Disclaimer: This is a real world AU, so while there is no magic, there will be lots of references! :) I don't own any of the characters, but I love the show and the book. I hope you enjoy the story and tell me what you think!
Elphaba shook her head, feeling a darkness emanate off of her, silencing her father as he drove her to the local high school. She could not believe that her father had insisted on her going to a regular, out of the way high school. She had no desire to be there, with regular teenagers.
Elphaba knew that she was not the best person in the world. She knew that she was actually quite rude, leaving tact behind in an effort to abandon useless communication. Ever since she had been little, science had been her world. To her, there was no point in going here, when she could have gone on to college earlier. She was considered to be a child prodigy of sorts, though her progress was slow through the school system because her father intentionally meant to make her spend the formative years of her life under his roof, with people her age. She felt old all of the time, exasperated that she was going to be forced to spend so much of her time with girls that only wanted to talk about boys or makeup, or guys that wanted nothing but to make awkward social or sexual advances on girls.
Having a lot of time to herself, the past few years, had helped her to realize that she wasn't oblivious to the feelings of those around her. For example, she had stopped fighting the decision for her to be sent here, to this god forsaken place, simply because it was going to prove to be fruitless no matter where she was sent. There was no point in disappointing her father any more than she already had. Her father was a pastor of a small church of fervent believers on the edge of town. Personally, Elphaba had no use for faith, apart for the food that it tended to provide her family and the fact that it paid the rent.
Her father, a man of faith, clashed against his daughter, because she loved science. She believed that the universe had been created out of nothing. She knew that eventually one day the sun would collapse and the earth would be swallowed up in flames. This was of no interest to her father, so she had given up trying to explain the details to him. She let him by happy, let him believe whatever he wanted, as long as he let her believe that faith was ludicrous.
He pulled up to the school, looking to her in the rearview mirror.
"I hope that you have a good day, Elphie. Make friends, okay?" His words should have been kind, but instead, she only heard the lack of interest and disappointment that he felt in and for the daughter that had refused his way of life, his faith. She knew that he wished she were more like her sister, wished that Elphaba was not actually the spawn of the man that her mother had cheated with so long ago. Elphaba knew the truth, but continued to acknowledge this man as her father, because she had no clue who the other man was, and honestly, at least she knew what she was going to get from the man forcing her into this wretched place.
Elphaba looked down at her plain black dress, the black leather jacket that she wore on top of it. If she didn't know better, if her hair weren't also black, if she weren't odd enough that she might as well have green skin, since she already stuck out like a sore thumb, she would have assumed that she was Wednesday Addams. She sighed, responding, "Yes, father." There was no affection in her voice, only compliance. She knew that the easier she was on him, the more time she would be allowed to spend pouring over science and actual fun things later on in the evening.
She got out of the car, her black and white Converse sneakers hitting the pavement. She walked up to the doors at the front of the school, ignoring all of the stares from the people around her, just intent on going to get her schedule, so she could go read in her first class.
She walked into the front office, looking for a secretary, a dull, bored look on her face. The bright, lovely lady on the other side of the counter smiled looking up, only to falter when she saw Elphaba.
"Hi, my name is Elphaba Thropp, do you know where I could get my schedule? I am new to this school." She smiled a sarcastic smile in the lady's direction, knowing it was the most that she could force out of herself at the moment.
"Umm. Sure. Thropp... Thropp. Elphaba, you said? Here you are." She handed over the schedule quickly, also passing over the i.d. that she would have to wear for the rest of the year. She hated lanyards, so she had brought a clip just for this occasion.
"Thank you, ma'am." She nodded in the lady's direction, off to find her first class, which was English. It was on the second floor, and as she headed down the hall, she observed all of the couples in the hallway, all of the best friends walking together, chatting about some useless subjects. She looked down, pausing to make sure she had seen the right room number, and looked up in time to feel somebody smash right into her. It sent her backwards, but she caught herself before she fell, rolling her eyes. She was probably the sorest thumb in the place, how could anyone miss the chick in all black? She looked up again, to see some kind of jock of a guy, with "suave" good looks. 'Of course,' she thought, 'the one person who probably never notices anyone but himself.' She could feel the smug vibes emanating off of his demeanor, radiating out to the whole hallway. He looked at her, shocked, trying not to laugh.
"Maybe watch where you are going next time?" I question sarcastically and duck to the side to keep going down the hall, only three doors away from picking a seat and disappearing into her book.
"Excuse me?" He stepped in her way, indignant.
"You bumped into me," she said, noting the obvious. "So, pay better attention and spread your smugness elsewhere."
He looked taken aback.
"Or give a warning, like this:Excuse me," she drawled, passing him by.
Everyone in the hallway was staring at her, like she had injured an adorable puppy, but it's not like she was wrong. The guy had bumped into her. She found the classroom, slipping inside even though she knew that she was nearly fifteen minutes early. She picked the back, middle seat, so that she wouldn't have to worry about answering too many questions from the teacher.
She pulled out one of her favorite books, A Brief History of Time, picking up where she had left off last night. The time seemed to pass in a hurry, as she read the book for the millionth time, and too soon, she was pulled out of her book by a voice.
"Unbelievable." It was some preppy girl, glaring down at her, an offended look on her face. "That is my seat."
"Really? I didn't see your name on it." Elphaba let her voice assume a musing tone. "Of course, I only briefly looked at the wood, before claiming my territory. Can you show me where your name is?"
Elphaba looked to the girl, an annoyed look on her face.
"Move," the girl said.
"An elegant counter, but I believe that I am going to stay where I am." She glared, hoping the girl would get a grip and pick a new seat.
"Ugh." She stormed off to another desk, occasionally glaring at me before class began, as if me taking the desk that she usually sat at was a big enough deal to unravel her morning.
The bell rang and Elphaba reluctantly put down the book, hoping that this English class was not as boring as the last two schools her father had attempted to make her endure. Then again, she was in sophomore English, so that usually meant some Orwell, maybe a sappy Bronte or Austen, ending with some airy poems about love and childhood. Sighing, she heard someone settle in next to her on her left, so she looked up reflexively. She nearly groaned, but instead she just leaned over to retrieve her Orwell, to reread it for the fifth time. 'Orwell', she mused, 'was not the problem. The useless theories made by teenagers about his complex work. That was the true issue at hand.'
Of course, the person next to her was the smug guy from the hallway, which was probably why the beauty queen was glaring at her with imaginary daggers dancing in her eyes. Honestly, Elphaba wished more than the beauty queen that she didn't have to be next to the jock, or in the class, or even in the building. She could have been in California by now, in a lab, focusing on matters that actually held some significance to the world. Her parents, however, had never learned to think practical thoughts, which left her here with wonder boy and beauty queen suffocating her on both sides.
The teacher walked in, introducing himself.
"Hello class," he said. "My name is Dr. Dillamond. I have degrees in science, math, philosophy, and of course, English."
Elphaba sat up a little more intently, hoping that a man who was smart enough to have a doctorate, or multiple doctorates, would change up the predicted reading schedule a little.
He smiled, saying, "This year, I am hoping to make you question some of the concepts that you have readily accepted or denied. So, prepare to do truly in depth analysis, I can keep up."
He looked to her, asking with his eyes, if she wished to be introduced. She shrugged, not really caring, as everyone was probably going to ignore her or have nothing to do with her anyway.
He nodded, proceeding. "We have a new student with us, Elphaba Thropp. Please stand Elphaba and tell us one of your passions."
She stood, sighed and said, "Theoretical Physics." She sat back down, allowing him to continue. She hoped, that if nothing else, this class at least could pique her interest.