Author's note: I started writing this about four years ago, and am just now posting it. It's rather long, and not quite finished, but I'll be able to post a chapter every few days. I'm going to do only minimal editing on the old stuff. Except for a few Wicked T-shirts, I own nothing.
Eleven-year-old Elphaba Thropp sat on a hard, wooden bench in the main office of St. Francis Academy of Oz, waiting. It was 8 o'clock in the morning on the first day of a new school year, but Elphaba was neither excited nor nervous. She was dreading it. She had been dreading this day all summer. A new school. New people to make fun of her. Maybe it won't be so bad, she thought. Maybe they won't mind. Her feeble hopes quickly sank when she heard what was going on around her. She knew this would happen. Wherever she went, it always did. Her dark eyes were fixed on the floor. She was trying not to think about it. She knew that the secretaries behind the counter were whispering to each other and staring. She knew that teachers and other children with their parents were coming in and out of the office doing the same thing. She caught some of the things they were saying.
"Who is that?"
"Do you think she's sick, Dad?"
"I wonder if she's always been…"
"Mommy, why is that girl…"
"So, that's the sister."
Elphaba kept her eyes on the floor and tried to ignore them. The reason she was attracting so much attention, even though she was sitting quite still, was that she was different from the other children. She was the oldest daughter of the governor of Munchkinland, for one thing, but what made her stand out was her appearance. Yes, she wore the same blue school jumper as the other girls and the matching headband, which was holding her long black hair neatly in place. She was not too tall or too short. She did not have big feet or small ears. She was green. She'd had green skin since the day she was born. She did not know why, and neither did her father. She always wondered if her mother knew, but couldn't ask her. She had died when Elphaba was two years old, after giving birth to Nessarose, Elphaba's little sister, who was now sitting beside her in the office.
Elphaba looked up at a door in the corner of the room when she suddenly heard her father's frustrated voice coming from it. It was the headmistress' office. Then she turned her attention to her sister, the reason for the heated conversation behind it.
Nessarose was not sitting on the bench beside Elphaba, but in a wheelchair, next to the bench. She was a perfectly normal color, but had been born crippled. The muscles in her legs had never been strong enough for her to walk, and no doctor could cure her. But Nessarose was very beautiful and her father's favorite daughter. Elphaba's wants and needs were often cast aside. Nessarose always came first. Even though Elphaba had always lived in the shadow of her beautiful sister, she loved her very much. In her small family, only she and her sister and father, Nessarose was perhaps the person who loved Elphaba most. Elphaba was often responsible for looking after her sister, as their father worked a lot, so they were very close.
"Nessa, are you alright?" the green girl asked her. Nessarose's pale face was looking paler than usual. She nodded, but looked unsure. Nessa had always been shy. They were both nervous about starting at a new school, a private school, but she also knew that something else was making it worse, especially for Nessa. Their father was speaking quite loudly, and could be heard through the headmistress' door, which was open just a crack. The sisters knew what was going on, and they were both getting more and more nervous. Nessarose was tightly clutching Elphaba's green hand.
"Why wasn't I told about this?" Elphaba heard her father's angry voice. "You said they would be in the same classroom! Elphaba needs to look after Nessa. My little girl spent all summer being tutored so she could skip third grade and come to this school to be with her sister, and now you are telling me they can't be together?"
"I'm sorry, Governor Thropp, we can't allow Elphaba to repeat fourth grade," replied the voice of the headmistress.
Elphaba bit her lower lip and looked down at the floor. She was two years older than Nessa and should have been in sixth grade. Elphaba happened to be incredibly smart. She probably would have done well even in high school, but none of her teachers had ever thought to let her skip a grade. It had simply never crossed their minds. She was stuck.
"What is wrong with the communication in this school?" Father could be heard again from behind the door.
Nessa squeezed Elphaba's hand tighter. The green girl looked over and smiled weakly at her sister, stroking her hand, trying to console her. She began to hum softly so only she and Nessa could hear. This was always soothing to both of them.
"Everything is going to be fine," she said. Of course, she was not at all sure about this, and now was more concerned as she turned her attention back to the conversation behind the door.
She was so focused on listening that she was startled when someone sat down next to her. She turned and saw that it was a teacher, a Goat. Elphaba expected her to say something mean, or tell her she was sitting in a place that was off limits, but instead the teacher smiled. No stranger had ever smiled at her.
"Hello, there! Is this your first day at St. Francis?" asked the Goat, her eyes sparkling. Elphaba was shocked to hear these words spoken to her kindly. She only nodded.
"You look like a fifth grader. Is that right?" The teacher looked at her with mild curiosity and smiled again. "What's your name?"
Elphaba was bewildered, this person was actually being nice to her, talking to her instead of talking about her. This never happened. Didn't this person notice that she was green? She wasn't sure how to react. She finally decided to speak.
"My name is Elphaba and I should be in sixth grade, but I am in fifth grade, because when I was five and old enough to go to kindergarten, my father didn't think I was ready to be with other children, so I started school a year late," Elphaba blurted out very quickly. She was not used to talking to grown-ups. Nessa stared at her, looking a little angry now on top of her nervousness, as if to say "you shouldn't have told her that," but she stayed silent.
"Well, then, welcome to our school!" said the teacher. I think you'll really like it here." She smiled again and turned to talk to Nessa. "Are you Elphaba's sister? That is a lovely pink pillow you have on your chair."
For the first time that morning, Nessa smiled. This person seemed very nice, and though Elphaba knew she shouldn't be talking to strangers, she decided that since it was a teacher, it wasn't a big deal. She could, almost magically, always tell when Nessa was not in the mood to talk, which was often when they were in public, so she spoke for her.
"This is my sister, Nessarose," she said.
"Ah, 'Nessarose,' I thought you two might be Governor Thropp's girls," she said, eying Nessa's chair. Nessarose, you are going to be in my class! I knew that you had a sister coming, too, but nobody told me anything about her. I am is Ms. Dillamond. I guess I will see you in class very soon, Nessarose." She began to walk toward the door.
Elphaba was relieved that her sister would be with a kind, understanding teacher. That had been one of her biggest worries about the new school (she wasn't ready to think about her other fears yet). She still wasn't sure if the teacher had really seen her, but Miss Dillamond turned back before she reached the door and leaned down to whisper in Elphaba's ear: "hang in there, green one."