I return once more to the 'Wicked' fandom! hahaha, actually this idea is one I've had since October of 2016, though I've finally gotten around to writing it ( while procrastinating on a ton of other fics I need to update!)
This is chapter 1 of "Not another Highschool AU!"
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(and yes, the title is a parody of 'Not another Teen Movie' )
The day had just begun at Maguire high school; the students began entering through the front doors before splitting off into the various directions, some going straight to their classes while others congregated with their friends, content to wait until the first period bell rang out before heading to their lessons.
One such young woman, who was in no hurry to get to her class, was Galinda Upland.
She was dressed in the bare minimum of the school's uniform, the requirement was somewhat flexible, and the students didn't have to wear the full uniform except for on special school occasions or field trips. Galinda wore the school blazer, though she chose the white variation, along with her own light pink skirt and matching heeled sandals, a pair of studded diamond earrings with a hair band holding back her golden blonde hair that fell to her shoulders in curled tresses.
Walking up to her locker, she proceeded to put in her combination with a soft hum, opening it and placing her purse inside, before browsing over the copy of her schedule that was placed in her locker, rolling her eyes with a soft groan at the classes she had today, knowing what she would have to deal with today, or more specifically who.
Just thinking about her made the blonde grit her teeth and frown, before releasing a calming breath and steadied herself.
Frowning too much would give her wrinkles, and she didn't want that.
Picking up her books and her carry bag, she placed them inside before placing the bag over one shoulder and closing her locker, turning to walk down the hall she brightened upon seeing Pfannee and Shenshen, her two best friends.
"Galinda!" the two cried out in unison before rushing towards her.
Upon reaching their friend the two each gave her a quick hug before breaking apart.
"I know, I know" Galinda said raising her hands up in mock surrender before grinning. "It's wonderful to see me"
"We missed you so much" Pfannee said as Shenshen nodded in agreement.
"You mustn't go leaving us like that Galinda, it was so horrible!"
The two teens were referring to Galinda having been away for three days of school, due to her father taking her on a trip upstate.
"No need to worry girls, I won't be going anywhere anytime soon." She said as the trio turned and sauntered down the hall, all the while chatting and filling Galinda in on all the gossip she'd missed while she was away.
~0~
The history classroom was almost full as Galinda sat between Pfannee and Shenshen, the trio still chatting as a small handful of students around them listened on, hanging on their every word.
Their teacher still hadn't arrived yet, despite the class having supposed to begin five minutes ago.
Doctor Dillamond was late.
Not exactly a rare occurrence, as their teacher would occasionally show up late to class, having rushed to get their on time.
This morning was turning out to be one of those days.
As Galinda turned to Shenshen and was about to reply to her question, the door to the classroom suddenly opened hastily, and everyone present turned to see their teacher arrive, puffing slightly from an obvious sprint to the classroom.
"I-I'm t-terribly sorry class, once again I seem to have f-found m-myself running late." Doctor Dillamond stated with a sheepish chuckle as he walked through the door, clutching an assortment of notes and textbooks under one arm.
Doctor Dillamond was a middle aged African American man who was always well dressed.
Though his dress sense was not what grabbed people's attention about him, but the scars that covered his body, most of his face was covered in burn scars as well as presumably more, as his right hand was similarly burned, though no one could tell just how extensive the scars were, and none of the students knew exactly how he had come by them.
Doctor Dillamond had simply said they were the result of an accident many years ago.
This of course led to many rumours amongst the student population, some saying he was in the military, and was horribly disfigured after stepping on a land mine.
That was only one of the many rumours that explained his appearance, though none of the students knew the real reason, nor would Doctor Dillamond reveal it.
"Now then, if y-you'll all take out your t-text books, we c-can continue on from yesterday." Doctor Dillamond said as he placed his things on his desk.
Another of his noticeable traits was the terrible stutter that he was afflicted with, and it varied from time to time in regards to how much the stutter would affect his speech.
Some students would often tease him for it behind his back; some of the braver ones had even mock him for it when in earshot.
Before Doctor Dillamond could go any further however, the door to the classroom was once again opened to reveal another person who had obviously rushed to arrive.
Upon seeing who it was, Galinda couldn't help but let out a light groan at seeing her arrive.
The young woman who stood there was unusual to say the least.
She had dark black hair and green eyes, she wore dark jeans and black knee high boots, along with a black jacket that went past her waist, and underneath it she wore a dark blue school shirt which peeked out from the black ensemble.
The clothing was a little bit baggy and hid her frame, though she was tall, taller than Galinda by at least a head, Galinda wasn't sure exactly, as she hadn't gotten close enough to her to find out for sure.
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Oh, and her skin was green.
Not in a 'you're sick' kind of green, but literally green.
The young woman, Elphaba Thropp had arrived at school at the beginning of the year out of nowhere, having been excepted to the prestigious school through a scholarship following her having taken an entry test, apparently she was 'gifted' and excelled in several subjects far beyond others in her age group.
Galinda thought she was a moody know-it-all, always answering every question she could in class, and showing everyone else up in her school work and results.
She didn't have any friends that Galinda could think of, though it wasn't hard to tell why. She made zero effort to fit in with the student population, and ostracised herself seemingly by choice, and any attempts by those brave enough to approach her was met with a snarky rebuff from the girl.
Also adding to her weirdness, was how much of her free time was spent in the library, she might as well have lived there! Galinda didn't know how the other girl could spend so much time reading, it just wasn't natural!
Galinda had quickly decided that she didn't like Elphaba, and the feeling was mutual.
"I'm sorry I'm late Doctor Dillamond, I had a bit of trouble with traffic" Elphaba said apologetically.
"T-That's quite a-alright Miss Elphaba" Doctor Dillamond replied waving it off without any issue, as Elphaba walked past him with a nod as she approached an empty seat.
As she passed Galinda, the blonde sent her a look, to which Elphaba seemingly ignored, passing by and sitting near the back right corner of the classroom.
The other students near her shuffled away from Elphaba as she sat down. The green girl took out a notebook however and began going over her work without paying them any mind.
Galinda have a small huff before crossing her arms and looking up at the clock and hoping it would somehow speed up so she could leave sooner.
~0~
The school day had ended several hours ago, the moon now high in the sky as Elphaba entered her apartment, locking the door behind her as she did.
Dropping her bag down near the door she reached down to take off her boots, afterwards she picked up the bag once more and walked over to her living room area where an old but sturdy coach sat behind a coffee table, sitting down on it with a sigh, she put her bag down beside her as she simply sat for a few minutes, enjoying the relative peace.
Her apartment was nothing to brag about in the slightest, and it had its fair share of faults and problems, but it was all she could afford at the moment.
Well 'afford' was a bit of a stretch, she reminded herself as she reached down and picked up the envelopes she had brought up in her bag, quickly opening them and taking out the letters inside.
After reading through them Elphaba pinched the bridge of her nose with a weary sigh before placing them back down on the coffee table.
'Payment due….late….penalty fee' these were several of the words that stuck out to her as she glanced through the letters.
She did have a job, but due to her still being in high school her employers only gave her so many hours in the week, despite her assurance she could do more, they said it was a legal matter, that as she was still in school they couldn't give her any more hours.
Though she was able to pull longer hours on the weekend, she still found it wasn't enough to make up for the loss of her weekday hours. And in the long run, money was getting tight.
~0~
Meanwhile, Galinda had just dried herself off from having a relaxing bubble bath, and was wearing a cream coloured nightdress while she sat in front of the large mirror adorning one side of her room, the long makeup table in front of her filled with various products, though she only needed one for now.
Retrieving a black handled hair brush, she began to brush her hair slowly; she continued to do so even when she heard a soft knock on the door, not even pausing as she answered.
"Come in"
A moment later in came one of the maid's, a brunette young woman only a few years older than Galinda herself, carrying a small tray with a cup and saucer next to a small pitcher.
"Your tea, Miss Galinda" the maid said standing there quietly.
"Oh yes, just put it on the table thank you" Galinda replied glancing over at the woman before turning back to her reflection as she resumed her brushing.
The maid nodded and placed the cup and saucer near where Galinda could reach, as well as the small pitcher which contained milk, before turning and leaving without another word.
Humming to herself softly, Galinda put down the brush after making sure her hair was just right, and proceeded to pick up her cup of tea, adding a small amount of milk from the pitcher before taking a dainty sip.
"Mmmm, that's nice." She said to herself. "Just what I need after a long and stressful day"
~0~
Elphaba raised the beer bottle to her lips, allowing the chilled liquid to fill her throat before placing it down back on the table, swallowing with a satisfied gulp as she rested on the couch.
She had finished her dinner half an hour ago, which hadn't been much but left over lasagne from the other night, though it had been enjoyable.
Though she couldn't bring herself to relax, not with the bills that she knew where sitting back on the kitchen countertop, it was a constant nagging presence in the back of her mind.
She needed some extra cash, and soon.
As she sat there on the couch, her eyes wandered over to her phone which sat idly on the coffee table.
There was a way she knew of getting the money she needed, and in the time she needed it.
She had done it before.
But that didn't mean she necessarily liked doing it, let alone often.
Though if it payed the bills…
After another minute of starring at the phone she finally reached for it, quickly dialling a number and waiting, several seconds passed before she heard a response.
"It's me, Elphaba…Yeah…Two nights from now, yeah I can make it...Ok I'll be there" she said before hanging up, the call wasn't long, though it didn't have to be.
As she placed the phone down, Elphaba leaned back on the couch once more; she did feel slightly relieved, though at the same time she knew it was too early to relax completely.
Reaching over to a medium sized ashtray she retrieved a previously lit cigar and placed it in her mouth, it was thick and dark brown in colour. Picking up a packet of matches she kept next to a lighter on the table, she lit a match before bringing it to the cigar.
Taking a few puffs before shaking the match out, the cigar end was lit with a bright orange as she took in a deeper inhale, drawing the smoke into her mouth and throat and allowing it to circulate, taking care not to breathe it down into her lungs, before exhaling, laying her head back on the back of the couch and watching the thick smoke rise up above her.
Ok! So there you have it, chapter 1!
I hope you all enjoyed it, and if you'd like, feel free to leave a review down below.
How do you think Doctor Dillamond got his scars? (unintentional Joker reference there XD)
Elphaba lives alone? Where's Nessa? does she even exist!
And just how will Elphaba get the cash to pay those bills!
For all this and more, you'll just have to hang around for more chapters XD
See you all next time