Chapter Text
1.
Loathing Era
The weight of the second set of keys feels heavy in her pocket as Galinda scurries down the hall with Pfannee and Shenshen in tow. The sound of their laughter and their words of adoration reinforce Galinda’s plan that she set in motion when she swiped the keys from her loathsome roommate’s bag. (Galinda learned how to pilfer goods long ago. She did it merely for the thrill of it since her parents would never deny her any of her wishes. Except the magic that they could not will her to have, her heart supplies unhelpfully.)
“Do you think by now she has noticed that you took her keys?” Pfannee snickers from beside her.
“If she hasn’t yet, she will soon when she finds the door locked,” Shenshen chatters back at him as they arrive at Galinda’s room.
“Come along then,” Galinda opens the door to her room with a flourish and a charming smile. Pfannee and Shenshen enter her room giggling to themselves. Out of the corner of her eye, Galinda sees an angry storm of green and black rapidly approaching. She hurries to move inside and slams the door shut. The key gives a satisfying click in the lock. Galinda removes the key before placing the matching sets of keys on the dresser by the door.
Galinda waits patiently at the wooden barrier like she is taking her spot in some stage production, playing the part that has been given to her. She rocks back and forth on her heels as she eagerly awaits Elphaba’s arrival. It doesn’t take long before she sees the twisting of the doorknob, but the lock doesn’t give. Galinda quickly peers back at her friends who are eagerly watching the prank unfold, their snickers are like music to her ears.
She focuses back on the task at hand when she hears the knock on the door and Elphaba’s annoyed voice, “Galinda, can you open the door?”
She prevaricates as she peers through the peephole, “I think not. Perhaps you shouldn’t have lost your key.”
Through the peephole she can see Elphaba’s jaw clench as she grinds out through gritted teeth, “I know you took them.”
Galinda gasps exaggeratedly, “How dare you accuse me of stealing!” Her friends burst into titters behind her as they fall back on her bed in a dramatic flurry of limbs.
“But you–” Elphaba tries to protest.
Galinda cuts her off with a magnanimous tone, “Did you ever consider you might have just lost your key?”
Through her limited view she can see her roommate’s anger and annoyance boil over. But instead of exploding, exhaustion seems to sap the emotions away. Elphaba offers defeatedly, “Just let me in so I can grab my book and leave you and your friends to your devices.”
Galinda feels a pit in her stomach at the sight of her giving up. Her hand almost drifts towards the key to give in to her request. What is the harm in handing her a book? She stops herself by digging her nails into the palm of her hand as she balls her hands into fists. She quickly closes her eyes as she reminds herself why she chose to steal her key. This is merely revenge for Elphaba’s earlier prank when she decided to put her hands all over Galinda’s stuff to pile it on top of her bed. It took her and her friends much too long to get it all down and properly settled again. Some of it still got scuffed and scratched, probably by Elphaba’s hand. That simply won’t do. The only one to blame here is her roommate who needs to be taught a lesson on what she can and cannot do.
“No, I don’t think I will,” Galinda answers determinedly as she squints to look through the peephole again, “I will let you back in after you learn to keep your hands off of what is mine.”
Elphaba lets out a deep sigh and squeezes the strap of her bag. She turns away while throwing the words over her shoulder in exasperation, “Whatever you say, Galinda.”
Galinda bites her lip as she sees Elphaba walk away with a slouch in her shoulders. She feels a sense of loss like a twinge in her gut. Galinda can only chalk it up to her disappointment that her roommate would give up so easily. She didn’t even try to pick the lock for Oz’ sake. What fun is there in this rivalry if she doesn’t fight back? There is no other explanation for this horrendible feeling that makes sense to her. (Guilt, her heart offers.) Galinda shoves that thought deep down as she puts on her brightest smile, just like her Momsie taught her. After all, she has an audience to entertain and they are looking at her with anticipation. She can feel the weight of their expectations through the heat of their gazes on her back.
Galinda turns towards Pfannee and Shenshen with a radiant smile as she toss-tosses her hair, “Thank Oz that is done, now I can finally enjoy the private suite that was promised to me.”
“As you should,” Shenshen validates her.
Pfannee offers her flattering words that he thinks she wishes to hear, “I don’t know how you can stand rooming with her, you are truly a saint, Galinda.”
She gives them a tight smile before she prompts them to continue their previous conversation as she joins them on her bed. They immediately begin chatting to her about the hottest gossip and the latest fashion trends. Galinda tries to focus on their incessantly vapid chatter, but her eyes keep drifting towards the two sets of keys placed next to each other by the door. Her fingers play with the hem of her skirt, twisting at the fabric until it is sure to leave creases. (She can hear her Momsie’s admonishing words in her head: Uplands don’t fidget and they never look unkempt.) She smooths out the fabric as she puts her thoughts back into order. Her loathsome roommate deserved payback, Galinda did nothing wrong. With each swipe of her hand she rights the fabric and convinces herself of more and more of her own lies.