Eleven

Elphaba lay in her bed in her hospital room, staring at the ceiling. She had so many thoughts running through her head, it was hard to separate them from one another.

Nessarose and Boq had just left, promising to come back tomorrow morning. Elphaba had been so surprised when Nessa admitted she had told the doctor that she was her sister in order to find out information about Elphaba's condition, she had been unable to speak.

"But… why?" she'd finally asked.

Nessa simply smiled sweetly. "Because we're friends. We were worried about you."

They had also told her that Fiyero had come to see her, and would likewise return the next day. Nessa had been a little apprehensive about confessing she had given Fiyero the key to her apartment to bring some clean clothes and things with him tomorrow, but Elphaba hadn't minded. Fiyero had already seen the crapartment, and for reasons unknown, Elphaba trusted him.

Elphaba felt horrendibly embarrassed about what had happened that day. Early signs of malnutrition, the doctor had told her. The possible pneumonia was no real surprise, given her lack of heat in the crapartment, but the malnutrition… she thought she had been so careful. Yes, she was eating little, but she had made sure that she was eating as much meat and vegetables as possible in order to get the proper nutrients. And now they wanted her to talk to a psychologist about her possibly having an eating disorder.

Elphaba had tried to protest she didn't need to talk to a psychologist, after all, it wasn't really by choice that she wasn't eating; it was a money thing- or lack thereof. But the doctor had been firm and given her no choice. And now, Elphaba had another thing to worry about- how in Oz's name she was going to pay the hospital bills. Strangely, the one thought she kept mulling over was how odd it felt to be sleeping in a bed again, after three months of sleeping on only a thin mattress on the floor.

There was a faint knock on the door, and Elphaba's gaze slid from the ceiling to the doorway to see who was there, and she wondered for a moment if she was hallucinating.

It was Galinda Upland.

"What are you doing here?" she asked incredulously, raising the head of the bed so she was in a sitting position.

Galinda cleared her throat uncomfortably and stepped into the room.

"I came to see how you were."

Elphaba only stared. "Why? You hate me."

"I-" Galinda opened her mouth to defend herself, but then stopped.

"How are you?"

"Fine," Elphaba replied slowly, wondering if this was a joke and someone was about to throw pig's blood on her or something.

An incredibly awkward silence fell between the two girls. Elphaba wasn't sure what to say, and Galinda knew what she needed to say, but was having trouble mustering up the courage to do so. But as the silence weighed heavier upon them, she caved.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out.

Elphaba was stunned. She had never expected those words to come out of the blonde's mouth.

"Sorry? For what?"

Galinda looked down at her shoes. "I- I felt… after you fell, there were rumours that you'd… died."

Elphaba's eyes widened. "I died?"

Galinda nodded. "I guess it makes sense. You kind of looked dead… lying there on the ground. And… it all happened really fast. But I got thinking that if you were dead… I was horrendible to you. And I'm sorry."

"Oh. Thank you?" Elphaba said unsurely.

"I've been realising lately that I never really got to know you," Galinda admitted, which Elphaba knew was a big deal for her to admit.

"You're just… different. And where I'm from… everyone's pretty much the same. We get brought up not to be too different from anyone else."

"I guess… I owe you an apology too," Elphaba admitted, figuring if Galinda could admit she was wrong, so could she. "It's just… I've never had anything. I've had to work for everything I've ever had or wanted. Getting into Shiz, leaving the orphanage… staying at Shiz. And you've never had to work for anything, every thing's been handed to you. And it's like you don't even appreciate it. That bugs me."

Galinda had never thought of it quite like that. "Oh."

"Back in the Emerald City, I knew I was different," Elphaba continued. "But no one stared. Not like they do here. And I was so excited to come here. Then I get treated like a freak, and everyone thinks they're better than me because I'm on a scholarship? Because I'm working as a waitress?"

Galinda hadn't thought it was possible to feel worse, but was being proved wrong.

"Can we start over?" she suggested.

Elphaba paused. "You want to be friends?"

Galinda hesitated. "I think we could both stand to be more friendly to one another and to get to know each other."

Elphaba considered that for a moment. "OK. What do you want to know?"

Galinda sighed thoughtfully, then stepped forward and gingerly sat down in the chair next to Elphaba's bed.

"Well, what was it like? Growing up in the Emerald City?"

The two girls talked for about an hour. Elphaba, about growing up in the Emerald City and the other kids at the orphanage; and Galinda, about growing up as a young lady in Gilikin society. Elphaba was wary about revealing anything too personal just yet, in case this backfired, but she did tell a few stories that had happened when potential adoptive parents had come to the orphanage and met her.

When Galinda left, Elphaba couldn't help but shake her head slightly. This had been an incredibly long, surreal day. But she was hopeful now that with the rivalry settled somewhat between her and Galinda, her second semester would be a lot more peaceful than her first.

The next day, Fiyero was leaving campus on his way to stop by Elphaba's apartment and then go to the hospital; when he heard a voice call out to him.

"Fiyero!"

He turned, and was surprised to see Galinda approaching him. She hadn't spoken to him since he'd broken up with her.

"Hi," he greeted her cautiously. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going back to the hospital to visit Elphaba," she explained and Fiyero did a double take.

"Going back to the hospital? You went to visit Elphaba?"

Galinda nodded. "Last night. We talked for a while. We agreed to be friendly to one another."

A broad grin spread slowly over Fiyero's face. "Is that so? Is the world ending?"

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I was there yesterday… when she fell. And it was scary, I felt bad that if she'd died, I would have been so horrendible to her."

Fiyero paused. "This isn't going to be like one of those stories where you become friends with her and then throw her out a window to her death, is it?"

Galinda glared at him, then promptly changed the subject.

"Where are you going? You're not usually up before lunch on a Saturday?"

"I'm going to the hospital," Fiyero confirmed her suspicions. "Right after I stop by Elphaba's place and get some things for her."

"Oh. That's nice," Galinda said in surprise.

Then Fiyero had an idea. "Why don't you come with me?" he suggested. "I'm sure Elphaba would be far more comfortable with you digging through her underwear drawer than me."

"So would all girls in Oz," Galinda retorted dryly, but agreed.

Fiyero watched Galinda's face become more and more horrified the closer they came to Elphaba's apartment, and by the time they were inside, her expression was enough to make Fiyero long for a camera. Then he had to stop and think about what his own face must have been like when he'd seen the apartment, although he'd been trying so hard to keep his face neutral.

"This is it? She lives here?" Galinda demanded.

Fiyero was more interested in proving one of his own theories. He strode to the cupboards and opened them, checking for food. There was nothing but a few tins of soup and a few pieces of stale bread.

Galinda shuddered, whether from cold or disgust, she didn't know. "It's freezing in here. Where's the heat?"

Fiyero looked around and his heart sank further. "I can't see any. Do you?"

The blonde girl shook her head. "No. Just a huge pile of blankets."

"No wonder she's sick," Fiyero muttered.

Galinda was now past looking horrified, and looked simply sad.

"How can anyone live like this?"

"Galinda, to us, this is awful. But to Fae? This is probably more than she's ever had," Fiyero reminded her gently. "A place of her own? Independence?"

She was quiet for a moment, then spoke in a quiet voice. "I didn't ask her why she'd fainted. I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear the answer. But you know, don't you?"

Fiyero let out a long breath. "Early signs of malnutrition. And possible pneumonia."

Galinda's eyes widened. "Malnutrition? I thought only poor people got that?"

"She is poor," Fiyero pointed out. "She's a waitress and has to pay rent, bills… I'm guessing her top priority is making sure she has a place to sleep at night."

Galinda ranted all the way to the hospital about the inconsiderateness of the university to award scholarships and not include housing, but as soon as they reached Elphaba's room, she dropped the subject.

"Here's some clothes and stuff," Fiyero greeted her, dropping the bag at the end of the bed.

"Thank you," Elphaba thanked him quietly.

"So, any idea when you're getting out of here?"

Elphaba sighed. "A few days. They want to make sure I'm putting on weight and that I don't actually have pneumonia."

"Do you think you have pneumonia?" Galinda asked, sitting down.

Elphaba shook her head. "No. I think I'm getting a bitch of a cold, but I don't think it's pneumonia. But then again, I didn't pick up the malnutrition thing either."

She spoke without thinking and then regretted the words. But as she looked apprehensively up at her visitors, she saw in their eyes that they already knew the diagnosis.

"It was pretty clever of Nessarose to say she was your sister," Galinda smoothly changed the subject.

"Thank you, Galinda," came Nessa's voice and they looked over to see Nessa and Boq enter the room.

The five of them sat around talking for a while, until a nurse came to collect Elphaba for her appointment with the psychologist.

"We should all go out to dinner when you get out of hospital, Fae," Fiyero suggested. "Do you get an employee's discount at Identity?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Ten per cent," she answered reluctantly.

"Sounds like a good idea," Boq agreed and Nessa and Galinda nodded.

"Great. It'll be my treat," Fiyero added, before Elphaba could protest.

"Fine," she sighed and waved goodbye as they left.

"What are you friends going to think?" Nessa asked Galinda as they left the room too.

Galinda hesitated for a moment, then lifted her chin defiantly. "Who cares?"

She saw Fiyero smile proudly at her, which she returned. But Galinda wasn't finished yet- she was forming a plan.