Accidents Will Happen

Chapter Ten

Galinda remained standing by the dining table after wiping it down, her gaze unseeingly lingering on the freshly cleaned surface. Her right hand, still holding the cloth, rested on the tabletop's edge. To say that this afternoon had taken an unexpected turn was an understatement. In some ways, she'd relished the normalcy this strange situation had offered, but now she feared the likely fallout. To be entirely honest, she'd been rather surprised that Elphaba had played along at all. With their guest gone, however, she wondered whether she'd inadvertently only put their relationship under further strain.

She was to find out soon enough, she realised, when she heard Elphaba shove her key into the lock. Blinking, she brought her vision back into focus. She clenched her hand around the wet cloth and pushed herself off from the table to purposefully march towards the kitchen. By the time her flatmate stepped into the room, she was engrossed in tidying the counter and sink.

She made a point of ignoring Elphaba as she stood in the doorway, leaning with one shoulder against the frame. Still, out of the corners of her eyes, she risked furtive glances to assess her mood. She wouldn't say that the girl looked happy, but at least her expression was controlled and solemn rather than furious. That had to count for something.

"You do realise how ridiculous this entire show was, right?"

Galinda did her best to suppress the urge to look up at that and feigned blissful indifference.

"If that's your attitude, I don't believe we have anything further to say to one another," she said simply—well, not simply, seeing as it took all of her resolve to not immediately start crying again. The shock of last night's argument sat deeper than she cared to admit.

Unfortunately, Elphaba wouldn't leave her in peace just yet.

"What was the purpose of this little performance anyway? Are you treating this like a defunct marriage that needs to be perpetuated at all cost, its cracks concealed? Don't waste your energy. We are roommates, nothing more. Besides, no one would ever fault you for not putting up with the ill-tempered green freak. Not even Boq. Oz knows he's been tempted to do exactly that many times over in the past. You see? There's absolutely no shame involved in calling it a day and ending our affiliation."

When her lip began to quiver, Galinda turned around sharply, tending to the stove instead and re-cleaning the already clean cooktop. Taking deep breaths and counting to ten, she composed herself. Elphaba was right about one thing: this wasn't worth as much turmoil and pain as she was currently allowing it to cause. She only had to fully admit and accept it. Not that that was particularly easy when she was already more invested in this relationship than Elphaba had ever been.

"Why didn't you let Boq go when I gave him an opening to do so?" demanded Elphaba when it became obvious that Galinda had no intention of answering her earlier question. "Did you merely plan to milk him for gossip, or were you hoping to fully turn him against me? I know that you have no genuine interest in him. Under ordinary circumstances, someone like him would totally fly under your radar."

Now that was an accusation she couldn't stand for. Whirling around, she angrily tossed her cloth into the kitchen sink before bracing her hands on her hips.

"How dare you make such ignorant claims? You know nothing about my motives to know or even befriend someone. You will be surprised to learn that I'm not nearly half as shallow as you seem to think I am. I met Boq before, and we chatted for the while, even though I had not the slightest inkling that the two of you were acquainted. Besides, do you consider yourself so much more interesting and noteworthy than your friend? I never realised how full of yourself you actually are!"

Deigning her no reply, Elphaba let her head roll to the opposite side and silently stared out of the window for a while. Galinda tried to go back to work but couldn't find any more tasks to do. Just when she thought that she had no choice but to leave the kitchen and walk past Elphaba to reach the stairs, Elphaba lazily pushed herself off from the wall and slowly made to return to her room. Watching her drag her feet down the corridor, Galinda contemplated various different phrases to shout her way, anything from insults to words of appeasement. In the end, conflicted as she was, she decided that none of them would actually help.