Accidents Will Happen

Chapter Twenty-One

Monday morning, twenty minutes past seven. Elphaba took a deep breath before slipping into her boots. Their first day of uni was awaiting. It had been such a long holiday. She knew she should be excited to finally go back. Instead, she was filled with dread.

This wasn't going to be an ordinary semester, and how long exactly she'd be able to attend classes, or how exactly she'd juggle assignments, tests, and exams later on was anyone's guess. Galinda kept assuring her that it would be fine, that everything would work out somehow. While Elphaba didn't have it in herself to openly criticise her sunny, blissfully naïve attitude, she couldn't help but think that things were different for her. She wasn't as lucky or winsome as those who simply danced through life and still managed to succeed. She was not that kind of girl who got things handed to her, whether through privilege or pure luck.

She loved her anyway, in spite of her inability to grasp her distress over it all, in spite of the way that her encouragements were becoming increasingly harder to bear. The fact that she was physically there to support her meant a lot. It was more than she'd ever received from anyone else. If things went pear-shaped further down the line, she was sure that Galinda would not desert her, and with a roof over her head and a shoulder to lean on, even wasting her hard-earned tuition fees didn't seem quite as daunting anymore as it used to. Some things had changed for the better after all.

"Galinda?" she hollered, checking her phone. It wasn't like she was eager for the day to start, but time waited for no one, and being late on her first day as Doctor Dillamond's unofficial assistant wouldn't help her situation in any way.

"Coming!"

Although her reply had sounded promising, two minutes later, the girl remained nowhere to be seen.

"Typical," grumbled Elphaba to herself before calling out again. "It's almost half past! Are you going to class or a beauty pageant?"

"What's the difference anyway?" shouted Galinda from the bathroom upstairs, making Elphaba grin involuntarily. Oz, this was getting ridiculous! She couldn't even be annoyed with her anymore!

Shaking her head, she decided to use the extra minutes to sort through her stuff. She opened her satchel and tucked the flap in between her chin and her chest. She had her books, her notepads, and her pencil case. She'd get lunch on campus today if she didn't feel too queasy to eat, so she hadn't packed any. But something was missing. Somehow, her bag didn't look complete.

She let the flap fall back in place and removed the strap from her shoulder, putting the bag down on the bench on top of the shoe rack. What was she forgetting, and how come she couldn't figure out what it was?

"Hey, are you alright? What are you looking for so frantically?"

Galinda had at long last arrived downstairs, dressed in a new tunic top that she'd bought the day before. Oh, the pains Elphaba had endured during that shopping trip! Yet she couldn't deny that it had been a rather effective diversion.

Tearing her gaze away from her and directing it back to her open satchel, she scratched the back of her neck, trying and failing to remember what she'd left behind.

"If you're searching for your biology binder," said Galinda, "it's still on your beside table."

Elphaba looked up sharply, brows all the way up to her hairline. Yes. That was exactly what she was missing.

"No worries, I forgot something as well," smiled Galinda. "I'll go back upstairs and grab your binder."

Nodding mutely, Elphaba let her run off again. When she reappeared, she had the missing folder in her hand, and a big, pink rose in her hair. The pin might have been a bit much for class, but it looked pretty with the sunflower yellow outfit.