A/N: Thanks for the lovely reviews, I'm always glad when people like my writing :) And I appreciate every review 3

I decided to end this part in the middle of Dancing Through Life so the chapter wouldn't get too long :)

Rushing to finally get to Madame Morrible's classroom, Elphaba crossed the large curtilage with the large statue to cut the detour through the school's angled hallways.

A lot of students were scattered across the lawn, chatting, reading, having lunch on the grass patches or even taking naps on blankets.

But Elphaba didn't have time to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the lunch break. Mid-walking, she took out the book Madame Morrible had given to her, lengthily titled 'Introduction to Sorcery: Understanding the Basics and Exercising the Magic'.

She flipped it open and started scanning the foreword.

The next moment she heard a loud honking sound and barely escaped a bicycle racing towards her by leaping to the side, dropping the book in the process.

Heart pounding, she whirled around.

The bicycle pulled a small trailer that held a passenger, who was, to Elphaba's great outrage, peacefully slumbering.

"HEY!", she shouted and the cyclist turned around with an alarmed expression.

"Be quiet, you will wake him up!"

Elphaba couldn't believe what she heard. Furious, she walked closer to the vehicle.

"I don't care if he wakes up, you nearly knocked me over and he's sleeping like a baby?! Hey, you, wake up!"

She hammered at the side of the bike trailer which caused the young man in it to flinch and open his eyes.

"But Miss, don't you know who he is?", the driver mumbled angstily, worriedly glancing over to the man in the carriage who was slowly waking up and stretching.

"I wouldn't care if he was the Wizard of Oz himself, you can't just knock people over and not even react!"

She turned to the guy again, who was now fully awake and currently taking his sunglasses of.

"You, your driver is nearly running over innocent pedestrians and you are sleeping?!"

"Why yes, it is daytime after all."

Elphaba stared at him incredulously.

"Besides, we haven't actually hit anyone, haven't we?"

Without awaiting her response, he stood up and went to his driver.

"See you soon, Avaric, I'm quite sure I won't make it much longer here than at any other school I've been to."

What kind of ingnorant idiot was this bloke?

When his driver had left he was about to turn and leave Elphaba standing where she was.

Such an incredibly rude person!

"Hey! Don't you at least want to apologise?"

The young man turned back around.

"Well, I haven't actually run you over, right?"

"So you are just going through life, running people over and not even stopping to say sorry?"

Elphaba was fuming. The guy's generally disinterested attitude was making her feel similarly annoyed like Galinda's endless blabbering about the perfect outfit for meeting Fiyero Tiggular, some prince from the western part of Oz who was supposed to transfer to Shiz.

She hadn't stopped going on about how handsome he was and that his scandalous reputation preceeded him wherever he went.

The carriage guy looked Elphaba up and down and then said with a smirk, "I don't know, maybe my driver saw green and thought it meant 'Go'."

Elphaba's jaw dropped and she was unable to shoot anything witty back.

Instead she picked up the book from the ground and stormed off to her sorcery class.

Galinda was sitting in the grass of the curtilage during her lunch break, discussing the topic of the day with her girlfriends: Prince Fiyero Tiggular was to arrive at Shiz on this very day.

The prince from the Vinkus was widely known to have a past full of scandals which had almost always led to him transfering schools again.

Galinda didn't exactly know what kind of scandals this involved but she was intrigued by the mystery and couldn't wait to meet him. Besides, he was rumoured to be Oz' most handsome heir to the throne.

"He will finally bring some life into this grey old school, I tell you, from what I've heard he was kicked out of his old one for throwing a midnight party in the school's mensa that involved a lot of spiked punch and led to the complete defacement of the headmaster's portrait in the entrance hall. Isn't this just thrillifying?"

The other girls listened to her every word in anticipation, none of them knew particularly much about this new person, but no one doubted that Galinda wasn't a reliable source on the subject.

No one noticed the short boy in a striped suit approaching the group until he tapped Galinda on the shoulder.

"Miss Galinda?", he began shyly, once he had gotten the blonde's attention.

"I, uh", he cleared his throat and gestured to the group of girls sitting in the grass.

"Could I maybe talk to you in private? It'll be only a clock tick!", he spluttered and Galinda hesitantly followed the boy over to a tree, not far from her friends.

The boy cleared his throat again and Galinda tried to remember his name.

She did know him, he was often following her around, thinking she didn't notice, but she couldn't recall ever actually talking to him.

It was something short, like, Moq? No, Taq? That wasn't it either.

"Galinda, I, I know, I'm just a little Munchkin, but Munchkins have feelings, too, you know? And I, uh, I've been trying to tell you that I have feelings. For you."

Ah, now she remembered, the Munchkin! They had talked before, shortly, on the first day they had arrived at Shiz and she had been advised a room together with the green girl.

She tried to focus back on the conversation, half of it had already completely passed her by.

"And I just feel, like, sometimes I think you don't even know who I am!"

That was true. But Galinda Upland of the Upperuplands could never admit to something like that, she had to maintain a good reputation after all!

"That is not true, Biq!"

"My name is Boq!"

In that moment, Galinda spotted a young man in brightly coloured attire, looking around a little lost.

This could only be one person.

She got so excited she slapped the Munchkin's arm.

"Biq, do you realise who this is?!"

She didn't notice that the boy was staring at her hand clutching his arm, turning bright red in the process.

"This is Fiyero Tiggular, the Winkie prince! The one with the reputation so scandalacious he is rumoured to have been disinherited by his parents for his subsequently bad behaviour! Although I highly doubt that, he is their only heir."

Galinda had long forgotten what the Munchkin boy had wanted to tell her and stepped away from the tree, tossing her hair into place and putting on her brightest smile.

"Hello! May I help you? Are you looking for something?"

And then she added, with her best flirtatious wink, "Or someone?"

He raised his eyebrows and then grinned at her.

"Well I was searching for some history class, somewhere, but..."

He was interupted by the Munchkin, who placed himself right between the two of them, demonstratively pointing to the far end of the lawn.

"The history building is over there!", he grunted and straightened his shoulders, not really making up for the significant height difference between him and Fiyero.

"But the class already ended!", Galinda threw in before Fiyero even got ready to leave.

Then she simply walked around the Munchkinboy, took Fiyero's hand and dragged him away.

"Come on, I'll show you around!"

Fiyero chuckled and obediently followed her across the lawn.

Looking around at the surrounding buildings, Fiyero started a conversation.

"So, what do you people do for fun around here?"

"Nothing really", Galinda sighed but then looked at him mischieviously.

"Until now, that is."

Once again, they were interrupted by Boq.

"We've been studying, you know?"

Fiyero raised his eyebrows again, but this time in a slightly disgusted manner.

"Really? Well, seems like it's once again my responsibility to stop my fellow students from thinking so much."

He playfully put his arms on Galinda and Boq's shoulders.

"You know, the really important stuff, what actually matters in life, isn't even taught in school."

"How do you mean that?", Boq asked sceptically.

"Simple. If you think so much about everything, where is the time to have fun? To live? Of what use is all that knowledge, all this brain-wrecking and, ugh, studying, when you don't even know how great it feels to dance until dawn and flirt with a pretty girl? How relaxed everything is if you don't worry about anything? I call it 'dancing through life'. You should really try it, this school looks awfully dull to me.

Tell me, where do you go to celebrate?"

"There's the Ozdust Ballroom, a place in town that's pretty /swankified/", Galinda offered.

"But what would we happen to celebrate?"

Fiyero laughed.

"Life of course!"

Then he pulled back his arms and walked over to the Wizard's statue in the middle of the square.

Galinda and Boq watched him quite stunned as he climbed the socket, put his hands around his mouth and announced, "Listen up, folks! Tonight there will be a party at the Ozdust Ballroom!"

Everywhere, students turned their heads to see who was disturbing them but as they discovered who the speaker was, their faces lit up.

"Everyone is welcome, it's a party to celebrate life itself! Don't expect it to end early!"

Swiftly, he jumped off the socket and returned to Galinda and Boq, a broad grin spread across his face.

"Time to wake this place up!", he announced proudly and walked up front, leaving the two shorter people struggling to keep track with him.

"Miss Galinda", Boq adressed the blonde again.

"I really hope you'll save a dance for my tonight. I'm going to be waiting for it all night if I have to."

Galinda forced herself to smile, albeit she could barely imagine something worse than a running metre creeping up on her and Fiyero all night.

"Oh, Biq, that is really kind of you!"

"Boq."

"What? Well anyways..."

Galinda's voice trailed off as she spotted the governour's daughter sitting nearby in her wheelchair, reading a book.

An idea sprung to her mind and she turned back to the Munchkin with newly found enthusiasm.

"Biq, you know what would be even kinder?! Look, there is Nessarose Thropp, over there, in the wheelchair.

Oh, isn't she just so tragically beautiful? Yes, I know, right? So, I would feel so sorry for her if she couldn't come to the party tonight because no one asked her while we're having heaps of fun there."

Boq was nodding eagerly, desperately wanting to agree with everything Galinda said.

"And I think, someone should ask her out for tonight. I know I'd be so pleased if I was her and the person to do this would be some kind of hero to me! Thinking about it, I don't even have to be her for that person to be a hero, it would just be so nice..."

"I, I could ask her out!"

The Munchkin boy painfully reminded Galinda of a little puppy that needed her constant approvement for everything.

"You would really do that for me? Wow, Biq, that's a very honourable thing to do!"

Delighted, Boq wandered off to where Nessarose was sitting and gently tapped her arm.

"Hello Miss Nessarose, I have to ask you something important..."

Galinda turned around to face Fiyero who had stopped to watch the previous scene in amazement.

"He's clingy", he noted with an irritated frown and then continued, more lightly, "but you're good!"

Galinda fluttered her eyelashes and replied, sugary sweet, "I haven't got the faintest idea what you mean. Mind you, now it doesn't seem like I have a date for tonight yet, so..."

Fiyero caught right on to her advances.

"I'll be picking you up around eight?"

"Seems like we speak each other's languages", Galinda replied confidently and linked arms with the prince.

"I think we're fitting together rather perfectly, don't you think, too?", she continued playfully flirting with Fiyero and he replied, just as playfully, "Seems like we're born to be together, if you ask me."

Then the beaming Galinda escorted him inside the school to show him where to find the dormitories.

Elphaba was sitting in her room, sceptically studying the exercises Madame Morrible had given her to practise, along with a telescopic training wand that now sat on the desk in front of her.

She was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Yes?"

The door swung open and Nessa wheeled herself into the room.

"Elphaba! Have you heard, Fiyero invited everyone to a party tonight!"

Elphaba rolled her eyes and moaned contemptously.

"Typical. The moment this selfabsorbed would-be nobleman breezes in here, everyone immediatley falls to his feet and goes to some cultish social gathering to worship him."

"Even me!", Nessa announced happily and made her sister's jaw drop.

"What?!"

"Yes, Galinda set me up with this Munchkin boy named Boq and I really think he likes me and now I just wondered if you might have any idea what I could do to thank her, with you being her roommate and..."

"Wait, Galinda set you up?", Elphaba interrupted her sister in surprise.

"Yes. Boq was too shy to ask but she encouragerised him and... she's actually quite nice, you know? Oh please, Elphaba, let me go to that party. It's the first time people include me in things like that! Please understand!"

Elphaba's expression remained hard. She didn't trust Galinda and especially not her sudden outburst of care for Nessa. And her sister even started to pick up that ridiculous Emerald City slang that both Galinda and Madame Morrible spoke in.

But she had never been able to resist Nessa's pleading look.

"Alright, fine, I'll think of something for Galinda, if it means so much to you."

"Oh, thanks, Elphaba, you are the best! I knew you'd understand."

Beaming, Nessa rolled a bit closer and then added, slightly more hesistant, "Are you- coming to the party as well?"

"I, uh, don't know yet", Elphaba replied, although she was pretty sure she would rather set herself on fire than humiliate herself by showing up at the party alone. The only experience she had had concerning festivities so far, had been her mother's funeral, almost seventeen years ago.

"Okay then, I guess I'll see you on Monday in class then."

"Yes, sure."

"And don't forget to think of something for Galinda!", Nessa called over her shoulder as she wheeled out of the door again.

Elphaba remained at her desk, bewildered.

There rarely hadn't been a day in her life she didn't spend with Nessa, but since they had arrived at Shiz and Nessa had gained a certain degree of popularity, she often went her own way now and Elphaba asked herself more than once why their father had thought that Nessa would need her constant assistance.

But on the other hand, it had brought her here, to this school, where she finally had the chance to make something of herself!

In another room, close by, Galinda and her friends were already preparing for the party.

They had already done their nails, hair and make up and were currently putting on their dresses and accessories.

"Now there's only one thing missing", Grizelda announced and Galinda gave her a knowing smile.

"Exactly, the finishing touch!", she exclaimed triumphantly and pulled a pink rose slide out of a small case.

Meanwhile, Linette had curiously wandered over to inspect the hatbox Galinda had brought with her and deposited on Grizelda's bed.

She opened it and a horrified experession started spreading across her face.

"Galinda, what in Oz' name is that?!"

She picked the hat up gingerly and held it as far away as possible, as she crossed the room to get an explanation from Galinda.

"Oh that. I thought, this time my granny might have sent something one could actually wear, but as always, she sent me one of the most hideodeous hats in existence. You weren't even supposed to see that! I'd give it away but to whom? I don't hate anyone /that/ much", Galinda put her friend off, taking the hat in her hands to inspect it further.

It had some kind of embroidered pattern on it, similar to a reptile's skin, some small blooms were sewn to the side and the brim was pinned up on the other side.

It was admittedly one of the ugliest exemplars her grandmother had sent to her yet.

"Oh yes, you do!", Grizelda interrupted her thoughts on the terrible piece of clothing.

"I do?"

Galinda frowned. Who did she hate that much that she.../Elphaba/! Of course!

"I do! Should I really?"

She contemplated exactly how much she would humiliate her obnoxious roommate by giving the hat to her.

But then she remembered how Elphaba always seemed to belittle and mock her and didn't feel as bad about the idea anymore.

So when Elphaba appeared on the doorsteps of the room several moments later, Galinda put on her best smile.

"Listen, Galinda, Nessa and I were just talking about you and I..."

"What a coincidence! We were just talking about you, too!"

"You were?"

Elphaba suspiciously glanced into the room.

"Why, of course! We all agreed that you really should wear this hat to the party tonight. It suits you, you know? It's black, this year's new in-colour and it is so smart, so it's perfect for you! Here, take it, I give it to you!"

With that, Galinda shoved the hat into Elphaba's hands and closed the door in front of her.

Elphaba returned to her room, stunned and a little irritated by so much kindness on Galinda's side.

Wasn't she that bad after all?

Sceptically, she stared down at the hat in her hands.

Galinda was right, the hat did suit her, except for the flowers on the side maybe. She just wasn't the floral type.

She eventually decided to give the whole fuzz about this party a try.

She couldn't do more than make a complete fool out of herself couldn't she? And since nobody liked her anyways, she had nothing to lose.

But before she started to get ready, she payed Madame Morrible another visit.

"Madame, I'd like to talk to you about something, concerning the sorcery tutorial."

"You don't want to drop out, my dear do you? It would be such a shame!"

"Well, you see", Elphaba started to explain, "it seems like I can only continue under one condition.

Please include Galinda Upland in this class."

"What?!"

"I'm in a sort of debt to her and since she was the one interested in the tutorial in the first place I think it's only right to ask you this."

"But, Miss Thropp, Miss Upland couldn't tell a twig from a wand, how am I supposed to teach her the high art of sorcery?!"

"With all due respect, Madame, it is not my problem, how exactly you will accomplish it but I have to withdraw immediateley if you don't accept my plea."

Elphaba's heart pounded. It was bold of her to outright demand something like this from the headmistress but it was the only thing Elphaba could think of that would make Galinda happy.

"Fine, Miss Thropp, I will take it in contempleration, but to your information, I do not have the highest opinion of Miss Upland."

"Thank you very much, Madame Morrible."

Elphaba left the headmistress' office with a smile on her face.

She had returned Galinda's favours and maybe, just maybe this would lead to the two of them getting along just a little bit better.

Maybe, Galinda wasn't that bad after all.