Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Elphaba always got up before dawn so she could see the sunrise. She had developed the habit when she was very small, when her mother was still alive. One morning, she had woken up to the sound of footsteps in the hall and, opening the door, she saw Melena walking past barefoot. She had silently followed her mother out to the lake where the older woman had sat down on the grass facing the east.

Eventually, Elphaba had made a sound and Melena had beckoned her forward, pulling her into her lap and telling her about the sunrise. How the gods took their paintbrushes and paints and carefully painted the colors that announced the arrival of the sun. When Frexspar heard about this, he had forbidden Melena to tell Elphaba any more nonsense, and if she was just going to spout out heresy, she would be required to keep her mouth shut.

The green girl shook her head, pushing the memories to the back of her mind as she got ready for her classes. Her first class was Life Sciences with Professor Emeritus at eight o'clock, so she would have plenty of time to get breakfast and go to her class after she watched the sunrise.

Being careful not to wake her roommate, she hurried around her room, pulling on her clothes and putting her books in her satchel. Galinda stirred and she didn't move for a moment, making sure that her blonde roommate was still asleep before moving again. Pulling on her boots, she left the room, quietly clicking the door closed behind her.

Hardly anyone was awake this early in the morning. She caught a glimpse of a few boys sneaking out of some rooms, but decided to ignore them. If she didn't say anything, they wouldn't bother her. She was doing her best to stay unnoticeable, and so far, she was doing a fairly good job. The only places she had gone in the week she had been there were her classes, the library, the bookshop, the cafeteria, and her room.

Nodding politely to a professor she passed on the path, Elphaba made her way to the lake in the middle of the grounds. She remembered overhearing a conversation between some professors about the lake. When the university had first been founded, this had all been woodland and the builders had cut down most of the trees. The original plan had been to drain the lake and fill it in so an additional building could be put it, but the person in charge said that he had seen a woman in the lake. She had told him not to destroy the lake or great misfortune would fall on him and all of the men working under him.

She sat down on the grass, setting her satchel down beside her, and watched the still water of the lake. It was odd that something so beautiful and so essential for life would be so harmful to her. Whenever it touched her, it left a burn as if she had touched a flame. If she left water on her skin long enough, it would eat away the layers of her skin, leaving raw flesh beneath.

Blues, reds, oranges, yellows, and purples crept up into the sky, light pushing the darkness farther and farther away. Finally, the sun had risen into the sky and the colors disappeared, leaving Elphaba looking at a bright ball of flames. She stood up and grabbed her satchel, slinging it over her shoulder as she headed towards the cafeteria.

Grabbing an apple, she paid for it and walked towards her class. It was only about seven o'clock, but she liked getting to her classes ahead of time so she could get a seat in the front row. The professors never tried to start a conversation with her; they just smiled at her and started writing notes on the chalkboard.

Entering the classroom, Elphaba took the seat in the middle of the front row, getting out her notes from the last class and reviewing them for the quiz they were sure to have that day. The professor walked in and smiled at her. "I never told you that there was going to be a quiz, you know," he said when he saw her studying her notes.

"You will give us a quiz, though," Elphaba said.

He laughed. "I don't get how you always figure out when I give quizzes," he said, setting his notes down on his desk and starting to write out notes on the board. "It'll be at the end of class, though, and we'll be reviewing everything in the beginning of class, so you won't need to worry. Just don't tell anyone I told you that."

Yeah, right, Elphaba thought to herself. It's not like I talk to anyone, anyways. My own roommate barely talks to me. The only thing she says to me is when she's leaving, where she's going, and when she's going to be back. And she only does that because she feels obligated to.

Around quarter to eight, students started filing in and filling up the back of the room. Galinda entered with her posse, which consisted of Pfannee, ShenShen, and Milla, and, in this case, Fiyero, her new boyfriend, and Avaric. Boq trailed behind them, looking hopefully at Galinda when she scanned the room for a row of seats. The back row immediately stood up and she smiled at them, as her group took their seats.

True to his word, the professor went over what they had talked about the class before and then started into the new lesson. Elphaba took notes diligently, trying to ignore the laughter and whispers in the back of the room. Something hit her in the back of the head, but she ignored it, pretending like she didn't feel anything. It happened again, and this time she turned around and picked up the two pieces of paper that had been thrown at her. She set them next to her on the desk, not opening them up to read them like she was obviously supposed to.

By the time the end of class rolled around, there was a large pile of scraps of paper on the desk beside Elphaba. The professor raised his eyebrows at Elphaba when he saw the pile, but she just shook her head. He smiled and pulled a stack of papers off his desk.

"Okay, guys, it's time for your quiz on the material we studied last class!" he said, and the whole class groaned. He handed out the quizzes and told them that they had fifteen minutes to complete it. Elphaba went through every question, carefully writing the answer down. The professor collected them and dismissed them. Galinda's group of friends was the last ones to leave, besides Elphaba, who sat at her desk waiting for everyone to go before she stood up.

"Miss Elphaba?"

She looked up in surprise to see Galinda standing in the doorway uncertainly, her books clutched to her chest.

"I… I told them to stop," she said. "Throwing the papers, I mean. They… they really didn't mean any harm, I don't think. Just… just keep ignoring them."

"If you had told them to stop, they would have stopped," Elphaba said quietly. She picked up one of the pieces of paper and opened it to reveal a note written in large, loopy handwriting. "Is this your handwriting?"

Galinda opened her mouth to speak, but promptly shut it.

"That's what I thought," Elphaba whispered, throwing the notes in the garbage. "Good day, Miss Galinda."

She brushed passed the blonde girl, her skin brushing up against the other girl's, and something ran through her. Pausing for a moment, she looked back at Galinda, who was looking at her with a confused expression. Deciding she was imagining things, she strode away.

Galinda stared after her and picked the note out of the garbage, opening it up and smoothing out the wrinkles to read it.

Miss Elphaba, please ignore everything my friends said to you the first day we got here, they did not express my views. –Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands, of the Arduenna Clan

She let the note float to the floor and left the room with a single tear running down her cheek.

Well, there you go. Hope you liked it. Thank to populardarling and Caro88 for reviewing the last chapter. I really appreciate all thoughts, comments, and suggestions, so please REVIEW. I would like to hear what you have to say, even if you don't have much to say at all, or if you don't like the story. What you put in your reviews really affects how the story plays out. Thank you once again!

ReallyObsessiveWriter