The Rise of The Animal Defense Force

The Ozdust Ballroom

I arrived at the Ozdust late. I had visited Madame Morrible first, and then changed my mind at least three times whether to go to the Ballroom or not. In the end I decided why in Oz shouldn't I go? So I put on one of my nicer black dresses, and the hat Galinda had given me and made my way through the streets of Shiz.

When I walked through the doors, people turned to gawk at me, so there was nothing out of the ordinary. However when they began to chuckle and laugh at me, I knew that something other than my green skin was the cause.

Of course! The hat! It then dawned on me that Galinda didn't give it to me out of the "goodness" of her heart, but as some immature schoolgirl prank. I wrenched it off of my head and walked quickly down the steps and onto the dance floor. I could see Galinda looking slightly ashamed alongside Fiyero, and I felt a small measure of satisfaction.

Everyone was still looking at me, and I had nothing to say. No witty comment or sarcastic retort came to mind, so I thought why not give them a show? The band had stopped playing when the musicians realised everyone had been distracted from dancing. But despite the silence I started waving my arms and turning my body in a series of moves that I'm sure most people would've thought was a type of dance.

'I'll say this much for her, she doesn't give a twig about what anyone else thinks.' Fiyero said, it almost sounded like he was impressed.

I heard Fiyero's voice as I continued to move through the motions, but by that stage I was lost in my internal rhythm and the movement of my body.

'Of course she does,' said Galinda, 'She just pretends not to, I feel awful.'

'Why? It's not like it's your fault.' he replied in an attempt to absolve her.

'Excuse me.' And with that Galinda walked up and tapped me on the arm.

May I cut in?' Galinda asked tentatively.

She copied my dance moves, although I must admit she did so much more gracefully than I had thus far. As she spun her two minions, Pfannee and Shen-Shen confronted her and I could hear their furious whispering. I was impressed to see Galinda turn her back on them, and step back towards me, continuing to perform my dance. It wasn't long before I joined her again, and the band began to play a slow, sweet tune. I became aware of the people around me as they too joined us on the dance floor, surprisingly even Fiyero danced with Galinda and she introduced him officially to me.

The night went by faster than a single clock-tick, and I couldn't believe how much fun I'd had. Galinda wasn't the vapid, shallow, preening bimbo that I'd assumed her to be, and we returned to our room arm-in-arm long after curfew feeling tired, foot-sore, and yet wide-awake and cheerful.