Close my eyes let down my hair/
I'm thinkin' bout what I want/
gonna take me there/
turn the dial on the stereo/
I'm thinkin' bout who I want and I won't let go
~o0o~
Elphaba enjoyed taking guitar lessons from Bo. He was patient and kind and really nice to talk to. He worked at his dad's shop and had his own band named Eclectic Mayhem. He was pretty shy, preferring to let his music do all the talking. The cycles where Elphaba got guitar lessons from him, he usually brought her to his place and his friend Tilly called for an emergency band meet cause they got a gig for Friday.
Bo let her hang around and watch them rehearse. They were really good, their music was interesting. New. She'd never heard anything like it before and it was different from what he played at the coffee shop.
When she wasn't doing that, she was training herself up in roller skating. She could swear that the blisters on her feet and the callouses on her hands were carrying over into the following cycles. Imagination or not, she was still getting better every day.
Elphaba stepped back from Fiyero's carriage.
Okay, what did she want to do today? Tag along with Bo again? Follow her goal through reading through every single book in the Shiz library to see if she missed anything to break out of this time loop?
No… she'd been training for over three hundred cycles. She was going to join the Off Colors and win a roller derby.
"Yero, we're here."
"Already?" Fiyero lifted his head and spotted Elphaba. "Av, don't buy the absinthe again. I'm still seeing the green fairy."
"Not a fairy," said Elphaba, her heart picking up speed. She wished she could smack it to make it stop.
It had been so long since she interacted with him, she should really be over this attraction by now. She was attracted to a lot of people, that didn't mean she should pursue them.
"Oh," he climbed out of the carriage. "Huh!"
"What?"
"Nothing. You're just tall. Can I help you with something?"
She should just walk away, but she wanted to stretch this interaction.
"Your driver is bad at his job," she said. "He nearly hit me."
"I did not!" Av protested. "You shouldn't be walking out in the middle of the street!"
"You're on grass, dingus," Elphaba retorted, rolling her eyes, then took two steps to the right.
"Are you looking for something?" Galinda called, approaching. "Or someone?" She flicked her nails at Elphaba. "You may go."
"No one wants you here, Artichoke," Pfannee chimed snidely.
"That's fine, I was just leaving anyway."
"What do you do for fun around here?" Fiyero asked.
"We were going to study!" Boq piped up, popping between him and Galinda.
"Miss Elphaba! You should study with Boq!" said Galinda. "You're both so smart, after all."
"Mm! Tempting!" said Elphaba. "But it's not time to study yet."
Skating would be good. It wasn't too far a walk, but she wanted to warm up. She took her hair out of its plait and summoned forth her bicycle. Technically, she stole it to feel something, but there was no consequence, so she kept it. She carried it over to the sidewalk.
"Hey, where you going?" Fiyero asked.
"Skate By Roller Rink," she said, wrapping her hair around her neck like a scarf so it wouldn't get caught in the wheels again. "It's a lot of fun."
She pushed off and used the bike trail to get to the roller rink. There she paid for a skating pass and went to the bathroom to change into the outfit she had made for herself.
It wasn't anything she would have considered wearing for herself, she usually liked to keep a low profile, but all this time to herself she thought it was time to develop a sense of style. So she made a pair of pedal pushers, gingham with blue leather patches and an embroidered blouse. She paired it with the blue leather jacket. She pulled her hair back with a headband and went back to the main area to put her skates on.
They were now well-worn and broken in, molding to her foot. She tied the laces securely and before she could stand, the doors opened and a flood of Shiz students entered, led by who else but Fiyero.
Of course…
Elphaba sighed, wishing she had kept her mouth shut. Why on earth would any of them be interested in what the green girl was doing? Though, she was kinda glad to see Nessa come in with those two girls from her Lit class.
She stood and skated over.
"Nessa," she said. "I was hoping I could take you here one day. Would you like me to push your chair around the floor? It'll be fun."
"Oh, no!" said Nessa, quickly. "I'm here to be with my friends… Elphaba! Are you wearing trousers?"
"What are you, a cop?" Elphaba retorted and set her jaw. "Never mind. Have fun with your friends."
"I will."
"Those skates are hideodious!" Galinda said. "I refuse to wear them! Now these are more like it!"
She trotted over to the skates for purchase. Daveed hit the intercom.
"Darla to the front, please," he said and assisted the next customer.
"So this is a roller rink," said Fiyero, sitting on a bench next to where Elphaba was standing to put on his skates. His socks were a hideous yellow and purple argyle.
"When I said I was going skating that wasn't exactly an invitation," said Elphaba.
"Oh, I'm sorry, duchess, I didn't realize I needed an invitation," he said.
"You don't, it was just unexpected," said Elphaba. "You know, you should wrap those laces around your ankles so you don't trip."
He looked down and redid them so they didn't trail.
"Can you skate?" she asked.
"Psh! Of course I can," he said. "That's a really groovy jacket, by the way."
"Thank you. If you ask really nice, I may let you borrow it sometime." She turned to see Galinda skate over. "Nice skates."
They were the exact same colors she was wearing. Galinda looked mortified and Elphaba laughed. Darla went to the booth to turn on the music.
"I don't believe the Artichoke can skate," said ShenShen, shooting Elphaba a nasty look.
"Should be good for a laugh," said Galinda, gliding gracefully onto the rink.
Elphaba rolled her eyes and looked at Fiyero.
"See you out there," she said and skated onto the floor, humming to the music choice. She was getting many stares, so she decided to make it a show. She danced to the music, weaving and spinning around the floor, almost flying like she did in her bird form.
"INCOMING!" Fiyero shot across the floor and crashed into the opposite wall.
He pushed himself off, launching himself backwards, his arms pinwheeling. Elphaba zoomed in to the rescue, grabbing his hand and spinning them in a circle to slow his momentum.
"I thought you said you could skate," she said.
"I didn't know I couldn't!" He flailed and landed smartly on his butt despite Elphaba's best efforts to catch him. "Good thing I have natural padding."
He smacked his thigh.
This struck Elphaba as funny and she threw her head back, laughing harder than she ever had in her life.
When she caught her breath, she offered her hands and helped Fiyero to his feet.
"Hold still," she laughed and pushed him to the wall.
He held onto her hand tightly, looking more than a little embarrassed.
"Not one of my finer moments," he said. "I guess I should call Mamo and tell her we should try private tutors."
"Honestly, it's kinda nice to know you aren't perfect at everything," said Elphaba. "Shows you're human. I fell a lot too when I first started out. I swear, I had so many bruises, my butt was numb for a week. Here, I'll help you get the basics down. Besides, at least you didn't split your pants."
"Oh, gods, do not put that out in the universe," he said.
"Are you okay, Your Highness?" Galinda asked, skating up with her trio. "That was a nasty fall. Miss Elphaba you should apologize for laughing at him!"
"Why? You were planning to laugh at me if I did the same thing," said Elphaba. "Besides, it was funny."
"I aim to please," said Fiyero, skidding and falling forward. He wrapped his arms around Elphaba's middle. "Ah! Hold me!"
Elphaba managed not to fall and snorted.
"You're okay," she chuckled and hoisted him back to his feet.
She hauled him forward and used him to propel them both along until she could gain momentum. They spun around in circles and finally she was able to whip Fiyero around to face the front. She kept a hand braced against his lower back and held his right hand in her own to keep him steady.
"Just follow the song," she said as the records were changed. "Come on and ease on down, ease on down the road."
"I love this song," said Fiyero, joining in with her. "Don't you carry nothing that might be a load. Come on and ease on down, ease on down the road."
Treating it as more of a dance helped Fiyero ease into it better and soon they were skating around the rink in tandem and he didn't need her to hold him steady.
"This is fun!" he said. "I can ice skate, I don't see why this should he any different."
"Different terrain," she said, moving backwards so she could face him. "You're already looking like a pro."
He chuckled.
"Well, thanks for the rescue, duchess," he said. "You know, I'm going to throw a party tonight. I was going to find a place after this."
"The Ozdust Ballroom is the place to host," she said.
"Well, you seem to know all the swankified places."
"Not really. That's just where the popular people go. I just found this place trying to put some zest back in my life."
"It's a cool dive," he said. "Hey, can you do that spinny thing again?"
She grinned and nodded, swinging around to hold him again. "Alright, hold on."
She picked up speed, spiraling them into the center of the room, spinning them around in circles. Fiyero held onto her hands, directing his skates into the turn, and whooping gleefully.
Darla skated out onto the floor, approaching them.
"Hi, there," she said. "You're really good at that!"
"Thank you," said Elphaba, slowing her and Fiyero down.
"Do you know anything about roller derby?"
"Yeah, a bit. I've never officially played, but I've seen a lot of games."
This was it.
"My team needs a sub," said Darla. "Our jammer got injured. Think you could help us out?"
Play it cool. Over-eagerness frightened people.
"Yeah, alright," said Elphaba.
Darla beamed. "Swell! Zulia will get you a uniform together!"
Zulia waved.
Elphaba carried Fiyero over to the wall.
"Hey, if you have some time after your thing you should stop by the party," he said.
"I'll think about it," she said, meaning it, and turned to Zulia. "Hi, there. Elphaba."
"Zulia."
Elphaba got her boots from her locker and sat down to put them on.
"Do you know Fiyero Tiggular or something?"
Elphaba looked up at Galinda and her crew.
"Just met him today," she said.
"Don't think he's actually interested in you, Artichoke," said Shenshen.
Elphaba turned her attention to lacing up her boots.
Blah, blah, blah, he's beneath you. Something, something princely standards. Meh, meh, you'll never be more than a whatever. It was irksome, but not for the reasons it used to be.
"Has it ever occurred to you that he's just a boy?" she interrupted.
"He's not just a boy, he's a prince!" Galinda scoffed.
"And a person," said Elphaba. "It can be lonely having people force you into a box and hold you to expectations you might not even want to live up to." She stood and adjusted her jacket. "I hope you get to meet Fiyero sometime. He's a pretty great guy."
"You're talking nonsense."
"She just wants to pretend she knows something we don't."
Without further response, Elphaba followed Zulia, passing behind Fiyero as he removed his skates. Had he heard? Well, it didn't matter anyway.
"What's their problem?" Zulia asked.
"It bothers them that I don't conform to the norm," said Elphaba.
"Ah, then you'll like the Off Colors."
Zulia brought her to her flat. It was a small place she shared with Honeydew. They had several spare uniforms just in case the regular ones got damaged or stained.
"Zules? Who's this?" Honeydew asked.
"Elphaba. Eda got hurt."
Honeydew snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Sure, just like the last ten times she called in. You ever played?"
"No," said Elphaba. "But I've seen a lot of games. I'm confident I know what to do, and I'm fast."
She memorized the moves the other team used.
"She is," Zulia confirmed. "Darla and I watched her, she was practically flying. How long have you been skating, Elphaba?"
"About a year," she said.
"Wow! I would have guessed ten!"
Elphaba tried on a couple uniforms and they found Eda's fit her the closest, though it was still a little loose. Zulia had a sewing machine, so she pinned it and got to work on resizing it.
"You have a very short torso," Honeydew noted.
"Combined with my legs, it makes shopping a bitch," said Elphaba.
Zulia chuckled. "I can imagine so. I'll give you a sports bra, too. It's a design I made for Odalia. What's on your agenda today?"
"Nothing really. Why?"
"Well, we have this ritual as a team we do before every game," she said. "Team building exercise, a good meal, then we warm up at the rink."
"It sounds like fun," said Elphaba.
After her uniform was tailored, Elphaba went with Zulia and Honeydew to their team building place, instead of meeting them at the rink. It turned out to be one of the old warehouses on the edge of town. The interior was redone and people in suits and such were waiting for their own activities. Darla and Odalia were already there waiting for them.
"I knew it," said Darla. "You fit right in! Elphaba, this is Odalia."
Odalia waggled her fingers in greeting.
"Hi there," said Elphaba. This felt right. She was excited to actually be a part of a team. All her life she always had to raise her hand and ask to work alone. She was the odd one out. The person who sat on the bench. The one who was picked last and taken out first.
With these girls, she didn't feel like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
They were shown to a room. It was fairly spacious and tall fences rose up about ten feet.
"Okay, so how the game works is one of us is blindfolded and the others go up there and try to direct the blindfolded person through the maze," said Odalia.
"We usually take turns," said Darla. "Since you're new, you'll be going into the maze first."
Elphaba nodded and let them blindfold her. She heard them jog up the stairs to the top. Other groups could be heard shouting instructions to their friends.
"Okay, take five steps forward," said Darla.
She did and immediately smacked into the wall.
"Oh, I should have said four."
"I have long legs," said Elphaba.
Odalia got her through the entrance, Honeydew and Zulia got her through a few turns, and Darla got her over a pit. Elphaba didn't know if there actually was a pit or if it was a small divot that could be a tripping hazard.
"Turn left!"
Elphaba turned and hit a wall.
"Your other left!"
"I only have one left!" Elphaba called up.
It was fun trying to get through the maze. Elphaba made it through with only a few bumps. A lever was pulled and the maze walls turned into single straight lines, allowing her to return to the front. She passed off the blindfold to Darla and joined the others up top.
The maze changed again so it wasn't the same maze twice. It seemed to be a mixture of magic and mechanics. Elphaba now understood what the strange sounds were within the maze. It was changing every moment, hence the urgency to give directions as quickly as possible.
Each girl had a turn to go through the maze.
Afterwards, they went out to eat at a restaurant that boasted a board game night on Thursdays.
"The board game night is oodles of fun," said Darla. "We'll have to go soon."
"I'd love that," said Elphaba.
The food was good and the conversation was lively. By five they were back at the roller rink to gear up and warm up. And then they were on the train and then they were at the arena.
Elphaba breathed deeply and shook her nerves out of her hands. Frex hadn't liked it when she shook her emotions out, but he wasn't here, was he?
"You got this, El," said Odalia. "You're one of us now."
"Even if we don't win, you have potential," said Zulia. "There will be other games."
"Now let's get out there and show 'em!" said Darla.
They thrust their fists in the air and roared.
~o0o~
Darla held onto their trophy as they headed back to Shiz.
"We should celebrate," she said. "Want to see what clubs are open?"
"We could crash Fiyero Tiggular's party at the Ozdust," said Elphaba.
"His parties are legendary!" said Odalia, perking up. "Can we go?"
"He won't mind," said Elphaba. "Though everyone else in attendance hates me."
"Oh."
"There's an open bar."
"Let's go!"
The five of them headed to the Ozdust, which was still alight with music and chatter. The man under the street light skittered out of their way as they approached.
The music was still the fast-paced kind to get as many people out on the floor as possible.
Like always, people screamed upon Elphaba's entrance and the music came to a stand still.
"Hope that offer still stands, Tiggular," said Elphaba. "Or this is going to be really awkward."
Fiyero approached them wearing a huge smile that made Elphaba's heart skip a beat.
"Everyone is invited to a Fiyero party," he said. "How'd the derby go?"
Elphaba shrugged, then thrust the first place trophy into the air.
"WE WON!" she bellowed.
The girls cheered and they jumped up and down as one. The band took that as a sign to start back up.
"Then by all means festivate," said Fiyero. "Need some ice for your eye?"
Elphaba touched the tender skin and shrugged.
"It'll be fine," she said, heading to the bar. "You should see the other girl. Odalia launched her clear off the track."
"Yeah, I did!" said Odalia proudly.
"Sorry I missed it," said Fiyero. "Can I buy you a drink?"
"You already did."
"I did?"
"Open bar?"
"Oh, right." He laughed sheepishly.
"Is that raspberry ale thing any good?" she asked.
"Very," he said.
"We also have strawberry and apricot flavored ale," said the bartender.
"I'll take strawberry," said Elphaba.
The others placed their orders and pretended like no one was staring at them. A lot of the crowd went back to their dances, but the ones who had a particular problem with Elphaba's existence were still sending looks their way and talking about them.
"Don't look now," said Elphaba, "but your date doesn't seem too happy about you talking to me."
Fiyero glanced over at Galinda.
"I was just dancing with her," he said.
"Flying solo?" said Elphaba. "How irregular."
The others got their drinks, so she picked up her ale bottle.
"Later," she said to Fiyero and the girls found a table to sit at.
They toasted their victory and reminisced about the highlights of the game before moving on to other topics.
"I wish I could go to Shiz," Zulia sighed, stirring her drink with a cocktail onion. "The Fashion College is the best in Oz, but I kept getting rejected. Always with the same response, 'you're just not what we're looking for.'"
"At least you get a response," Darla huffed. "Local students get higher consideration for being accepted into Shiz. I had good grades, I did everything I was supposed to do, and they couldn't even give me the courtesy of a rejection letter? I followed up with the school so many times and got a lot of non-answers. 'Oh, just wait and see.' Wait two years for a yes or no letter in the mail?"
"I went for one year then was told I no longer qualified for scholarships of financial assistance," said Honeydew.
Something bad…
Elphaba looked at the students at the Ozdust. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen a single Animal student.
"Sorry, we should be celebrating," said Darla. "What do I need college for anyway? I have the rink and isn't half of business just figuring it out along the way?"
"I suppose," said Elphaba. "Want me to get us another round?"
"I'll get it," said Odalia. "You got knocked so hard in the head, you'd probably order us all milk!"
"Itching for a fight?" Elphaba teased.
"Get a few more rounds in me and we'll see!" she laughed, punching Elphaba in the shoulder.
"So, you're probably graduating next year, right El?" said Darla.
"No, I'm a first year," she said. "My little sister and I started here together."
"Aw, that's sweet," said Honeydew. "It's nice to get to school with a friend already. Is she here?"
Right… a friend.
"She's over there with that Munchkin boy," said Elphaba. "Light pink dress, brown hair, freckles."
"Thought she might be green like you," said Zulia.
"No. She has olive skin, but I guess when I was being made at the baby factory there was a miscommunication as to what olive skin looked like."
They laughed at her joke and she felt good.
Odalia soon returned with their drinks.
"Don't look now," she said. "But that handsome prince has not been able to take his eyes off you the second you walked into this room. Take a look, but make it subtle."
Elphaba blatantly looked over her shoulder just in time to see Fiyero quickly look away. He was sitting at a table with Galinda's group.
"I think that whole table is giving me the stink eye for daring to show my face here," said Elphaba.
Sure enough, Galinda pointedly looked at her and said something that made her friends laugh. Fiyero just frowned.
Elphaba ignored them and when her ale was gone, she stood up.
"I'm going to dance," she said. "Shall we?"
"Yes!" Darla hopped up and ran onto the floor with her.
This felt right. It felt good. Elphaba felt good. Happy. She finally found people who liked her instead of barely tolerating her existence.
Someone bumped into her back and she turned around. Fiyero spun around and grinned, continuing to dance as if they hadn't collided. Elphaba looked around warily for punch bowls and paint buckets, but saw none, so she danced near him, letting him into the group.
Her dancing was still goofy, but she didn't care. Maybe it was the alcohol, the triumph, or just the fact that she felt like she belonged, but what mattered was that she felt happy.
"How often are those derbies?" Fiyero asked over the music.
"About once a month," Darla answered.
"I'll have to check out the next one," he said. "Sounds groovy!"
Odalia pulled Elphaba down and said in her ear, "Told you he was into you!"
Elphaba glanced at Fiyero. She really liked him in spite of everything. Why was she continually drawn back to him? If her loop started when she first woke up and not at that carriage, would she have ever had any of these stolen moments?
It was because of his advice that she went out and tried different things. She met Bo and Darla and everyone else thanks to him.
He was the catalyst to save her from her monotony.
The music slowed down. Fiyero took Elphaba's hand with that silent question.
Okay… just for tonight. He liked her this loop. The rest of the time he could be Galinda's.
Once again, Elphaba was hyper-aware of Fiyero's hand touching her bare skin. The derby tops showed some midriff, though thankfully the shorts were high-waisted. She was aware of how much skin she was showing. Her hair was coming loose from her plait, curling and fighting to break free, and she no doubt smelled strongly of sweat and adrenaline.
Yet Fiyero didn't seem to care. Why, when all logic stated he cared so much about what others thought would he hide his true self?
There was no hat to shield her eyes from the looks she was getting this time, so she let his eyes capture her attention. They were beautiful eyes. She glanced over his head to see the girls had partnered up, dancing together with dreamy expressions in an effort to tease her. She made a face at them and they fell into a fit of giggles.
Fiyero glanced over his shoulder.
"Ignore them, they think they're funny," said Elphaba.
He chuckled and sobered.
"How do you know what I'm like?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Back at the rink," he said. "You told Galinda and her friends that you hoped they'd get to meet me sometime. Me, not Prince Fiyero Tiggular. I've never really had anyone look past that and it's been on my mind all day. You've been on my mind all day."
She felt her ears heat up.
"I can't explain it," she said, trying to think of an explanation that didn't make her sound crazy. "Maybe we're just… kindred spirits?"
He nodded and smiled, the dimple appearing.
"Must be," he said. "Say… would you like to get breakfast with me in the morning?"
Before she could respond, she heard a nasty voice say, "Your kind isn't welcome here."
Elphaba stiffened and turned to see a cluster of guys confronting her friends.
"We were invited," said Darla icily. "This isn't your party, you have no right to tell us what to do or where to go."
"You're all just trash! You Animals stink up the whole place."
"Leave them be!" Elphaba snapped, getting between them.
The boy sneered and looked her up and down.
"Artichoke. Should've expected that you'd ruin a good party."
"Hey, everyone is welcome," said Fiyero. "It is my party and I say they stay!"
"You may be a prince, but you don't rule this school," said one of the other guys. "Go back to your fan club, pretty boy!"
He shoved Fiyero and Elphaba pushed back.
"Keep your hands off my friends!" she growled.
"Rather have our hands on you instead, string bean?" the ring leader sneered. "Might need a couple more drinks to drown out the green, but you have quite the set of stems."
He grabbed for her ass, so she punched him before he could make contact. His friend lunged at her, getting blocked by Fiyero.
The fight cascaded into a full on brawl.
"ENOUGH!"
Elphaba spread her arms wide and everyone froze in place. Almost everyone. Fiyero let go of the guy who grabbed her and backed up, looking stunned.
Taking a deep breath, Elphaba twitched her pinkie and released her friends.
"RETREAT!" she shouted and ran out, letting everyone else go once she was at the door.
"I'm sorry," said Fiyero when they were a safe distance away. "This isn't supposed to happen."
"It's my fault," said Elphaba. "People who befriend me get a target on their back."
"It's not about you," said Darla, patting her shoulder. "Anti-Animal sentiments have been getting worse since we were children."
"My teacher told me about it, I just—I didn't think—"
"Hey, it happens," said Zulia, squeezing her hand. "This isn't anything new for us. We had fun for a while. Thank you for the invitation, Fiyero."
"Yes, of course," he said. "Anytime."
"If you want, why don't you come with us to Kaleidoscope?" Darla suggested.
"Yeah? Sounds groovy," said Fiyero.
Elphaba's head was in a whirl. The adrenaline. The alcohol. The horror. By the time they reached Kaleidoscope and had another drink she was ready to just focus on the moment as it happened. No past, no future.
"Excuse me."
She looked down.
"Hey! Bo!" she said happily. "Ladies! Bo is here! He plays guitar at Javawocky, remember?"
Bo seemed very confused and waved slightly.
"Swell!" said Darla, clapping him on the shoulder. "Any friend of El's is a friend of ours."
"Would… you like to join us at our table?" Bo asked.
They were all able to relax again. Kaleidoscope was definitely Animal friendly. They all drank and danced and talked until the discotheque started clearing out.
"Bye, El!" the girls chorused, hugging her. "See you Thursday for board games?"
"Wouldn't miss it for all the corn in Munchkinland," Elphaba slurred, staggering into Fiyero. "I'll bring the trophy to the rink tomorrow."
"Careful," he chuckled.
They leaned into each other on the way back to campus. Though he was yawning, Fiyero saw her to her room.
"Night, duchess," he murmured. "I think I might actually like Shiz if you're here."
Elphaba smiled. "You know, I think I might, too."
They just stared at each other a long moment, then Fiyero stretched up on his toes and kissed her cheek.
"I'll see you tomorrow then," he said, holding her hand until he was out of her reach.
Elphaba's heart beat fast, waking up her sluggish mind.
"Tomorrow then," she murmured, feeling a tingling sensation where he had kissed her.
She bit her lips together and patted for her key. She couldn't remember where she put it, so she just used magic to unlock the door.
It was dark, the only light source being the nightlight Galinda kept in the bathroom. Elphaba tiptoed quietly into there to brush her teeth and use the toilet. Back in the room, she pulled off her shoes and socks before flopping into bed.
She must have zonked out instantly because when something hit her head, scaring her awake, the lights were on and Galinda was up, dressed, and glaring at her.
"Morning, Gal."
"You do not get to call me that like we're friends or something!"
Elphaba winced and sat up. Oh, Oz, her feet hurt. Her whole body ached.
"You caused a huge commotion at what would have otherwise been a very nice party!" Galinda ranted. "You crashed it to start with—"
"Fiyero invited me," said Elphaba tiredly.
"You stole him from me!"
"That's fair." Elphaba dragged her fingers through her hair, effectively getting them tangled up. She yanked them free and sighed. "I didn't plan it, Galinda. I never would have imagined that you and I would have the same taste in men, but… you have so many options. Fiyero is the first person in my entire life to show genuine interest in me. Can't I just have this?"
"He's a prince, why would he…" she trailed off and frowned pensively. "But you saw him first, didn't you?"
"I'm not going to fight over him like a toy," said Elphaba. "He's a free agent and can flirt, dance, and pursue whomever he likes."
"Do you like him?"
Elphaba nodded. "I do when he's not trying to be somebody he isn't."
Galinda sighed, then wrinkled her nose.
"Take a bath and air out the room. You reek," she sniffed and left for breakfast.
Elphaba couldn't argue with that and showered. Her hair was greasy from the sweat and she felt grubby, like a toddler's hands.
The hot water eased the tension in her shoulders, but it hurt her feet where the skin had rubbed away. That was the problem with these loops. Her body could only adjust so much.
Still… she won. Elphaba had won ribbons before at local fairs, but nothing like this before. It felt good. She felt invincible and she was excited to have plans with her friends.
She, Elphaba Fay Thropp, had friends.
After her shower, she changed into a clean dress and changed the sheets on her bed, opening the window to air out the sport smell. She reclined on the loveseat to wait for Fiyero to arrive to take her to breakfast as they had discussed.
And then she stepped back from the carriage careening towards her.
Elphaba blinked in confusion, then reality set back in.
Right…
How foolish to think that a perfect day like that would be the key to move forward. Her actions didn't matter. She bonded with those girls, but it wouldn't last. She would have to constantly prove herself worthy to join their team. It would be the same every time. The same maze, the same meal, the same conversations, the same game. No growth, no chances to meet new opponents, to deepen their bonds. To practice and explore and thrive.
Bo had been so confused because he never met her that cycle. He was just too shy to say otherwise.
That sort of confident approach wouldn't go anywhere either.
"Yero, we're here."
"Already?" Fiyero yawned and lifted his head. "Av, don't buy the absinthe again. I'm still seeing the green fairy."
Elphaba felt a deep sorrow in her chest. Only she remembered their fun at the roller rink. Skating and laughing so naturally. Anything else after that would be so false and rehearsed.
Fiyero tipped his head. "Are you alright, Miss?"
All she had was the monotony again. Who would be convinced to do something different for a stranger they never met?
Elphaba shook her head and went over to the grassy knoll that overlooked Suicide Canal. She laid in the grass and stared up at the clouds.
Now what did she do?