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Galinda’s roommate was fascinating. Yes–the obvious–she was green. Galinda had never met a green woman before. But Elphaba was so much more than her viridescent skin. And to be fair, the greenness was not totally hideodious and off-putting, to Galinda at least. In addition to her out-of-the-box image, Elphaba was also smart–like really smart–but not in a totally pretentious way.
Galinda didn’t think she’d seen anyone participate in classes as much as Elphaba. Usually, this would annoy Galinda. She had seen her fair share of annoying classmates who “wanted to play devil's advocate for a minute” or were “piggy-backing off” whatever non-original thought someone had already said for the nth time. No, Elphaba always spoke with complete clarity and understanding of whatever subject she’d engaged in. It did bother Galinda, however, that she unfortunately had both the exhilarating and anxiety-inducing habit of arguing with professors.
Elphaba was opinionated. She always spoke her mind, and her mind did not tolerate any discrimination or hatefulness towards Animals. Galinda was in awe. Her friends–who she continued to tire of by the day–snickered and muttered about Elphaba’s green skin and ‘snarky’ attitude. Galinda found herself withdrawing more from these side conversations. She, instead, watched and listened to Elphaba with the utmost attention.
Elphaba was eloquent. Galinda respected it. She was drawn to it. And she thought she could listen to her roommate lecture on the issues plaguing Oz forever. Even if the subject matter went somewhat over her head, it gave her a chance to truly study the girl. Galinda felt her face flush.
Elphaba was smart, and also shockingly beautiful. Gorgeous, Galinda thought to herself. Yes, her green skin made her stand out, but Galinda thought this only added to her allure. While Elphaba’s mouth seemed to always be twisted up into a scowl, her features came together in complete harmony. Her hair–her hair!--dark and–Galinda was sure, though she didn’thave the first-hand experience to prove it–inexplicably soft, her cheekbones high and regal, her eyes dark and intense, and her lips full and–Galinda did not loathe her roommate.
***
Elphaba loathed her roommate. She believed Galinda to be a judgmental airhead, and her actions only confirmed this suspicion. Galinda never seemed to pay attention. She always had her nose deep in her notebook, never looking up unless she saw someone to make fun of. That person would most often be Elphaba. It seemed to Elphaba, that anytime she would speak, her ditsy roommate would finally take the time to pay attention only to affix her with the most annoyingly condescending smirk. How Elphaba loathed it.
Galinda was the most annoying, the most aggravating, the most stupid, and the most frustrating person Elphaba had ever met. It certainly did not help that they had been forced to share a room at the start of the year. For this reason, Elphaba had been forced to know Galinda better than even her silly little posse seemed to.
Elphaba knew Galinda was a bit of a mess. She seemed to be barely holding it together all while maintaining her image of proper poise outside of their shared room.
Galinda moved about their room like a tornado. Every morning she must try on at least 5 outfits before ultimately deciding on the original choice only to leave the mess of the other 4 behind in a mountain of shoes, blouses, and tasteful skirts. She also had so many beauty and hair products that Elphaba is sure their shared bathroom would explode should Elphaba dare to add any of her own.
Galinda’s most annoying habit, Elphaba thought to herself, was her insistence on never sitting still. Galinda seemed to always need to be doing something. She fidgeted, she tapped her toes, and she drew in her sketchbook (which Elphaba is sure has never left their room). She was constantly making noise. Elphaba was sure it was solely to annoy her. Elphaba’sfavorite pastime was to sit in her bed with a book and a cup of her favorite beverage–hot chocolate or iced tea, depending on the season. Galinda’s constant pattering and muttering and moving made it nearly impossible for Elphaba to ever fully settle into her escapism.
Most frustrating, however, was that Galinda never seemed to notice Elphaba was in the room. Elphaba understood why Galinda would not acknowledge her in public unless she was throwing a green-themed insult her way. Elphaba did not understand why her roommate would pretend she didn’t even exist when they were in the room together. Elphaba reasoned she was still in a state of denial. Poor Galinda was pretending she still had her private suite. Truthfully, the ignoring only became an issue when Elphaba would attempt a very polite and very gentle correction of Galinda’s poor roommate habits. When her bustling became too much for Elphaba to bear.
Elphaba would clear her throat, call out to Galinda, slam her book down on her nightstand, and none of this would take Galinda’s attention from whatever silly beauty routine or doodle she was working on. Elphaba figured this was better than shouting matches, so she usually let it go. How she loathed Galinda.
***
Galinda, who did not loathe her roommate, felt herself becoming more drawn to Elphaba. Her pulse raced at the thought of being near her, of conversing with her. This would not do. Galinda’s obsession? Lurine, that sounded bad. Galinda’sinfatuation? No. Absolutely not. Galinda’s healthy and completely normal interest (yes!) in her roommate made living with her a challenge. So, Galinda tried her best to ignore it.
Galinda looked forward to their nightly routines. She would draw or do a face mask or hair treatment while Elphaba read from an ever-rotating selection of books. Galinda would try her best to be quiet, but, truthfully, she could not stand silence. She would jitter her leg, she would tap her manicured nails against the tabletop, or she would hum whatever tune had made its way into her head. Elphaba didn’t seem to mind. Not that Galinda would notice, she had a habit of being so drawn up in her sketchbook that no noise could pull her out of its trance.
While her favorite things to draw were buildings, Galinda felt her focus being pulled in another direction. One night shefinally gave in and started to sketch out a small portrait of Elphaba. She lined out the intense, dark eyes. She filled in a strong jawline and full lips. Galinda gave her long dark hair and imagined running her hands through it. She reached for a green colored pencil to start finishing her portrait. She loved getting lost in the process. It was mindless at this point, muscle memory allowed her to fill in the shading and texture she wanted. She was finally able to relax.
***
Finally, Elphaba could no longer stand it. The constant scratching of Galinda’s pen against her sketchbook combined with her jittering legs and toe tapping under her desk caused Elphaba to angrily snap her book shut. Galinda, of course, didn’t seem to notice. She was still bent low over her drawing, her face mere inches from the page.
Elphaba was done. She stood up and silently walked over to Galinda. Elphaba stood over her shoulder for a minute watching the blonde draw. She was good, Elphaba had to admit. She seemed to draw anything and everything. Architecture was a notable majority. But she also saw figures, silhouettes, and small portraits of students she’d seen hanging around Galinda. Some of these portraits had captions that were too small for Elphaba to make out. Right now, however, Galinda seemed to be drawing… her?
“Miss Galinda!”
Galinda startled like a cat. She flew up into the air several inches while somehow snapping her sketchbook shut with a high-pitched squeal. Pencils flew and spilled onto the floor. Elphaba was amused, but her smirk was wiped clean off her face when Galinda looked up at her.
Galindas face was now a deep red, and her dark eyes looked intently if not sheepishly at Elphaba. She opened her mouth and closed it again as if searching for the right thing to say. Elphaba could only stare back, her own cheeks turning a darkened green.
“Was that… me?” Elphaba asked when the silence became too thick.
“What? No! I mean, like, yes…technically?” Galinda’s hands made large, exaggerated movements as she attempted to explain herself.
Elphaba quirked a brow. “Technically?” she said, smirking again. Galinda nodded mutely. Galinda had been drawing her, Elphaba. She’d even started coloring her in with a green pencil that now rolled across the floor. Elphaba felt her face warm again at the thought of her roommate studying her hard enough to put her likeness to paper.
“Well it’s good,” Elphaba admitted after a moment, unsure of what else to say.
“Oh, um, thanks,” Galinda managed. She tried again to explain herself. “I draw everyone, well everything, just so you know. I’m not being creepy or anything. Well, I guess it looks kinda creepy. But it wasn’t meant to be!” Elphaba listened to her rambling roommate, amused. She wasn’t sure what to think. She was flattered, in all honesty. Slightly creeped out, yes, but mostly flattered.
“You made me too beautiful,” Elphaba said casually–a joke. She couldn’t handle the attention as Galinda stared up at her still waiting to see if Elphaba was mad at her.
“What!” Galinda seemed truly offended by what Elphaba had said. She spluttered, waving her arms around again. She finally, sternly said, “Elphaba.” Elphaba didn’t know if she’d ever heard Galinda call her by her first name. Galinda looked down at her sketch, huffed, and continued, “I drew you exactly as you are, you are beautiful.” Her fingers splayed across the page as if to covet Elphaba’s fabled beauty.
Elphaba’s breath hitched in her throat. “I am not, Miss Galinda,” she croaked out. “Please do not lie to me.”
***
Galinda felt like she had been hit by an Elephant. She looked up at Elphaba, studying her face, admiring the way her cheekbones curved perfectly into her jaw. She noticed the smattering of dark green freckles across Elphaba’s nose. She watched, silently, as her roommate glared down at her through her dark brows. The expression caused a wrinkle to knit itself between her eyes. Galinda had to hold herself back from reaching out to smooth it away. How could she not see it?
“Miss Elphaba, what reason would I have to lie?” Galinda finally breathed out.
“I can think of a multitude of reasons, Miss Galinda.” Elphaba returned impatiently. “Let’s start with your attempts to mock me during every class, or–I know–perhaps your history of condescending looks, only to ignore me completely when we’re in this room. Or! Or how about how terrible of a roommate you are–always clanging about!” Elphaba’s voice rose and started to shake with emotion. “It's clear you loathe me, Miss Galinda. Why the sudden pretense that it’s about anything other than my looks.” Elphaba growled out the final sentence. Tears gathered in her eyes making them sparkle in the light of Galinda’s floral pink lamp.
Galinda was stunned into silence.
“Elphaba,” Galinda dropped the honorific again. “You thought that was me loathing you?”
Elphaba only snorted in response. “What else could it have been, Galinda? You have ostracized me since the moment I stepped foot on campus? I thought Shiz would be different; I should have known better.”
A single, silent tear finally broke free and streaked down Elphaba’s face.
Galinda stood up, and–to the horror of both girls–she reached forward. She gently brushed Elphaba’s face to wipe away the runaway tear with her thumb. Her other fingers ghosted over Elphaba’s jaw.
Galinda froze. She looked at her hand and then back to Elphaba, who seemed to also be frozen in shock. It was then that Galinda realized how close they were standing.
“I’m sorry,” Galinda whispered.
Elphaba stared back. Her breathing turned fast and uneven, and her eyes unfocused.
Galinda’s face was hot. She looked at Elphaba’s face, her eyes, her lips. Only a step forward and they could–
Both girls jumped back. Galinda stumbled into her desk, knocking her sketchbook to the floor. It fell back open to the page where she’d been doodling a small portrait of Elphaba.
Both girls gaped at it, open on the floor, taunting them.
“I have to go,” Elphaba said breathlessly before sweeping through the room and out the door.
Galinda could only watch. Her heart raced from the adrenaline of their almost interaction. Slowly, she gathered her spilled supplies and replaced them neatly on her desk. She went through her nightly routine and tucked herself into her plush, pink covers. She sat in the dark waiting for Elphaba to return. Elphaba did not return for many hours. She fell asleep.