They stayed at Ozdust way past midnight, and as soon as she was back at the dorm, Elphaba all but collapsed onto her bed. The entire day would have been shocking enough on its own, and the entire evening of having to adjust herself to being surrounded by people again left her entirely exhausted. She knew she should talk to Galinda, to allow their bonding moment to happen; but the pillow was so soft, and she hadn't slept in an actual bed in years, and she was so tired, so very tired… Maybe if she only closed her eyes for a second…
"Elphaba!"
She was shaken awake in the middle of the night; Galinda's face hovering over her.
"You were tossing around and shaking, and screaming."
"Oh," Elphaba said, rubbing her eyes, trying to push the dream she'd just had back into its nightmare realm. "Bad dream. Sorry I woke you up."
Galinda opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.
"It's fine, I just… Are you okay?"
Elphaba bit back a bitter laugh. Okay was not a word that meant anything to her anymore, but that was not something she could just tell new-old best friend.
"I'll be fine," she said, averting her eyes. "I guess I'm just not used to being around people, so tonight was pretty overwhelming; especially for my first party."
Now Galinda looked truly horrified.
"Wait… that was your first party? Like, your very first party? Ever?" she asked, her eyes big as dinner plates.
"Well, I've been to my mother's funeral… does that count?" Elphaba deadpanned, but cursed herself when she saw Galinda's face. Clearly, that had not been the right thing to say. She made a pitiful attempt to fix the situation. "Well, I guess it doesn't, I don't even really remember that. Or her. But I have this, see? It belonged to her." She reached under her pillow and brought out a tiny vial filled with green liquid.
"Oh, Elphaba," Galinda whispered, covering her mouth. "I had no idea! I'm so sorry!"
"It's not like it's your fault that she's gone," Elphaba shrugged, playing absentmindedly with the vial. "If anyone is to blame for that, it's me."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you know how my sister is… the way she is? That's also because of me." Elphaba hesitated. "Can I tell you a secret?"
Galinda gasped and nodded vigorously, running across the room to sit next to Elphaba. Her eyes were wide with anticipation.
"You see, when our mother was carrying Nessa, our father began to worry that the new baby might come out—"
"Green…" whispered Galinda. Elphaba smiled wryly.
"Yeah. He was so worried, he made our mother chew milk flowers day and night, but that made Nessa come too soon, with her little legs all tangled… And our mother never woke up." She paused. Although she had told that story before, it still hurt just as much. "None of which would ever have happened if not for me."
Galinda gasped and placed her hand over her heart. A few seconds later, her face took on a look of determination.
"But that was the milk flowers' fault, not yours!" she exclaimed. "That may be your secret, Elphaba, but that doesn't make it true!"
She hesitated for a second, then threw her arms around Elphaba and hugged her tightly; to which Elphaba allowed herself a little smile. She would never admit it, but she had definitely missed her best friend's hugs.
"Oh look, it's tomorrow!" Galinda squeaked all of a sudden, pointing at the window, where the starry sky was beginning to give way to the gray of dawn. "And Elphie… is it alright if I call you Elphie?"
"It's, um, a little perky," Elphaba protested weakly.
"And you can call me… Galinda! See, Elphie, now that we're friends, I've decided to make you my new project!"
"You really don't have to do that."
"I know," Galinda beamed. "That's what makes me so nice!"
•••
And so the galindafication began. Over the next few weeks, whenever Elphaba didn't sneak out to secretly practice using her magic unaided by the Grimmerie, she would endure unending torture by the hands of her roommate. Galinda was set on making her new friend 'popular' – forcing make up onto her face (Don't fidget, Elphie, it's hard enough to use highlighter on that skin of yours!), unbraiding her hair (You always braid it so tightly, I'm pretty sure you could stab someone with it!) and correcting her posture (For Oz's sake, Elphie, how do you not have a permanent hunch on your back? I mean look at your posture, that's no way to be popular!).
Elphaba bore those typical Galinda shenanigans with the patience of a saint; all that mattered to her was that she miraculously got another chance to spend some normal, everyday time with her best friend. She was not going to fuss, even as Galinda smeared some opaque grayish goo – apparently a face mask – onto her cheeks and forehead, all the while complaining about a certain prince not giving her the time of day.
"I just don't get it!" she exclaimed, flailing her arms and probably sending drops of goo all over the room. "I've tried everything, all of my tricks and techniques, none of them had ever failed before… But he still doesn't notice me."
"Mmm," Elphaba murmured through pursed lips, not especially eager to give Galinda advice on seducing Fiyero (and also, which was less important, afraid of the gooey stuff getting into her mouth).
"I just don't understand why he doesn't want me…" Galinda sighed. "Is there something wrong with me?"
Elphaba felt a rush of guilt. "Of course not," she said with a tad too much enthusiasm, which she immediately paid for with a gooey taste in her mouth.
"Well, then why? We're perfect for each other! Why doesn't he see that?"
"Galinda… Maybe you're just not seeing Fiyero for who he really is?" Elphaba said cautiously (Please, I've tasted enough goo for today!). "I think you may only be seeing the image you've created of him. You know – like Nessa does with Boq."
Galinda looked confused.
"What do you mean?" she asked, giving a small frown.
"Well, you know, how she idolizes him, even though she knows nothing about him? How she's told herself he's 'the one' and refuses to let go of that belief, even though Boq is obviously not invested in this relationship at all." She sighed. "I'm worried about her. She's going to get really hurt."
"Oh, Elphie, I'm sure you're overreacting," Galinda said in a lighthearted tone.
"No," Elphaba shook her head. "I know my sister. I know how this is going to end if Boq keeps leading her on. She'll just keep growing more and more attached to him, and when he finally snaps, which he will, it's going to break her heart!" She looked at Galinda. "Actually, I think you should stop leading him on first, you know."
"I am doing no such thing!" Galinda huffed. "I keep giving him hints that I'm not interested. I've been calling him Biq for the past two months!"
Ah, that would explain a lot.
"Galinda, you can't seriously think that this is enough. Can't you just talk to him? Tell him, face to face, that you're not interested?"
Galinda winced. "I don't know… I tend to avoid bad vibes. They ruin my skin."
"Oh, for Oz's sake, Galinda. You can survive some acne for the sake of doing the right thing. Besides, I hear dishonesty causes hair loss."
"Really?" Galinda, clearly terrified, ran her hand through her blond locks.
"No, I'm obviously making fun of you. But seriously – talk things through with Boq. Please."
•••
"So, you come here often?"
Elphaba, who was using a secluded, empty corner of the library to cautiously practice her magic, raised her eyes upon hearing Fiyero's voice.
"So, you always flirt with your tutors?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.
It had been a few weeks since they've decided to pretend that Elphaba and Fiyero meeting regularly at the library was due to her tutoring the incorrigible prince. So far, it had been working out so well that even Fiyero's grades skyrocketed.
"Well, no," he said, pulling himself a chair and sitting down next to her, "but then again, I've never before had a tutor as beautiful as you."
"Ugh, you're such a corndog." She rolled her eyes. "Any new ideas?"
"Yes, actually," Fiyero said, lowering his voice. "He could go to Kiamo Ko."
Having ticked off the 'befriend Galinda' box on their list, they'd started developing a strategy for protecting Doctor Dillamond.
"And what? Do we just tell him to stay there alone for Oz knows how long?" Elphaba said, contemplating Fiyero's suggestion. "It's not a bad idea, but I want to keep thinking."
Fiyero nodded in agreement. "There's one more thing though. The Lion cub."
"What about it?"
"I think Galinda should help you this time, not me."
Elphaba looked surprised. "What? Why?"
"Well," he said sheepishly and ran his hand through his hair, "that day in the clearing changed everything for me. Seeing you defend that little Lion so fiercely… It made me think. It made me open my eyes. It made me care, or at least want to care, as much as you did, about things other than myself. And I think… maybe Galinda needs to experience that too. Maybe that will help her become the person we know she can be."
"Do you think helping me free the Lion cub will be more effective than seeing me give up my life's dream to fly away on a broom and become Oz's main public enemy?" Elphaba asked dubiously.
"Actually, I do. Drop by drop, the water shapes the stone." She raised her eyebrows at him, so Fiyero explained: "It's an old Vinkun saying. My point is: deciding to help you free the cub is not a decision that will require Galinda to change her entire life. But that little choice will get permanently engraved in her conscience. It will come back to her, over and over again, and every time she experiences a moral dilemma, she'll be reminded of that moment. And hopefully, that will help her make another good choice, and then another, until it becomes a habit."
Elphaba looked at him, cocking her head to the side.
"What?"
"When did you get so smart?" she asked, and Fiyero chuckled.
"When I fell in love with you."