I sat down at one of the three desks in the room—and attempted to begin writing home to my parents—to Carlisle and Esme. I glanced up at Elphaba and Galinda listened to the two of them declare their loathing for each other. Setting my pen down, before I'd even gotten a chance to begin writing, I stood up and said, "Miss Elphaba, Miss Galinda, just so we're clear on this, do not drag me into this argument. I am neutral. I will not take sides in the 'Miss Elphaba loathes Miss Galinda and Miss Galinda loathes Miss Elphaba' thing. I am Switzerland."
They both nodded and Galinda looked confused, and I thought that Elphaba quickly understood what I meant when I said, 'I am Switzerland'—I had meant that I was neutral—but she hadn't. I listened quietly to the fighting that went on between the two other roommates, completely ignoring them.
"Dearest darlingest Momsie and Popsical. My dear Father. THERE'S BEEN SOME CONFUSION OVER ROOMING HERE AT SHIZ. BUT OF COURSE I'LL CARE FOR NESSA. BUT OF COURSE I'LL RISE ABOVE IT. FOR I KNOW THAT'S HOW YOU'D WANT ME TO RESPOND. YES, THERE'S BEEN SOME CONFUSION FOR YOU SEE MY ROOMMATE IS... UNUSUALLY AND EXCEEDINGLY PELICULAR AND ALTOGETHER QUITE IMPOSSIBLE TO DESCRIBE... BLONDE. WHAT IS THIS FEELING, SO SUDDEN AND NEW? I FELT THE MOMENT I LAID EYES ON YOU. MY PULSE IS RUSHING. MY HEAD IS REELING. MY FACE IS FLUSHING. WHAT IS THE FEELING? FERVID AS A FLAME! DOES IT HAVE A NAME? YES!: LOATHING! UNADULTERATED LOATHING! FOR YOUR FACE... FOR YOUR VOICE... FOR YOUR CLOTHING... LET'S JUST SAY: I LOTHE IT ALL! EV'RY LITTLE TRAIT, HOWEVER SMALL, MAKES MY VERY FLESH BEGIN TO CRAWL WITH SIMPLE UTTER LOATHING. THERE'S A STRANGE EXHILARATION IN SUCH TOTAL DETESTATION. IT'S SO PURE, SO STRONG. THOUGH I DO ADMIT IT CAME ON FAST, STILL I DO BELIEVE THAT IT CAN LAST AND I WILL BE LOATHING, LOATHING YOU MY WHOLE LIFE LONG! DEAR GALINDA, YOU ARE JUST TOO GOOD. HOW DO YOU STAND IT? I DON'T THINK I COULD! SHE'S A TERROR! SHE'S A TARTAR! WE DON'T MEAN TO SHOW A BIAS, BUT, GALINDA, YOU'RE A MARTYER! WELL, THESE THINGS ARE SENT TO TRY US! HUMPH! POOR GALINDA, FORCED TO RESIDE WITH SOMEONE SO DISGUSTICIFIED. WE JUST WANT TO TELL YOU WE'RE ALL ON YOUR SIDE! WE SHARE YOUR... WHAT IS THIS FEELING, SO SUDDEN AND NEW? LOATHING, UNADULTERATED LOATHING FOR HER FACE, HER VOICE, HER CLOTHING. I FELT THE MOMENT I LAID EYES ON YOU. MY PULSE IS RUSHING. MY HEAD IS REELING. LET'S JUST SAY: WE LOATHE IT ALL. OH, WHAT IS THIS FEELING? DOES IT HAVE A NAME? EV'RY LITTLE TRAIT, HOWEVER SMALL, MAKES EVERY FLESH BEGIN TO CRAWL... YES! AHHH... AHHH... LOATHING! LOATHING! THERE'S A STRANGE EXHILARATION. LOATHING! IN SUCH TOTAL DETESTATION. LOATHING! IT'S SO PURE, SO STRONG! SO STRONG! THOUGH I DO ADMIT IT CAME ON FAST, STILL I DO BELIEVE THAT IT CAN LAST, AND I WILL BE LOATHING, LOATHING, FOR FOREVER LOATHING, LOATHING, TRULY DEEPLY LOATHING YOU, LOATHING YOU MY WHOLE LIFE LONG! LOATHING, UNADULTERATED LOATHING! BOO! AHH!"
I faced the two of them and FINALLY began writing. "Dear Carlisle and Esme, Hi Momma and Daddy. I miss you already. I'm not sure if Alice has written to you about this, but the two of us have a secret. I would have told you yesterday, but I didn't want you think that I wasn't happy living with you, because I am, I really am. I miss you. Of course, the rooming is fine here at Shiz—my two roommates loathe each other. I'm just glad I didn't stuck with the dog—you know I mean Leah. There's been no improvement in my relationship with my future sister-in-law. Anyway, the secret is that I do have a twin sister—Nessarose Thropp. Her—my—older sister, Elphaba Thropp—" Glancing up, I asked, "Elphaba, what is our family's title, I mean, your title?" "Thropp Third Descending." She called back. "Thanks," I replied. "Elphaba Thropp Third Descending, is one of my two roommates. My other roommate is Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands. They loathe each other and I've already declared myself neutral—declared myself Switzerland—it's not nearly as bad as the arguments between the werewolves and vampires, but it's still pretty bad and I don't wanna get caught in the middle of it. The thing is, about my two sisters—Nessa and Elphaba—I've met them—here at Shiz. Father thinks—er—thought I was dead. I don't understand. I miss you, but could you please explain what happened that day, when I became a Cullen? Your loving daughter, Madison Tiffany-Crystal Cullen."