It's here. It's heeeeeeere! The 15th chapter, guys. (I don't know why I consider this a milestone but imagine the e-s in 'here' in the 20th chapter lol)
The poem Melena reads in this one is 'The Roads Not Taken' by Robert Frost (who btw is one of my absolut favourite poet)...
Pls write a comment if you've got the time. Pretty pls? Pretty pretty pretty pls?
As always; stay safe everyone.

Started writing: 30.12.2019

Finished writing: 06.01.2020

Chapter 15
Room

Shiz didn't look any different from the last time the Governor Thropp's carriage stopped in front of the entrance.

"It's only missing a red carpet draped over the steps," said Elphaba with a snort and watched her mother's eyebrow rise.

"Last time we arrived, you were excited to be here," she stated, and Elphaba shrugged.

"Don't get me wrong," she said. "I absolutely love Shiz University. But the students are the worst."

There was a dull thud outside, the carriage shook slightly, and then the door was opened, and a rather big hand reached out to help mother and then a surprised Elphaba out of the carriage.

Yes, this new coachman she might come to like, she thought and smiled somewhat shyly at him.

He was a big man with rosy cheeks and an almost bald skull, small eyes, and ears that stuck out.

"Here you are, Ma'am," he said and handed Elphaba her suitcase.

Then he turned to her mother and said with a nod, "I'll be tending to the horses until you are ready to take the journey home, my lady."

Momma waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, don't you worry. I'll stay here until late afternoon. You might as well take your time and visit the city."

She folded her hands. "I'll be right here at 5:30 PM so we can hit the road."

With that, she turned around and linked arms with Elphaba, pulling her away from the carriage and up the stairs.

"He seems... nice," Elphaba said slowly as they entered the entrance hall.

Momma chuckled. "He does, doesn't he? Elizia, dear Mrs Underhill, recommended him to me -said he wasn't the brightest but certainly one of the kindest and most hardworking."

They had taken a few steps into the entrance hall, and now Elphaba stood still and looked at her mother. "Well, where to go now? I have no idea whom I'll be sharing a room with -given that Madame Morrible has found someone who 'volunteered'" -at this point she painted quotation marks in the air- "to room with me."

Momma tilted her head to one side. "In the letter, she wrote that she'd be awaiting us in her study. I thought you knew."

Elphaba shook her head. "How could I? The letter was addressed to you, not me."

She looked around for a second and then pulled her mother with her. Madame Morrible's study lay on the top floor of the Science building with the laboratories, and it took them a good five minutes to reach the wooden door to the Headshiztress' quarters.

"Here goes," Elphaba's mother muttered and raised a hand to knock forcefully at the door.

"Come in, come in," the voice of Madame Morrible sounded, and Momma pushed the door open.

The Headshiztress sat behind her wooden desk, dressed in a red and golden dress. Her brows knit in confusion at first, but when the door had opened far enough to reveal Elphaba, a twisted smile formed on her lips.

"Miss Elphaba," she said and stood up quickly, rounded her desk and reached out to take Momma's hand. "And you must be Mrs Thropp. Welcome to Shiz University."

'Mrs Thropp' nodded offhand and sat down onto one of the chairs as Madame Morrible had offered.

"Your journey was good? No trouble? No accidents? No incidents?" neither Elphaba nor her mother, answered, but apparently the Headshiztress didn't expect them to. "Good, good. Now about the rooming situation..."

Both Thropp women straightened up visibly.

"Yes?" said Elphaba quietly.

"Well," Madame Morrible started and curled her lips which made her look even more like a fish -if that was even possible. "at first it seemed... close to impossible to find you a new room, Miss Elphaba. Students don't like to share."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"But on the last day we had a volunteer," she said it as though the word was a great mystery and Elphaba bit her lip.

A volunteer, indeed. No one would volunteer to room with her. No one in the entire world-

"Miss Galinda was so kind as to take you in."

Elphaba's jaw dropped.

"M-Miss Galinda?" she stammered. "As in 'Galinda of the Upper Uplands'?"

Madame Morrible nodded.

"No," said Elphaba. "No, that's not true. Galinda Upland would be the last person to volunteer to room with me; she hates me."

"Hate is a very strong word, don't you think?"

"And very fitting for her feelings for me," Elphaba snapped.

Her mother slowly took her hand and leant closer to Madame Morrible.

"See, Madame Morrible, dear Madame Morrible, there might be a problem with those two stuck in one room," she said sweetly. "Miss Galinda and Elphaba are two so very different people, with different interests, different morals, different courses... I don't think it would be overly pleasant for either of the girls."

Elphaba had to suppress a snort.

"Oh, but the difference is the great thing about this connection -they can learn so much from each other," said Madame Morrible and this time, Elphaba couldn't contain her snort.

"I don't need to know how to apply three layers of makeup or how to skip school without getting caught," she said and too late was her mother's elbow in her side.

Madame Morrible gladly chose to ignore that statement and said with the faintest hint of a frown, "You see, no matter how much you protest, I'm afraid there is nothing to be done about this -Mr Tiggular is a prince, after all."

"I'm sure you're very afraid," Elphaba muttered under her breath and rose from her seat.

"Thank you, Madame Morrible," she said and pulled her mother with her. "The chest with my belongings is already in the room, I assume?"

The Headshiztress looked at her as though she had never seen her before.

"...sure, Miss Elphaba," she stammered after a few seconds of silence. "And you can get your keys and schedule at the reception."

"Good day," said Momma, and then they slipped out the door and pulled it close.

Elphaba's face fell. "I can't believe this."

She walked a few steps then stood still again.

"Never ever has Galinda Upland volunteered to room with me," she spat. "It was her punishment for the stupid 'parting-party' they had."

Momma tilted her head to one side. "A parting-party? Did you go?"

Elphaba snorted, "Why do you even bother asking? Of course, I didn't go. I wasn't invited and that aside; I didn't even want to go."

She changed the suitcase from her left hand to the right one.

"Can you believe it?" she said after some seconds. "That woman has no qualms. And you know what?"

The green girl pushed open the door to the staircase. "If it weren't for my skin, she wouldn't have dared to make me change rooms -she would've asked someone else. But I mustn't be bothered with; I'm just the insignificant, crazy freak, I'm dispensable- "

"Elphaba."

It didn't happen overly often that her mother called her by her full name. And scolding her was something she did so very rarely that Elphaba had almost forgotten how sharp her words could be and how stern her voice could sound.

"Stop this right now," said Momma and tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear in a quick motion. "You mustn't talk about yourself like that, you..."

"I'm merely quoting Madame Morrible."

Momma stood rooted to the spot and turned around to face her daughter. "She didn't say that, did she?"

Elphaba rolled with her eyes. "Of course not. Do you think I'd be sitting in her office, listening to her monologues if she had?"

Momma raised an eyebrow at her. "So, this is what you are thinking of yourself then?"

Hadn't Elphaba chosen to lower her head in that exact moment -whether of shame or to escape her mother's prying eye didn't even she herself know- she would've missed the pink shoes that suddenly appeared in front of her and would've ran right into the person these shoes belonged to.

"Oops," Momma exclaimed and pulled Elphaba out of the way.

And Elphaba stared at Galinda for a second, and Galinda stared at Elphaba.

"Oh hello, Galinda," managed the green girl and watched how the blonde's eyebrows knit together.

"Oh hello, Miss Artichoke," Galinda said, and Elphaba could practically feel her mother stiffen beside her.

"Still haven't found a better one?" the green girl said with a roll of her eyes and crossed her arms as well as she could, with her suitcase in one hand.

"But of course, I just thought I couldn't insult you as well as nature did," Galinda mimicked her and crossed her arms, a small pink purse dangling from her forefinger.

Elphaba's eyebrow rose high. "I'm wondering... do you go over to insulting me because you don't have anything smart to say?"

The blonde's arms dropped to her sides, and with narrowed eyes, she hissed, "Why do you have to make my life hell?"

Elphaba almost laughed. "In case you're talking about the new rooming situation... you brought that on yourself with your stupid party. I didn't choose to share my brains and a room."

At that moment, a door on the side of the hallway opened, and a woman stepped out of it, hair as blonde as Galinda's but with curls that seemed natural and not created by hours spent in front of the mirror.

"Galinda. Galinda, my darling, what-" and then she spotted Elphaba and her mother, and her face fell. "Oh. Mrs Thropp."

Momma straightened up a little bit more (if that was even possible) and said sternly, "Lady Thropp, actually."

Elphaba whirled around. Since when did her mother insist on being called 'Lady'? She usually gave a twig on her titles.

Mrs Upland set her jaw. "Lady Thropp, then. And that must be your... what's her name again?"

Elphaba snorted. "Lady Daughter Thropp."

Mrs Upland wrinkled her nose and turned to Galinda. "Sweetie?"

And Galinda's eyes sparkled with victory as she said, "We usually refer to her as Artichoke."

"' The person you'll be cleaning the study for' is another option," said Elphaba.

Mrs Upland raised an eyebrow. "It's not forbidden to dream -not even for you."

"Stooping down to that level, are we, Mrs Upland?" Momma hissed, and she took Elphaba's arm to pull her with her.

"Madame Morrible has made her point," Galinda shouted after them. "Having to live with you is a punishment -one of the cruellest kinds."

But Momma held Elphaba's arm too tight for her to be able to turn around. Her fingers dug deep into the green girl's skin, and Elphaba didn't know whether that was to keep herself or her mother from turning around.

"Oh Oz," Elphaba murmured, half in rage, half in disbelief. "Oh Oz, oh dear Oz. I'm never going to survive this semester."

She ran a hand through her long hair. "This is going to be horrible."

She turned just the slightest bit to watch her mother's reaction. Brows knit, nostrils wide and heels ramming into the ground as they descended down the stairs, she had never looked as angry.

"I want nothing more than to get back into Madame Morrible's office and force her to let that Winkie prince stay where he is," said Momma angrily.

Elphaba nodded. "Oz, you should hear him talk. He really is stupid."

But her mother wasn't in the mood for jokes and only raised her eyebrows and opened the door.

"To the reception?" asked Elphaba but started in that direction before Momma could say anything.

The receptionist, a thin woman who could be in her forties as well as in her sixties, with red glasses perched on the tip of her pointed nose, was Mrs Arnstein -as Elphaba had learnt over the last semester- and Mrs Arnstein was -as always- not very delighted to see Elphaba standing in front of the reception.

The green girl gently cleared her throat and waited until Mrs Arnstein looked up.

"Oh," said the older woman and wrinkled her nose. "Miss Elphaba."

Elphaba bit her lower lip for a split second. "Mrs Arnstein. Madame Morrible told me to get my new keys and schedule from the reception."

Mrs Arnstein raised an eyebrow but turned around nonetheless and let her finger wander across the key holder. Finally, she took a key labelled '312' and handed it to Elphaba, together with a thin folder of white paper.

"I was asked to remind you that in the second semester, every student has to apply for a social project. The formulas are to be filled out and handed back in four days."

And she turned around and pretended to be occupied with writing something down (just that her lack of paper blew her entire set-up). Elphaba rolled her eyes, but her mother was almost beetroot red with rage, and the green girl hurried to pull her with her.

"Momma-"

"I can understand you now, Fabala," interrupted her mother hotly. "Those people are horrible to you -Madame Morrible, Miss Blonde and now this woman..."

Elphaba shook her head. "Oh, but you shouldn't be bothered by Mrs Arnstein -she's mean to everyone. Or it's just Aurelion and me that she hates."

Momma looked at her with a disturbed frown. "No, Fabala, you shouldn't be okay with the way people treat you. That receptionist wouldn't have looked at me the same way she-"

"You don't understand," said Elphaba quietly. "No one shakes my hand; no one hugs me goodbye, no one nudges me in the side; no one treats me normally apart from you; my family. It has always been that way, Momma, and I don't see what good crying over all these things should do."

And before her mother could say another word, she looked at the map in her hands and tried to do as dear Mrs Arnstein had done; pretended to be occupied.

And Momma didn't bring it up again whilst they climbed the many stairs up to Elphaba's new dormitory.

Room 312 was located at the very end of the long hallway on the last floor, and the corridor was lightened up by two simple chandeliers.

"Could you...?" Elphaba asked and tried to hand her mother the keys that were dangling from her finger.

"Of course," said Momma and the green girl wasn't sure if she still was a little mad underneath that loving smile of hers.

She watched as her mother unlocked the door and pushed it open -and couldn't contain a horrified gasp.

Had there ever been so much pink in one place before?

Two of the four walls of the room were painted pink -not any subtle soft colour, but a bright piercing pink that almost hurt in the eyes. As Elphaba slowly stepped into the room, a large wardrobe was revealed. A wardrobe full of shoes. Most of them pink. The green girl wrinkled her nose.

"Great. Now I'm going to clash with my room, too," she said drily and kicked the door close.

One bed in the room was covered in pink and violet ruffled cloth and had two big, fluffy pillows on it, and the other was still plain.

Slowly, Elphaba made her way towards her bed, put the suitcase on it and began to search for the chest with her things. They didn't find it in the room though and had to search for it in the hallway where it stood near the window.

"Oh great," said Momma ironically and heaved the chest up with a groan.

As they carried it into the room, Elphaba detected with horror that...

"Momma, where are the bookshelves?" she said and almost dropped her side of the chest to the floor.

Momma narrowed her eyes. "It doesn't seem as though this room had some."

Elphaba gaped at her mother in shock. "No bookshelves? No, that's impossible. Please don't tell me that blonde girl had them exchanged for her stupid shoe cupboard."

They put the chest on the ground next to Elphaba's bed, and Momma turned around.

"I'm afraid; I can't see a shelf, not a single one."

Elphaba dropped onto the cushions of her bed. "Oh Oz."

Her mother sighed deeply and turned once more to look out the window.

"Look on the bright side, Fabala," she said, and it didn't sound much like an encouraging speech, "The room is so far up that no one will ever bother to visit Miss Blonde, she'll always go out."

Elphaba shook her head. "You mean the room is so far up that if I throw her out the window, she won't come back."

Momma tilted her head to one side and put her hands on her hips. "Won't come back, indeed."

She crossed the room to the bathroom door and opened it.

"It's large., she said and turned around with a smile. "And I found the bookshelves."

"It's so beautiful," Elphaba sighed and tucked a foot underneath her.

Her mother stroked a strand of hair from her forehead and smiled as she gently flicked through the book.

"Shall I read another one?" she asked, and Elphaba nodded.

They had changed the bedsheets and hung up the shelves, filled them with all her books and settled in comfortably on the bed.

Just a few minutes ago, Elphaba had still weighed the social projects up against each other; help out in a daycare, be a guide for new students and so on.

"The children would be terrified of me, the new students would leave," had Elphaba said, and Momma had raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

In the end, the green girl had chosen the daycare project, thinking that children couldn't possibly be as cruel as the students here at Shiz.

And now here they were, her mother and her, sitting on the bed, Elphaba braiding her long her whilst Momma read aloud from the poetry book Elphaba had gotten from her sister.

"Here it is," said Momma and her voice was already so rich and meaningful that it let shivers run down Elphaba's spine. She had a talent, her mother, to talk and read with such emotion that it made whoever was listening feel everything. For a second Elphaba closed her eyes and stopped braiding her hair and took a deep breath. Then her mother started to read.

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveller, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

"Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

"And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

"I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the-"

And it was that exact moment that the door was flung open and both mother and daughter flinched terribly. A giggle sounded then two figures strangely intertwined stumbled into the room.

Elphaba suppressed a groan. Until now she hadn't even thought of the unpleasant accompaniment that came along with her new 'roomie'.

"Still not a brothel," said Elphaba and watched with a raised eyebrow as Galinda and Fiyero broke away from each other and whirled around.

"Elphaba," Momma said quietly.

"Green girl," exclaimed Fiyero.

"It's Elphaba," said Elphaba.

Galinda set her jaw. "Oh. You're here."

Elphaba rolled with her eyes. "Yes, I am. Such a surprise, isn't it? Me being in my new room. Wouldn't have guessed it."

Fiyero gaped at her for a second then his eyes wandered to her mother and back to Galinda. "New room?"

Galinda waved a hand dismissively, but Elphaba couldn't contain a snort.

"Yes, whose room did you think you would get? Madame Morrible's?"

But before Fiyero even had the chance to answer, Galinda gently shoved him out the door ("You should go.") and closed it behind him.

"Don't touch my things," she snapped with a finger pointing at Elphaba, whirled around and disappeared into the bathroom.