When Galinda and her Animal friends got back to campus, she was nearly unconscious with discomfort. She was cold, tired, and achy, and she still had no idea where Elphaba had run off to yesterday. She followed Nurse Daae to get warm food from the cafeteria, then limped her way to her room. 'That's odd.' She thought. 'I could've sworn I locked this door.' She opened it and froze. She then screamed and ran into the arms of her emerald roommate.
"Ow, ow, Galinda, give me a minute!" She was shoved away while Elphaba got a towel, and then curled up onto the taller girl's lap, sobbing. Her friend simply rubbed her back and let her cry it out, but Galinda thought she heard a sigh or two. When she had pulled herself together, she made to get up, but green arms circled her and kept her there.
"Elphie? I'm better now." She peered into those chocolate eyes and got sidetracked.
"What happened, my sweet?"
"Huh?" Galinda had no idea what she was talking about, but her warm breath felt so good. Suddenly, Elphaba shifted and they were sitting side-by-side.
"Pay attention, pretty. Do you remember lunch yesterday?" She was asked cautiously.
"Of course I do! I'm not as stupid as you think!"
"Yes, what was that whole, um, Fiyero thing about?" She appeared to have trouble getting out his name.
"What 'Fiyero thing'?" She asked. The only time they'd talked was her apologizing for bumping into him.
"I saw the two of you, looking at each other and…" She didn't finish the sentence. Galinda thought back, and realized that her crush had taken Morrible's words as true.
"No! No, I don't like him at all! I swear! I swear to, to Oz, to Ozma, to The Unnamed God, to Lurline, to- to whatever! I love you!" She could see that her words had little effect, so she scooted closer and took a green hand. "I love you, and no Fiyero or Morrible or Pfanee or Shenshen or ANYONE is going to stop that." She waited patiently, although she was unsure how her little speech had been taken. Elphaba gave a small smile, while her stomach gave a loud gurgle. Galinda grinned as her love's face turned darker green in a blush. "Let's go to the cafeteria." She said, pulling on the green hand she still held.
Elphaba had been sitting on her bed, trying not to think of her stinging cheeks, when she heard the door open. She was assaulted by an ear-splitting shriek, her vision was obscured with messy blonde hair, and her shoulder burned as salty tears soaked into her shirt.
"Ow! Ow, Galinda! Give me a minute!" She managed to get the hysterical girl off of her while she got a towel, but was immediately recaptured upon returning. She calmly waited out the tears, occasionally glancing at her alarm clock with a sigh. Eventually the sobbing subsided, and the blonde looked up at her.
"Elphie? I'm better now." She whispered, but Elphaba continued to stare into those sky-blue eyes. She figured now was as good a time as any to bring up the Prince…
"What happened, my sweet?" She murmured, somewhat not wanting to hear the answer.
"Huh?" Elphaba sighed, and gently settled her roomie so they were sitting more conventionally next to each other. She grinned, apparently she wasn't the only one getting distracted.
"Pay attention, pretty. Do you remember lunch yesterday?" The beautiful face hardened in irritation.
"Of course I do! I'm not as stupid as you think!" Elphaba had to suppress a grin, Galinda was adorable when she was angry!
"Yes, love. What was that whole, um…" Damn, she hated having to say his name. "… Fiyero thing about?" The flushed face shifted from annoyance to confusion.
"What 'Fiyero-thing'?" Elphaba winced slightly inside, she had to remind the girl?
"I saw the two of you, looking at each other, and ..." She couldn't finish the sentence, just waited, hoping beyond hope that he had told the truth; that it was an accident. Elphaba watched as comprehension dawned.
"No! No, I don't like him at all! I swear! I swear to, to Oz, to Ozma, to The Unnamed God, to Lurline, to whatever! I love you!" Elphaba's heart lifted, but she stopped herself. She knew what she had seen, and words, however wonderful they may be, couldn't erase her memory. Galinda continued, grabbing her green hand. "I love you, and no Fiyero or Morrible or Pfanee or Shenshen or ANYONE is going to stop that." She sat and let her brain slowly process this unreal information. Just as her mouth quirked up in a smile, her stomach gave off a loud complaint. As the blood rushed to her embarrassed face, her hand was still being held by a grinning girl covered in dirty pink. "Let's go to the cafeteria." Suggested her roomie, tugging gently on her hand. They walked together, only dropping their hands when the other children came into view.
CHAPTER 15
Elphaba missed the warmth of another hand in hers, but understood her (girl?)friend's need for status. As they neared the cafeteria, the children noticed and started chattering excitedly. Elphaba rolled her eyes and listened for key words in the multiple conversations. There was some talk of the two girls walking together, but most of the talk wasn't about the green student. It was about the popular, pink-swathed girl in dirty clothes. She glanced down at the sensitive blonde, and saw tears welling up. She put a protective arm around the girl's shoulders and hurried her through the crowd and into the cafeteria.
Elphaba tried to distract Galinda from the other students, but her mind was stuck on her dropping popularity. She sat with Nanny and Nessa without complaint, figuring she'd be sitting here a lot more often now that she was quickly becoming a disgrace. After putting their bags and coats at the table, the group went to get their meals and Elphaba easily helped everyone all at the same time. Galinda picked out multiple sweets to lift her spirits, but they were mostly replaced with fruit. Elphaba then went over to help Nessa walk and give Nanny a hand with the 2 trays. Soon, they were all eating and Nanny asked Galinda about classes.
"They're ok."
"Are you having trouble with anything?" The old lady asked, but Nessarose quickly saved her from further humiliation.
"Of course Miss Galinda is doing splendiferously, Nanny! She's Miss Galinda!" Galinda smiled at the younger girl in thanks, and speared a strawberry on her fork. Galinda zoned out for a while, but when she came back the topic had moved to teachers.
"… yes, he gives out so much homework!" Nessa groaned. "Poor Nanny will break her wrist, writing so much!"
"What about you, Fabala? Keeping up with all your classes?"
"Yes, Nanny."
"Even Early Ozian History? You had trouble with that back at home."
"It takes more studying than the others, but I'm maintaining one of the highest grades in the class."
"I know, dear." Nanny said sympathetically. "It's so hard to remember which Ozma did what and when."
"One of the highest? Papa might get mad." Nessa worried, but no-one could think of anything to say to comfort her. Elphaba quickly finished eating and helped throw out garbage and help Nessa. Galinda drifted off again, and when she 'woke up', she found herself in Life Sciences, sitting next to her roomie. Doctor Dillamond was lecturing about something to do with plants breathing. Elphaba was furiously taking 2 copies of notes, and Galinda quickly took a sheet to do her own work. After class, her hand was hurting from writing so much, so fast. She was feeling better about the day, when a boy stepped on her skirt on purpose! He got it dirtier, and a loud tearing of fabric was heard. Galinda was about to run off when her roomie lent the blonde her long coat, and walked the boy away a ways.
Galinda put the coat on, covering up most of the dirt, and all of the rip. Galinda looked up in time to see the boy spit at Elphaba. She couldn't see if it hit or not, but the green girl flinched, wiped her face on her sleeve, and kicked the boy right in his family jewels! Galinda covered her giggles, but just barely.
"Feel better now?" Her roomie asked.
"A little, but hurting him didn't fix my dress."
"Well, if you really want a new dress I suppose we can take a carriage to town this weekend."
"We?" Galinda asked, shocked.
"Sweet, I'm not letting you spend all your pocket money in one day." Elphaba replied, grinning. Galinda grinned, then put on an act of being hurt.
"Well, I never! If you don't think I, Miss Galinda of the Arduennas, can look after myself while shopping, I guess you'll just have to come with me!"
"I guess I will." The girls grinned at each other, then clasped hands for the walk to their dormitory.
That Saturday, Galinda was ecstatically happy. Elphaba, on the other hand, just wanted to sleep. When they had gotten dressed for the brisk fall day outside, Elphaba had gotten past her morning grumpiness and was trying to be patient. By the time their carriage had dropped them off in the shopping district, she was just getting ready for the day. Galinda was preparing their plan for the day. Elphaba had brought some pocket money, and a bag with 2 pair of clean dry socks inside. Galinda had brought nothing with her, saying her Momsie and Popsicle would pay for anything she wanted.
When they reached a dress shop, Elphaba tried to wait outside. Unfortunately, her petite roomie was quite strong, and took Elphaba by surprise, pulling her in. Elphaba relented and wandered around, looking at all the styles and colors of dresses. Galinda was standing on a small pedestal, in front of a multitude of mirrors. Three shop workers hustled around, getting dresses, checking styles, and measuring sizes. Elphaba hung back, in awe of the controlled chaos of the store. She spun around at a soft hand on her shoulder, and it was another shop worker.
"Your friend over there told me to take care of you. Do you know what you'd like?" The woman asked kindly. Elphaba shook her head mutely, astounded that this woman would touch her green skin. Galinda's parents must pay very well, she thought.
"I-I'm Elphaba." She said, politely curtseying.
"I'm Myusa." The woman said, and extended a hand for the girl to shake. Elphaba was dumbstruck. Almost no-one in her life initiated contact, and especially not strangers! She cautiously followed behind Myusa to the fabrics section, and picked out a few colors besides black she wouldn't mind wearing. Mostly dark blues and purples, but Myusa had found a deep dark red that went splendidly with her verdant skin. She draped it around herself, and was so enamored by the color, she decided to splurge and order a dress in the color. Myusa showed her some styles, but Elphaba frowned at all the pomp and circumstance in the padded shoulders, large skirts, and veritable miles of lace. When Elphaba asked to see their simplest styles, it was still too much. Not wanting to offend Myusa, or let this fabric go, she ordered a bit of it, then put it in her bag to sew into a dress later. She was looking in her bag for her change-purse, when Galinda appeared.
"See anything you like?"
"Yes. I'm getting some of this red fabric."
"More dark colors? Jeez, Elphie!" And the smaller girl marched her over to the changing area.
"No, Galinda, really. I don't look good in pastels-"
"Here, try this!" And a hideously light blue dress was thrust around the dividing screen. Elphaba sighed, and managed to figure out how to get the convoluted thing on.
"Um, I think it's a bit too small…" She called nervously.
"Can we see?"
"I suppose…" She shyly stepped around the partition, her head ducked and her blushing face facing the floor. "See?" She muttered, "Light colors don't look good on me." She tried to tug the scandalously short skirt lower on her thighs, but that caused the low-cut neckline to drop even lower. She tugged the neck up, feeling as though her chest was exposed, but the skirt crept higher up on her gangly legs.
"I feel like I should be standing on a street corner!" She burst suddenly, and dashed behind the screen to yank off the revealing dress. "I don't like dresses like that, ok? I feel like people are looking at me even more! Could you please just pass me that dark red fabric?" She pulled it around her shoulders and held it closed with her hand. "See?" She said, "Dark colors look better on me! What are you both looking at, does it have a stain?"
"Why, Miss Elphaba! That exact shade seems to affect the color of your skin!" Galinda cried, overjoyed.
"What?" She looked at her hand, and it was true. The darkness of the dress seemed to bleach away her verdigris!
"Young misses, if I may." Myusa interjected. "Our store would love to custom design a dress for you, at no extra charge." Elphaba forgot how to close her jaw, and it hung open a small bit as her roomie skipped around merrily.
"Of- Of course! I'd be delighted!" She quickly ducked back behind the screen to change into her normal clothes.
"Seeing how none of our current styles seems to fit you, shall we go to the drafting table?" As Myusa led them to the back of the store, Elphaba tried to calm her girlfriend.
"Galinda, stop it, I need your help. I don't speak clothes!"
"Don't worry! If you say you don't like it, they can change it. That's why it starts on paper!" As Myusa affixed a small square of fabric to the page, then sketched an outline of a body, the girls played trying styles on Elphaba. Draping it this way, possibly pinning it here, did she like this? They then huddled around the table as the dress began to take shape.