The Interview

Chapter 13

When she arrived at the station, the waiting tram had just closed its doors and was about to depart. Unfazed, she checked the display to find out when the next one was scheduled to arrive and discovered that due to an accident, irregularities and extended waiting times were to be expected. Glinda did not have the energy to be overly bothered when she already felt so emotionally drained by her weird quarrel with Elphaba.

Her friend hadn't said much, other than that she wished to be left alone. She'd not repeated the reproaches she'd so heatedly flung at her at the park, for which Glinda was sort of grateful. But was her silence really any better than her ranting? At least words were something tangible; even if it was not always easy to tell how much Elphaba meant any of what she said, her fleeting thoughts were quite explicit. Conversely, the less Glinda had to go by, the trickier the guessing game became.

The tram took its sweet time, giving her plenty of opportunity to sit and mull their last conversation over. Unfortunately, it wasn't time she required, but further insights, which she was unable to conjure up. Her tummy soon protested its need for nourishment, and Glinda immediately felt an intense longing for greasy, unhealthy comfort food. Almost instinctively, she pulled out her phone and called Tibbett.

"Hey, Tibbs. I know it's your turn to cook, but have you started preparing anything yet?

"No? That's cool. How about you do it tomorrow instead?

"No particular reason. It's just that tonight somehow feels like a pizza night.

"Yes, of course I'll pay.

"No, I'll be home soon. We can order together from the website.

"Great.

"See you soon, hon!"

Upon her arrival at the flat, Glinda carefully pushed her key into the hole and very slowly unlocked the door, trying her best to make as little sound as possible. Opening the door no more than a few inches, she peered through the narrow gap. The boys were nowhere to be seen. She allowed herself to relax a tad and gave up her stealthy act. As long as she did not announce her return with all the bells and whistles, most likely nobody would bat an eyelash.

She closed the door softly behind her and rid herself of her shoes before making for her room with long strides to gather a fresh set of clothes. The hot shower felt incredibly good and washing the last remnants of dust and cobwebs out of her hair even more so. Finally cleansed and adequately refreshed, she summoned the boys to her room so they might choose their favourite pizza toppings.

"Do they have something with chicken and camembert and cranberry?" asked Crope excitedly.

"Dude, that's pretty specific," Tibbett snickered, but Glinda immediately found what he was after.

"Let's get two of those," she said in between clicks. "I really like those as well, and I don't feel like sharing today."

Unnoticed by the blonde, the boys exchanged amused looks.

"I think we also should get a peperoni and a mushroom pizza," she decided. "They are just classics."

Tibbett cocked his head, lips pursed.

"Uh, can I choose a flavour as well?"

"Sure. Like what?"

"How about avocado and venison instead of mushroom?"

"Why? We can simply get both," Glinda shrugged.

"But that's already five large pizzas," Crope pointed out helpfully, "and there's only three of us."