confusifying | wicked | book 3/3

Elphie

The phone rings for a third time and after shouting for Glinda, my husband and even for Albert, who to my surprise isn't at our house for once this week, I finally venture downstairs to answer the phone myself.
I pick it up angrily, the droning ring tone still echoing in my ears.
"Hello?" I call.
"Oh Elphaba finally!" The exasperated voice of Boc cries, I've only just seen him this morning, he seemed quite dismayed then so I wonder how he is now.
"Who is it?" Asks Glinda finally making herself known to the room, if she could have done that five minutes earlier, then I wouldn't have had to answer the phone myself.
"Boc" I reply sharply.
"Yes?" He calls in response to his name.
I let out a deep sigh.
"No not you." I grumble "I was talking to... never mind. Is everything okay?"
There's a pause on the end of the phone.
"I've got to be quick," Boc mutters frantically "Nessa is in a meeting and I don't know when she will be back."
Glinda mouths a question to me but she annunciates it terribly that I'm barley able to establish that it's a question.
"What?" I cry.
"Do I really have to repeat myself?" Boc moans.
"Oh no, that wasn't for you." I mumble quickly "you were saying, boc?"
He continues.
"Nessas happy, really happy. There's this new member of staff Professor Herdidge, Thomas Herdidge." Boc is babbling so quickly that I'm struggling to register what he's saying, but be continues "he's a massive flirt, all he's doing is sweet talking your sister and she's fawning all over him."

I pause for a second, trying to register what in Oz I've just been told. I roll Boc's words around and around my head until finally, I laugh loudly.
Very loudly.
Boc makes some irritated sounds and Glinda mouths yet another unintelligible question to me.
"You've called me, acting all worried because my sister is happy?" I ask mildly confused, though I suppose it is a rare occasion now.
Or perhaps, perhaps that's not the reason at all.
Perhaps Boc is jealous because Nessa seems to like this Professor Herdidge fellow.
"I'm worried about her." Boc mumbles "what if this man isnt good for her, what if he's using her." Bocs voice is slowly rising in pitch.
I hear a strange noise in the back of the phone call and then the line goes dead.
Slowly I put the phone down and turn to glinda, who looks like she may explode.
"What was that about?" She cries.
"Nessas hired a male teacher, Boc is jealous." I say bluntly.
I hate the way Boc worded his last sentence.
What if he's using her.
My sister is a beautiful, intelligent and strong willed woman, why can't he just find her attractive? why can't Boc just stay out of it? they have only known eachother for a day.
He could just be very friendly.

"But is Nessa alright?"
"She seems to be, by the way Boc describes it." I reply. "Bocs worried that this professor may just be using Nessa and playing with her feelings."
Glinda looks confused,
"I think someone's jealous."
I grin back at her.
"I think so too."
As concerned as I am for my sister's wellbeing, I can't help but enjoy myself.
I missed out on the fun gossip of high school due to the fact that no one liked me and most, of not all, of the gossip was about me anyways.
"But you don't think Nessa actually likes him, right?" I whisper suddenly questioning everything I know about my sister.
"Elphie..." Glinda mumbles suspiciously.
I continue.
"Because if she does, that's completely fine. But we don't know him, I don't know him and what if Boc would treat her better but she's just too scared to be with him?" I continue to ramble until Glinda puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Elphaba calm down." Glinda snaps "your right, you don't know him. So let's not make any judgements until you've met him."
Glindas right.
But there's one problem, half of Oz is scared of me, how on earth am I going to talk to this man without him running away or refusing to go near me?
I sit and ponder this for a while until Glinda speaks again.
"Oh, I do hope Boc is alright."
"Boc? My sister is the one who has a strange man fawning over her!" I cry "and whats your thing with Boc, anyone would think it's you who is in love with him."
Glinda smiles and shakes her head sadly.
"Boc has a kind soul and I hurt him, I hurt him and Nessarose on the day when I forced him to invite her to Ozdust. It's my fault that Nessa is afraid of love and now Boc truly wants her and they could be truly happy." Glinda sniffs back her tears, her eyes go pink. "I just feel so bad for him, all he wants is your sister and all he's getting is pushed away."

I nod, yet again Glindas right.
I do feel bad for the both of them, but until I meet 'Professor Herdidge' my opinion of him will remain negative.
I just hope that he doesn't break her heart, or perhaps Boc has taken it way out of context.
He is very overprotective, I know I used to take things out of context.
I still do, here I am spiralling all these ideas about a man who could just be a friendly person.
Boc could just be on edge after Nessa pushed him out that he's scared that she's in love with someone else.
I hope that's what's happened, it sounds horribly mean for me to not want this person to be in love with my sister but I just don't want her to get hurt.
As much as Boc and I have our differences, he's still my choice for Nessa.
Thomas Herdidge is going to have to try particularly hard to win my vote.