"Just one small black coffee. Please," the voice was quiet, but assertive. It caught Galinda's ear and she looked up from her phone to reply. The moment she properly caught sight of her latest customer, however, both her jaw and phone dropped.
When the customer saw this rather shameless expression, a resigned look flickered across her face and her shoulders slumped in irritation and defeat as she gave a very loud, and rather impatient, sigh.
"Oh, alright, fine, let's just get this over with," she deadpanned softly, half talking to herself and half talking to Galinda. "No, I'm not seasick. Yes, I've always been green. No, I didn't chew grass as a child. There. Satisfied?"
"Uhhhhh…" Galinda could only gawk at the strange student and her even stranger skin.
"Oh, come on, you can't be that blinded by my looks, can you?" the girl demanded in exasperation.
"Uhhhhh…"
"Look, can I just get my small black coffee, please?"
Upon hearing the order, Galinda finally seemed to wake up again.
"Right," she muttered embarressedly, ringing the green girl up. The physical exchange between the two of them was brief, but the green girl made the fallout last by making a big deal about collecting all her change from Galinda and refusing to tip even a single cent. Galinda felt a bit irritated by such a petty move, but she could not deny that she probably deserved it.
"May I have a name for that order?" she asked, not even bothering to acknowledge the green girl's petty display.
"Elphaba," came the curt reply. "Elphaba Thropp."
And that was the last thing the green girl said to Galinda for the rest of that day, waiting in silence for her coffee and then not even offering up a verbal thanks (only giving a short nod instead) before taking her drink and leaving the café at once. Galinda watched her go with a sigh, both of annoyance and embarrassment, but she found that she remembered the green girl's name long after its owner had left the shop.
ooo
A few days later, the green girl returned.
"Small black coffee." Oh. So this time, she wasn't even saying please.
"$1.79," came the brisk reply. Elphaba surrendered the exact amount. No tip this time either. Galinda didn't allow a single emotion to cross her face. Instead, she only gave Elphaba a receipt before turning back towards the kitchen to make the coffee. Two minutes and 38 seconds later, she was back, a small, steaming cup in her hand.
"You sure you didn't want a green tea instead?" Galinda dared to snark. Even though she typically wouldn't have been brave (or dumb) enough to be so blatantly rude to a customer, the defensive vibe Elphaba was giving off was infectious.
"Didn't want to order something too complicated for that blissful blond brain of yours," Elphaba sassed back without missing a beat, scowling terribly that Galinda. Galinda physically recoiled in outrage and shock at how quickly Elphaba had made up that comeback, and just how stinging it had been.
"Isn't judging someone based on appearance a bit uncouth?" Galinda growled.
"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? Or green?" Elphaba asked back with a sneer.
"At least I made no judgment about your intelligence!" Galinda hissed, crossing her arms.
"You made a judgment about my taste though," Elphaba replied, causing Galinda to get even angrier (although it was true).
Before she could speak, however, Elphaba turned away from the register and sat down at the table farthest from the counter.
"Good riddance!" Galinda muttered before turning her attention back to her register, still scowling. What she did not notice, however, was that the second she looked down, Elphaba looked up and spent the entire rest of her visit to the café watching Galinda.
ooo
For another week or so, Galinda, blessedly, did not need to come into contact with that steamed artichoke, who was as green and prickly as a cactus. After that week was up, however, Elphaba returned. This exchange went just as curtly as the last two. Or at least, the beginning did. But after Galinda came back with Elphaba's coffee (which was as dark and bitter as she was), Elphaba actually thanked Galinda.
"Thank you," she said, and Galinda was so genuinely surprised by the verbal gratitude that, just like the first time, her jaw dropped.
For a moment, there was only silence between the pair. Then it was Elphaba who needed to speak again.
"I do believe that when one person says thank you, the other typically responds with a 'you're welcome'. Though I could be wrong," she said and Galinda couldn't tell if she was genuine annoyed or if she was only teasing. There didn't seem to be as much venom in her voice today as before, but Elphaba kept her voice so unreadable that Galinda did not want to misread it as a joke either. Instead, all she did was give Elphaba the reply she wanted. Customers could be so picky sometimes!
"You're welcome," the blond intoned. She expected Elphaba to leave, but the green girl lingered for a moment.
"There's no reason to look so dour," she told Galinda.
"What do you mean?" came the tired reply, though Galinda did her best to keep the tiredness hidden. The last thing she needed was for this green girl to call a manager on her, or something. Once again, customers could be very picky and petty.
"I know I may not be the most appealing thing you've ever seen enter this store, but…" the green girl trailed off and tilted her head.
"No, it's not that!" Galinda protested, but the pink blush creeping along her face said otherwise. "It's just… you're so… phosphorescent!" she said, but the moment the word left her mouth, she wanted to disappear right then and there and never return. This green girl was sure to demand a manager now!
Or was she? Because rather than get mad, the green girl actually cackled!
"Well, that's a new one!" she crowed. "Usually I'm called a frog or artichoke!" while she continued to smirk, Galinda went pink.
"I panicked," Galinda muttered, but Elphaba didn't hear her over her own laughter. It was a sound that followed Galinda around the rest of the day, long after Elphaba had left.
ooo
Then a few days later, just as the three times before, Elphaba came into the café and made a beeline to Galinda's register.
"Small black?" Galinda asked.
"Of course!" Elphaba replied as she handed Galinda the money. "Sorry I don't have enough to tip, though…" she added a second later. Galinda only blinked in surprise. Although, before, it had annoyed Galinda not to receive a tip from Elphaba, that had really been more because of Elphaba's rudeness rather than Galinda's desire or expectation of a tip. So to hear Elphaba officially apologize for it caught the blond off guard.
"I mean, there's no law that says you have to tip," she muttered shyly.
"Still, I feel bad that I can't," Elphaba replied vaguely.
"No need to," Galinda said, not wishing to start dealing with a more uncomfortable topic right now. "You already paid your dues in the form of the price of the coffee. You don't owe anything else so you did nothing wrong. There's nothing to forgive you for."
Galinda had only meant to calm Elphaba down, but the genuine smile the green girl gave her in response to her little speech was blinding (in a good way). In fact, as Galinda went back to make Elphaba's coffee, she managed to steal a few glances at the green girl and was stunned to see just how happy her simple remark had made Elphaba. Really! All she had said was that Elphaba didn't owe anything. But one might've thought Galinda had just promised Elphaba the deed to the Emerald City Palace. She really did look phosphorescent now…
"Here ya go," Galinda muttered embarrassedly as she gave Elphaba her drink.
"Thank you," Elphaba said, in the warmest tone Galinda had ever heard from her. What was going on? Galinda even gave Elphaba a curious look to ask her silent question. It worked and Elphaba caught sight of Galinda's staring.
"What?" she asked, and that deeper, sharper edge returned to her voice. Clearly, Galinda's staring had left her feeling awkward.
"Nothing," Galinda replied, looking away. "I just am not used to you being so friendly."
"Oh," Elphaba's voice softened with amusement, now that she knew that Galinda wasn't gawking at her skin color again. "I guess I'm just in a good mood today."
"You look positive emerald," Galinda smiled weakly. Elphaba's back straightened and a small but confident smile spread slowly across her face. She really did look like an emerald now: bright and shiny.
But only a second later, some of Elphaba's shyness seemed to return to her.
"Thank you," she said. "But I've always considered myself more jaded than emerald…" then she gave an awkward laugh before quickly downing the rest of her drink and not-so-subtly speeding to the door, leaving Galinda to watch her go in confusion, amusement and… interest.
ooo
Galinda did not see Elphaba again for almost two and a half weeks and she almost found it disappointing. Even though the two had only spent all of about 10 minutes together, Galinda still found herself constantly looking towards the door in hopes of seeing a certain green-skinned student walk in. It never happened. Or at least, it never happened while Galinda was looking.
Elphaba did indeed come back to the café, but she made sure to time it so that she would come only while Galinda was away from the register. This was not because Elphaba didn't want to see Galinda. Quite the opposite in fact. Elphaba wanted very much to see Galinda. But that felt weird to do, at least if Galinda was aware of her presence, so Elphaba had taken to coming in when she knew Galinda would be on break so that she could slide in, sit in a corner, and just gaze upon Galinda without fear of being seen.
Maybe that sounded creepy, but Elphaba couldn't help herself. Galinda was just too lovely not to admire, and even though they'd only known each other for a total of 10 minutes, Elphaba felt the same way about Galinda that Galinda felt about her: interested. Galinda was smarter and wittier than she let on. She was also quite kind. Elphaba found those qualities just as attractive as she found Galinda's physical beauty and Elphaba wanted nothing more than to spend the entire day with the young barista, but she was just too shy to say it. Instead, she resorted to stolen glances and idle daydreams.
But then one time, Galinda wound up taking her break early and returned in time to see Elphaba come hurrying in.
"It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" Galinda smirked and for a second, Elphaba's eyes went wide. Right before Galinda could register the look, however, Elphaba reigned in.
"I've been busy with school," she said calmly, masking all hints of embarrassment and walking easily over to Galinda.
"Well, it's good to see you again," Galinda shrugged. "Will it be your usual?"
"Always," came the dry smile and Galinda winked before sliding back to the kitchen and grabbing the coffee. She returned to see Elphaba holding out the customary $1.79.
"Nah, it's on the house," Galinda said, brushing the money off.
"What? Are you sure?" Elphaba's eyes narrowed, as if she was suddenly distrustful.
"It's a small, plain, black coffee," Galinda replied, holding it out to Elphaba.
For a moment more, Elphaba hesitated. She clearly didn't like accepting charity, but at the same time, she could sense that Galinda wasn't just trying to give her a free drink in order to ease the financial burden. There was an act of genuine friendliness to Galinda's gift and Elphaba didn't want to turn that down. At last, then, she surrendered and took the cup. She gave Galinda a shy smile and Galinda returned it in full.
ooo
"Ah! Good! You weren't going to keep me waiting!" Galinda's face genuinely lit up as she saw the familiar green-skinned student come walking over. After their last exchange, Galinda had worried that Elphaba might go missing for another two and a half weeks, but luckily, this time, only three days had passed. But even though Galinda was genuinely happy to see Elphaba again, Elphaba did not return her eager smile. In fact, she didn't smile at all. She almost looked pained.
"Is everything ok?" Galinda was suddenly concerned.
"I guess," came the quiet reply.
"Did you want to talk about it?" Galinda asked next. Although she inwardly chastised herself for asking that sort of question at a time like this (she was a barista, not a therapist!), she remained convicted in her offer to help Elphaba processes whatever it was that she obviously needed to process.
"No," came another unusually quiet, low-energy reply. And it wasn't just from sleepiness. Galinda could recognize low energy due to sleepiness (she worked at a café, after all). This was not one of those times. Instead, Elphaba seemed genuinely troubled. And that troubled Galinda. But no amount of coaxing, gentle or playful or stern or otherwise, would get Elphaba to crack. Instead, in the end, all Galinda could do was heave a sigh and go back to being a cashier.
"What can I get for you?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer. It almost felt like Day One all over again. Galinda hoped it wouldn't devolve into that. But until she could find out what was hurting Elphaba, she couldn't be sure.
"Small black coffee," came the reply. Galinda hit a button on her register. Right before she could ask for the usual $1.79, though, Elphaba added in something else. "And one of those strawberry donuts."
"Oh?" Galinda blinked in surprise. In the five times she'd served Elphaba before (combined with all the times her coworkers had been Elphaba's cashiers), never once could Galinda recall a moment where Elphaba had gotten something other than her usual.
"Yes please," a strained and earnest reply. Galinda gave the green girl another concerned look, but she rang Elphaba up for the donut anyway. The new total was $6.00. Elphaba handed it over silently, still looking vaguely troubled. Galinda shot her one last worried look before slipping quietly away into the kitchen.
When she returned, Elphaba was holding an envelope.
"Here," she muttered, sliding it to Galinda.
"Huh?" Galinda asked, distractedly handing Elphaba her coffee and donut. Elphaba took the coffee, but then set the donut back down in front of Galinda while Galinda poked at the letter. Then without another sound, the green girl turned tail and fled. Galinda, meanwhile, was distracted by the letter and missed Elphaba leaving the donut behind and running. Instead, all she could do was gasp in surprise once she finally got the letter open.
Inside, there was a dollar and a note. The note said: Here's your tip. Sorry it isn't much.
Then underneath that was another number of even more value in Galinda's eyes. Elphaba's phone number.
Galinda looked up with wide eyes, but by then, Elphaba was already long-gone. All that remained was the donut. And the tip. Galinda's first tip from Elphaba. So. This was the start of their story. It was the five times Elphaba didn't tip, and the one time she did. It was certainly an odd start, but it meant the world to Galinda. And so did the phone number. Galinda was soooo going to call Elphaba later…
AN: Dobby113, here's the coffee shop AU. Sorry it took me so long to write. I've been busy. Hope you liked it anyway!