Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1
It was the middle of the night and Elphaba couldn’t fall asleep. She kept her eyes shut and her body immobile in a vain intent for her mind to find peace, but her thoughts were wrapped around the events of that night.
Suddenly, she felt a churn in her stomach, like a wave breaking against the shore. It wasn’t subtle—it was immediate, urgent, and undeniable. Her eyes shot open, her body already moving before her mind could catch up.
The room was dark, the air thick with sleep, and the edges of the world felt blurred. Elphaba’s legs tangled with the sheets as she stumbled out of bed, her heartbeat loud in her ears. The nausea rose like a tide, relentless and cruel, leaving no room for second thoughts or hesitation.
Cold tiles met her bare green feet as she reached the bathroom, the sharp contrast grounding her for a fleeting moment, barely making it to the toilet bowl before the wave crested, her body surrendering completely.
When the whole of her stomach had been emptied, she sat back on the cool floor, head resting against the wall.
“Here” said Glinda, and only then did Elphaba notice her best friend and roommate had been beside her. Who knows since when. Who, even, knows how long she, herself, had been there. “I didn’t see you drinking that much. Empty stomach?”
Elphaba opened her eyes while keeping a frown that echoed the burning on her throat. She took the towel she was being offered and cleaned herself up as Glinda flushed the toilet, put down the lid and poured some water in the cup they used to keep their toothbrushes.
The faint scent of toothpaste and soap in the air should have been comforting, but it only made her stomach twist again, though there was nothing inside. She took the cup and it felt like a delicate negotiation with her body. The first sip was cautious, tentative, as if testing whether the storm had truly passed. The water felt cool and soothing as it touched her green lips, but as it slided down her throat there was a moment of uncertainty—was her stomach going to accept this peace offering?
The sensation was strange, almost foreign. Her throat felt raw, tender from the strain, and the water seemed to cling to the lining, bringing both relief and discomfort. It was a quiet battle between her instinct to hydrate and take the flavour away, and the lingering nausea that threatened to rise again.
But as the water settled, she felt better. Now she could start to understand some of the words Glinda was blathering on.
“So, I never did it again”. She appeared to be finishing the moral of a fable, the way she placed both her palms on her legs and kept a big proud smile, her chin up - “when did she sit down on the toilet?” Thought Elphaba.
“Did what?” Inquired the green girl, very confused but not really caring, just trying to be polite. Her voice was at least an octave lower than usual and very husky.
“Drinking without having a proper dinner!!!” Glinda answered and took the cup to fill it again.
“Oh, I didn’t…”
“Just drink up and tell me when you think you can stand up, so I'll help you to bed”.
After a few minutes, Glinda had turned the situation around and they were now gossiping about the Halloween party. Elphaba had almost forgotten why they were in the bathroom and that she hadn’t been able to sleep before that.
“So, you came in quite late… I've never seen you party this hard!” Glinda said giggling and jokingly pushing Elphie, who was now able to sit up holding her whole weight.
“No, I didn’t… I must have left about half an hour after you did.” She answered surprised.
“C’mon! You don’t need to keep appearances up with me, Elphie… Were you upset ‘cause you’ve been having trouble with magic? It's ok, you know? A lot of things have changed and…”
“No!” She wasn’t angry or upset. Just a bit baffled at such an assumption and curious for the cause of her sickness. “I just tried a few sips from your glass and Fiyero’s… I asked for a strawberry shake but I left it after just tasting it and lost it… maybe… I did finish it? I didn’t have much alcohol in it, anyway…”
“Maybe you mixed beverages. You don’t do that when you’re that inexperienced…”
“Hey!” She said laughing…
“So, about the magic, you wanna talk?”
“Yeah.. it’s not such a big deal… I was upset when I couldn’t perform… and that kind of messed up my mood and magic is very much related to emotions… It’s been a tough week with those graffities…”
“I can’t believe people still defend the Wizard and believe those stories about you! I mean, we’ve shown them you can touch water…”
“And the Wizard confessed… but… some people won’t see the truth even if it’s dancing in front of them.”
“That’s so sad. Like, when you see someone who’s wearing the wrong shade of foundation. Like, don’t they own a mirror?”
Elphaba raised an eyebrow. Sometimes, her best friend amazed her with how much she had evolved in a year, since they had met. And some other times…
“I'm messing with you.” She got up and fixed her hair in the mirror. “It’s not that I don’t think that’s true.” She turned and helped up the green girl, who was rolling her eyes at her. “But I get that there’s no point of comparison.”
“Good night, Glin”. Said Elphaba half laughing while they exited the bathroom.
“Night night, Elphie.” Answered Glinda and got into bed.
Elphaba started to straighten her sheets on autopilot and kept thinking about the words on the school corridor wall, the books that were missing from the library, her first kind of real fight with Fiyero, her stubborn magic and, now, the fact that she seemed to have become very lightweighted overnight.
This time, tiredness overruled her thoughts and she seemed to have passed out as soon as her green skin touched the pillow.