"I don't know what bizarre fantasy world you're living in. This is never going to work."
"Come on, Elphie. Just try it. You can't be so down on yourself all the time."
Galinda had taken Elphaba by the hand and practically dragged her around the campus until they reached a grassy field behind the boys' dorms. When they finally stopped, she squinted at the bright, searing sunlight while Galinda rummaged through a pink duffel bag. On discovering what she had inside, Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "A baseball bat? I never pegged you as the type to play. I imagined you'd panic whenever you started to sweat and run your makeup."
Galinda pulled the wooden bat out, pausing to toss her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, I played it more often when I was younger than I do now. I still do it every once in a while, though. I have to keep my figure somehow," she said, placing a stray hand on her hip. The other day, she'd tried to teach her that exact pose as a flirting technique. As for why she was doing it right now, Elphaba could choose to dwell over it later. It was probably nothing. "Besides. Waterproof makeup. Now there's a tip, just for future reference. Don't go anywhere over seventy degrees without it."
Elphaba rolled her eyes. Yes, the game was one of the Wizard's many inventions, and she could appreciate their leader's attempt to bring something new to the masses. Yes, she could theoretically appreciate the complex set of rules and strategies involved. No, that didn't mean she actually wanted to stand around outside in the heavy skirts of her uniform and play it. Galinda had to shove the bat into her arms so she'd so much as consider playing. "We're not leaving until you try at least once. I'll stand right here 'till you try it," she said, folding her arms. "You wouldn't make me sleep outside with all the bugs, now, would you?"
"I don't think you'd want the answer to that question," Elphaba replied with a smirk. On Galinda's pout, her resolve began to chip away. "You're serious, aren't you? Fair enough. One time."
Galinda whooped in excitement and darted to the center of the field. She bounced up and down as if to shake her body out, warming up for the throw. "Watch the ball," she said as Elphaba took her place in the spot of grass designated as home plate and held up the bat. Before she could react, Galinda launched the baseball in her direction. Elphaba startled and jumped back, which she quickly realized was a terrible mistake. Now, the infernal thing flew in a trajectory straight towards her face. She threw the bat in front of her in a misplaced attempt at a swing. The ball narrowly missed her head and landed in the grass behind her.
"You can't be scared of the ball, just hit it! It took me a whole year not to run away from it," Galinda replied.
"I said I'd do it once. I did it once."
"Since when are you giving up? If you stop now, you'll live the rest of your life never knowing what it's like to correctly hit a baseball." The pout was back.
"Oh, trust me, I'll be in agonizing pain for the rest of my days," she replied, moving back into position and lifting the bat up anyway. Her second attempt was no better than the first. Galinda's throw was off and the ball dived to the ground faster than she could hit it. She swung anyway, missing the ball completely.
Her next several attempts showed no signs of improvement, despite every suggestion of advice. Galinda probably thought she looked like the most foolish person alive. Elphaba ground her teeth together, as each swing grew more wild and angry. "I never understood sports. They were always a competition for rich boys to show off. Oh, look at me, I can spend all day chasing a ball instead of having to work." Another failed attempt followed immediately afterwards. What kind of good learner makes the same mistakes over and over? She really was hopeless. Not that she cared or anything.
"Here, it'll help if you actually hold the bat right," she continued. Jogging over to stand behind Elphaba, she wrapped her arms around her and held the bat in their arms. She stood close enough for Elphaba to smell the sharp chemical sweetness of her perfume. Drawing the bat back, she said, "You have to hold it up here. Look at the ball when it comes towards you, and then swing. Make sure you follow through all the way to here." If Galinda's face was any closer, she'd be able to feel her breath on her neck. She couldn't remember the last time someone had willingly initiated physical contact with her for an unnecessary amount of time. It was...nice. And also sweaty.
Was...was Galinda flirting? With her? No, no, she was reading too much into it. She certainly wasn't about to question it, in case she was just being friendly and implying something else would be awful for everybody. She'd probably make it into an embarrassing situation regardless. For Oz's sake, even letting Galinda show her how to hold the bat was a struggle. Since Elphaba was so tall, that left Galinda no option but to peek awkwardly over her shoulder. While Elphaba didn't do anything too bold, she didn't pull away either, which was more than what she would've done to anybody before arriving at Shiz.
This actually wasn't the most awful thing in the world. Fine. She'd play along with whatever this was. The mental image of her pitiful attempts at baseball couldn't remain unchallenged.
Galinda ran back to a reasonable throwing distance and pitched the ball again. Elphaba narrowed her eyes, focusing intently on it as it sailed towards her. The very air around her seemed to crackle with electricity. She couldn't fail this. Next to how smooth Galinda was, she had to do something right. Some unknown light flashed in the corners of her eyes, but she paid it no mind.
When the ball came close enough, she swung with all her might. There was no satisfying crack of the ball hitting the bat. She missed it entirely. Still, it flew soundly over Galinda's head as she gaped upwards in awe. Elphaba's magic had erupted in an enormous burst of green sparks with enough force to send it flying all on its own.
Also, the ball was on fire. In addition to being on fire, it was encased in the same green glow of magic and left a trail of sparks behind it. The thing kept sailing over the field like a shooting star until it completely disappeared from sight. A crash sounded from the direction of the boys' dorms.
They stared after it, slack-jawed, before turning to each other in unison. "You know what, let's try something less dangerous next time," remarked Galinda.
At least she hadn't finally decided to give up on half-baked plans to make her popular. Elphaba wasn't sure how she felt about that. She wasn't even sure of Galinda's actual feelings about her. Maybe she'd get another chance to find out later that didn't involve setting sports equipment on fire. In that instant, a more pressing issue weighed on her. "Madame Morrible will kill me."
"Not if she never finds out."
"Scatter?"
"Scatter!"