Hurray for LifelongLeahstar for being the 100th reviewer of this story! Virtual dessert of your choice to you!
Thanks for the reviews, guys. All of you. I write because I love doing it, but it means so much when other people choose to read the things you've written and actually like them, too - let alone let me know that they do!
16. Unadulterated Loathing
"I'm so excited for tonight!" Faye gushed. All twelve Miss Emerald contestants were sitting around a long table in the back room of a small, stylish restaurant, having lunch together before they would start their preparations for the show that night. This time, no other people – boyfriends or others – were allowed with them. This lunch was solely meant for the participants to share some time together.
"It's all been so wonderful already," Nathalinia said with a smile. "Not just the attention or the cameras, even though that was nice. Just… meeting all of you, and all these other new people, and seeing new places…"
"I'd never been to the Emerald City before this competition started," Caila confessed. "I love it here. It's so… Ozmopolitan!"
Elphaba and Glinda exchanged a look across the table, remembering their own first time in the City – and its aftermath.
"I think it's way too crowded," said Karise. "It's not my thing at all. I'm more of a country girl."
"Me, too," Micaela agreed.
Faye shook her head. "You two grew up in Quadling Country," she said. "You're probably not used to city life at all."
"Neither am I, being from Munchkinland and all," Nessa admitted. "I would never want to live in the Emerald City, either, but I do like it here."
Macy was nearly bouncing. "Oh, I can't wait for tonight! I bet I'll make it to the finale. I mean, who can deny that I'm the prettiest girl in Oz?" She smiled, an air of self-importance about her. "If I don't, I guess I'll just have to take drastic measures – but I'm sure I will. I'm so excited!"
"I know, right?" Faye sighed happily, ignoring the rest of Macy's tirade – just like they were all doing, even though Elphaba had perked up at the mention of 'drastic measures' and was eyeing Macy suspiciously.
Lunare quirked an eyebrow at Faye. "Two weeks ago at the party, you were saying you've been bored most of the time during the contest and that you're only in because you couldn't disappoint your mother."
Faye shrugged. "It's been growing on me," she said. "Besides, the live shows seem far more exciting than the recording sessions we've had so far. I'm allowed to change my mind, aren't I?"
Macy frowned at her. "Yes, well, some of us have been fighting for this from the start," she said. "I do think we should have the advantage over the girls who don't – or didn't – even really want to be here."
"But the competition has nothing to do with the contestants' motives," Nessa pointed out. "Only with their looks and talents." Umbia, who was once again sitting beside her, nodded in agreement.
"Is that fair, though?" Glinda asked a little too loudly. She glanced at Elphaba once, so quickly the other girls probably didn't even notice. "Personally, I wouldn't think it would be fair if someone wins the competition who only participated because of family pressure or something like that."
Macy and Lunare agreed. Nessarose frowned slightly, but didn't say anything; Faye looked down at her plate and Nathalinia placed a comforting hand on her arm. None of the other girls said anything, although Elphaba could tell they were all uneasy.
"Regardless," said Elphaba, calmly taking a sip of her drink, "it's not like the fact that some of us do or do not find it fair will change anything about the outcome, is it? Miss Emerald will be chosen by the people of Oz and the jury panel. That's it."
"No-one asked your opinion, veggie," Macy snapped.
"Hey!" Saraphina said indignantly. "Don't talk to her that way!"
"Better a veggie than a bitch," Karise added, which caused Macy to go red in the face.
Nathalinia tapped her glass with her knife, silencing everyone. "Girls, can we try to keep things friendly?" she asked, looking around the table. "We're stuck with each other for today and another day next week and I'd like us not fighting our way through that."
"Well said," Caila approved. Most of the others nodded, although Macy angrily pressed her lips together and Elphaba crossed her arms.
"Let's talk about something else," Nessa suggested.
"Yes!" Lunare jumped on the opportunity. "You should all see the dress I've chosen for tonight! It's a real Gracie Crarter!"
Gasps came from various sides of the table. Glinda and Faye looked nearly green with jealousy, Macy looked angry, and Nathalinia, Nessa, and Caila looked decidedly envious. Elphaba, for her part, had no idea who Gracie Crarter was, although she supposed it must be some famous fashion designer.
"Mine is from Dawson Keezy," Saraphina said, smiling widely. "My parents got it for me."
More exclamations of jealousy, although this name didn't mean anything more to Elphaba than the previous one.
Caila said, "I had mine specifically designed for me, by a seamstress from my home town." She shrugged. "It's no Gracie Crarter or Dawson Keezy, but it's unique."
"That's such a wonderful idea!" Faye exclaimed. "I wish I thought of that!"
"Me, too," said Glinda gloomily. "I just went shopping in Shiz."
Elphaba huffed. "Come on, Glin, you bought a beautiful dress that cost more than I normally spend on clothes in an entire year!"
"That probably doesn't say much," Macy muttered under her breath.
Elphaba ignored her. "Besides," she continued to Glinda, "you look wonderful in anything."
"Oh, thank you, Elphie," the blonde said, smiling. Her smile quickly faltered, however. "Still – hearing about all your dresses, I'm not so sure about mine anymore."
Nathalinia shook her head. "I just went shopping in town for a dress, too," she told Glinda.
"So did I," said Faye.
"And Nessa and I," Elphaba added. "As you know, because you were there to help pick our dresses."
"I borrowed a dress from my cousin," Micaela said without the slightest hint of embarrassment. "It's a beautiful one, too. What does it matter where you got it? As long as you think you look good in it, right?"
Most of the girls agreed on that.
Nessa turned to Karise, who had been suspiciously quiet during the whole conversation so far. "What about you, Karise?" she asked kindly. "What does your dress look like?"
"Another cupcake?" Elphaba joked.
Karise grinned a little at that. "Not really." She made a face. "More like an iced lemon cake this time."
Everyone laughed, even though Karise protested, "That's not funny! I'll look ridiculous!"
"And yours, Umbia?" Caila asked in interest.
Umbia blushed a little when everyone looked at her. "Oh… mine is nothing special," she said shyly. "Just something I found in a store a few weeks ago that I couldn't resist."
"Well, I can't wait to see all your dresses," Nathalinia declared and the others agreed. Just for a little while, at least, they were all relaxed and friendly with one another.
Elphaba wondered how long that would last.
Elphaba turned out to be right: Glinda did look wonderful in her sky blue dress. The colour brought out her eyes and with her feet in sparkly heels, make-up on her face and her hair curled, she looked like a fairy. Nessa, in comparison, looked like the spring to Glinda's summer – a little less bright in a flowy, pale green dress, but beautiful nonetheless.
Umbia was once again wearing dark red and when Elphaba asked her about it, the girl admitted that it was her favourite colour.
"I can see why," said Elphaba. "With your dark hair and skin, it looks beautiful on you."
Umbia blushed and thanked her. Glinda, who was in earshot, squealed.
"Oh my Oz, Elphie, did you just notice the way the colour of Umbia's dress complements her complexion?" she demanded, throwing her arms around her friend. "We'll make a lady out of you yet!"
Elphaba just rolled her eyes, smoothing out her skirt and thinking for the umpteenth time that night how uncomfortable she felt in a dress that only reached her knees.
Glinda had insisted on Elphaba's dress being princess-like in order for the green girl to remind everyone of who she was. To this purpose, she'd pressed on Elphaba a white, strapless dress with a bodice covered in silver sequins and a tulle skirt that flared out a little to her knees. Despite the fact that it was not her style at all, Elphaba had to admit she felt beautiful in it. She was wearing white heels with straps criss-crossing over her feet, some simple silver jewellery, and a silver headband to keep her slightly curled hair out of her face. The headband, Glinda had explained, gave the impression of a tiara, matching her status as princess. The blonde had also smeared some silver sparkles around the young witch's eyes and darkened them with eye liner and mascara, making them pop. As the finishing touch, she'd applied some lip gloss to Elphaba's lips, thus keeping her make-up natural and chic at the same time.
The girls were all milling around backstage, ready in terms of dress, hair, and make-up, but still mentally preparing themselves. There were about fifteen more minutes to go until the start of the show and anxiety and nerves hung in the air, feeling almost tangible.
No-one but the contestants and the people involved with the show itself – the make-up and hair experts, the hosts, the judge members, and the people taking care of sound and light – were allowed backstage. Even Oscar and Chistery weren't allowed to be here, although they would both have a seat in the audience, as well as Fiyero, Boq, and Dr Dillamond.
Karise glowered as she came to stand next to Elphaba. She was wearing a puffy dress in various shades of yellow and gold, with glitters and sparkles all over. The green girl had to fight the urge to shade her eyes and she cleared her throat. "Nice dress, Karise."
"Don't lie to me," Karise said menacingly, holding up one finger. "I told you, I look like an iced lemon cake."
"Frankly, I was thinking more along the lines of a sparkly, gold-flecked banana," Elphaba said with a straight face and Karise huffed a laugh.
"Or that."
Lunare and Faye turned out to be wearing dresses in the same colour. Elphaba didn't really see what the problem was; Lunare's dress had off-shoulder straps, beading on the bodice, and a full skirt that swirled around her knees, while Faye's dress was simpler yet elegant, fitted with long, lace sleeves. Aside from the fact that both dresses were pink (Lunare's a pale pink and Faye's something leaning more towards fuchsia), there was hardly a similarity to be found. Apparently, though, the colour issue was a huge problem and the girls were soon fighting over it in the dressing room, shouting at one another.
"You've been mean to me this whole time already!" Faye accused, tears in her eyes. "What have I ever done to you?"
"Oh, please!" Lunare scoffed. "Don't play the victim here! As if you're such a saint!"
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
Lunare pointed an accusing finger at Faye. "You've been a hypocrite from the start! First you say you don't want to be in the competition at all and then you're oh so excited for the semi-final. I've seen you, acting all innocent and batting your eyelashes at everyone, but you can't fool me with that humble act! You're a devious, manipulative little slut!"
Faye, along with several of the other girls, gasped.
"You're just as bad as the rest of us," Lunare continued. "We're all here to win the crown. At least I admit openly that I will go far to get it and that yes, I've been trying my hardest to win people over. You are always pretending to be modest and coy, but deep down inside, you're no less of a bitch than I am!"
"At least she admits she's a bitch herself, too," Karise muttered to Elphaba, who huffed a laugh in agreement.
"Girls, please," Nessa said pleadingly. "Don't fight."
"We all want the same thing and it's a competition," Saraphina added, "but that doesn't mean we have to be mean to each other about it."
Faye stuck her nose into the air. "Saraphina is right," she said. "Let's be mature about this, Lunare. I don't have a problem with you. We're wearing the same colour today and that's an unlucky coincidence, but it doesn't have to be a problem, does it?"
"There you go again with the aren't-I-good routine!" Lunare sneered. "Just stop! It makes me sick!"
"I refuse to rise to the bait," Faye said calmly and a little haughtily, turning away. "If you can't be mature about this, I at least will be."
"You want mature?" Lunare lashed out and slapped Faye across the face. "How's that for mature?" she asked smugly.
Faye then seemed to discard all her ideas about being mature as well, because before Lunare knew it, the other girl was flying at her and yanking her hair. Lunare screamed and tried to scratch Faye with her long nails. Karise was grinning excitedly at the spectacle and started chanting, "Fight, fight, fight!". Micaela and Macy joined in. Nathalinia shot Karise a look, which went ignored by the dark-haired girl. Saraphina, Caila, and Glinda looked horrified, Nessarose disapproving, and Umbia could only stare at the fighting girls.
"Maybe someone should get Cashel and Reven," Umbia suggested tentatively and Caila nodded at her.
"I'll go."
By the time the hosts came running, Faye was holding fists full of red hair and Lunare had ripped the sleeve half off the other girl's dress. Both of them were still shrieking and clawing at one another. There was a handprint on Faye's cheek and both girls had cuts on their arms and faces from where they had scratched one another.
Needless to say, Reven and Cashel were absolutely horrified and scolded Faye and Lunare for fighting even as they pried them apart. Reven took Faye with her to the seamstress to quickly have her dress fixed, while Cashel called for someone from the make-up department to help cover Lunare's injuries. The redhead was obviously still fuming, but she didn't say anything else.
"Here, let me help with your hair," Saraphina offered timidly, grabbing a hairbrush. Lunare gave her a grateful look via the mirror and Saraphina got to work, Nathalinia soon joining her to help cover up the spots where Faye had pulled out some hair. Between the two of them, they managed to re-arrange Lunare's hair into a pretty updo once again and Lunare thanked them both as well as the make-up artist who'd managed to cover up all the scratch marks.
Faye soon returned as well, her dress restored to its former glory; and as the same make-up artist hurried towards her, Glinda and Caila took it upon themselves to fix her hair. By the time the girls were all supposed to start heading towards the stage, both Lunare and Faye looked presentable once again and they were ignoring one another completely as they all walked in a row.
Glancing around her at the other girls, Elphaba took a deep breath. This was it, then. She had two main jobs tonight – paying attention to everything and everyone to try and discover something about the threat and attempting to not look like a complete fool as she did so. She looked at Nessa, who was wheeling herself forward beside her sister. Feeling Elphaba's gaze on her, she looked up and smiled encouragingly. Elphaba smiled back, straightened her back, and exhaled slowly. She was ready for the game to start.