Chapter 22
The first day of winter break should have felt like relief. No midterms. No early mornings. No uniform. Just time to breathe.
But for Glinda, it felt more like being invisible.
She sat at the long, polished dining table, stirring the honey into her tea, waiting. Her parents had been gone before she even woke up. Important business meetings. Social events. The usual. She had barely gotten a text.
She should have been used to it.
Still, she had hoped, for once, that the first day of break might mean a slow breakfast together, a little attention.
Instead, the house was quiet. Too big. Too empty.
Her phone sat beside her untouched. The group chat with Pfannee and the others was filled with messages about break plans and shopping trips. She hadn’t answered. She didn’t want to.
She stared at her tea, swallowing the ache in her throat.
Across town, Elphaba wasn’t enjoying the silence of home—because there was none.
"Fabala, if you would just listen to me—"
Elphaba clenched her jaw as her father’s voice cut through the breakfast table.
Frex sat at the head, untouched coffee growing cold beside his open newspaper. Nessarose sat beside him, prim as ever, her wheelchair tucked neatly against the table.
"I did listen," Elphaba said tightly, barely touching the food on her plate. "I just don’t agree."
Frex sighed, heavy and disappointed. "I don’t understand why you insist on wasting time with this… track nonsense when you could be focusing on something meaningful."
Elphaba’s fingers curled into fists beneath the table. "I enjoy it."
"Enjoyment is not a priority. You should be thinking about your future. About—"
"About what you want me to do," Elphaba snapped, her voice sharper than she intended.
Frex stiffened. Nessarose frowned disapprovingly. "Don’t talk to him like that."
Elphaba exhaled, pressing her temples. "May I be excused?"
Frex waved a hand, dismissing her. "Do what you want. You always do."
Elphaba stood quickly, grabbing her plate and heading to the sink. She dumped the barely eaten food and left the kitchen without another word. She needed air. She needed space.
Outside, she leaned against the porch railing, exhaling a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
And for some reason, her mind drifted to Glinda.
She wondered what her morning had looked like. What she was doing. If she was thinking about her, too.
Glinda had been staring at the ceiling for an hour.
She had tried everything—reading, listening to music, scrolling through her phone—but nothing helped. The house was quiet, too quiet, and the absence of noise only made her thoughts louder.
She grabbed her phone again, thumb hovering over her messages.
She hadn’t texted Elphaba since before break started. It felt weird.
Would she even care if I did? Glinda thought. Would it seem too obvious?
She hesitated, then finally, she typed: Break feels weird.
She stared at the message. Debated deleting it.
Before she could, her phone buzzed.
Elphaba: Agreed.
Glinda blinked. She hadn’t expected an answer. At least, not that fast.
A pause, then another text appeared:
Elphaba: Not used to this much time off. Kind of makes you think too much.
Glinda chewed her lip, debating her next move. This was the most casual they had ever texted. It felt… strangely nice.
Glinda: Exactly. I feel like I should be doing something, but I don’t even know what.
Another pause.
Elphaba: Same. I went for a run, nearly slipped on the ice, came home. That’s the highlight of my day.
Glinda actually laughed.
Glinda: Thrilling.
Elphaba: I know. My life is a constant adventure.
Glinda rolled onto her side, pulling her blanket closer. The texts weren’t much, but they felt easy, like something had shifted between them—something softer, less guarded.
Then her phone buzzed again.
Elphaba: The boys are still doing their sleepover.
Glinda hesitated.
She had heard Crope mention it in passing, but she hadn’t thought much of it.
Glinda: Yeah, I heard.
Another pause.
Elphaba: Do you want to come?
Glinda stared.
Her pulse jumped in a way that felt ridiculous. She swallowed hard before replying.
Glinda: Are you sure? I don’t think they’d want me there.
Elphaba: I’ll ask.
Glinda’s heart did something annoying.
Across town, Elphaba was already opening their group chat.
Elphaba: Hey. Can Glinda come to movie night?
The response was instant.
Crope: OH???
Tibbett: Excuse me??
Boq: She wants to come?
Fiyero: Do you want her to come? 👀
Elphaba sighed, typing:
Elphaba: Just answer the question.
Crope: Of COURSE she can come. We love drama.
Tibbett: It was never a boys-only thing anyway.
Fiyero: But also. Elphaba. Bestie. Are we going to talk about this???
Elphaba ignored that.
She switched back to her texts with Glinda.
Elphaba: They said yes.
A beat. Then:
Glinda: Oh.
Glinda: Okay.
Glinda: I guess I’ll see you there, then.
Elphaba stared at the screen. Something about that response felt... loaded.
Elphaba: Guess so.
Neither of them texted again.
But neither of them stopped thinking about it, either.