The Interview

Chapter Four

Glinda's alarm rang seven thirty in the morning. Still drowsy, she swiped the screen to silence the unwelcome noise before rolling over on her search for the bed's edge. Instead of the way out, she found a warm body next to her. She stiffened. She tried to recall what had happened the previous night, but her brain was a mess. Ever so slowly, she moved her head to catch a glimpse of the person next to her. After a few sleepy blinks, her eyes eventually focused on Fiyero and pure relief washed over her. Giggling hysterically, she let herself fall back into her pillows and blankets.

Fiyero propped himself up, quirking his thick, bold eyebrow.

"Funny dream?"

"No," she replied, still laughing to herself. "Rather, a funny awakening."

Smiling, Fiyero got out of bed to pull on an old t-shirt and some training pants.

"Waking up beside each other is an odd feeling, isn't it? So familiar and still so bizarre."

The giggles finally died down.

"Yes, but that's not even what I meant," she said through a mighty yawn. "When I first woke up, I had a total blank out. For a moment, I had no idea in whose bed I had ended up."

Suddenly, she found herself at the receiving end of a long, silent stare from Fiyero.

"Should I be worried?" he asked at last, already sounding concerned enough. "Is that something that happens quite frequently these days? Waking up in random people's beds and not knowing what happened?"

Glinda groaned in mild frustration.

"Not at all. That's why it was funny that I even thought that that was what might have happened" she intoned, rolling her eyes.

"Sure. I just hope that you're being careful. I know about your plan."

She assumed, he was referring to the 'plan' that entailed a husband and children – a perfect family to help her present as the straight, 'normal' girl her parents still thought she was.

"I haven't really even started on that yet," she told him, hoping to calm him down. "And besides," she added with a sassy grin, "you are the one who tries to hook me up with a green sexual omnivore."

"Hey!" He raised both of his hands. "In my defence, I never advised you to get drunk with her. That's just not playing it safe."

"I wasn't drunk!" Glinda shot back.

"You passed out on my couch just two minutes after you arrived, and I Oz damn know the scent of alcohol when I smell it."

Their argument was interrupted by Glinda's alarm that went off for a second time. This time, she cancelled it properly.

"I've had one glass of wine, no more. I was simply pooped."

"From what?" Fiyero demanded incredulously. "From not going to work?"

"Thanks to you, mister, I hardly slept a wink the night before. Do you even have the slightest idea what anxieties you put me through?"

For a moment, it almost seemed like he felt at least a little bad.

"Well, did my hard labour pay off?" he asked with a casual shrug.

Glinda sent him a brief glare that quickly softened again.

"Although I'm not the world's foremost authority on this sort of stuff, I don't even think Elphaba is interested in me that way. She might work out to be a very interesting friend, though."

"Interesting, huh? You will have to tell me everything about it."

"Yes, I know. I won't be able to avoid that conversation for long, but for now, please excuse me. I need a shower and I have to give work a ring because I'm still feeling 'quite ill.'"