Here's the next chapter. Enjoy
Madame Morrible, the Headmistress of Shiz University, was going on and on about academic responsibilities and personal responsibilities and familial responsibilities as Elphaba just sat in the shadows, watching the all of the other girls she had been thrown into Shiz with. Most of them were rich, wearing clothes and jewelry that clearly distinguished their place in the world. Elphaba would never fit in with them and honestly didn't want to. She was here to get her education, and that was it.
"And now for room assignments," Madame Morrible said, gaining the attention of every girl in the room. She began to rattle off names, putting two girls in each room and pausing between each assignment to give the two girls a key and a packet of papers that detailed their classes.
Girls filed out as they gained their new roommates, either staring at them with disgust clear on their faces or talking to them excitedly. Elphaba began to get more and more nervous as more and more girls started to leave with their room assignments. Had Madame Morrible forgotten to assign a room to her?
"Miss Pfannee and Miss ShenShen," Madame Morrible said. The two designated girls walked up to Madame Morrible, one tall with long brown hair done up elegantly and dressed in a light green dress with a silver necklace around her neck, the other shorter with short black hair and dressed in a dark blue dress with a string of pearls around her neck. They received their keys and packets of paper and left the room chatting with each other animatedly. It was only her and one other girl left, now.
"Miss Elphaba Thropp, Third Descending of Munchkinland, and Miss Galinda Upland of the Arduennas," Madame Morrible said finally. The other girl started forward slowly, looking around for her roommate. Elphaba watched her. She was dressed well, in a white dress with matching shoes and a silver necklace around her neck.
"You must me Miss Galinda," Madame Morrible said, handing her the packet of papers and a key. "Miss Elphaba, if you would please come over her and meet your new roommate, it would be much appreciated."
Elphaba stepped out of the shadows and Galinda gasped when her green skin came into the light. Madame Morrible handed her the papers and key. "I trust you two girls will become very best friends," she said, smiling at both of them before swishing out of the room.
Say something to her, say something to her. Just don't stand there like an idiot, you look stupid, Elphaba thought desperately. Come on, she's already afraid of you as it is, you can't do anything worse. Just say something, anything. But nothing stupid.
"I'll be taking my leave if you please, Miss Elphaba," Galinda said coldly before turning abruptly on her heel and walking out of the room.
Well there goes your chance. Elphaba sighed and picked up her suitcase, throwing her satchel over her shoulder as she followed Galinda more slowly. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to get along very well with her new roommate.
ELPHABAELPHABAELPHABAELPHABAELPHABAELPHABAELPHABA
Elphaba stood in from of Room 22, the room she was going to be living in for the next four years, maybe even longer. Fitting her key into the lock, she opened the door, surprised to find Galinda there with a group of girls. She recognized Pfannee and ShenShen, and the third girl was Milla, a girl who was a little shorter than average with short brown hair, a pinched nose, and darting eyes. They all looked at the door when she came in and watched as she went over to her bed, setting her suitcase down on top of it.
"As I was saying," Pfannee said when it was made clear that Elphaba wasn't going to say anything. "My parents wanted to marry me off to some wealthy man who lives off in the country, which was nice, because he was rich, but he was old and ugly. They told me that I would either marry him or come here to Shiz, so of course I chose to come here. How about you, Miss Galinda?"
Elphaba stopped unpacking, listening as her roommate started to talk. "My parents would never make me marry someone I didn't want to," she started. "I'm the first girl to get into Shiz University from Pertha Hills, which is where I live, and everyone there is terribly proud of me. I just hope that I don't let them down."
"You could never let them down," ShenShen said, and Elphaba just rolled her eyes and continued unpacking. "All you have to do is find a nice, handsome, rich boy, marry him, and your parents will be pleased."
"Have you heard that there's a prince in our year coming her?" Milla squealed. "He's from the Vinkus and he's supposed to be gorgeous."
"He's probably very barbaric," Pfannee said dismissively.
"I heard that he's rich," Milla continued, ignoring Pfannee's comment. "Miss Galinda, if you could get him, you would make a perfect couple. I've already seen him. He has blue diamonds tattooed all over him, and they would match your eyes perfectly! He looks so… exotic."
Too bad they don't think you look exotic, Elphaba thought to herself as she opened the top drawer of the dresser her grandfather had sent and started to put away her clothes. Maybe you would be in their circle, then, gossiping about boys and home. Just say something to them, it couldn't be too bad.
She continued to put away her clothes and then proceeded to pull out the books she had packed away, setting them carefully on the single shelf that had been sent to her room by her grandfather. He had also sent her the mahogany desk that had been set up, the bed sheets that were wrapped in brown paper on the end of her bed, and the three boxes of books she had been unable to pack in her suitcase.
"Really, do you talk at all?"
Elphaba turned to see the four girls staring at her and then turned away, blushing a dark green. Say something, you idiot! They're just asking you a question, there's nothing to be embarrassed about!
"I think she's mute," Milla said almost sympathetically.
"She's also green," Pfannee said. "I don't want to be associated with her. Who knows, maybe it's some weird disease she acquired. I heard that she lived in Quadling Country for a time, in a little shack in the swamps. Maybe she caught it there."
"Why don't you ask her?" Glinda said.
"You ask her," Pfannee retorted. "She's your roommate."
"Fine, I will," Galinda said. "Miss Elphaba, if you haven't already heard, my friends were wondering how you became green."
She was silent and still for a moment, staring down at her hands, which were trembling. Turning, she saw all four girls looking at her expectantly. Galinda opened her mouth and turned to Pfannee when she spoke.
"I was born this way," she whispered.
The girls continued looking at her, as if they expected her to say more, but she just turned away, starting to unpack the boxes of books and setting them on her shelf, arranging them alphabetically by the last name of the author.
"She thinks she's too good for us!" Pfannee exclaimed.
"Maybe she has a right," Milla said. "I mean, she is Thropp Third Descending. That means that she's the Heir-Apparent, entitled to become Eminent Thropp when her great-grandfather dies."
"Well, she's going to talk to me!" Pfannee said angrily. "Miss Elphaba, I don't appreciate you ignoring me. It's rude, and I would much rather that you spoke rather than just unpack your things there."
"That reminds me, I'm going to have to unpack my suitcases," Galinda said. "I will see all of you girls later."
"Are you kicking us out?" ShenShen asked incredulously.
"I would prefer that you didn't see me unpacking my undergarments," Galinda said, and Elphaba could hear the embarrassed shuffle of feet before the three girls said their farewells and left, shutting the door behind them. She turned around to see Galinda staring at her curiously.
"Do you want something?" Elphaba asked after a few minutes.
"Uh… no, I just… no… I'm going to unpack," Galinda said, turning towards a stack of trunks that had been piled at the foot of her bed.
Elphaba nodded to herself and turned back to her boxes of books, finishing unpacking them, and stacking the cardboard boxes outside the door to be picked up by the janitors. She unwrapped her bed sheets and put them out on her bed: white sheets, one scratchy navy blanket, and a navy comforter. It was better than she had had in Quadling Country, but as she glanced over at Galinda's bed, which was covered in pink frills, she realized it was nothing like any of the girls in Crage Hall had.
Pulling a book out of her satchel, Elphaba sat down on her bed, curling in on herself and opening the book to start reading. After a few moments, she went back into her satchel, pulling out a pair of glasses, and put them on before curling back up and reading her book again.
She was aware that Galinda was watching her, but she didn't really care. Classes didn't start for another three days, so she had nothing to do but read, unless she wanted to make amends with Galinda, which she certainly didn't. Galinda could go off with her little circle of friends and gossip about her, she didn't care.
"I don't really know if you care," Galinda said after twenty minutes, making Elphaba look up from her book, "but I'm going to go out with my friends now, and I probably won't be back for a few hours. If you would like, you could come with me."
It was clear that Galinda didn't want Elphaba to come with her at all, so she just went back to her book. Galinda stood there for a few more moments, a look of confusion on her face, before she grabbed a purse that matched her outfit and left. Elphaba looked up when she left, wishing that the blonde had insisted that she come with her.
That isn't going to happen if you never talk to her, you know. Just say something to her when she comes back. Ask her where she went, if she saw any boys she liked, if she had a good time, what she talked about. Say anything! Don't make yourself a social recluse.
Elphaba shook her head, clearing her mind of the thoughts, and went back to her book. If she was going to survive at Shiz University, she would need to focus on academics and academics only. She didn't need 'friends' to distract her. The only thing they would do is gossip about her behind her back. She already had enough of that.
Yes, she would distance herself from Galinda, therefore distancing herself from all of the popular people she would spend time with. When the less popular people saw that the popular people didn't like her, she would be left alone and the only people she would have to talk to would be her professors.
That was how she was going to survive.
Well, I hope you liked it! Tell me what you think, please. I'm just writing as I go along, I have no real plans for this and I really would like to hear what you think about it so far. I would really appreciate it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, the first chapter:
populardarling
Caro88
-greenTARDISgal-
I would also like to thank all of my readers. I really appreciate all thoughts, comments, and suggestions, so please, please, please, PLEASE REVIEW. Thank you all again!
ReallyObsessiveWriter
4