Chapter Text
So, Galinda’s first day had gone less than spectacularly. After a disastrous introduction, Galinda was hoping for an easy day; perhaps she would have watched Elphaba make a latte or two, perhaps Elphaba would have then made Galinda a sweet little drink and told her, ‘I’m dreadfully sorry Galinda; I think we got off on the wrong foot. I was wrong to be so mean to you and assume you were stupid. Let’s be friends. Also, your skin looks great! Whatever is your beauty routine?’ And Galinda would have responded, ‘Apology accepted, Elphaba! Well thank you for asking! I actually like to use…’ And all would be well between them.
But alas, Elphaba had seemed to revel in making Galinda labor . She had to sweep the floors and then mop the floors. Elphaba made Galinda wash dishes and clean–what Galinda recently learned was called–the espresso machine (not expresso as Elphaba had rudely informed her). When Galinda asked to use said espresso machine, Elphaba cackled. A startling noise which had burst forth from the girl so violently that it had startled a squeak out of Galinda. Galinda thought this reaction was quite rude, which she expressed to Elphaba with a huff. Elphaba told Galinda the machine cost more than Galinda could afford to fix if she broke it. Galinda thought, internally of course, that she could absolutely afford a new one if she were to break it. But she didn’t say anything. That would have been rude. Galinda wanted to set a good example for Elphaba.
The day continued with Elphaba assigning various tasks to Galinda while Elphaba worked, making drinks. Fiyero stayed on the register. He was right, customer service, talking to people, was a skill he thrived in. When he took his lunch, Elphaba was forced to take over register and barista-ing, and her gruff attitude left a notable decrease in the rate of customer tips. Galinda thought she could’ve done a better job, which she told Elphaba, but Elphaba just made her clean the counters instead.
***
The end of the day could not have come soon enough. The cafe closed at two, but the cleaning (How much cleaning would Galinda be doing at this job?!) and shut down took at least another hour. By 3:15, Galinda, Elphaba, and Fiyero had fully closed down the cafe, gathered all of their belongings, and bundled up sufficiently for the winter weather. The three of them exited the cafe in silence. Galinda was about to turn towards her and Elphaba’s shared apartment before Fiyero addressed her.
“Nice job today, Galinda. I hope Fae wasn’t too hard on you.” Fiyero winked at Galinda and offered her a smile.
Galinda, ever the charming young lady, giggled in response before thanking him quietly. She would have him yet. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Elphaba roll her eyes and scowl.
Fiyero laughed easily and walked in the direction of, what Galinda assumed, was his apartment. Galinda then looked to Elphaba, expecting to walk together to their own apartment before Elphaba started walking the opposite direction.
“Where are you going?” Galinda asked, confused.
Elphaba's face twisted into a scowl–a common expression for her, it seemed, “Is that really any of your business?”
“Oh.” Galinda couldn’t help the feeling of rejection in her chest, leaving her speechless. It was sharper than she expected, hurt more. Though she knew she didn’t like Elphaba, and she knew Elphaba didn’t like her, she supposed–living in the same home–that they would endure the brief 2 minute walk together, at least to keep out the cold, she told herself.
But Elphaba walked onwards, ever the mystery, and Galinda was left to trudge through the cold and wind by herself into the safety of her apartment.
And so, Galinda discovered where Elphaba was disappearing to for the first half of the day, yet she was still perplexed as to where the girl was going from the hours of 3-8pm. Did she have a boyfriend? Did she have a second job? Did she have friends? Not likely, but Galinda was curious.
***
Galinda spent the rest of her day napping off the stress of the morning. She thought about further organizing her belongings, finding a way to make the clutter less, clutter-y. This didn’t happen. Instead, Galinda wallowed in her bed surrounded by her pink comforter, pink pillows, and pink throw blankets. She thought about applying for the graduate school programs she had told her parents she would think about, but instead she thought about Elphaba.
Elphaba was a mystery to her, and Galinda wanted to solve it. A green girl who just so happened to be both her roommate and coworker? Galinda wanted to know more, but Elphaba seemed more than content to live completely separate lives when so much of their time was likely to overlap.
Galinda wasn’t sure if friendship was what she was after. No, even the thought made her pulse race with loathing. She didn’t like Elphaba, but Elphaba was fascinating. She was like a beautiful building, and Galinda wanted to see the blueprints.
Galinda had studied Architecture while at Shiz. She enjoyed it greatly, though her parents were doubtful about the skills being transferable as a housewife. She loved everything about architecture. She appreciated the beauty of buildings and how the math of measurements and foundations came together in harmony with artful detailing to create huge monoliths that would last generations. Part of the reason she had moved to the Emerald City was, yes, to find a husband, but also to live amongst the architecture that had made up a majority of her textbooks at Shiz. The skyscraping emerald towers and swirling reliefs carved into the sides of them left Galinda in stunned awe.
So, as she pondered the great mystery that was her roommate, she found herself sketching out the surrounding buildings, drawing the columns and arches as if they were the spine and ribs of the city itself. And if a certain girl’s green features made their way into the pages of her sketchbook, no they didn’t.
***
Elphaba returned from wherever she was at, predictably, 8pm. Still clad in the same sweater and leggings she had been in that morning, though a little more rumpled. She looked especially tired that evening, and though she never greeted Galinda, Elphaba seemed especially more insistent on ignoring Galinda’s presence.
Galinda had kept her bedroom door open, allowing her to see into the kitchen/living room. She watched Elphaba make her customary microwave meal–a sad sight as Galinda thought of the home cooked meal she had made herself–and sit on the sad, lumpy couch. Galinda watched as Elphaba pulled a book from behind the cushions before she flipped to a marked page and started reading.
Galinda, uncomfortable with silence, spoke, “So–” She was cut off with a groan from Elphaba.
Elphaba snapped her book shut, “If I have to deal with you here and at work, I think I will go insane.” She sighed, pushing her glasses up her nose to glare in Galinda’s direction, “Please, can you just give me some peace and quiet? I had to hear you yammer on and shamelessly flirt with Fiyero all day.”
Galinda was offended. It wasn’t shameless flirting. She was
subtle
, and she had only laughed at his unfunny jokes a few times. Everything else had been friendly and polite. How else was she supposed to talk to him? How else was she supposed to find a husband?
“You could have told me you worked there!” Galinda decided on. She didn’t want to seem overly defensive even though she was.
Elphaba huffed out a laugh, “What?” She fully turned toward Galinda, who had now stood up, though she was still in her room. “I’ve worked at Dillamond’s for years! If anything, you should’ve told me!”
Galinda stepped out of her room and towards Elphaba.
“How was I supposed to know! You didn’t say a word to me the whole week!” Her voice rose an octave out of frustration–a habit that often got her mocked back home, she hoped Elphaba wouldn’t notice. “And I’ve tried to be so nice to you!” She knew she sounded petulant, but she wanted to air her grievances while Elphaba still addressed her. She took another step forward.
“First of all, no, you have not been nice ,” Elphaba sneered at her, putting down her book. “You come into my home and immediately– immediately !–mock my skin, trying to fix me.” Elphaba took a step forward, her voice remaining eerily calm in contrast to Galinda’s high pitched shouts. “You come into my workplace and make fun of my boss, flirt with my best friend” (Galinda felt her stomach sink, annoyed by Elphaba's closer relationship with Fiyero, she told herself, nothing more) “And I’m certain you’ve never worked a day in your life.”
This was true. It was all true, but Galinda would never admit it.
“Well you haven’t been nice either!” Galinda squeaked, her voice continually pitching up. “You ignored me for a whole week!” She was clearly bitter about this. “You disappear for hours at a time! And you made me clean .” Elphaba genuinely laughed at this, caught off guard by such an innocuous complaint.
“I haven’t treated you any differently from any other new hire,” She sniffed. “It’s not my fault Your Highness has never had to clean anything before.”
Also true, but Galinda was more upset about the honorific.
She stepped forward once again to retort about her distinct lack of royal privilege (despite Elphaba’s assumptions being completely true), when she realized how close she had come to Elphaba. At the same moment, Elphaba seemed to realize this too. In her last step, Galinda had broken the barrier between respectful yet aggressive closeness to very much inside Elphaba’s bubble of personal space.
Neither girl seemed to know what to do. They spent more than a beat staring at each other, breathing hard, heart rates elevated–from the argument, of course. Galinda’s face felt hot, Elphaba often pulled this reaction from her, it seemed. She was sure she was the exact shade of pink as her beloved comforter, now forgotten in her room. Galinda took this moment to study Elphaba’s face. Again, she noticed the dark green freckles which speckled across her nose, her lips, also a slightly darker green than her skin, were full and slightly parted. But Elphaba’s eyes, her eyes, were striking. Galinda hadn’t noticed, but they were a bright green, almost matching her skin. They were bright and fierce in the midst of this argument, and they seemed to pull Galinda ever forward.
Elphaba escaped the trance first. Taking a step back and looking at Galinda in confusion. She then turned her entire body away from Galinda, refusing to look at her again. Elphaba grabbed her book and retreated into her room, muttering something about having no peace and quiet these days.
Galinda, dazed, watched her go. She hated Elphaba, she decided then. How was Galinda supposed to communicate anything when Elphaba would simply leave without a word at any point of conflict. Galinda’s face was still hot, from sheer frustration, she was sure. She’d never met someone who pulled such a reaction from her. Someone who she so truly loathed.
***
As Galinda lay in bed, she could not stop thinking about Elphaba, how close they had come, and how close Galinda had been to hitting the girl. She decided, instead, to focus on Fiyero. She needed to work on her long term goal while in the Emerald City: Find a Husband . While she wasn’t sure yet if Fiyero was husband material–his tattoos were sure to cause a fuss at her church if she were to ever bring him home–practice was key. Who knew, maybe Fiyero had friends, besides Elphaba…
Galinda soothed herself to sleep, preparing to spend the next day flirting, shamelessly , as Elphaba had so kindly put it. She fell asleep dreaming of meeting her future husband, of making her parents proud.