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Elphaba places her hat on the ground, locking her gaze on it just for another clock tick. People around continue to whisper to each other nonsense about her. She can almost hear every one of them until the pressure around makes her ears ring. For a split second the girl sees Galinda on the other end of the crowd, standing alongside Fiyero with her training wand in hand.
No matter. Elphaba starts dancing. She makes strange movements while the crowd is gathered around, judging her performance. The green girl feels their gazes, hears their gasps, but doesn’t stop. She places her hand on her head and spins around.
Here I am. The mockery.
A few hours ago, Elphaba thought, at last, maybe not everyone is so unkind to her after all. Maybe not everyone is led by prejudice. Although Upland always made her aware of the loathing in the air between them, the moment she gifted her this hat, her heart thought that perhaps she finally saw the reason for this rivalry to end. That black pointy hat at her feet was going to be its symbol. And, oh, stupid Elphaba wanted to return the kindness. Deep inside, she wanted to show Galinda that she’s not some cursed, wicked being everyone believes her to be.
Enjoy the view.
The girl extends her hands and quickly moves from side to side on her dedicated stage, making some randoms yelp even more and shrink a few steps back as if color from her hands will jump on them.
Now she understands that this whole thing was a joke. The cruelest one. As if Elphaba’s life already wasn’t full of embarrassment for her just being in this world. After all this time, how could she have trusted Galinda? For a moment she did.
With her dance, she desperately wants to show that she doesn’t care. That she knows she’ll never be like any of the students, that she is different. Elphaba tries to show them that she is proud of who she is. She takes her hat from the ground and puts it firmly on her head.
But Galinda sees right through her.
“I’ll give her that much, she doesn’t give a tweak what others think,” Fiyero turns to her and speaks, while Elphaba continues to move.
“She does. She just pretends not to,” the girl in the pink dress replies quietly, feeling the weight of what she did. How mean it was to make someone believe they matter, only for them to fall for such humiliation. To be surrounded like that. She never meant her prank to end up like that, she keeps repeating herself in her mind, but even for her it doesn’t sound convincing. What’s happening around was the clear proof.
She couldn’t stand this scene anymore. Something needs to be done, now or never. Galinda excuses herself to the prince and slowly makes a few steps to the center. She is afraid it will spook her roommate, as she was prey in the woods.
Between the dance moves, in the invisible space where she tried to melt in her troubles, Elphaba suddenly noticed the cause of her misfortune moving closer. She stopped but couldn’t make their eyes meet. She felt almost as if she looked at her, it would burn her heart all over again.
But when the girl stood right in front of her, Elphaba had nowhere to run. She stayed still and finally raised her eyes. The face in front of her was full of fear and guilt. Thropp never saw this bright pink attention-seeking sight so gloomy and serious. Everyone in the room went quiet while Elphaba patiently waited.
Galinda raised her hand and started carefully repeating Elphaba’s move from moments before. The ballroom once again was filled with surprised gasps, now darted to the other person. The green girl could almost see like every sound made Galinda shiver. Clearly, unlike Thropp, her popular aura wasn’t used to this kind of attention. But she continued dancing. While Elphaba’s eyes slowly started filling with tears.
“What are you doing? Stop it,” Pfannee and ShenShen suddenly appeared before Galinda. You could see the anger and the disgust on their faces across the ballroom. But the pink girl looked at them with the same disgusted and confused expression, returning the favor, as if they were suggesting the most horrible thing in the world.
She has to fix it. She has to try.
“No.”
For the first time she felt like she’s doing something good, even if it meant going against the crowd. And who knew, out of all people, it would be for Elphaba Thropp?
Galinda stands next to her once again, a little lost in her dance attempt, but still determined to share this moment with her roommate. The green girl’s gaze softened when she realized that Upland rejected her friends, for her. Embarrassment slowly stopped clouding her eyes, and she finally saw that Galinda is deeply sorry. She may not dare to say it out loud, but her eyes, her actions screamed “Forgive me” louder than words ever could.
Elphaba places both hands on her stomach and waits. In a clock tick, pink girl repeats the motion.
Dance with me.
They both extend their hands in front of them, one after the other, until their knuckles make slight contact. The green girl feels the warmth spreading throughout her whole body from the place they touch.
After a moment, they spread their hands in a sync motion and start to make soft waves surrounding the space in between. One can almost feel the invisible magic, a strong connection forming around them.
They move in symphony while the crowd quietly watches their every move. Galinda’s gaze almost never leaves the face in front of her. She’s afraid she could disappear the moment her eyes slip somewhere else. She watches her with such trepidation, seeing tears that start streaming down green cheeks. She wants to gather Elphaba in her arms and put her close to her heart, to take her somewhere no one will reach them. The thought of it makes the emptiness in her chest fill. For a moment, she thinks her demonstrative kindness has gained a true meaning.
Dance’s motion brought them together, standing close, almost face-to-face, with their pose forming an infinity sigh. The girl in the pink dress placed her palm on her dance partner’s shoulder, her hand calmly falling across her chest. Elphaba couldn’t contain her emotions any longer. She turned her head away from her roommate, not allowing herself to break apart in front of her just yet.
I’m here.
She felt Galinda's fingers gently wiping her tears.
“It’s alright,” she hears her matter so lightly. Even through tears, she believes her.
They continue the performance, moving their elbows in front of each other. Galinda shoots Elphaba the sweetest smile, and the green face just can't help but light up in response. Its eyes are still red and watery, but now you also can see the smile joining. Galinda can feel her heart skip a beat. Maybe nothing is lost after all.
Sharing their special moment, girls can see the crowd start moving with them, with every clock tick gaining more confidence in their moves. Elphaba sees her soul’s wind spread through all the people in Ozdust, catching them and making them move in one single harmony.
Galinda sees the girl’s eyes light up again, and she can no longer resist herself. She pulls Elphaba in tight for a hug, still feeling her tears fall on the naked shoulder. She wants to stay like this forever. To show Elphaba all the love, the appreciation she deserves, to make her feel safe in her arms.
I forgive you.
After a moment, the girls part, still holding together with one hand. They look around and see all the Ozdust dancing around them, extending their hands to the center of the circle. For the first time, Elphaba realizes what it’s like to be the center of attention, in a good way. In a way that even makes her shy, and she can’t help but lower her gaze. Galinda sees her reaction and catches her halfway with her own eyes, smiling widely once again.
Her roommate's pink and sparkly presence now makes her feel calm, steady. Even without intending it from the beginning, Galinda made her realize that she can experience love; maybe she even deserves it.
Before she can dive into her own thoughts, she’s grabbed by her hand and pulled to the stairs. Elphaba gladly follows, appreciating the warm hand on top of hers.
They look one last time at the dancing crowd, singing and shouting “Dancing through life!” before they run off to the dorm. They want to treasure this moment for a little longer.