A/N: For those of you who followed the story on Verdigris, the chapters here will have minor revisions based on criticism, grammatical errors that the author just noticed, etc. Thanks for reading!

5th Entry

Now I regret not using the dates, because they would make it so much easier to say that it's the same day as my last entry. I'll just outright say it: same day, but a couple of hours later than my last entry. And so much has changed.

From the beginning. I went and visited Nessarose like I said I would. When I went to her room, adjacent to Morrible's, I found her overjoyed. I began to express my thought over this whole party and the new student, but she cut me off to tell me she had gotten a date for the party tonight. I didn't even get a chance to congratulate her before she rushed into her story about how "Boq was too shy to ask her at first, but once Galinda encouraged him..."

Something didn't fit here. Boq was that munchkin boy I'd last seen mooning over Galinda. Galinda must have pulled some kind of trick, something to make Boq ask Nessa to go with him and stop hanging around her. I opened my mouth to ask more, but Nessa's sharp tone cut me off again with something like:

"Don't you dare say another word against her! I'm about to have the first happy night of my life all thanks to Galinda! Boq and I deserve each other, Elphaba, it's like a dream, and Galinda helped it come true! Please, Elphaba, try to understand."

But if Galinda was involved,could Nessa end up with a happy ending? Then I looked at Nessa. I tried toremember of all of the times I'd seen her this ecstatic about anything. Not one came to mind. I mean, even if this was Galinda's doing, Nessa seemed so...undeniably happy. She was just so delighted and I had to be—supportive. I reluctantly told her that I understood. After all, my role inour incompletefamily is supposed to be the one Nessa stands on, not the one who puts her down.

But I was still suspicious of Galinda. She wouldn't just do something so—something so—so selfless, would she? Surely there had to be something in it for Galinda as well?

I found my roommate in our room, giving some last minute adjustments to her hair and make-up with Shen Shen and Pfanee. They had been giggling about something when I stepped through the door. I began what I thought would be a confrontation with, "Galinda, listen, Nessa and I were talking about you just now..."

"And I was just talking about you!" the blonde squealed with a smile. "I thought you might want to wear this hat to the party tonight!"

As she went on and on about the virtues of the hat, I had to stare. Galinda was being civil—more than civil—she was being nice to me? What was going on? This was so different from her prior treatment of me that I didn't even say anything when she pressed the hat into my hands and darted off to rejoin Shen Shen and Pfanee. I blinked at the hat I was holding.

It was a tall black cone with a wide brim. On one side there was a huge black flower. At least it was black, not pink. What had Galinda assured me? "Black was this year's pink," I believe. And if Galinda Upland said it was fashionable, well, it must be fashionable (not that I care about such things, but it might be...interersting to actually own something that could be considered "fashionable"). But that flower had to go. Flowers were just—not me.

I grabbed the scissors and began to pick at the offending object, all the while wondering if this could be the beginning of something. I realized I had to find some way to repay Galinda for what she did for both Nessa and me. But what? What could you get for the girl who has everything?

Except for those sorcery classes, something whispered. I sat bolt upright. Of course! She wanted those more than anything. I smiled. I'd talk to Morrible. I'd give Galinda what she wanted. And then…could we really be friends? More of the question: Could I, for the first time, actually have a friend? We'll see. But first, there's the party to go to. Maybe I'll even enjoy myself at my first party. Maybe.

Elphaba