AN:

Hello, lovelies!

May I present the newest chapter! I hope it's to your taste!

Mel: Thanks so much for your lovely and kind words and thanks for reading my other stories! I ope this one will not disappoint! :)

Guest: Yes, I'm still alive and still around! Hope this modern Gelphie will work out for you :)

Okay, that's it already... and now:

Happy reaidng!

xoxo MLE

(=^_^=)

Chapter Two

If she was perfectly honest, Galinda was not at all motivated to leave her apartment for a second time that Friday—especially not for a night at the most notorious establishment in town. Of course there weren't that many alternatives as far as clubs were concerned; the Ozdust had recently been taken over by a group of impertinent high schoolers, and the other places really did not have the best music. Nor the best drinks. But there was still a number of bars they could have chosen from instead. Ideally, there would have been some house party or another to go to. Those were always a tad unpredictable, but also terrific fun. As long as Galinda was not involved in hosting them that was.

But the Philosophy Club… Well, she'd been there a couple of times last semester and had always returned unscathed. Regardless, the stories she'd heard after her first visit there were still scaring her to this day. If even half of them were true, it was not exactly a safe place to pass the evening.

That being said, she knew that she could trust her group of friends. Shenshen and Pfannee were a bit ditsy at times, yet they were surprisingly reliable when it actually mattered. Even in the friendliest of places all three girls would stick together and look out for each other. If one of them managed to secure an unknown dance partner, the rest would hover nearby, watching her, eyes sharp as hawks.

With a nervous flutter in her stomach, Galinda remembered how their dependability had been put to the test last time they'd been out together. She'd left her drink behind at the bar and when she'd returned to quench her thirst after an exhausting bout of dancing, Shenshen had firmly gripped the wrist of her hand reaching for her cocktail and shaken her head. She'd handed Galinda her own glass instead, quietly telling her that she'd noticed some guy slipping a sachet of powder into her drink. Galinda had never been more grateful to any of her friends.

This particular escapade had turned out well enough in the end, but perhaps it was some kind of hubris for them to think that their well-practiced team play was sophisticated enough to ward off any type of danger there was. Perhaps, if they kept tempting fate, one day they wouldn't be so lucky. Perhaps, they should learn to play it safer from the get-go, rather than to continuously try and up their game. Perhaps, next time, Galinda would tell them point-blank that a place like the Philosophy Club was no longer acceptable to her, even if it would cost her a few brownie points.

For tonight, however, they relied on her to keep up her end of the bargain, to play the role she'd been assigned. She could not let them down. It was already too late for her to cop out.

She went for a hot shower, then picked a sparkly, dusty pink lace dress with long sleeves from her walk-in wardrobe. She checked her phone. There was no time left for an elaborate up do, so a few crystal encrusted pins would have to suffice. At least it wasn't too late for a decent face of makeup. Proficient as she was, none of the steps took very long for her to finish, and the end result was remarkably stunning for such a hurried job.

A cab delivered her to the inconspicuous front of the club. Her friends were already gathered. Avaric had brought along a motley group of boys, some familiar and some unknown to Galinda. She knew not to trust any of them, other than Avaric. On the other hand, considering that he himself had long cast a covetous eye on her, this was rarely an issue. He generally did his best to keep his associates under control, especially when it came to Galinda. She would have resented his attentions, as well as his territorial behaviour, if they weren't so damn convenient in this kind of environment.

He counted the party carefully—twice for good measure. It appeared to Galinda that at least the boys had already had a bit of a head start when it came to their intoxication. Pfannee and Shenshen still smelt fresh and flowery, with not a trace of alcohol wafting from their breaths, which reassured her.

"Twelve. Twelve of us," he announced to a shadowed face in the window by the door.

"And what kind are you up to tonight?" replied a cranky, old voice.

The lights of a passing car briefly illuminated its owner's weathered face, her pearly scalp, and the wig on top of it, which was already in the process of slipping off entirely. A shiver went down Galinda's spine. Beholding the old crone made her uncomfortable each and every time. She didn't know why she was still so careless as to look, even though she knew by now what effect she had on her.

"We're all respectable students, just here for a dance and drinks," she heard Avaric say in answer.

The woman announced the entry fee and collected the money. The girls did not have to pay, as Avaric typically considered it his gallant duty to invite them.

They entered and went down a flight of uneven brick steps. At the bottom, a pockmarked dwarf in a worn velveteen cape checked their tickets and pointed them into the direction of a half-drawn purple curtain. With a strange feeling of dread and curiosity, Galinda momentarily peered the other way, where a sparsely illuminated, sloping passage led further down. A heady mixture of incense and some unknown fragrance hit her nostrils, causing her senses to bristle in intangible disgust. After that, she was quick to turn around and follow her companions through the curtain.

This was the number one rule for any visit to the Philosophy Club: never dally with the temptation of taking the alternative route, never ask for more than the most basic package. The general area of the dive alone—comprised of the bar and the dance floor—was infamous for its unusually diverse patronage, for its strong drinks, and the sheer volume of shady dealings conducted in its shadows. Despite all that, it was considered the safest part of the club. Tales of what happened to those naively or wilfully wandering further down the corridor varied too much for Galinda to draw any conclusion other than that it was too much of a risk. Maybe they were just that—stories—but she was not inclined to find out herself, just in case.

Already a few paces in, they pushed past a Donkey and a Leopard, as well as a man who appeared vaguely foreign. There was nothing specifically wrong with them being there, yet their presence was unusual and thus unsettling to many proper Gillikinese folks. Some places went as far as to ban them. Here, however, anyone who was unwelcome elsewhere found themselves quite at home.

Galinda didn't wish to think too deep on it for the time being and rather distracted herself by engaging Pfannee and Shenshen in idle chatter. As the instigator of this trip, Avaric was adamant that it was his obligation to order the first round of drinks. To ensure a swift improvement of the overall mood and to raise the fun factor, he insisted they have a double shot each. Galinda decided to be a good sport and go along with it, but to secretly follow it up with a virgin cocktail to balance out the amount of alcohol in her system.

After they had finished their obligatory opening drinks, they took to the dance floor. Galinda afforded Avaric one dance in gratitude for his generosity, then stuck with her friends for the next two. Pfannee and Shenshen tried to convince her to dance more, but she was just not feeling it and told them that she preferred to get a little tipsier first.

In the meantime, some of Avaric's chums had pushed together three of the small tables and ordered more shots. They offered one to Galinda when she walked up to them, but she'd wisely brought along an alcohol-free rainbow cocktail.

For a while, she simply sat there, sipping her glorified fruit juice and listening to the boys' banter. As far as she was concerned, they had nothing to say that was of interest to her, but that didn't mean that her time at the table was entirely wasted.

"So how do the pair of you know Avaric?" she eventually asked the two most unfamiliar faces amidst the group.

"We do business together," said the taller of the pair.

"Oh?" Galinda frowned. "I thought Avaric was taking accounting this semester."

The short, pudgy guy laughed.

"No, not business class! Business bussines," he clarified with a wide grin.

Blushing faintly over her error, the blonde nodded.

"I see. Well, I suppose I don't need to know what exactly this business entails. So, you are not Shiz students then?"

"Oh yes, we are," they both replied almost simultaneously. "We're both majoring in history," explained the taller boy.

Galinda perked up at that.

"I have a friend who does history for her elective! Which classes are you in? Maybe you know her."

"We are mostly taking advanced courses by now. There wouldn't be any Gen Ed students in those."

"Except that one course," pitched in his shorter friend. "What was the name? You know, the one with the green girl in it—"

"Green girl!"

Galinda looked back and forth between them

"Yes, she's a weird one," replied one of them, looking all kinds of unconformable. His friend shook himself as if a ghost had passed right through him. "But it's true, she's actually green."

"Yes, I know," said Galinda curtly. "She's in my bio class."

"You know her then!"

A few of the other boys were now turning their heads, for the first time paying attention to their conversation.

"Well, I wouldn't say I know her," corrected Galinda, feeling slightly uneasy under so many intense stares. "Our paths do cross. Very occasionally. It is only this one class and, actually, she hasn't attended any of the lectures or tutorials this week."

She paused then, taking another graceful sip from her drink while contemplating whether it was a good idea to say more. Casting the surrounding young men a brief glance though, she realised that she hardly remembered any of their names. On top of that, they seemed rather indifferent to the intricate social undercurrents of Shiz high society, which certainly was a relief. Most likely, she was just overthinking this and they were just ordinary blokes Avaric had rounded up for a good old time. Which in turn meant that there was not much she had to worry about while simply making a few more enquiries.

"Say, has she been to this history class then? Or how do you know she is even in it?"

"She has, but only to the very first. Early Monday morning. We did wonder whether she might have dropped it in the end."

"And you haven't seen her since?"

Both shook their heads.

"Thank Oz, we haven't."

"My mate said he saw her recently," piped up a dark-haired guy she believed to remember being called Ryss.

"Where?" she demanded immediately, far too eager and not in the least interested in his proper name.

"Incidentally, right here, out of all places."

"Here!"

Galinda wasn't the only one to shout this exact exclamation in reply. Only she was the sole person at the table to not believe it for one second.

"She is hardly ever to be found outside of class. She would not voluntarily show herself in such a public space for no good reason!"

"What do you know, this is the Philosophy Club after all," interjected another boy. "Stranger things are going on around here. Maybe she has something to do with some of them."

"What if she's a witch!"

"Actually, I believe my mate said that he saw her… downstairs."

At once, the table fell silent. Most of the occupants looked at each other with blank or aghast faces, two of them snickered. Galinda had to remind herself to school her expression. Really. People were pathetic. What else would they come up with to gossip about the green girl? She almost felt sorry for her.

"Who did you see downstairs?" asked Avaric who had joint them just a clock-tick earlier, Pfannee hanging off his arm, mildly inebriated. His eyes were glinting with the excitement of a good story.

"Not me, a friend," Ryss or whatever his name was clarified hastily.

"Your friend has been downstairs?"

"N—no, not exactly, he just saw someone go downstairs."

Galinda nodded to herself. Of course. It was all mere rumours and speculations.

Avaric made a slightly disappointed impression.

"Fine. But who did he see then?"

"The green girl," supplied one of his business friends.

This immediately restored their host's spirits.

"You gotta be kidding me! Ah, that's precious! I'm not sure if there's any truth to this, but I'll remember that next time I see her in class. Heck, maybe I'll even ask her!"

"Oh, do let us know if you find out anything," cheered another one of his guests.

Galinda couldn't bear looking at their eager faces. She tilted her head sideways instead and gazed up to Pfannee. The girl appeared to feel rather tense, which was understandable. Finishing her drink, Galinda pushed back her chair and walked over to her. She took her arm and peeled away Avaric's hand from her waist.

"Dear Pfannee, would you mind accompanying me? I need to powder my nose."

The rest of the evening wasn't quite as eventful, for which Galinda was tremendously grateful. Still, back at home, in her warm comfy bed, she found it incredibly difficult to sleep. Snippets of their stupid conversation resurfaced in her mind, and her imagination—doing what it did best—filled in a host of unwanted and completely outrageous details.

"Argh!" she cried and grabbed one of her small decorative cushions, pressing it to her face.

When noting seemed to help, she sat up with a groan and dragged herself out of bed for a midnight snack of hot chocolate and biscuits. She most certainly was not going back to that dreadful establishment any time soon.

At six o'clock in the morning she gave up on sleeping. Oz, it was impossible to tell how many hours of shut-eye she'd managed to accumulate in the end, but it was more than obvious to her that it hadn't been enough.

She consulted her diary app. She had two events set up for this Saturday: a shopping trip with Milla at half past two and a date with her preliminary reading for her first architecture assignment. Good. This left her with plenty of time for a little nap later on and, more importantly, a head start with her search for Miss Elphaba Thropp.

After last night, she really had more reasons than ever to locate the odd, green girl and set things straight. Her poor nerves! It surely appeared as though this unusual start into the semester had been great fun for everyone else but her. How marvellous for them. But seriously, this was enough. What Galinda desperately needed was a return to normalcy and certainty.

Her head protesting faintly, she got up to make herself a cup of coffee—a little stronger than usual, but with extra sugar to take away the bitterness. Then, she sat down at her small kitchen table and opened her laptop. Where to begin? The most natural place for her to start was MyFace, but how likely was Elphaba to have a profile there, for everyone to see and gawk at?

Not very likely at all, as it turned out.

Galinda sighed. This was ridiculous. She was already at her wit's end. How did one find such an elusive, obscure person with nothing but their name to go by? Tapping her pink and crystal ballpoint pen on the table, she stared at the screen before her. Her WizzSearch home screen was staring back at her.

After a minute or so, she cocked her head. What if…

'How to find someone.'

She almost felt dumb typing the words into the search window, but what did she have to lose?

Against all hope, dozens of results popped up immediately.

'7 Tools to Find Someone Online; How to Find Anyone Online; 8 Ways You Can Use the Web to Find People.'

It all sounded more promising than she'd expected, and so she clicked on the first link. The number one tip was to search social media of course, which she promptly crossed off her mental list. Next, the website recommended she search the local directory. Hm. Did anyone still use those? Well, she gave it a try, just to be thorough, but to no avail. Not a single Thropp was registered across Shiz or Gillikin—not even the green girl's grandmother or something. What about tip number three?

"People Search Sites."

Wrinkling her nose, she skimmed through the list of suggestions. She hadn't even been aware that such websites existed—diving deep into the invisible web, aggregating data from businesses, databases, obituaries, census data—you name it.

She randomly selected one of the mentioned sites. Instead of Elphaba's name, she typed in her own and hit search. Percentages and sources flashed across a slim, green progress bar as it slowly but surely filled. When the process was complete, a pop-up window presented her with the results.

There were two locations listed under her name: Shiz and her childhood home of Frottica, Pertha Hills. Beyond that, the website claimed to know her age, sex, ethnicity, email address, phone number, details about her education… She swallowed hard. This was admittedly a touch creepy. None of this information was freely available though. She considered buying the full report to confirm the details, but ultimately decided against it. It would be better to forget this sort of data was even out there, available for just a couple of quits to anyone who was interested.

On to Elphaba. Right? Galinda suddenly had second thoughts. If she already thought it unsettling to look at her own particulars on a computer screen, how wrong would it be then to search for someone else's? Deep in contemplation, she folded her hands and rested her chin on them. It was for a good cause though, was it not? Well, that was debatable, she supposed, but at least she did not intend to misuse the information.

With a pout and a shrug, she filled Elphaba's name into the form and then—

"Search again," she read out loud. "Make sure you have the right name."

She gave an irritated huff and closed her laptop. Oz, this Elphaba! Why was she making this so difficult for her? Then again, if and when she managed to find Elphaba, she should probably ask her for some privacy advice.

Her Sunday was too busy for her to even spare Elphaba more than a few casual thoughts. Between homework, readings, and a whole, terribly exhausting afternoon with the girls, there was no time for any detective work.

On Monday, it was back to school, back to ARCH 111 with Miss Greyling, and back to biology with Doctor Dillamond—and without Elphaba. She was too late to be of much help to her professor, but certainly not too late to stand at the top of the auditorium, staring for a good while at the empty chair in the left front row. When she finally pulled herself together and walked over to her cluster of friends, she received a couple of funny looks.

"The green bean still isn't back," she whined miserably. "That means I'll have to take over the lab prep on Wednesday again. Like once wasn't more than enough!"

"Maybe you should say something," suggested Pfannee. "Just tell the old Goat that you have better things to do. He will simply have to find someone else for the job."

Galinda paused, tapping her forefinger against her lips. It wasn't an entirely outrageous proposal. As long as she phrased the request properly, there was no true harm in asking.

"Everyone find your seats please, I would like to begin."

Jumping slightly, Galinda hurried towards the closest available spot and sat down.

After the lecture, she took her sweet time to pack her things together. At Shenshen and Pfannee's impatient eye rolls, she told them to go ahead and wait for her at the Uni Square. They exchanged confused looks, but ultimately bobbed their heads and complied.

"Uh Shen?" Galinda called after them, and the girls turned back around. "Could you get me a box of noodles from that Glikkun stall? I'll pay you back."

"Sure thing. See you in a minute."

She waited for them to be well and truly gone, then shouldered her bag and approached Doctor Dillamond.

"Excuse me, Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Glinda. Do you have a question regarding the lesson?"

The blonde shifted from one foot to the other.

"No, not at all, actually." Her eyes flicked to the exits left and right of the theatre before she continued. "I was just wondering whether you might have any of Elphaba's details. I mean, she helped you out all of last semester, so perhaps you might have her number, or maybe she at least mentioned where she lived or something? I was just thinking…I—I could check in on her and share my notes with her."

"What a splendid idea," the Goat replied warmly. "Alas, I'm afraid I cannot help you."

"Oh," sighed Galinda and lowered her gaze. "That's okay. I figured it might be a bit of a long shot."

Dejected, she left the auditorium and the building. Her search was leading her nowhere, and she was not at all accustomed to things not going her way. Failing at something so miserably distressed her almost more than the prospect of having to put up with Elphaba's continued absence and all its consequences.

When she finally caught up with her friends, her noodles were already cold. She ate a few bites to satisfy her rumbling tummy and tossed the rest. Between the unpleasant temperature of the food and her foul mood, she'd lost her appetite.

"So what did the Goat say?" asked Shenshen.

Galinda cast her a hesitant glance before remembering that she'd actually had a valid excuse to talk to him.

"He argued that it would be too much trouble to break in a new assistant each week," she replied slowly. "You see, if he were to let me off the hook now, everyone else would insist on the same privilege. And getting around the lab and figuring out what to do is actually harder than it sounds. He relies too much on his helper to actually know what they are doing. So it's either me or Elphaba. As long as she's gone, I'm her deputy. There won't be anyone else."

"Now that's really unfair!" exclaimed Pfannee.

Shenshen agreed wholeheartedly.

"So unfair! That retarded old billy-goat! Who does he think he's talking to?"

Galinda turned away, mumbling a few words of how she'd have no choice but to grin and bear it. All the while, her conscience squirmed and writhed. She felt terrible for telling such untruths, even in front of just two of her friends. Her only hope was that they wouldn't go and spread them even further. As far as Shenshen and Pfannee were concerned, there was not much she could say to lower their esteem for the Animal professor anyway. Others, however, need not to be led down the same path on her account.

On Tuesday her only class was the Architectural Design tutorial. She spent most of her morning catching up on her readings, then left for uni. She was surprised when she entered the room and found the Vinkun guy from her lecture sitting in the back row.

"You weren't here last week," she pointed out, one eyebrow quirked gracefully.

Milla wasn't part of this stream, but that didn't mean that none of the others knew or talked about Galinda. For her reputation's sake, she sat down at the table in front of him, barely looking him in the eyes as they exchanged a few casual words.

"No, I wasn't. As it turned out, I overlooked a minor scheduling conflict with one of my sociology lectures and the tutorial I was supposed to be attending. They let me switch streams, so here I am."

"Ah."

"You don't happen to have any notes from last week that I could borrow?"

Her right hand tightly clenched her pen at the question and for a moment, she almost stared a hole into her workbook. Finally, she released a small breath and put the pen down.

"Yeah, sure. Are you free after this? We could drop by the library on our way out and make copies."

Fiyero nodded appreciatively.

After the class had drawn to a close, they proceeded as planned. Galinda made sure to stay two steps ahead of the tall boy at all times, which was no easy feat, due to her own much shorter legs. They didn't talk much until they were both gathered around the photocopier with nowhere else to go and nothing else to do but to wait for the black and white pages to emerge.

"You're funny one," Fiyero ventured at length.

"I am?" Galinda tilted her head to look at him, then lifted up the cover of the machine to exchange the piece of paper underneath. "How so?"

"I don't know, if I didn't know any better I'd almost say you're afraid of me."

"Afraid?" She briefly glanced back up at him before averting her eyes and blushing a smidgen. "No, not at all."

"What then? Got an overprotective boyfriend to beware of?"

Galinda felt piqued at the very idea, as well as his nosiness.

"No. But if you must know, I'm not sure what my friends would say if they saw me chatting with you."

"Oh," was all he said in reply before he fell silent.

Galinda bit her lower lip. She hadn't truly considered the effect her answer might have on him, and for the second time in just two days she felt awful. He'd sort of asked for it though, hadn't he?

Ah well. Thankfully, the last page was just sliding out of the big machine. She collected her original from the top and gathered the copies from the bottom tray.

"Here you go," she said as she handed them over to Fiyero who accepted the little stack wordlessly. Part of her wanted to apologise, but she couldn't bring herself to utter much more than a small goodbye before fluttering her fingers in a wave and taking her leave.

She spent the rest of the hour in a quiet, secluded corner of the library's study area. Pfannee and Shenshen's accounting lecture went until three o'clock. After that, they'd made plans to check out the mid-winter sale in town and, later, have a drink at the Boar and Fennel.

When it was at long last time to leave the library and find her friends, she ran straight into Avaric.

"Hey, where are you off to in such a hurry?" he grinned.

"To the business building. I'm meeting Pfannee and Shenshen."

"Ah. And where is your handsome swain gone?"

She did a double take.

"My what?"

"The Winkie," Avaric said as if there was nothing to it at all. "Don't be shy, I saw you two leave the Arts Hub earlier."

Mortified, Galinda stepped a little closer so he wouldn't feel the need to speak quite as loudly.

"Avaric, please. Don't say anything. I was merely helping him out with something for our arch class. He asked, and I couldn't exactly rebuff him for no good reason."

The blond boy's smile widened.

"Well, that is good to know. I was getting a bit jealous. But don't worry, it's okay, you know?" She cast him a puzzled look and he continued. "Haven't you heard? He might be a bit brown, but going by the gossip that makes the rounds at the moment, he's of some kind of ancient nobility. There might be no money behind whatever title he may possess, but at least it makes him interesting. What do you say, I invite him to come to the Philosophy Club with us next time?"

"Well, count me out," Galinda huffed at the suggestion. "You and your gang will have to go by yourselves. I definitely won't be back there anytime soon, and I'd wager Shen and Pfannee won't either without me, unless they can drum up some sort of replacement. As far as Fiyero is concerned—do what you want. I won't mind him. But I really should get going now."

And with that she was off, leaving him behind. As she rushed across campus, her thoughts gradually clearing, she reconsidered his offer. The Philosophy Club was out of question, but perhaps another venue could be agreed on. She wasn't at all sure what the Vinkun boy would make of such an invitation, but it would certainly make things a whole lot easier for her. A seal of approval from Avaric was enough to legitimise any future interactions between them. If he still wanted to have anything to do with her after this unfortunate scene at the library that was.

Shenshen and Pfannee were already waiting for her by the time she reached the main entrance of the business building. She apologised for being late, but the moment she mentioned bumping into Avaric, all was forgiven and forgotten. Even though both girls would have liked to have a piece of the fetching, rich, young man, it was generally accepted that Galinda was his first choice of partner, and that it was only a matter of when exactly they would finally pair up officially.

They took the scenic route via Suicide Canal. Galinda bought a bag of hot roasted chestnuts for them to share and warm up. Pfannee began to gush about a dress she'd seen in the window of her favourite designer boutique. Shenshen recognised her description immediately and argued that she'd seen it first and should have first dips. They couldn't possibly both buy and wear the same dress!

With her two friends so animatedly engaged in their squabble, Galinda fell silent. When all of the chestnuts were devoured, she scrunched the paper bag into a ball and popped it into her tote, then stuffed her cold hands into the pockets of her coat.

She thought back to her conversation with Fiyero earlier and still felt mildly peeved over her own carelessness. She remembered her encounter with Avaric soon after and what he'd said about the Vinkun's surprisingly noble status. Maybe she should bring it up with the girls?

Raising her head and preparing to open her mouth, her attention was drawn back to Shenshen and Pfannee's shrill voices. They were still at it, and Galinda sighed. Tired of their bickering, she turned her head and her attention towards the peaceful watercourse. A mother passed them by with a gaggle of small children, then a group of teens ran past them, chasing each other. For a while after that, there was no one else, until a lone figure came from the opposite direction. Pfannee and Shenshen's conversation had now mercifully steered towards other items on their shopping list, but Galinda was too distracted to re-join.

She stared at her feet as she walked, then at the brown, crumpled leaves that were covering the ground. A pebble rolled across her path, and her eyes soon found the boots that had kicked it. Something made her look further up. The person was of tall and slender build, wearing a coat that appeared too big and perhaps a little too worn. Gloved hands pressed a satchel to their chest. A scarf was tightly wrapped around their neck and head, almost seamlessly transitioning into a woollen hat of the same colour. A few strands of jet-black hair stuck out from between the layers, and—just around the eyes—a hint of green skin. Galinda almost stopped dead in her tracks, but a nudge of Pfannee's elbow broke her out of her stupor.

"Don't you think, Galinda?" asked Shenshen.

Galinda blinked.

"I guess?"

"What's wrong with you?" demanded Pfannee, maybe caringly, but definitely annoyed.

Galinda felt the urge to turn around and cast another glance at the person who'd now long passed them. Instead, she continued walking, her face contorted in a tense grimace. Eventually, her steps slowed down. Pulling her hands out of her pockets, she wrapped her arms around her midsection and stopped.

"You know what, guys? I think I'm not feeling very well. I should probably go home, have a hot tea and unwind."

The others studied her with concerned expressions.

"Well, you do look a little pale," noted Shenshen.

"Should we walk back with you?" asked Pfannee.

Galinda shook her head at the proposal.

"No, girls, please don't worry too much. It's just that time of the month, I suppose, and it's freaking cold. That never helps matters, does it?" She simpered. "But it's alright. I'll survive."

Her friends nodded knowingly and gave her a cautious group hug.

"Be careful, okay?"

"We can go shopping again on the weekend if you like."

Galinda promised to text them when she got home, and more or less satisfied at that, they went their separate ways.

Her first few steps were hesitant and uncertain. She turned around several times to make sure her friends weren't paying her too much attention. Eventually, they were far enough away for her to relax a bit.

Her arms around her waist tightened further, even as her feet began to gradually quicken their pace. Her excuse was not entirely made up, she reasoned in order to mollify her conscience. She certainly did feel slightly off. An anxious feeling rolled through her stomach like a rollercoaster. What had started as a jolt at the shock of recognising Elphaba was only fuelled by her questionable method of escape. Of course, none of that mattered now. What was done was done, and all that was left for her to do was to try and at long last get hold of her classmate before she could slip away yet again.

She scanned the path ahead and spotted a number of mantled characters in the vague distance. It was hard to tell if Elphaba was among them or whether she'd already vanished off the face of the earth. With a little growl of resentment, Galinda lengthened her strides. If she wanted to stand a chance at catching up, she needed to not only match her speed but significantly outfoot her.

She soon pulled level with the first person, who turned out to be a man in a dark blue jacket. She sighed inwardly at the disappointment and strained her eyes to identify her next objective. Not far ahead, she recognised a leggy, blonde woman in a maroon coat, as well as a brunette of medium height, clad in dark grey. There was one more person in her line of vision, and she prayed with all she had that it would be Elphaba.

Her short legs had long tired from the relentless tripping and the heels of her knee-high boots weren't making the ordeal any easier on her. So she released her waist and gripped the strap of her tote bag instead, then broke into a light run, hoping not to skid on the wet leaves underfoot.

As soon as she got closer, she recognised the tightly-wound scarf, the ill-fitting, black coat.

"Elphaba!"

Stubborn as a mule, the tall figure before her trudged on.

"Elphaba Thropp! Wait up, I need to talk to you!"

Only when Galinda had nearly outpaced her, did the girl deign to stop.

"Fine, who are you and what in Oz do you want?" she demanded impatiently, fixing the short blonde with a withering glare.

Galinda gawped up at her with wide, blue eyes, her heart racing from the effort of playing catch-up. She suddenly realised that she'd never been able to appreciate how tall Elphaba really was, seeing as she had, so far, only watched her from the other side of the lecture theatre. She definitely surpassed Avaric in height, but was probably about half a head shorter than Fiyero. For a female of her temperament and physique, this was frighteningly tall.

"Well?" pressed the green girl, reaching up to loosen and pull down her scarf just a notch. "Cat got your tongue or something? Or is this supposed to be a variation of Knock, Knock, Run? I dare say you're a wee bit too old for that game, even if you're really short."

Taking the last comment rather personally, Galinda felt her face flush.

"Now listen here, greenie, you better come down from your high horse."

"It talks," deadpanned Elphaba, her eyebrows raised.

Galinda gritted her teeth and bit back an undignified squeal of frustration. Adjusting her grip on her handbag, she took a deep breath and stared back at the other girl in determination.

"You haven't been to class, which caused quite a mess. You don't look sick to me, so you better come back and resume your duties as lab assistant, for I certainly can't keep it up for much longer. There. That's all I have to say."

Even though she'd effectively declared her task finished, Galinda made no move to leave. Likewise, Elphaba did little more than shift her weight and grin lopsidedly.

"So, Doctor Dillamond chose you as my replacement?" she said at last, looking her up and down. "You're in my bio course then. I think I remember now. Miss… Glinda, is it?"

"Please, it is Galinda. The proper old Gillikinese pronunciation, if you don't mind."

"Ah, yes. How could I forget?"

"And may I ask, why were you absent throughout the entire last week, as well as yesterday? As I said, you seem perfectly healthy to me."

"I don't see how any of this is your business," hissed Elphaba, then looked away—almost as if she had something to hide.

"Maybe it's not. But it is affecting me, so I'm rather curious. At any rate, can I count on your imminent return?"

"Why would I make such a promise to you?" scoffed Elphaba. "I owe you nothing. No explanations, no promises. Now, if you don't mind, I have places to be and things to do. Good day, Miss Galinda."

With a curt nod, she turned away and set off. Galinda was tempted to rush after her and reprimand her for disregarding her like this, but if she'd learnt one thing from this strange encounter, it was that there was no commanding this woman.

Galinda wasn't sure what exactly she'd expected from this first conversation between them. If she was honest, she'd never thought that far ahead. From simply observing her from the distance, she'd always considered Elphaba a bit of an introvert, an eccentric, a solitary creature. Then again, what choice did she have in the matter when everyone avoided her like the plague? She hadn't necessarily predicted her to be so rude though. Perhaps, her strange skin was only part of the reason for her loner status.

Be that all as it may, Galinda wouldn't say that she was entirely put off just yet. She needed Elphaba to come back to class, in spite of her insolence. Her character had never been an issue before, it wouldn't be much of an issue now. If necessary, she'd continue to track down and wheedle her. She was not afraid of her. Elphaba might have shrugged her off this time, but she would not be so easily gotten rid of, that much was for sure.

Grumbling, she lugged herself out of bed on Wednesday morning. Being a night owl by nature, early classes really didn't agree with her. Her lab assistant role only served to add insult to injury. Her alarm had rung at six o'clock, but by now it was well past seven. The added hour had done nothing to improve her energy levels. Never mind though; it was of no use in the end.

She got ready and grabbed her bag, leaving her apartment without any kind of breakfast. She did, however, manage to pick up a coffee on the way—with extra cream and colourful sugar sprinkles to sustain her until she had a chance to procure some proper food.

Arriving at the biology lab five minutes before her appointed time at least provided her with a small measure of satisfaction. If she had a task to accomplish, she'd excel at it, no matter how much she liked or disliked it. It had to be done. That was the motto she lived by. It had served her pretty well, even if it wasn't always easy. The trick was to at least make it look easy, then the benefits often doubled in the eyes of others. This was one way of how she'd managed to stay on top of the pecking order for so long.

In a much better mood than she'd left her home, Galinda strode into Doctor Dillamond's office which was located right opposite the lab. It didn't strike her as particularly odd that the door was already open, as the professor often arrived early to go through his students' assignments or to prepare lessons. What certainly was unusual, was the fact that the room was empty.

"Doctor Dillamond?" she called, studying her surroundings curiously.

Once she'd ascertained that he was not hiding behind any of the bulging, book-laden shelves or underneath his desk, she craned her neck to look behind her. Only now did she notice that the light was switched on in the laboratory.

"Yes, over here, Miss Glinda," came the Goat's muffled voice from behind the heavy fire door.

Rolling her eyes, she marched over to the other room. She reached for the door handle, but the handle pushed down seemingly on its own accord. Then, the door flung open. Wide-eyed, Galinda stared at the person on the other side.

"What—what are you doing here?"