Green and Pink Don't Bode Well

Disclaimer: Seriously, I don't own this musical

Chapter Summary: Listen to nothing the musical, Wicked, entrusts you to believe. Gertrude's lime green feathers and Mayzie's high-class pink just don't seem to match up quite right. The infamous clique of birds make their entrance upon Gertrude's guitar time, but can they be trusted?

Slowly, I placed my foot outside of my door, ukulele in hand. I took each step carefully, so I wouldn't trip and hurt myself even further than my heart already was. I strummed a few simple notes as I walked, not really paying attention to the music. My wings flapped as I moved to perch on the limb of a tree, and there I sat, alone in the moonlight. I became slightly more aware of the instrument in front of me, and I began to project my feelings into song off the top of my head.

"Love song for Horton…," I whispered, saddened. "…Number four hundred thirty-seven…"

"Thank you," I held up a hand to my invisible audience.

"Dadoo, Dadoo, Dadoo, Doo doo doo doo doo," I scatted into the night. "There once was a girl bird named Gertrude McFuzz, and she had the smallest plain tail ever was…"

The words began to flow out of my mouth as if they were there the whole time.

"One droopy-droop feather, that's all that she had," I belted the note out, the ukulele following along. Don't ask me where the word droopy-droop came from… I wouldn't be able to answer. I shot my tail an irritated glance as my song floated onwards.

"And, oh, that one feather made Gertrude so sad," I hung my head in shame. I imagined my audience throwing me pitied glances, and I attempted to tell the unseen people my story.

"She curled it, she dyed it, she gave it a puff!" I gestured with my hand, pretending to puff up the air. "She decked it with flowers, but it wasn't enough…" I sighed.

"For no matter what, it just was what it was!" another note that I belted out, I continued to strum, carefully hitting the right chords and what-not. "A tail that simply wasn't meant to catch the eye of an elephant!" I could just envision the audience giving me some strange looks, so I made a face as if to say, So what. I'm in love with a different species. Sue me!

"The One Feather Tail of Miss Gertrude McFuzz," I finished, using the Cat's title for me and flinching and the use of the word Miss. The invisible crowd below me applauded in my mind, and I jumped down from the tree to bow. Wow, sometimes one can really let their imagination go…

I prepared to strum another note into my ukulele when the instrument was rapidly stripped from my grasp. I turned to look at the instrument's kidnapper only to see the Cat looming over my face. I stared incredulously at him, and he hastily pointed to something beyond my head.

I turned to the right to see a flurry of feathers rapidly approaching. Mayzie and her Bird Girl posse were heading towards me, chatting with each other and creating remarks concerning my tail all the way. My features formed a confused expression, and I anxiously waved as they passed, but my body tensed as I locked eyes with Robin's bright green ones. She looked to me in sympathy, so I figured she was still under the impression that I was insane like my crush.

The birds paused to my right side, and Mayzie stepped up to plate in front of me.

"Poor little Gertrude!" she tutted, taking in my appearance. She began advancing towards me; I backed up for fear of being run over. The pink bird murmured as she continued.

"A sorry sight…" she laid a would-be compassionate hand on my shoulder as she firmly pressed and smiled. "Well, I'm going to take you under my wing, and, baby, you'll be alright!"

Her hand became a bit more firm, and I toppled backwards into the grass. I glared up at her. Who did she think I was to treat me so childishly? Just because I was small in stature and sometimes had the personality of a child didn't mean I was one!

Oh wait… It quickly dawned on me that I was currently acting quite juvenile. I mentally straightened my attitude, realizing that Mayzie had been speaking and I hadn't been listening. Not that I really cared. I picked up on her speech.

"One pathetic feather was all I grew!"

My head tilted curiously. Was she making fun of me? I listened some more, interest gaining, and I grasped that she was discussing her own past.

"I had nothing show-off-ish! What's a plain bird to do? …and there's certainly nothing show-off-ish on you!"

My childlike subconscious took over to my dismay as I retorted sarcastically to Mayzie.

"Thank you, Mayzie."

I felt my feet turn inwards, and I turned my face away, arms crossed. I was pouting, and I couldn't control it. I decided to ignore Mayzie's words.

"Then I made a plan for my self-improvement. 'No more crumbs!' I vowed; I would have the cake! Yes, I went to the doctor…"

Something caught my attention; I peered over at her, and made an inquiry.

"Doctor Dake by the lake?" The Bird Girls nodded as they repeated the name with me.

Mayzie decided to ignore us. "And he told me what sort of a pill I could take!" she beamed wildly. Her arms began to rise like she was the best thing in this jungle… Oh, please. Furthermore, I began to create a fool of myself by gaping at Mayzie's fabulous tail. I stood, my eye's growing with envy at the pink and red flurry of feathers.

"Now I'm Amayzing Mayzie, as feathered as feathered can be now! Amayzing Mayzie, it was all for sale!"

Wait. Was she just singing?! My gosh, I really was trapped in a musical! It had just come to my attention that she had been singing through out her entire speech. Of course, I suppose that crazy singing animals are what you get when you live in the Jungle of Nool…

Mayzie did a little hip jive that took me by surprise. I drew back slightly in time to her beats. She continued as the Bird Girls began to speak… or sing… with her.

"Amayzing Mayzie!" they all sang out in unison.

"The birds are all whistling at me now!" Mayzie smiled and pointed to herself. I grew excited. Was there a chance that this could happen to me? Was this the solution to my ever-growing problem?

"Amayzing Mayzie!" I could hear the unison once again. I then realized that I was around an inch away from Mayzie, looking at her in anticipation. My eyes were almost begging her to continue. She sized me up with a pathetic look.

"Baby, that's my tail!" she declared, bestowing me with an unpleasant hip bump as I stumbled off to my right.

"High or low," the Bird Girls said to me, so I felt it my obligation to reply… even though I had no idea what they had just said…

"Gee, it's fabulous!" I stated, referring to Mayzie's tail.

"Watch her go," they now pointed towards Mayzie who was prancing around in the grass.

"Gee, I'm envious," I slipped out, growing hungry for feathers like Mayzie's.

"To and fro, Mayzie's fabulous tail!"

I leaned against Honey, idly speaking to her. She quickly threw me off, grabbed my arm, and spun me around as if I were a top. All the while, one could hear me trying to speak through the wind roaring past my ears.

"I wish I had one like it!"

"Left and right," the Bird Girls continued, ignoring my dizziness.

"Best I've ever seen," I stammered almost drunkenly, the world spinning around my face.

"Day or night," that little Supreme-ish group said in their own language… or at least it was to me. I still was clueless as to what they were referring to.

"Kid, you're turning green," I heard Mayzie's voice from behind me. I looked to her to see the bird eyeing me in mock concern. I supposed she thought her tail was so fabulous as to make me "green" with envy, which wasn't even possible. I should know. I looked it up in the Seussinary. Actually, I was feeling quite sick from my recent adventure as a child's spinning top toy.

"What a sight, Mayzie's fabulous tail!"

Well, I understood them that time. That's a relief.

Mayzie scatted a little bird call that carried on the breeze. She raised her arms again, and I felt so excited as to follow along. My arms rose too, but I must admit that I'm not as graceful as Mayzie. I proceeded to look like a total idiot, flailing my feathers about as Mayzie continued to speak.

"Get those pills…"

"Get the pills!" the Bird Girls chanted after their leader.

"And you can have frills!"

"Frills!"

"Your Horton is certain to see!"

That did it. I'm sure anyone else would have thought I was undergoing some sort of convulsion, but I was just too happy for words to express. My feet twisted every which way to my own unknown rhythm, and my hands stretched to the sky, reaching for every hope, every dream, every fear, and every worry that I possessed. To believe all of it had come from the pseudo encouraging words Mayzie fed me. It sounded so true though, and for once in my life, I didn't doubt the pink bird.

"And you can be amayzing…"

My features broke into a grin as my body formed a pose caused by my joy. I guess I must have looked insanely strange with my 'unique' dancing skills, because…

"Well… almost as amayzing as me!" Mayzie's voice screeched to a halt.

Well, I have heard of something called the 'superstar' pose, but I didn't think I quite new how to do it until this moment. My knees buckled and hit the dirt as my fingers pointed upwards in the classic rocker style. I sat like that for a moment, before I became aware of the strange looks my fellow birds were shooting me. It was then that I realized…

Superstar poses aren't 'cool,' are they?