Thanks to everyone for the kind reviews. Not much happening in this chapter, but the next one will be all the more eventful:)
Stay safe and healthy, everyone, and I hope you're all coping. Please review:)

Started writing: 28.01.2020

Finished writing: 01.02.2020

Chapter 24
Elphie

Dear Momma and Father, dear Nessa,

I most sincerely hope that everything is alright. Please, don't shut each other out, Momma and Father, talk about it. I don't want to return to a broken family for Summer holidays. You must sort things out, I beg you.

Now…

You wouldn't believe what happened.

Galinda Upland (of the Upper Uplands, as she insists) and I have become friends.

I know, it sounds like total garbage, but it isn't. Turns out she was actually kind of worried when I left just like that, and when I returned, we talked for a long time.

She actually seems to be quite nice, despite her addiction to the colour pink.

And there's someone else who might become a friend of mine after all. Hold your breath, Nessie; it's Fiyero Tiggular, the Prince of the Vinkus.

Unbelievable, isn't it? But it seems he's taking it quite seriously.

Just a few days ago, he-

"Have you seen my hairpin?"

Elphaba's head snapped up, and she arched an eyebrow at the blonde girl. "Which one, you have thousands of them."

"The pink one-"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Nearly all of them are pink."

"Oh, Elphie," whined Galinda and Elphaba's eyebrow shot up.

"Elphie?" she repeated, a little taken aback.

Galinda knit her brows. "'Elphie'. Uh, I like that."

"Where's that come from?" Elphaba asked.

"What? You don't like it?"

The green girl shrugged. "It's a little perky."

"Well, then 'Elphie' it is," said Galinda and grinned broadly. "Now, tell me, Elphie, where's my hairpin?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "I have no idea."

She turned to her letter again, but before she could even try and continue writing, Galinda snatched her pen away from her and hid it behind her back.

"Elphie, where is it?" she sounded like her sister when she was annoyed by Elphaba's sarcasm. "You must know."

Elphaba frowned. "Why must I know? You always put them into the drawer-"

"The drawer! You are a dear, Elphie," Galinda jumped with giddiness.

She handed Elphaba the pen back and hurried into the bathroom again. Elphaba couldn't help but roll her eyes. How could someone be so forgetful?

She shook her head, bending over her letter again.

"Elphie," sounded Galinda's voice from the bathroom and Elphaba bit her lip, "Will you go into the city with me, today? It's supposed to be such great weather."

The green girl smiled gently to herself.

"If you're not going to drag me into every single clothes store there is," she said and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, if you insist," Galinda muttered, closing the bathroom door behind her.

"Well?" the blonde asked, whirling around so that Elphaba could look at her. "How do I look?"

Elphaba arched an eyebrow. "Depends on who you're trying to impress. If it's that dark-haired guy from our Politic classes, I'd say great. If it's me, I'd say; please go dump that dress in the Suicide Canal."

Galinda's eyes widened. "Why would you?"

Elphaba grimaced faintly. "Because it's clashing horribly with my skin."

The blonde knit her brows. "Oh. Well, lucky, it's not you, then."

She flashed her a broad grin and picked up her bag from the ground. "Let's go?"

Elphaba nodded, stood up and put the letter into her bag. "Let's go."

When they stepped outside, Elphaba couldn't help but wonder how her fellow students were going to react to her and Galinda's new friendship. They wouldn't have expected it, that was for sure; Elphaba herself would never have expected it. In truth, she couldn't yet believe it.

But it was true; the bubbly, lively blonde in her somewhat orange dress that skipped along the way beside her was her friend. Or wanted to be her friend.

And wasn't that strange; how she somehow started to find a liking in her? Everything that she'd loathed so much before, now seemed so kind to her.

"Oh, Elphie" -well, maybe not that- "Our first class together as friends," Galinda smiled broadly. "Can you believe it?"

Elphaba shook her head. "I cannot. Nor will our classmates."

"Don't you worry about them," the blonde patted her shoulder. "They love me, so they will love you too."

But Elphaba wasn't so sure about that. Galinda slowly linked arms with her and smiled, pulling Elphaba with her although the green-skinned woman refused to skip like Galinda did. It would look utterly ridiculous; a frog jumping along the way.

"This is going to be so great," hummed Galinda happily. "We'll make the best of a team, Elphie, I tell you. I can show you how to dress up… properly, you could say. I can show you how to dance and sing in the best-fashioned way. And you can show me how to… study, I guess?"

Elphaba grimaced. "Thank you, Galinda, but I don't need to dress up."

Galinda raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, you do. When we go to a party together…"

And before Elphaba could complain, Galinda shoved the door to the Politics classroom open and stepped inside.

A gasp went through the rows of students, then an excited -or shocked? Elphaba couldn't tell- murmur. Then everyone gaped at them.

For a moment, Galinda looked slightly taken aback, but then she flashed them a broad smile and pulled a reluctant-looking Elphaba inside.

"What's going on?"

"Has she gone crazy?"

"The Artichoke put her under a spell."

Galinda tried to pull Elphaba to the back of the class, but the green girl shook her head and led her to the front row.

"But Elphie, I never-"

Elphaba pressed her lips to a thin line. "I'm always sitting in the front, Galinda, I won't give that up."

Galinda pouted. "Oh, very well. If you insist."

The green girl arched an eyebrow. "I do."

She sat down on a seat near the teacher's desk but before Galinda could sit next to her, a boy -was it Nathaniel? - knelt down beside the blonde and asked warily. "Galinda, aren't you going to sit with us?"

He wrinkled his nose at Elphaba. "You wouldn't want to sit next to the Artichoke now, would you?"

And Galinda -in her best Galinda-fashioned-way- turned up her nose and said, "Oh, but I love sitting beside my bestest friend Elphie. So, no; I won't be sitting with you guys. If you won't have her as well."

Nathaniel -Elphaba now was sure it was him- arched his brows.

"If that's what you want," he said, and the disapproval was clear in his voice.

He turned around and left, and Galinda fell into her seat with a huff.

"How strange," she declared after a second. "You have such a great view on the board this far in the front."

Elphaba couldn't help but roll her eyes. "That's the point of sitting in the front row, Galinda; Having a good view."

And, she added in her mind, there's only one person to stare at you openly.

"Look who's back."

Elphaba turned around to see a broadly grinning Fiyero standing behind her; hands shoved into the pockets of his trousers.

"Morning, Galinda," he said and slowly slipped onto the empty seat next to Elphaba.

The green-skinned woman knit her brows. So, he and Galinda were on terms again?

"Where have you been?" Fiyero asked when he'd settled on his seat.

Elphaba let the end of her pen dance across the tabletop. "At home."

The blonde boy sighed. "Home? Oh, what I wouldn't give to be home. Away from classes and exams, away from assignments."

Elphaba arched an eyebrow. "Away from private tutoring..."

She looked at him with a somewhat suspicious glance. "I don't get it. Just a week ago you were betting on how fast you'd get expelled and now..."

Fiyero shrugged.

"I've grown up," he said, grinning. "I've matured and am now ready to take life seriously."

Elphaba snorted. "That's quick. Congratulations."

She flashed the clock above the door a glance. Where was Miss Graeling? Shouldn't classes begin in a few minutes?

"Now," Fiyero started in a much more serious voice of all sudden. "Miss Elphaba of the Green Kind-"

"Very funny," said Elphaba drily.

Fiyero chose to ignore her. "What exactly is it that made you go home?"

Elphaba lowered her head to look at her fingers.

Strangely (surprisingly?) Galinda was the one that leant forward and said sternly, "Fiyero, don't. It's none of your business."

But Elphaba shook her head. "No, it's all right. Might as well tell him."

She turned to the prince. "My sister asked me to come home. When I did, it turned out my mother had something going on with another man a long time ago. Nessa -my sister- worried our parents might break up or something."

Fiyero's eyes widened. "Shit."

"Fiyero," said Galinda scolding.

"He's right though," Elphaba stated matter-of-factly. "It's total shit."

The door opened, and a rather rushed Professor Graeling stepped inside.

"Good Morning, class," she said, sitting down.

Her eyes found Elphaba in the front row, and she faintly knit her brows.

"Miss Elphaba. You're back."

Elphaba looked up and grimaced at the Professor. "I am."

The teacher turned and pulled out a thin folder to take the roll. And every time she called out another name, her look found Elphaba and every time her eyes narrowed a little bit more. As though she could see the story of Elphaba's absence in her eyes.

Elphaba lowered her head.

"Fiyero," Galinda hissed and nudged him gently into his side. "How about you accompany Elphie and me into the city this afternoon?"

Fiyero raised an eyebrow at Elphaba. "Elphie?"

The green girl glared at him. "Don't you dare."

"But that's not fair," he complained quietly. "Why does Galinda get to make up a nickname for you and I don't?"

Elphaba turned away. "Well, feel free to do as you like. But don't complain when you won't be able to gift your parents with grandchildren."

Next to her, Galinda sucked in a quiet gasp (that could easily be mistaken for a giggle), and Elphaba suppressed a snort.

"Elphaba, please."

She rolled her eyes. "If you come up with something I like."

Turning around, she narrowed her eyes. "And don't think that's going to be easy, Mr Tiggular. It's a miracle I haven't murdered Galinda yet for the ridiculous 'Elphie'-thing."

In the end, Fiyero did accompany them in the city and even stayed with them when Galinda almost fainted at the sight of a new dress in some shopping-window.

"Oz, it's beautiful!" cried the blonde, and before Elphaba could do so much as blink, she was dragged into the store and watched Galinda gush over a monster out of frills and lace.

Fiyero slowly approached Elphaba and said, with his hands in his pockets. "You didn't finish the story."

The green girl frowned. "What story?"

"You know…" Fiyero murmured. "Your sister and your parents. You weren't finished before, but then Professor Graeling arrived."

Elphaba closed her eyes for a second.

"Well, there isn't much a story to tell," she declared when she opened them again. "I came home and found my parents both nearly crying in my father's office. We spoke and spoke about what had happened; my father yelled… my mother cried… I cried—occasionally. They promised me they'd sort things out; otherwise, I wouldn't have left."

When she looked up, she found Fiyero's face twisted into a look of absolute pity. She turned away, but he'd already taken her arm and squeezed it comfortingly.

"I'm sorry," he said seriously. "It sounds awful."

Before Elphaba could answer, there was Galinda suddenly standing next to her with a dark purple dress in her hands and a broad smile on her lips.

"Elphie," she uttered in excitement. "Elphie, you must try this on, it's made for you."

Elphaba knit her brows. "No way, Galinda, I'm not trying anything on. Not in a million years."

"But Elphie. It's so beautiful."

"On you; yes," said Elphaba. "But not on me. Purple and green… uh, spare me the very thought of it."

Galinda pouted stubbornly. "It's not purple; it's wine. And it would look absolutely swankified on you."

Elphaba couldn't help but snort. "Swankified? Really?

Fiyero tilted his head to one side. "I'm on Galinda's side here; you should try it on, it might look pretty -if I may be so bold."

The green girl wrinkled her nose at his strange choice of words. "No, you may not. And forget it, Galinda, I won't try that rag on."

Galinda looked as though she was going to cry.

But Elphaba didn't let herself be persuaded; she wouldn't make a fool out of herself here. Not today, not ever. Her skin was already doing an excellent job; she needn't help the case even more with such a ridiculous action.

"I'll wait outside," declared Elphaba and turned away.

"Don't you dare," Galinda cried, but the green girl had already slipped past her and was out of reach.

"Now, that wasn't fair, Elphie," the blonde complained later that afternoon when they stepped into a small café on the Ostrich's-Road. "Wasn't fair at all. It was such a beautiful dress."

"Would've been a waste on me anyways," Elphaba said with a roll of her eyes. "And I bet it cost a fortune, didn't it?"

Galinda curled her lips. "How could you tell?"

"It just struck me as the kind of store," the green girl grinned. "With all these big numbers on the price tags."

The three of them sat down at a free table near the window and Elphaba and Fiyero watched in amusement how Galinda arranged her shopping bags on the free chair next to her.

"You know," started Elphaba. "At least all this mess at home has brought along something good."

Both Fiyero and Galinda raised an eyebrow at her and Galinda blew a strand of blonde hair from her forehead. Elphaba smiled.

"We might become friends, after all."

Galinda grinned broadly. "Oh, Elphie, how sweet of you."

Fiyero cocked his head, "I guess you'll be paying my bill then."

"Why should I do that?" Elphaba exclaimed.

"Well," said Fiyero with a grin. "I told you we'd become friends and you said no-"

"That doesn't mean I'll have to pay your bill," argued Elphaba. "We never agreed to compete. I never even knew it was a competition of sorts."

So, Fiyero himself ended up paying the bill; their bill, not just his.

Elphaba loosely crossed her arms in front of her and smiled.

"What is it?" Galinda asked with a frown.

The green girl shook her head dismissively. "It's not important."

But Galinda wouldn't let it go. "Well, then you can tell me. If it's so unimportant."

Elphaba looked at her fingers for a second. "It's just… This could actually be good; a friendship between the three of us. We're adding up to each other perfectly. Although I'm still debating over what Fiyero's role might be."

Fiyero knit his brows. "Why, thank you."

She flashed him a grin. "You're welcome."

When they made their way back to Shiz University, Elphaba striding along in between her two friends, each one taking her arm -although Galinda's grip was much tighter than Fiyero's-, she spotted a familiar face in the street nearby.

Emry; red hair and freckled face, tiny as it was proper for a Munchkin by birth, who looked at Elphaba with a somewhat knowing smile.

She did not approach, and neither did Elphaba. Instead, the Munchkin woman winked at her and threw a suspicious glance at Fiyero.

Elphaba couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Would it always be that way?