The carriage Elphaba had hailed at the train station lurched to a stop and she stumbled out, dragging her trunk, suitcase, and satchel behind her. She handed some money to the driver and he took it, looking at her with a disgusted expression on his face before lightly tapping his whip to his horse and driving off. Elphaba just sighed and turned around.
The main building of Shiz University stood before her. A large, white dome rose above the buildings around it, noble columns held up an overhead, and solid gold doors were opened by smartly dressed attendants. She knew she didn't belong in a setting like this, but it was something she had dreamed of for her whole life.
Slinging her satchel over her shoulder, Elphaba picked up her suitcase and headed towards the front doors, dragging her trunk behind her. The door attendant stepped back in surprise when he saw her and neglected to offer to help her with her trunks. Stepping as far away as possible, he opened the door for her and let it go as soon as she was inside; knocking over her trunk and making it spill open.
Elphaba struggled to put all of her clothes and personal items back in her trunk before anyone stepped on them and got up when she was finished, her face burning. A crowd of people had gathered around her and was laughing, and not one of them had offered to help. She pushed through the people, which wasn't hard because none of them wanted to get close enough to her to touch her, and made her way towards a group of students gathering on the other side of the room.
She set her suitcase down and looked up as everyone stopped talking and turned to stare at her.
"What? What are you looking at?" she asked, putting her hands up to her mouth. "Oh, do I have something in my teeth?"
There was a complete and total silence and she rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. "Okay, let's get this over with. No, I'm not seasick, yes, I've always been green, no, I didn't eat grass as a child…"
"Elphaba…" Nessa said warningly.
She turned around and looked at Nessa. "Oh, and have you met my sister, Nessarose Thropp? As you can see, she is a perfectly normal color…"
"Elphaba, stop drawing attention to yourself and get over here," her father said. "You know the only reason you're here…"
"Is to take care of Nessa," Elphaba finished. "I'll do my best, father. I only want to please you."
"Well, your best isn't good enough," he said. "Nothing is good enough for my sweet Nessarose. Are you sure you want to stay here with only your sister to help you? I could take her back home and send an Ama…"
"Father, no one has an Ama here," Nessa said, gesturing to all of the girls that were without chaperones. "I'll be fine. Elphaba will take care of me. Won't you Fabala?"
"Of course, that's what I'm here for," Elphaba said as cheerfully as she could. She really hated it when Nessa and her father called her Fabala, and she knew that Nessa would really be relying on her to escort her all over the campus to all of her classes. She wouldn't be happy when she found out that Elphaba had a full schedule Monday through Friday.
"One more thing, my sweet Nessa," Frex said, taking the box that Shell was holding out to him. "I've gotten you a present to help you ease into college life and to help you remember me at home. I saw you admiring them in the shop window in town last week."
He pulled out a beautiful pair of silver-jeweled shoes and both Nessarose and Elphaba gasped. Elphaba had seen the price on them and knew that they had cost a fortune. He had never spent this much before on a single item before, not even on Nessa.
"Father, they're beautiful," Nessa said, reverently taking them and staring at them in amazement. "But I can't accept them; they must have cost a fortune. Here, you take them back and use the money for something useful."
She attempted to hand the shoes back, but Elphaba could see the longing for them in her eyes, and knew her father could see it, too. Nessa had always been very frugal and giving due to her religious beliefs. She prayed to the Unnamed god at least three times a day and used some of her money for charity.
"No, you deserve them, my daughter," Frexspar said, holding his hands up. "And as the next Governor of Munchkinland, you should show your class. That is why I had your sister take you shopping before you came here. I can't have you going around in your old clothes."
"Oh, thank you, Father!" Nessa exclaimed, hugging the shoes to her chest. "This is the most wonderful gift anyone has ever given to me. Fabala, will you help me put them on, please?"
Elphaba nodded, kneeling in front of her sister and gently unlacing her brown boots. She had large, bulky braces on her legs because of her condition, but Nessa was very good at hiding them. Taking the jeweled shoes from her sister, Elphaba gently slipped them on her feet.
Their father smiled at Nessa. "They look truly exquisite on you," he said, kissing her on the head. "I'll be sending you a chaperone to escort you back to Colwen Grounds during your break. I love you, my rose."
"I love you, too, Father," Nessa replied, kissing him on his offered cheek.
"Elphaba, I want weekly reports," he said, turning to her. "No exception. And if I hear of one thing that goes wrong that includes you or Nessa, you're being pulled out of school, am I understood?"
"Yes, Father," Elphaba murmured.
He turned on his heel and walked away, Shell following him closely. Elphaba watched them both go, longing to run after them and sweep Shell up in a hug and peck her father on the cheek, but she held herself back. Neither one of them would appreciate it if she did that.
She turned to Nessa and forced a smile. "The shoes are beautiful," she said.
Nessa looked at her with a shocked expression on her face. "Oh, Elphaba, Father didn't get you anything, did he?" she asked. "I'll write to him and…"
"No, don't waste your time," Elphaba said, shaking her head. "I really appreciate it, though. And besides, I clash with everything."
Suddenly there was increased chatter and she turned around to see a large woman with a pile of gray hair sitting on top of her head, an overly powdered face, outrageously red lips, and a dress that extended at least four feet out from her body. Elphaba could only assume that this was the greatly esteemed Madame Morrible, Headmistress of Shiz University, and Overseer of Crage Hall, one of the girls' main dormitories.
"Students, attention please," she said in a commanding voice, holding the clipboard she held in her hands up above her head, and everyone quieted down. "My name is Madame Morrible, Headmistress of Shiz and, for some, Overseer of your dormitories. You all have been chosen or have been elected to the twenty-five open spaces for Oz's future leaders depending on political rank and grades on the entrance exams."
She looked around at all of them. "I expect that no matter what you major in, you will all strive to do the best you can. Only the best are accepted into this program, and you will be removed from the program if any of your professors feels that you are not living up to the standards. Am I understood?"
There were murmurs of acknowledgment and a few head nods and Madame Morrible smiled, which made her look slightly maniacal. "It's good to know that we're on the same page," she said, looking down at her clipboard. "Now for room assignments."
"Excuse me, Madame Morrible," someone said, and the crowd of students parted to let the blonde girl through, the girl who had made fun of Elphaba on the train. Elphaba snorted and rolled her eyes, earning a disapproving glare from Nessa, when the blonde stopped in front of Morrible, slightly pink in the face and out of breath. "I am Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands."
"Is this regarding room assignments?" Madame Morrible asked, looking down at the girl over her spectacles.
"Oh, I've already been assigned to a private suite," the girl said. "But actually, I was wondering about my essay I mailed in for the requirements for the sorcery seminar you teach. Mine was entitled: 'Wands, Need they have a Point?'" She giggled.
"Is she serious?" Elphaba murmured, and Nessa shot her another glare, silencing her once again.
"Ah, I remember," Madame Morrible said, nodding. "But you see, I only teach my seminar once a year, or when someone special comes along…"
"Exactly," Galinda said brightly. "You see, I am from the Arduenna line of witches, and every woman in my family before me all the way up to Rhiannon, my great grandmother fifteen generations back, has been schooled in sorcery in one area or another."
"Perhaps next semester, Miss Galinda," Madame Morrible said, dismissing her with a wave of the hand. "Now where was I?"
"We still haven't gotten our room assignments, Madame," Elphaba said.
"Ah, yes," Madame Morrible said without looking up. And she started rattling off names, room numbers, and class schedules, handing papers and keys to the students as they went up to receive them. "And Miss Nessarose Thropp will be rooming with me at the request of her father," she said, looking up from her list.
"Madame," Elphaba said, noticing that her name hadn't been called.
Madame Morrible turned around and gasped when she saw Nessarose. "Oh, how tragically beautiful."
She turned towards Elphaba and jumped in surprise. "And you are…?"
"I'm Elphaba Thropp, the other daughter," she said. "I'm beautifully tragic."
"Ah, yes," Madame Morrible said, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. "I'm sure you're very bright."
"You're joking, right?" Galinda asked. "She simply fluorescent!"
There were laughs and rude comments designed after Galinda's remark, but Elphaba stayed calm, used to the teasing from eighteen years of experience.
"Madame, you haven't assigned me a room," Elphaba said. "And I would prefer if I roomed with my sister. You see, I've always looked after her, and that's why I'm here…"
"Your father gave me very specific instructions to look after Miss Nessarose myself, and that is what I plan on doing," she said. "Your main focus, as our top student, is your studies, and I expect it to stay that way. Now, is there anyone who would like to share their room with Miss Elphaba?"
"Madame…" Galinda said, stepping forward.
"Oh, thank you Miss Galinda," Madame Morrible said. "That's so kind of you?"
"What?" the blonde asked, screwing up her face in confusion.
"Please, Madame, Nessa and I always…" Elphaba started.
"The decision is final," Madame Morrible said authoritatively, handing an extra key to Elphaba and a schedule. "Miss Elphaba Thropp will be rooming with Miss Galinda Upland, and that is final. Now, everyone to their dormitories!"
Madame Morrible took the handles of Nessa's wheelchair and started pushing her away from Elphaba. Elphaba started to get angry. Her father had forgotten to make sure she had a room in Crage Hall. She had been sent to take care of her sister, and now she was being taken away from her. People weren't even taking the chance to get to know her, once again, before they started making fun of her.
"Bring. Her. Back!" she yelled. Suddenly the lights flickered and turned off, leaving the enormous room to be lit by the minimal skylights that had been installed in the ceiling. People started screaming as sparks of light started whizzing around their heads. And Nessa's wheelchair jerked out of Madame Morrible's hands, spinning around the room of its own accord as Nessa screamed, before it stopped in front of Elphaba.
The lights flickered back on and Elphaba struggled to get her breath back, realizing what she had done. Kneeling in front of Nessa, she attempted to pry her hands from her face, but was unsuccessful.
"Nessa, I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me," she said quickly, setting her hands on her sister's lap. "Please, please forgive me. I honestly didn't mean to. I only wanted to help you."
She saw Madame Morrible out of the corner of her eye and quickly stood up, rushing over to her. "I am so sorry, Madame Morrible, I promise this won't happen again," she said as fast as she could. "I'll learn to control it, it won't happen again. Please don't kick me out…"
"Don't apologize for talent, my dear," Madame Morrible interrupted, waving it all away with a simple hand gesture. "And why would I kick you out for something that you so obviously can't help?"
"Wait, you aren't kicking me out?" Elphaba asked, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "But…I just…"
"I will admit that this is not the most comfortable of situations and I will have a lot to explain to the Board of Directors, but I most certainly will not throw a student out of Shiz who is as talented as you are," Madame Morrible said. "Not for some other university to pick up and train as the Wizard's Magic Grand Vizier. Do you know how long I've waited for someone like you to come along?"
"Wait, the Wizard?" Elphaba asked, her eyes widening.
"How many other wizards are there?" Madame Morrible asked. "I expect to see you in my office at seven o'clock Monday morning to talk about your future. You will be the only student I take into my seminar and I will personally tutor you. I will take your sister and will write a letter to the Wizard informing him of you as soon as I get to my office today. That will be the first thing on my agenda."
This shocked Elphaba so much that she didn't realize that Madame Morrible was gradually walking away from her, pushing Nessa's wheelchair in front of her. The group of students gradually dissipated until it was just Elphaba and Galinda standing there.
"How did you get into Madame Morrible's sorcery seminar?" Galinda asked scathingly.
Elphaba just shook her head. "Honestly, I have no idea."
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