It was a Thursday when Dr. Dillomands class was full of chatter as Elphaba sat down in her usual seat, taking out her notebooks and starting to prepare herself for a long lecture. As she tried to ignore her classmates walking past her, she kept her head down to avoid further stares. Then from the corner of her eye she saw a flash of pink out of the corner of her eye.
“Good morning, Elphaba.” came a high pitched voice.
“... morning.” She replied, glancing up from her book to see her roommate nervously smiling at her.
“I was wondering,” she began, her tone soft, almost rehearsed, “if you’d like to come to my tea party this weekend.”
Elphaba blinked, certain she hadn’t heard correctly. “Your tea party?”
“Yes,” Galinda said with an emphatic nod. “I think it would be… fun. For you to come. If you’d like.” Elphaba stared at her, suspicion painted across her face. It wasn’t often Galinda had spoken directly to her, and if she did it was small bickering moments that were of no use. Nevertheless, Galinda had never invited her to something, so that was a first. As she was about to open her mouth, she heard small and muffled giggles from the back of the room.
Elphaba’s gaze flicked over Galinda’s shoulder, where three of her friends sat watching the exchange, their hands covering their mouths as they tried (and failed) to contain their laughter. Quickly she felt heat rush to her face. She slammed her notebook shut with a loud snap.
“Wow,” she said, her voice now full with sarcasm. “What an honor.”
Galinda blinked, confused by the sudden shift in her roommate's voice. “What? I- I mean it-”
“Oh, of course you do,” Elphaba cut her off, her words sharp. “I’d be the perfect entertainment for your little gathering, wouldn’t I? A novelty to parade around for your friends to laugh at.”
Galinda’s eyes widened, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to find the right words. “That’s not what I-”
“Save it,” Elphaba snapped, “I’m not going to your ridiculous party to be made fun of, you can join your friends now.” She stood up, and moved further down the aisle away from where Galinda and her friends sat.
Without even thinking, Galinda walked to her seat and sank into it, her hands trembling slightly as she adjusted her notebook. Her friends, who had been watching the scene with growing amusement, exchanged knowing glances before bursting into giggles again.
“That was classic,” one of them whispered, nudging the other. “Did you see her face?”
Galinda’s fingers dug into the edge of her desk, her knuckles turning white. She felt a wave of frustration rise in her chest, but it wasn’t just frustration at her friends. It was deeper? It was guilt. She had meant it, hadn’t she?
“I wasn’t joking,” she muttered under her breath, but her words went unheard over her friends’ laughter.
One of them leaned in, still chuckling. “Of course you weren’t, Galinda.”
“Stop it,” she said, her voice quieter but firm. “I was trying to be nice. She’s going to be living with me this whole year, for months, and I thought it might help to-”
“Oh Galinda, you are just too naive! There is no way she could be… normal.”
“Never mind then, you just don’t quite get it.” She swallowed and leaned back, watching as Dr. Dillomand made his way into class. Her friends were still whispering as she watched the back of her roommate's head.
The moment class was over, Elphaba had quickly rushed out urgently, not wanting to cause any other drama with Galinda in front of her classmates. Galinda had quickly rushed after her, she hadn’t been trying to be rude, her invitation was sincere. She did want her to come to the party.
“Elphaba!” She called, “Elphaba, wait!”
She froze, turning to the blonde who stood awkwardly. “What now, Galinda?”
“I- I,” she took a deep breath, “I really was trying to invite you to my party! Please, it is not a joke- I can assure you I meant well.” She told her, but all Elphaba could do was shake her head, as if the words didn’t sit right with her.
“Look, I don’t know what you want from me, but you tell me one thing- and then your friends laugh about it, I just-”
“I know, I know,” she interjected, “It was wrong of them, they shouldn’t have laughed, Elphaba- I really was not trying to make a fool of you, I wanted you to attend.”
Elphaba looked down, shifting uncomfortably. She didn’t want to feel so torn, but she couldn’t help it. Part of her wanted to believe Galinda, wanted to think that maybe this time it was different. But the other part, couldn’t trust a word she said.
“Then why do I feel like you are just trying to make me a part of some joke.”
“I don’t know!” She exclaimed, “I swear, I know you’ve been quite lonely and well, I just don’t want you to be alone.” Her eyes softened as she pleaded to the girl.
“Yes, well, I quite enjoy my time alone. And, I’m not going to some pity party, and pretend everything is fine when it’s not.” She told her shorter girl, pulling her coat around her tighter. “And as much as I want to believe you, Galinda, you’re friends still thought that simply asking me was hilarious.”
“I didn’t want them to laugh! You think I can control them? You think I asked them to make fun of you?” She took a deep breath, trying to control her frustration.
“You don’t know what it’s like to be treated like this, to have people pretend to be your friend and then stab you in the back.”
The silence between them stretched for a moment, thick with the weight of their words. Galinda stood frozen, her heart aching, torn between wanting to scream in frustration and wanting to reach out and make Elphaba see the truth.
“Fine,” Galinda said through gritted teeth, stepping back. “I guess I’m just wasting my time.”
Elphaba watched her, the flicker of pain in her chest, why? She didn’t know. She sighed and turned to walk away, but Galinda had called out after her again. “I’m not playing games with you, Elphaba,” Galinda retorted, frustration still in her voice. “I’m just trying to be nice. For once, just once, can you just not overthink everything I say?”
Elphaba scoffed, shaking her head. “This is exactly what I mean, Galinda. You act like it’s no big deal, like you can just fix everything with a smile and a party.” She paused again, turning back to the girl who had followed her.
Galinda opened her mouth to respond, but then Phanee strolled by, overhearing the exchange with a grin plastered on his face. “Still trying to convince the artichoke to come to your party, huh, Glinda?” he called out with a teasing smirk. “She’s definitely the last person I’d expect to see at one of your get-togethers.”
Elphaba shot him a glare, the sarcasm in his voice rubbing her raw. “Case and point,” Elphaba muttered bitterly, eyes narrowing at Galinda. “You obviously don’t want me there for any good reasons, do you?”
Galinda’s blood boiled, her heart pounded as she turned to Phanee, her voice sharp and cutting. “Phanee, this is not the time to make jokes. You can leave.”
“Galinda, it’s a joke don’t be so sensitive-”
“Go away!” Her voice raised and so did the pitch, she closed her mouth quickly after, not realizing how loud she had been. He looked at the two of them then walked away. Galinda turned back to Elphaba, her face flushed with irritation, but now with a hint of hurt beneath it. “See? Right there. That’s the problem. You think I’m like them. You think I’m just some shallow person who uses other people for amusement.” She took a step toward Elphaba, voice softer now, but still frustrated. “I’m not, I swear.”
“I don’t need your pity,” Elphaba finally said, her voice cracking just slightly, but her walls still firmly up. “So just stop trying to convince me. I don’t belong at your party, and I don’t belong in your world.” She couldn’t help but think maybe she was being too harsh. Maybe she was pushing her away for the wrong reasons, when she had been trying to help.
“I never said you didn’t belong! You’re the one who keeps pushing me away, Elphaba. You’re the one who can’t trust me.” There was a pause, and it seemed she might burst into tears, “Fine, push me away, I don’t care! I just wanted to help.” But the two of them stood still.
“I’m not pushing-” a crack of thunder rolled and suddenly rain began to pour.
“Oh sweet Oz, not my hair!” She let out a frantic sigh, glancing up to the sky. “This is ruining everything. I’ve spent hours on this!”
“Galinda, you look fine-” she paused to hold back a laugh. “You know, you’re acting like it’s the end of the world,” she said finally, “it’s just water.”
“It’s not just water, Elphaba!” she snapped, clearly frustrated with her roommate. “It ruined my outfit for the day!” She sighed dramatically again. “You just had to walk away. You had to make it so that I chased you out here.”
Elphaba raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one who followed me?”
“Um, yeah, cause you obviously weren’t listening!” She responded, and although the rainpour came down harder she stayed in her spot, trying her best to shield the water from her face.
“I am listening,” Elphaba said flatly. “it’s just hard to take you seriously when you’re freaking out over your hair.”
Galinda gasped as if Elphaba had just committed the highest crime. “Freaking out? I’m not freaking out- I’m just- ugh, this is unbelievable!” She threw her hands in the air dramatically. “I’m trying to tell you that I want to be friends with you, Elphaba, and you just- ugh, I don’t know how many more ways I can say it before you actually believe me.”
“You’re the one who made a joke about inviting me to a party.”
“Oh my Oz, Elphaba, how many times do I have to tell you! It was not a joke, just trust me!” She practically begged, and the girl wanted to believe her.
“I just, don’t know if I can trust you.”
“Okay! Well… I don’t know if I can trust you either, but I'm trying to.” She paused, “You don’t have to like me,” Galinda said quietly. “But I don’t want you to hate me either.”
As Galinda stood in the pouring rain, Elphaba couldn’t help but notice how even with her perfectly styled hair was now plastered to her face, and her glittery makeup that was running down her cheeks- she still looked pretty. How? She had always thought the girl was beautiful but convinced herself to not think that way, not wanting to cause herself any pain on a crush on a girl she hated. So she wasn’t sure why she felt compelled to do anything, but seeing Galinda shivering- made her want to help, instead of turning and walking away. She stared at the girl for a moment, arms crossed, fighting the urge to just walk away. But instead, she pulled off her jacket and walked toward her.
“Galinda,” she said, her tone a little gentler than she expected. “You’re going to catch a cold standing out here.”
“What-” she looked at her roommate, clearly confused. “You don’t need to do that, Elphaba, while that's very sweet I have plenty of jackets in my closet.”
“Well, I don't see your closet anywhere here, hm?” She shook it to the girl, “Your hair will only get worse and so will that make up, you can use it as a shield to go back up to the room.” She stated, shrugging her shoulders, causing the blonde to snatch it quickly and shield herself from the water. “Maybe we should go inside?” She suggested.
“I am not going inside until you agree to go to my party.” She told her, still shivering from the rain, although now her hair and face started to dry up.
“Galinda, please- we’re both drenched, can we just-”
“Yes, all you have to do is say yes!” She smiled, wiping her face slightly to get stray drops off. Elphaba had understood the sincerity of her words and how she was willing to be stuck in the rain for her, but she couldn’t say yes.
“It’s not that I don’t want to come,” she said quietly. “It’s just… I know what people will say. It’s not worth it to put myself in that situation. Not with your friends.”
“Oh.” Was all she could say, “But... I’ll make sure no one laughs. I’ll make sure no one says anything mean, Elphaba.”
“Galinda, I’m sorry- but I won’t change my mind.” She said, and watched as Galinda’s face dropped and she nodded softly. It almost hurt to see her like this. “But,” she said, wondering if this was the right thing to do, “if you’re serious about this- about trying to be civil, then maybe we could… do something. Just the two of us.”
“Oh?” She responded, looking at her roommate carefully, “Like, no one else, just you and me?”
“Yes, but no tea parties or stuff like that.”
“Okay… When?” She smiled and wiped her face once more. “I mean, the party is in two days, and the day after that we have to study for ethics, and the day after that-”
“Galinda,” she paused her roommate who began rambling. “Perhaps, we can just eat dinner together.”
“Oh, I suppose we could… in town?” She added, “I could make reservations-”
“Galinda,” she interrupted again, “It doesn’t have to be a big thing, we can eat here.”
“Oh! Okay, if you insist, then perhaps we could have this date tomorrow.” Galinda’s eyes widened as she realized the words “date” had come out of her mouth, and her cheeks flushed red. “Hangout! Um, like dinner- could be tomorrow.” She shook her head, hoping she wasn’t making things more awkward for the girl who stood in front of her.
“A hangout, huh?” she said, trying to hide a small smile, watching the clearly flustered girl in front of her. She knew it was just a mistaken word and now she had been embarrassed, but part of her also wished maybe it wasn’t a slip up… no, she couldn’t possibly like girls. And if she did, that girl would certainly not be her.
“Yes- my apologies, not a date, a hangout.”
“I see. Well then,” she sighed, watching as Galinda’s eyes were now glued to the floor. “I’m holding you to it. No backing out.” She began walking to the closest door, opening in to allow the wet girl in.
“I know! I won’t, I swear I really am just trying to get to know you better.”
“As for me too.” She smiled, and helped the girl up to their room as she shielded her face from anyone who could see.