A/N Thank you for all the reviews I have received. It makes my day. Thank you all very much. Enjoy the next chapter.
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Elphaba bites her lip, she doesn't know how she could talk to Madame Morrible like that. She can sink through the ground. Her father taught her never to be disrespectful to your superiors. She hopes that Nessa will appreciate her efforts and that Madem Morrible will not complain to her father. Somewhere in her gut she hopes that Madame Morrible will ignore her request, then she can tell Nessa she tried. But on the other hand, she wants to give everyone what she never gets; namely an opportunity. Even someone she doesn't like, like Galinda. She can already feel the shivers on her arm. She enjoys the cool evening walk. The weather is still nice to walk outside without a thick winter coat. It is quiet on campus because most students are already at the party. She hopes Galinda has already gone to the party so she can have a quiet evening. Unfortunately, luck is not on her side. She hears giggling coming from the hallway. She opens the door with a sigh. Three pairs of eyes look at her anxiously and critically.
"It's my room too," she says defensively.
"This is also my room," Galinda repeats in a childish voice after her. "How old are you? Can't you make a decent argument? Keep your dirty claws off my stuff," Glinda warns, glaring at Elphaba. Her friends giggle.
"We're busy now. Can't you leave?" Pfannee asks bluntly.
"No," Elphaba lies down on her bed with a book. She starts to wonder if inviting Galinda to the magic lessons was a good idea. Maybe she should have just sent a letter.
''How dare you talk like that, you have no respect." Pfannee says condescendingly.
Elphaba looks furious. "Yes, let's talk about being respectful, do you think it's respectful to yell at your professor or ignore people you consider inferior?"
Pfannee rolls her eyes. "You just don't have a life. None of those things are important."
Elphaba feels her anger growing.
Glinda swallows and she feels the air change, everything seems to become static. She certainly has the powers to become Wicked, Glinda thinks fearfully. "Come on, girls, we're done. Take your things to your own room, then I'll tidy up here. Fiyero will pick me up soon." Glinda says soothingly, not wanting the situation to become worse than it already is.
"Sweet Oz, it's already nine o'clock. He's an hour late," ShenShen says in horror.
Elphaba raises her eyebrow. She's surprised she walked for almost an hour. It felt like less time.
Glinda winks. "That's not a problem. We'll arrive fashionably late. See you at the party," Glinda waves them off.
"Remember the plan," Pfannee whispers. "She deserves it after treating us like that."
Earlier that evening, ShenShen and Pfannee found her ugly hat, a gift from her grandmother. They devised a plan to give it to the green freak, although Glinda thinks the prank is far too childish and far too much of a risk for their mission. She has to keep an eye on Elphaba, but how can she do that if they keep avoiding each other. It will eventually become noticeable that Glinda is always near Elphaba.
Glinda nods. She had hoped everyone had forgotten.
"Finally peace," Elphaba sighs after they leave.
Glinda completely agrees. She sees her so-called grandmother's hat.
"You know, Elphaba, here, this is for you," Glinda says as she hands the hat to Elphaba.
Elphaba puts her book down and sits up slowly. "For me?"
Glinda nods. "Yes, our friendship didn't start well, so this is a gift from me to you."
"Fffriendship? III don't know what to say," Elphaba stammers. "Why?" She can't remember what she did differently this morning. In recent weeks she has ignored Galinda as much as possible and listened to her sister as much as like the situation just now, Galinda did nothing to help her, but she certainly didn't support Pfannee. Maybe Galinda is good inside after all, says a hopeful voice in her head.
"Because you two go well together. Black is the new pink. You belong together."
"Um, okay, if you say so," Elphaba says bewildered. She knows nothing about fashion, so she accepts everything from Galinda about that subject.
"Thank you, Galinda. You know, I have something too." But Elphaba is interrupted by someone knocking on the door.
"Wait a moment," Glinda says, opening the door. "Oh, darling, you didn't have to bring the rose. You look handsome. Let me grab my bag, and I'll be right there," she kisses Fiyero on the cheek.
"You know, you should come too, with your new cool hat. Maybe it's good for you to go outside instead of always being in your books," Glinda says as she throws her bag over her shoulder. She knows Elphaba isn't coming. Now she has proof to her friends that she pulled off the prank. Fiyero heard what she said. She doesn't actually want to do it, but she also doesn't feel like talking to Pfannee to justify why she didn't do it. The girls may be empty-headed, but it's also exhausting to hear all their stories. Although Glinda sometimes plays with the idea that life is quite easy if you are like her two so-called best friends. They are not always bad, you can have a good laugh with them and they mean well in some way.
"Babe, are you still coming?" Fiyero asks when he sees Galinda just staring.
Glinda shakes her head. ''Yes, of course my dear.
Fortunately, they only become stories and Elphaba never goes to the party, Glinda thinks happily. She doesn't have to worry about anything. Her cover still stands and now she can hopefully expose Fiyero as the person who created Elphaba Wicked. Her parents will be proud and she can go on other missions later. Her future looks good.
"A very nice evening Elphaba," Glinda waves her fingers carefully.
Elphaba is speechless and stares at Galinda. Galinda being nice? No, that can't be. Elphaba thinks to herself. On the other hand, she also did something nice for Galinda. Maybe she was wrong, and Galinda is a kind person. Elphaba thinks as she looks in her closet for a dress that won't clash with her skin tone.
If Galinda says the hat suits her, then it must be true. Because Galinda knows more about that kind of thing than Elphaba will ever want. Maybe she can still tell Galinda her surprise before Madame Morrible does, Elphaba thinks happily. If Nessa is also there, the evening will only get better, Elphaba continues to dream. She gets some kind of hope. Hope it will be a nice evening for her too.
Elphaba looks at herself in the mirror once more and nods in satisfaction. She puts on her hat and walks through the door. She feels a new form of enthusiasm flowing through her body. "This is the night Elphaba Thropp goes to her first party," she says proudly to herself.
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A glance from all the students, and Elphaba knows she has made a mistake. She spots Galinda, looking alarmed, clutching her practice wand. All she hears is the chatter of the other students. She tries to push back her tears. With no other choice, she steps forward and begins to dance. She has no idea what she's doing with her feet and hands, but she shows that no one can hurt Elphaba Thropp. She will seek revenge on everyone who has done this to her. Before she can even plan her revenge, she feels a tap on her shoulder.
None other than Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands steps onto the dance floor. "May I join you?" she asks shyly.
Elphaba gestures invitingly.
Glinda looks nervously around the room but steps to where Elphaba indicates. She starts mimicking Elphaba's movements. When she veers slightly off-centre, Pfannee and ShenShen immediately come to her side. Pfannee grabs her arm to pull her away, but Galinda breaks free. She shakes her head and turns around.
"Galinda?" ShenShen asks softly. Pfannee stands behind ShenShen it with a meaningful look.
"We've gone too far," Galinda says softly as she returns to the center. She looks at Elphaba and nods. "This was not a funny joke." They start the dance again, this time accompanied by music. Gradually more students join. The entire room imitates Elphaba's dance.
Elphaba can't believe what's happening. She looks at the group of dance students in bewilderment. No one stares at her or laughs anymore. She feels someone grab her hand. Galinda pulls her into the crowd. All feelings of humiliation and despair seem to disappear. The people around her are having fun, thanks to her. She doesn't know what to think or feel. There are so many conflicting feelings going through her of joy and betrayal.
"Elphaba, this is Fiyero, he is my date tonight. Fiyero, this is Elphaba, my roommate and friend."
Elphaba stares at Galinda with her mouth open, but Fiyero is already shaking her hand. "So you're the lady who saves the party. It's a pleasure to meet you.' Fiyero says charmingly.
"Um, nice party. Thank you.'
Galinda giggles. "Come on, let's dance." She pulls them both onto the dance floor.
Elphaba tries to imitate Fiyero and Galinda's movements. Fiyero laughs and takes Elphaba's hands to guide her. Elphaba immediately withdraws her hand. Fiyero whispers something in her ear and Elphaba starts laughing. Fiyero extends his hand and Elphaba shyly takes his hand. Fiyero slowly accompanies Elphaba to the rhythm of the music.
Glinda keeps a close eye on everything, but Fiyero doesn't seem to make any wrong moves. She hears Fiyero asking questions and Elphaba gives a stammering answer.
Glinda sees that Elphaba keeps looking around her. She doesn't seem completely comfortable, but Glinda doesn't find that strange, given Elphaba's past.
Elphaba notices Boq turning Nessa back and forth, although he doesn't seem to enjoy it. Nessa, on the other hand, claps with joy and waves at everyone, except when their eyes meet briefly, after which Nessa glares at Elphaba.
Elphaba shakes her head and continues to enjoy herself. Fiyero has Galinda in his arms. They dance together and laugh. Elphaba feels a twinge of jealousy through her. Soon Fiyero lets go of Galinda and takes Elphaba's hand. Even though Elphaba has to force herself not to immediately withdraw her hand, because she is not used to it, she continues to laugh. Fiyero tries to dance with the two girls at the same time. Elphaba giggles at Galinda's comment, for a moment they have eye contact, for a moment Elphaba reads all of Galinda's feelings in her eyes, and vice versa. The girls smile at each other and take each other's hands.
Maybe I'm not looking for revenge after all. Elphaba thinks, But such happiness will not last long, says a little voice in her head
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"Oh dear Oz, Elphaba. It was a beautiful evening. Have you ever experienced such a party?" Glinda lies on her bed with her legs in the air. It was getting late in the evening. Fortunately, they can sleep in the next day. Fiyero had wanted to take them to their room, but he was so drunk that Elphaba and Galinda escorted him to his room first. Once inside, Galinda immediately took off her shoes. Elphaba sat on her bed and stared at her feet.
Elphaba shakes her head.
Glinda sits up. "Have you ever had a party?" After seeing the pain in Elphaba's eyes, Glinda has decided that she is going to ignore her parents' advice. She had to do something at that moment and save Elphaba from humiliation. The small smile she received from Elphaba made her continue dancing with Elphaba. Her heart made a crazy leap of joy. She doesn't know yet how she will continue with her mission, maybe it was a bad step, but she is satisfied.
"Does attending funerals count?" she asks seriously.
Glinda starts laughing. "Oh Elphie, you're so funny."
"Elphie?"
Glinda nods. "That's my nickname for you. Do you like it?"
Elphaba shrugs. "It's a bit perky."
Glinda giggles. 'It suits you perfectly. Come on, Elphie, let's do something.' This could be her chance to get information from Elphaba, Glinda thinks.
'What? It's the middle of the night.'
Glinda pouts. "Let's tell each other something no one else knows about us." Glinda walks to Elphaba's bed and sits next to her.
"Like?" Elphie asks worriedly.
"Like why you sleep with this green, funny bottle under your bed." Glinda holds the thing in the air and dances around with it.
"Galinda, no, give it back," Elphaba says angrily, ripping it from Glinda's hands.
'You're always so serious. You never do anything fun. I just want to get to know my new best friend." Glinda pouts as she flops onto her own bed.
Elphaba sighs.
"Why won't you tell me anything?" asks Glinda in a childish voice.
"It was my mother's. She gave it to me before she died. As if she knew she would die during childbirth from mine sister." Elphaba stares sadly at the bottle.
"I'm sorry, how was she like?" says Glinda, interested as she sits up.
Elphaba rubs her face. "My mother was a very kind woman. We always played together."
Glinda looks expectantly.
Elphaba stares back. She feels uncomfortable and doesn't know what to say. "Why are you being so nice to me, anyway?"
Glinda leans back as she tosses her hair. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm always nice."
Elphaba shakes her head. ''We all know that's not the case. You have called me different names, spread gossip about me, turned my sister against me, should I continue?''
Glinda turns white. She knows she's done it all, but now that Elphaba mentions it like that she feels like a terrible person. " I never wanted to turn your sister against you, but please don't continue," murmurs Glinda.
Elphaba rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. She's not into Galinda's games. She wants answers. "Well, tell me something you've never told anyone. Why are you suddenly being so nice? Why did you step onto the dance floor? Why did you bring my bag? How did you even know it was my school bag? Why do you pretend to be someone you're not?" She immediately regrets her outburst when she sees Galinda's shocked face. She remembers her happy feeling before the dance, that she had agreed with herself that she would give Galinda a chance. ''Sorry,'' she mumbles so softly that Galinda almost doesn't hear.
Glinda starts to feel frustrated, but she needs to remain calm. The more information she gets from Elphaba, the better for her investigation. Although now it is more about her. She should answer and then ask the questions back, Glinda thinks. "I, um, I didn't know you well. I was scared, and I said stupid things. Everyone wanted to know more about you. The more terrible things I said about you, the more they liked me. I found it easy.'' ooh Oz, how can I say these terrible things, Glinda thinks in horror. ''I certainly want to change. You did something very nice for me. You made sure I got placed in Madame Morrible's class. I had to do something to thank you. That's why I went dancing with you. I wanted to do the right thing. I hope you will give me another chance. "
Elphaba looks suspicious. She feels like it's not the whole truth. All her life she has relied on her instincts to protect herself. Her instincts always proved right; she just can't figure out why her gut feeling doesn't match what she sees.
"Come on, Elphaba," says Glinda, finding Elphaba's suspicious gaze unsettling and the silence too long. "You're nice to others, even if you don't admit it. Let someone else do something nice for you." Glinda goes to Elphaba's bed and takes her hand. Elphaba pulls her hand away, but Glinda takes her hand again "Believe that not everyone in the world is bad. There are many people who are beautiful inside and out, just like you."
The room falls silent. Glinda bites her lip. She shouldn't have said that.
Elphaba tries to process everything that has happened. But it's too much; the joke, Glinda's kind gesture, now she's calling her beautiful. I'm not beautiful, she sternly thinks to herself. Too many emotions are surfacing. She stands up. "I have to go," she whispers.
"No, stop. I'm sorry. I said things that may be true but too early in our friendship," says Glinda quickly. She had to make sure Elphaba stayed with her. It was the only response she could think of. Somewhere, she feels panic because she did the one thing her parents were very strict about. But on the other hand, she doesn't mind. She really wants to be friends with the odd green girl. What do her parents know about what she can and cannot do? They've kept her hidden for far too long. Now it's Galinda's chance to grow. Growing means pushing the boundaries. She is free and her parents are not there to stop her right now. She will deal with the consequences later. She follows her instincts like a spy with her heart, not her mind.
Elphaba stands still and slowly turns around. Her heart leaps with joy. "Friends?"
Glinda nods. "If you want, at least." She feels happy, when they see Elphaba's smile. If she can gain the green girl's trust with something so small, she will do it. The conflict feelings keep fighting against each other. Maybe later in the conversation she can come up with something to reassure her parents. The feeling of keeping her parents happy remains a little stronger now.
Elphaba smiles from ear to ear. She nods enthusiastically. "I just don't know much about it," she admits softly.
Glinda giggles. She knows she made the right choice; she has never seen Elphaba so happy. "No problem. I'll teach you everything. Rule 1: Be polite," says Glinda as she extends her hand. ''Hello, I'm Galinda Upland from the Upper Uplands.''
Elphaba looks confused, but shakes Galinda's hand anyway.
"Now you have to introduce yourself," Galinda says cheerfully as she continues to shake Elphaba's hand.
Elphaba rolls her eyes. She has some basic knowledge of the social rules
''You shouldn't do that,'' Galinda says sternly. "Are you going to say anything?" she asks challengingly.
Elphaba suppresses her urge to roll her eyes again. "Hello, I'm Elphaba Thropp."
Glinda nods approvingly. "Rule 2: Don't be too sarcastic and pretend to be interested in what others say."
Elphaba rolls her eyes.
"Exactly that. So, don't do that. Friends don't like that. Pretend you're interested. Rule number 3: Laugh some more. Your serious face is not good for making friends." Suddenly Glinda feels a new idea coming on. Elphaba needs a friend. But who but me, she asks herself in her mind. She knows that now she's behaving like Galinda Upland will behave, but she doesn't care. She feels like she is flying, she feels like she is making progress on her mission.
"Oh, okay, but what should I say if I'm not interested?"
Glinda shrugs. "Don't ask such difficult questions.'' Glinda starts to smile, she knows who to ask to be friends with Elphaba but herself. Yes, the mission is heading in the right direction again. ''Just start at the beginning. Start practicing with Fiyero."
"Why with him?"
"Because he was quite nice to you. And you seem very comfortable with him.'' Oz, why am I saying that now? Glinda thinks in alarm. She sees that Elphaba hasn't thought about Fiyero yet. Glinda feels in a conflict situation. One moment she thinks Fiyero is the solution, but on the other hand she feels jealousy growing. She feels a lot worse; she doesn't understand how she feels. At first it was happy, because she felt like she was really helping Elphaba, but now that she made that comment, she felt worse. She soon realizes that this is the entrance she is looking for to show her parents that she is still the right distance from Elphaba. The jealousy feeling disappears immediately
"He almost ran me over." Elphaba says shocked and still a little angry.
"That was at the beginning of your friendship."
"That was this morning."
"Yesterday morning."
Elphaba looks annoyed.
"Okay, not relevant," says Glinda, holding her hands up. "But he did give you a hand kiss and was very nice to you during the party. I think he likes you."
Elphaba turns dark green. Honestly, Elphaba doesn't know what she feels. But she knows one thing about having boyfriends: you never steal someone else's boyfriend. She learned that by listening to all of Nessa's stories. And she has seen with Boq and Nessa that their way is not the way to have a relationship. "What do you mean? Wasn't he your date? Or boyfriend."
Glinda starts to laugh. "My boyfriend. That's a good one. No, thank you." The only reason she went with Fiyero was because he was the only one who could still pose a threat to Elphaba. But Fiyero is as innocent as she is.
"I don't understand you. You danced together the whole evening. You flirted with him in the morning and arranged for him to go on a date with you."
"He also danced and talked with you half the evening. Believe me, I know these things."
"So, you don't mind if I take your boyfriend?"
"'Take' is a bit of a stretch, so go talk to him first. But I don't mind. He's not my boyfriend, and I thought you didn't like him," says Glinda playfully.
Elphaba turns even darker green. "I don't," she quickly says.
Glinda laughs again. "You can think he's handsome; all girls think so." Glinda playfully nudges Elphaba on her shoulder. Elphaba looks up and smiles.
"Consider it good practice. Fiyero is a prince; he must know all the social rules. Before you know it, you'll be as popular as me, and you won't have to worry about anything anymore," continues Glinda, feeling she has teased Elphaba enough. Somewhere, she finds the blushing green girl quite cute. She also feels a pang in her stomach for suggesting it, but she blames it on the alcohol.
Elphaba raises her eyebrows. "I don't worry about popularity either. I mainly want to learn as much as possible about the world and how I can improve it."
"Tell me more?"
Elphaba looks skeptical. Someone wants to listen to her and not just anyone, Galinda Upland. How can someone change so much in one evening. Something must have happened, Elphaba thinks worriedly. Something happened, says another voice in her head. She feels guilty because of the bad joke. Elphaba looks straight into Galinda's eyes and sees only genuine curiosity. Maybe this was the last joke, Elphaba thinks hopefully. "Today, Dr. Dillamond said the Animals were being silenced. Someone needs to tell the Wizard. So, he can solve the problem."
"Why do you care so much about what happens to other Animals?"
Elphaba looks angry and is about to shout, but she sees in Glinda's eyes that she is genuinely interested again. "If I don't do it, nobody will. I know what it's like to live when no one cares about you. It's not right in a beautiful country like Oz. If everyone sets aside their prejudices and shows a little more empathy towards others, the world would be much better off. People need to be tolerant and less selfish."
Glinda stares open-mouthed at Elphaba. "You should go into politics with your beautiful speeches," she says as she yawns.
Elphaba smiles. "I don't like that attention. Let someone else do it. Plus, you yawned after my speech, I'll talk everyone to sleep."
"You would be good at it your voice is so soft when you're passionate. Everyone will listen."
"You're too drunk. Let's sleep." Elphaba is also too tired, and tomorrow she has to help Nessa again.
Glinda jumps up and walks to the bathroom. "I'm going to change. Do you need help with the dress?"
Elphaba shakes her head. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," says Glinda as she closes the door. She rests her head against the door and tries to realize everything that has happened and been said. She hopes that through her friendship with Elphaba, she can put her on the right track. Despite her father's wise advice, she knows she made the right choices.
She changes and waits a moment until she's sure Elphaba is asleep. She looks at one of the cameras as she walks into the room and shakes her head. She hopes her parents get the message.
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