galinda straightened and seemed to gather herself up, carefully wiping her cheeks. "I need a mirror right now," She muttered to herself. "I can feel the mess."
"You pull it off pretty well to be honest," Elphaba said. Galinda looked equally amused and charmed, and gave Elphaba a peck on the lips. Then she lead them out of the hall.
"I'm going to look for the 'loo." She looked over Elphaba's shoulder. "You should talk to the artist."
Elphaba looked over her shoulder. The crowd certainly had thinned out. "Sure." Galinda went off with a wink.
Veda was standing with the Lion right by the drinks, having a conversation with an Elk in a nice suit. Elphaba approached gingerly - Veda noticed. Her ears poked up. "Hey, Elphaba!" She had a quick last word with the Elk about him contacting her in the next week. He eyed Elphaba as he went off.
Veda was giving her a big smile. "Art collectors. Always the snobbish types, am I right?"
"I wouldn't know to be honest," Elphaba said.
"They are," The Lion assured her. "I'm Brill. I'm Anuu's partner." His voice was deep and had a rumble to it. He offered a huge paw.
Elphaba shook it. "It's nice to meet you."
"Like wise. I apologize for Anuu's earlier behaviour," Brill said, smirking at Veda.
She scoffed. "I'll apologize for my own behaviour. Sorry about that. I totally put you on the spot."
Elphaba smiled a little warily. "I'm used to the stares."
Veda laughed heartily and said, "Yeah, I bet! I seriously thought it was make up."
"No, it's a birth defect," She said, flustered. "Actually, for something so outlandish, it's pretty boring."
Veda laughed. "It's awesome. Man, I must seem really rude. Look, I wanted to ask if I could photograph you."
Elphaba eyed her. "You're joking, right?"
"No way. I mean, you're like the most unique subject ever, and you're really good looking."
Elphaba blinked. "I... what?"
"You're good looking."
Elphaba stared blankly ahead. She could count on one hand the amount of times she'd been complimented for her face. She had no idea how to react. She didn't need to - Veda was already carrying on.
"Look, here's my card. If you change your mind, let me know. You would be paid, of course. I think you would be an awesome model though. Seriously."
"You're coming on way too strong babe," Brill murmured. She elbowed him.
Elphaba took the card with no intention of using it.
Elphaba heard the close click of heels before Galinda placed a hand on her arm. She gave Elphaba a prompting smile. Elphaba was confused, then caught on and introduced her to Veda and Brill.
"This is Galinda Arduenna." Elphaba wasn't sure if she should call Galinda her friend or not - they hadn't really discussed it. Galinda carried on for herself anyway, once the bare minimum of the pleasantries had been supplied.
"Glinda. That's the name of an old saint, right?" Veda asked.
"Yes, but my name is Ga-linda," She corrected.
Veda glanced at Brill and then looked back at Galinda. Elphaba realised the Veda probably couldn't pronounce Galinda's name; anticipating and respecting Animal's differences in speech was a common concept to anyone that actually looked into Animal rights, but Galinda definitely hadn't. Elphaba was about to say something, but Veda beat her to it.
"Yeah, sorry, that's really hard to pronounce for Antelopes. Can I call you Glinda?"
Galinda hesitated and looked to Elphaba for help. Elphaba nudged her with her arm and made a kind of prompting wide-eyed face. She cleared her throat. "Sure, Glinda is fine." She hated it, Elphaba could tell.
They struggled through the rest of the conversation. Eventually someone, another art collector or a curator, came over and gave them an out. Galinda took it eagerly. As they wandered down to the other side of the hall, she said, "What an awful conversation!"
"It wasn't awful."
"It was, Veda absolutely loathed me. You couldn't tell?"
"Loathed is strong."
Galinda went into her own head for a while. "Is it because I'm Gillikin?"
Elphaba had to stop herself rolling her eyes. "No. Animals can be justifiably wary of humans, but they wouldn't hate you just for being, though really you couldn't blame them if they did."
Galinda looked very uncomfortable with that. "As far as I'm concerned, hating anyone is unfair."
"Is it? Is it unfair to hate someone who has slaughtered your kind for hundreds of years, and annihilated your culture for many more? Who abused your kind, and twisted public opinion to cripple you in almost every aspect of your life?"
Galinda glanced at Elphaba. "Alright, calm down."
Elphaba felt herself becoming angry. "Why should I? If you want the honest truth, this is it; You have certain traits very common in Gillikin culture that would make any Animal frustrated with you. Your ignorance and clear lack of empathy for Animal orthoepy is a huge red flag."
"What in Oz is orthoepy?"
"It is the correct pronunciation of words within an oral tradition."
Galinda sighed and pushed open the doors of the gallery. The temperature had dropped considerably. "Well, how would I know that? Most people have never heard of that."
"Most Gillikins, perhaps, and all it takes is a little research, barely any at all," Elphaba went on. "We had other terms for it in Munchkinland before I even started looking into Animal rights. I suppose you just don't have many Animals here. The old Wizard occupation pushed them all out to rurals and Munchkinland and the Vinkus. Animals that are here are servants and labourers, or rare exceptions."
There were waiting at an extremely busy crossing to Bethany Square. "It depends where you go," Galinda said. "Some part of the city, it's like you're in an Animal enclave."
"Communities gravitate toward each other," Elphaba said as casually as she could manage - she was on the edge of losing her patience. "And it's a scientific fact that those who aren't used to seeing people different from them will perceive them as being more dominant than they really are."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if there were a room of fifty Gillikins and fifty Animals, you would think there were more Animals."
"Would I, how interesting," Galinda said coolly. The lights changed and she strode out over the crossing, Elphaba rushing to keep up.
They were quiet most of the way back. They caught a tram that took them ten minutes from their place. It was late enough that there were only five or so people on with them. Galinda was staring out the ink black window. She adjusted her fringe - she must have been staring at herself. Elphaba took a breath. "Galinda."
"Hm?"
"I really didn't want to end the night like this. Or even start this tonight at all." Elphaba paused. "I hope I didn't ruin this night for you."
Galinda sighed, leaning her head on the window. "You didn't ruin our date. If anything I did. I'm... proud." She looked at her hands. "I got defensive."
Elphaba nibbled at her lip. "I don't want this to come across as me judging you, but I think you should look into this stuff."
Galinda smiled to her reflection. "Educate myself?"
"Yes."
Galinda picked her head up from the window, glancing at Elphaba. Her eyes softened and she took Elphaba's hand. "Okay," She said. "For you."
"I'm not an Animal. Don't do it for me." Galinda didn't respond to that.
Once home, Elphaba got out her laptop to check if Nessa had gone to bed. They had a bit of a ritual going. Galinda had joined Crope, Tibbett and Fiyero downstairs for hot chocolate. She could hear them laughing. Galinda was probably telling them every detail of their night.
When she got on her laptop she saw she had messages from Nessa. She read them, and then read them again, and then she felt a sinking that seemed to be throughout her entire body.
Nessarose Thropp, 9:26 PM: Elphaba. Father had an examination tonight.
Nessarose Thropp, 9:34 PM: God help us, he is going to die
