Chapter 2 – A Friend Dilemma

She dreams of the upper class Gillikinese style parties that she so prefers. Expensive venues decorated with crystal chandeliers and polished wooden floors. A champagne reception followed by a five course gourmet meal, then the beginning of the traditional Gillikinese dances. Ladies in long, elegant dresses and men in tuxedos, paired up and spinning around the dance floor. Fiyero is on her arm, of course. He sweeps her past the many faceless couples, and they spin and twirl and get lost in the music. He is the sole focus of her attention…

…until she catches a flash of emerald out of the corner of her eye, and twists her head around to see what it is. In the corner of the room stands Elphaba, dressed in rags, looking lost and lonely. She waves at Galinda and projects her rare smile, but her eyes are dark and sad.

The dream Fiyero vanishes. So do the rest of the couples.

It is just the two of them now.

Galinda cautiously approaches the green girl, who looks so much more beautiful in her lowly attire than most of those dressed in wealth. Elphaba is shaking her head, but Galinda will not give up that easily, not when she has been so taken with a strange curiosity. It isn't so bad, looking at her...in fact, it's rather exotic. She might have come straight from the Emerald City, the land of embracing the weird and wacky...and wonderful.

Galinda extends a hand and gives a graceful curtsy. There is a – thing – that registers in her thoughts, that something is about to change.

'Shall we dance?' she says, and Elphaba takes her hand.

As she speaks, a key twists and unlocks an unexplored part of her mind.

.../...

Shenshen was late.

The other three sat with growling stomachs, staring yearningly at their menus. It was only the little student café, but when one was hungry, any food was good food.

'We could start without her,' suggested Milla.

'No we couldn't,' said Pfannee. 'It would be most impolite.'

'Well it is impolite of her to make us wait!'

'I agree with Milla,' said Galinda.

She spoke the truth, but only alluded to half the reason. She didn't care to admit that, in fact, she had been dreading this luncheon. Since last night's party, something had felt off. Galinda had wondered if it was sickness and if she should stay in bed – but she didn't feel physically ill as such; more like, her nerves got the better of her when she considered the idea of withstanding the needless gossiping that was bound to happen.

The faster they ordered, the faster Galinda could get out of here. The hunger was secondary.

Shenshen finally showed up with dark rings around her eyes and the remains of last night's make-up on her face. She walked with a slump in her step and a grimace on her face.

'I do apologise,' she said, and then sat down and put her head in her hands. Milla raised a disapproving eyebrow and summoned a waiter.

'I daresay you left early, Galinda,' said Pfannee. 'That's unlike you.'

'Exhaustion caught up with me, I suppose. Must be all the studying.'

'Must be indeed. I can't imagine why anyone would choose to be within the vicinity of the green bean over a party at the OzDust.'

Galinda bristled, remembering her dream. When she'd returned to her room, she hadn't thought twice about the fact that Elphaba was there; just that she would surely have a more peaceful time away from the rowdies and socialites. She was now glad that she'd made her decision to leave because it meant she was not in the same state as Shenshen, who spent the whole time moaning about how badly her head hurt. She remembered how, as she'd removed her shocking pink heels and flexed her toes in relief, she'd come to realise that all the dancing with Fiyero had exhausted her. At that moment she had been grateful for Elphaba's bookishness: it allowed for a quiet environment in which she could easily fall asleep.

'I was tired, and she was not bothersome.'

'She must have been tired too else you would have been privy to her vicious temper,' Pfannee declared.

'She's not so vicious,' Galinda said before she could stop herself.

'You are too good, Galinda, giving her such praise!'

'She's not!'

Her outburst was met with a stunned silence. The statement had come from nowhere. No – that was wrong, it had come from somewhere; a small place Galinda hadn't realised existed. Suddenly she felt dizzy, not from the standpoint that her social status might be questioned, but the notion that the whole society ideal was getting rather bothersome. What did it matter to anyone else if she thought Elphaba was not vicious?

'I would be careful, Galinda. You wouldn't want to be seen as associating with her.'

'Indeed,' Galinda mumbled. The salad arrived. She picked at it wearily.

She was relieved that the conversation moved forward onto other, more superficial topics. Galinda was better able to engage in talk of the fashion trends of the evening, which included both the hottest and the most questionable of outfits (of which Shenshen's tight mini-dress was declared a clothing disaster). Stories were told of mildly amusing but tasteless drunken antics, various hook-ups (of which Shenshen had several) and the worst dance moves in the history of the OzDust Ballroom.

This segued into a discussion about Galinda and Fiyero.

'You were quite into it. The pair of you was going at it for ages,' said Milla.

'Well he is my boyfriend.'

'I still can't believe you're going to be married!' said Pfannee.

'Yes…quite,' Galinda replied. Though, this was one of the thoughts that brought about the queasiness in her stomach. 'Perhaps not for a while. I am only eighteen after all.'

'I'm shocked,' said Shenshen, who finally seemed capable of raising her head off the table. 'Last night you were keen to get it done practically as soon as you've graduated!'

'Well I was drinking last night and not making much sense,' Galinda lied. She'd barely touched the disgusting punch.

Lunch dragged on, and Galinda was relieved when it finally drew to a close. It was considered impolite to rush off in such a hurried manner, but she couldn't help slapping some change onto the table and declaring, with as bright a false smile as she could muster, that she had some important obligations to attend to. Ignoring Milla's sceptical eyebrow, and Pfannee's mutterings of how some girls never made time for their friends, Galinda exited the café and stormed back to her room. She had ten minutes to collect herself before her next class, which was boring old History with Doctor Dillamond.

Elphaba was gathering her things already.

'I don't know why I bother,' Galinda grumbled, kicking off her heels and falling gracefully onto her bed. 'I must have had the same conversations with them one hundred times over.'

'You could always ditch them,' Elphaba responded.

'Elphie! How mean!' Galinda argued.

'Well you could. No one's forcing you to be friends with them.'

'They're not as bad as all that. Just, they say stuff about you and I have to pretend like I agree.'

'Again, no one's forcing you to do that.'

'It would be bad form not to! But Elphie, you know I don't mean any of it right?'

Elphaba grabbed a book and added it to a growing stack of them.

'I know, my sweet. You should get ready. Class is in five minutes.'

'You boring old thing, you,' Galinda huffed, but stood back up anyway.

Although History had never been her favourite, Galinda was even more distracted than usual. Her thoughts wandered to her friendship dilemma. She stared at the back of Pfannee's head, with its long, messy hair tied in a loose ponytail, and remembered the girl's words: You wouldn't want to be seen as associating with her.

She sighed and twiddled her pink pen in her fingers. She wondered what exactly would happen if she declared herself an ally to the green girl. In her mind echoed the voices of her peers laughing at her and taunting her with cruel words and remarks. Her stomach lurched. She had never been unpopular in her entire life, so why make a deliberate move which was certain to ensure such a thing?

Because I care about Elphie and don't want to hurt her.

What an odd notion.

The bell rang and class was dismissed. Galinda left hastily, hoping that she would be able to escape unnoticed, but was deterred by an arm linking itself through hers. Suppressing a groan she glanced sideways and saw Shenshen walking at her side.

'How completely boring,' Shenshen grumbled. 'I mean, who cares about the Quoxian trades of the seventeenth century?'

Elphie would, Galinda thought. She would say that these things are important to how we function today.

'Not me. History is more Elphaba's thing.'

'That green bean knows absolutely everything, doesn't she? And not to mention she's completely obsessed with that old goat, though why is beyond me.'

'She cares a lot about Animal rights. In fact, she's passionate about them. You should see the way she talks about it in our room. She goes on and on without stopping. I don't know how she can know so much to keep up like that, but it's amazing.'

'Tedious, more like!'

'Well I suppose an airhead like you would think so!' Galinda snapped.

Shenshen lurched her arm out of Galinda's.

'What a dreadful thing to say!' she declared.

Galinda recoiled; she hadn't meant to, but it had suddenly coalesced in her brain that that was exactly what Shenshen was.

'A dreadfully honest truth then.'

'Galinda Upland, I cannot quite believe you! I think you have been quite influenced by having the artichoke in your room! I daresay your temper is quite as bad as hers.'

'Well maybe I'm just sick of hanging around you brainless idiots!' Galinda cried, and then pushed past Shenshen and rushed away.