"Oh, come on, come on!" Glinda stomped a pretty, pink heel on the floor, waiting by the dormitory door.

"Don't get your hair in a twister!" Fiyero sighed, busy doing his makeup and adjusting his own outfit in the bathroom mirror. The Winkie Prince had to look his best—his most handsome and sexy—for graduation!

"Doth mine eyes deceive me? Glinda ready before anyone else?" Elphaba teased as she glided past, also on her way to get dressed.

"Elphie! You aren't even out of your eveningwear yet!" Glinda shrieked, scandalized. Elphaba cackled over her shoulder at Glinda.

"S-sorry, Ms. Glinda! I was not disciplined as I ought to be either!" The fourth and final member of their Charmed Circle bowed as he, too, sped by.

"At least you're dressed, Bin!" Glinda sighed. "The other two? Disgraciosus!"

Despite himself, Boq felt a small smile grace his small face. It had been a long, interesting four years of uni to say the least. But somehow, the Charmed Circle managed to survive, even if not entirely unscathed. Freshman, sophomore, junior, senior. Now it was finally time for graduation. It was their fourth and final year at Shiz University, and four years ago felt like yesterday and a lifetime ago.

When we were freshies… that was really Fiyero's year, wasn't it? Glinda chuckled to herself despite herself. The handsome and mysterious Prince Tigelaar came from the western plains of the Vinkus, taking the school by storm with his dashing good looks and charming, suave, laidback mannerisms. He excited and delightified the other Shiz students, novel and unique. He was the talk of the town, emblematic of the college life, especially as a freshman. Drinking, dancing, parties, pretty girls… He was fun and freedom in human form, charismatic and adventurous. He was never afraid to seduce and corrupt his peers to the dark and wild side.

He mellowed out over the past four years, but as evidenced by his well-manicured face, outward appearances still mattered greatly to him. He dressed in traditional Vinkus robes, but even they were of the highest quality and cleanest appearance. He wore blush and eyeliner, the contours highlighting his cheekbones and making his dark skin shine and glow. His hair was tied back in a tight, near ponytail of dreadlocks.

ooo

By the grace of Ozma, the quartet made it to the graduation ceremony in the nick of time. Glinda's heels clacked and clattered loudly against the pavement as she fell in line behind all the other graduating Shiz students.

"How do you run in those things?" Elphaba snickered, walking. There was no need to run. The procession was slow anyway.

"You could've been a fashion major," Fiyero agreed, chuckling as well. See? They'd already caught up with the pack, and without running.

"I did minor in it!" Glinda replied, nose in the air. Boq watched them from behind with a serene, pleasant smile.

Second year was Ms. Elphaba's for sure! After the fun of freshman year died off, the next great adventure came from their resident green girl. It all started in bio class when substitute teacher Nikidik brought in a poor, defenseless, little, lion cub to experiment on in front of the entire class. We had to stop her from going completely and utterly feral too!

Boq chuckled to himself. Even though he, Glinda, and Fiyero were all also appalled by the poor treatment of the lion cub, it was Elphaba who nearly blew a gasket and marched right up to the Emerald City that very day. Animal rights consumed her, and soon, it was all she could (or would) think or talk about. She was fiery and passionate, the first of the four to really get a clue what she wanted to do with her life. Her passion sparked a fire in the others, and one by one, they slowly began to find themselves.

An inspiration to us all! Even if we didn't realize it yet… Boq and the others stepped into the graduation hall where a sea of other students already waited and whispered excitedly. The Charmed Circle was forced to part, but only because they'd each majored in something different. Elphaba majored in life sciences, and Glinda in political sciences, so they sat on opposite sides of the graduation hall. Fiyero, a business major, was in the section in front of Glinda's.

Boq had chosen agricultural sciences, of all things, and was seated in front of Elphaba's section. It was not a degree that seemed outwardly prestigious, but with a large chunk of Oz's economy agrarian, it was a versatile degree. Whether Boq returned to the golden fields of Munchkin Land, or went to the wild west Vinkus, or even the Emerald City, knowledge about farming was always useful.

The Headshiztress stepped up to the podium, and Boq's eyes darted to the sciences section where Elphaba was rolling her eyes and pretending to gag dramatically any time he, Fiyero, or Glinda caught her disdainful gaze. This was part of the reason she'd wanted to skip the ceremony. Aside from loathing the usual pomp and circumstance, she loathed Madam Morrible. But it was three against one, and Elphaba was forced into it by the rest of the Charmed Circle. Oh well, it was just one short day…

ooo

"Life sciences!" Madam Morrible's voice boomed out across the auditorium, and Elphaba and a handful of other students rose to their feet. In response, all the others clapped and cheered. Boq clapped as loud, hard, and fast as his tiny hands would allow, and the green girl heard Fiyero's familiar wolf whistle from the crowded business section.

Ugh. Disgusting. Droll. Pretentious. There was only one in the entire crowd whose cheers made her smile genuinely. Glinda. Brown eyes managed to find golden hair, and the faintest bunching up of pink clothing at the neckline of an otherwise blue Shiz robe. Ah, there she was.

"That's my Elphie!" Glinda pointed excitedly, and Elphaba couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle. The ceremony was still a huge waste of time, in her opinion, but Glinda refused to let her girlfriend skip out on her college graduation.

"Four years, Elphie! FOUR YEARS! It's your senior! Your very last! You can't just NOT show up to the finish line!" And no matter how Elphaba tried to explain that she didn't view it as "failing to show up to the finish line" Glinda wouldn't have it. "I swear I will drag you there by the ear if I must, and I will happily sit in your lap in the life sciences section the entire time if it keeps you there!"

"Well, my pretty, what if I WANT you sitting on my lap for the entire school to see?" Elphaba asked wickedly. After Glinda shrieked, slapped her arm lightly, and turned as pink as her dress, she stormed away in a huff, insisting that Elphaba had better have her graduation robe on by graduation time.

The Charmed Circle would've said that junior year, though, really belonged to Boq. In some ways, it was the hardest and longest of all. Third-quarter slump was real. But shy, quiet, polite, little Boq had grown a spine of steel in that third year, refusing to allow any of his classmates to NOT graduate, especially after Elphaba's scare in second-year when she almost dropped out and went rogue. Boq refused to sit idly by and watch his beloved Charmed Circle nearly fall apart again.

"You're heartless, man!" Fiyero howled in horror, covering his face as Drill Sergeant Boq—all he lacked was the whistle—came marching through the dorms. Now was not the time for drinking, partying, running, or hiding! Now was the time to crack down on studying and growing up!

"Quite the contrary," the Munchkin told the Winkie Prince icily. "I love you too much to NOT see you graduate with me." He earned Fiyero's respect that day, and his romantic love later on. Truly, the Prince never would've imagined he would fall in love with a little farm-boy Munchkin, but then again, he never thought he'd be friends with a green-skinned girl either, or join a civil rights cause.

ooo

And that left senior year as Glinda's. Fiyero watched her with a proud smile as the entire class finally got to walk across the stage one by one. As the ceremony went, at first, Morrible simply called out every graduating major by class and school, since it would simply be too long to call every single student out by name. But for a grand finale, everyone was able to walk across the stage. It wasn't quite the same, as it still had to be a rather swift procession, but Glinda held her head high as she flounced and trounced up the stairs onto the stage.

Golden hair gleaming in the spotlight, she paused at the top of the world and looked down at the darkened auditorium. That tiny, sacred piece of people was clenched in her pink-nailed hands, the one with her and Morrible's name on it, officially decreeing her competent enough to begin a career in politics. And who knew? Maybe someday she would move onto even bigger, better things and try her hand at law!

Similar to Fiyero, it was a path she never imagined herself going down. She was a rich, high society girl, an aristocratic elite. First and foremost, her parents secretly hoped she would marry a wealthy and powerful individual while she was away at uni. That was Glinda's plan too as a freshman meeting Prince Fiyero for the first time. But oh, how life could end up changing while she was dancing through! Elphaba became the sour green apple of her crystal blue eye, and although she sometimes found the green girl's passion exasperating, it lit a fire in Glinda that she never expected. Elphaba had a sense of purpose and drive that attracted Glinda, a girl whose life was always planned out by someone else until then.

By changing her fate and rewriting her story, Elphaba unwittingly encouraged the rest of her friends to do the same, Glinda included.

First, it was falling in love with you. Now, it's this. Breathless, she barely held in a giggle as she crossed the stage and came down the stairs on the other side. Elphaba, Boq, and Fiyero were waiting for her, all of them beaming. Ah, but because I knew all of you, I know I have been changed…

"Oh, Elphie!" Overcome with emotion, Glinda flung herself into her girlfriend's arms and kissed her. Elphaba stumbled back in surprise, but she was quick to plant her feet firmly on the ground and wrap her bony arms back around Glinda.

"Ha! GAY!" Fiyero shouted, but before he could say more, Boq had playfully jumped up to grab the collar of his robe and pull him down for a kiss. Like Elphaba before him, Fiyero's eyes went comically wide, then he more than happily returned his boyfriend's kiss.

Here's to the past four years! Glinda thought, lips still locked with Elphaba's, pink and green. And here's to four—and many, many—more!

AN: Funny, isn't it? We're "opening at the close" and starting Pride 2024 with graduation, of all things, LOL!

(My graduation was actually May 2023. Sweet Oz, can't believe it's already been over a year…)

But as per my tradition, of course Gelphie goes first! And it's especially timely given the movie that's going to be out in just under 6 months! So excited and thrillified! I couldn't be happier/gayer! LOL