Chapter 8

At 6:00 PM that night, Daphne strolled over to the tree Elphaba had wanted her to meet her at. "Elphaba? You here?" She called, looking around for the green girl. Suddenly, Elphaba jumped out of the tree, making Daphne jump two feet off the ground. "Elphaba! You scared me!" Daphne shrieked. "That was the point." Elphaba cackled, obviously proud of herself for scaring Daphne.

"You know, you really need to learn to be a little more friendly." Daphne commented, scowling at Elphaba. "That's a little hard when I haven't been in direct contact with people for almost my entire life." Elphaba sighed, knowing Daphne was right. "Well, your gonna teach me sorcery, so maybe I can teach you to be more friendly. I'm sure I can teach you. I've been told I'm the most friendly and likable person at Shiz." Daphne offered, smiling at the green girl.

"You'd really help me?" Elphaba asked, a little surprised. "Of course! Think of it as your payment for teaching me how to use my magic." Daphne replied, grinning. "Well, if you really think you can help me, I don't see why not." Elphaba didn't know if anything could help her, but it was worth a try.

"So, should we start my sorcery lesson now?" Daphne asked, wanting to get started right away. The sooner she learns to control her powers, the better. "Sounds good to me. Now, we wouldn't want you to start using magic without being able to control it, so we're gonna start with a simple control exercise." Elphaba told her, creating a tiny green orb. "I'm going to hand you this orb, and I want you to try to keep it aloft without touching it." Elphaba explained the exercise, then demonstrated what to do, her hands spread apart and the green orb floating between her hands.

"I-i don't know if I can do that..." Daphne was worried that she would fail the exercise. "Don't worry, Daphne. It's easier then it looks. Plus, until you try you'll never know!" Elphaba chuckled, remembering the motto Morrible had taught her when Elphaba started learning magic. "Okay. If you say so." Daphne nodded, holding her hands out like Elphaba had shown her. Elphaba waved her hand and the the orb floated to the gap in between Daphne's hands.

"I'm still holding the orb up, but when I let go, I need you to focus all your magic towards the orb to keep it from falling. Okay?" Elphaba asked. Daphne just nodded. "Okay. One...two...three!" Elphaba released the orb, letting Daphne focus on holding it up herself. Daphne did exactly what Elphaba told her, trying her best to keep the orb aloft. The tiny green ball did bob up and down a little, but it was indeed floating.

"Great! Try to keep the orb floating for one minute without dropping it." Elphaba instructed. Daphne didn't respond, trying really hard to not drop the orb. She was so absorbed in her exercise, that she didn't even hear Elphaba say to stop after the minute was up. "Daphne! Your done!" Elphaba ended up shouting in order to get Daphne's attention. Daphne was so surprised by Elphaba's shouting, that she dropped the orb. As the orb hit the ground, it exploded into a shower of green sparkles.

"I-i'm so sorry! I didn't mean to drop it!" Daphne apologized, thinking she was in trouble. "No need to apologize. You went at least thirty seconds overtime! Believe it or not, your very talented. When Madame Morrible first had me do this exercise, I dropped the orb in the first thirty seconds! If you decide to continue with these lessons, you could grow to do great things." Elphaba grinned, placing her hand on Daphne's shoulder. "You really think so?" Daphne asked, obviously not believing that she was really that talented. "I don't think, I know. So what do you think? Wanna meet me here again tomorrow night?" Elphaba asked.

"Yes! I'd love to learn more from you!" Daphne cried, excitedly. "Great! Then I'll see you back here tomorrow at 6:00. Until then, I want you to continue practicing that exercise I taught you. I don't want you trying to create your own magic orb yet, though. So try using any small object you can find in your dorm. I'll see you tomorrow." Elphaba explained before turning and walking back inside.

Daphne was so excited. Elphaba had said she could do great things, but was that really true? She glanced down at her hands, smiling. She quickly ran back inside and up to her dorm, excited to tell Madison about what Elphaba had told her.

Madison sat at the window the whole time, watching Daphne's magic lesson. She wasn't mad anymore. No, now she was jealous. What if Daphne decided that she wanted Elphaba as a best friend instead of her? Elphaba was obviously more fun then she was. Maybe it was better for Daphne to have a friend who also has magical powers.

Madison heard the sound of a door opening and closing. "Hi, Maddy!" Daphne called from behind her. "Have fun with your little magic lesson?" Madison asked, trying to sound happier then she really was. "Yes! Elphaba is teaching me how to control my powers right now. Guess what? Elphaba said that if I work really hard, I can do great things!" Daphne went on and on about everything Elphaba had told her, and it was driving Madison crazy. "Oh, how wonderful! I'm so honored to have a witch for a roommate!" Madison made a sarcastic remark, unable to control her jealousy anymore.

"W-what?" Daphne asked, a little surprised at what Madison had said. "It must be so much fun having those amazing magical powers! Obviously your gonna want to be friends with someone else who shares your talented! I'm sure Elphaba would be so happy to take the job!" Madison tried not to yell, but her anger was getting the better of her.

"Maddy..." Daphne began, but Madison cut her off before she could say anything else. "Don't call me that! J-just go away!" Tears streamed down Madison's cheeks. She felt like she had lost her friend to a green girl. How could Daphne wanna be friends with a stupid green witch instead of her? She felt like she had been betrayed. Madison walked over to her bed, laid down, and covered herself with her blanket.

Daphne did the same, not saying another word. Despite what Madison had said, she was kinda hoping that Daphne would say something, but there was nothing but silence. Maybe she was right about Daphne not wanting to be her friend anymore. Maybe she really did want Elphaba as a best friend. Whatever the reason was, it made Madison wanna cry. Goodbye, friend...