Odd, thought Elphaba, this teacup is the same shade as me. Could this be a joke? Galinda certainly had opportunity and motive, but it seems too subtle for the girl, or her friends. Usually, a prank from the children was intended to lower her self-esteem. This small green cup raised it.
She reverently took a suitcase out from under her bed. She opened it and lightly ran her fingers over the trinkets. The wooden bird Frex had whittled for her as a child, the green glass Turtle Heart had made to pay her mother. She chuckled, remembering that she used to believe she could see the Other World in it. The smooth stone Shell had carved a heart into for her birthday. A few rubies from Ovvels, she had had to submerge her hand to get those. She gently laid the mysterious teacup next to her first baby shoes, saved by Melena and Nanny.
"What're those?" Elphaba was so startled by the sudden presence, her arm shot behind her of its own accord and managed to knock the blonde's breath out.
"Oh no, Galinda! I'm so sorry! Here, just sit and focus on breathing, it won't hurt for long." After a few minutes Galinda had regained her composure enough to ask again,
"What're those things in the suitcase?"
"These?" Replied Elphaba incredulously. "These are just some mementos from home. Gifts, y'know?" She reluctantly answered every question Galinda had…
"What's that wood thing?"
"Frex made that for me, when I was little."
"I thought you said your father hates you?"
"He does. Melena said I was too young to talk, but they knew I liked it because I didn't destroy it."
"Who is that, Melena? You keep talking about her in the past tense."
"Melena was our mother. She died giving birth to Shell, which is a shame because she had been hoping for a boy, but didn't even get to see him."
"Does your father like Shell?"
"Nessa's Papa's favorite, but then he liked Shell, and hates me."
"Do you like Shell?"
"Of course not. At a very young age, one of the village boys gave him a water-squirter. He quickly learned that spraying me caused lots of fuss and attention, eventually Papa had to lock it up because he got so annoyed at having to bandage me. Not to say I don't love him, I was the only one who would look after Shell once he got old enough to know right from wrong. I can't tell you how many times I wiped up his tears because he had fallen out of the tree I told him not to climb; or got a strapping from Papa after getting caught teasing Nessa."
"Oh, dear." Giggled Galinda. "Did he aggravate you two often?"
"Indeed. When he was 10, Nessa was 12, and I was 14, Nanny threatened to give him a whupping so hard he wouldn't be able to sit down for a week."
"What had he done?"
"It doesn't seem so bad now, but Nessa wanted to climb a tree, so the two of us helped her up. Then Papa found us."
"Why didn't you get a whupping? It doesn't seem like your father would need an excuse, no offense meant."
"None taken. I got in so much trouble when I was younger, beatings wouldn't work anymore. So he'd simply wet and his hand and strike my face. It was then up to me to be a big girl and quit crying."
"Oh, Elphie, that's terrible! I'd like to give your father a piece of my mind!"
"It wasn't really that bad, I'd always earned it and - what did you call me?"
"Elphaba."
"No, you called me Elphie."
"I did?" Galinda's cheeks flushed pink from embarrassment. Elphaba smirked.
"Y'know, I rather like that look on you."
"What look?" Galinda tried to think of what Elphie could be talking about.
"Nothing, nothing." Elphaba replied, waving her hand as if to dismiss it. "Now then, the one thing in my suitcase I know nothing about." She said, picking up the green teacup. "Would you know anything about this, pretty?" She watched as the slight blush turned pinker. Just as she suspected, the blonde was in on it. What 'it' was, Elphaba had no clue.
"I simply saw the cup and thought of you. I had some spare pocket change, so I bought it." A likely story.
"My, my. And where did you buy a single teacup? Something as original as this would be sold in a set, don't you think?" The blush deepened slightly, and her roomie stopped to think. Elphaba's grin became more and more pronounced as the time lengthened. "It's perfect, thank you." She said simply, then put the suitcase back under her bed.