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"Fabala, don't go!" Nessa, now 15, said to Elphaba, who was now 18. Elphaba was going off to college at Shiz University. Nessa had never been away from her sister for more than a few hours, other than school. Elphaba gave Nessa a reassuring smile. Nessa was going with Elphaba for the carriage ride, but would be returning back to Munchkinland with their father the same day. Nessa couldn't bear to part with her sister. "I don't want you to go!"
Elphaba wiped the tears from Nessa's cheeks. They weren't even there yet, and Nessa was already missing her. Of course Elphaba was going to miss her sister, but she felt that she was ready to go off on her own.
"Nessa, dear, you're not making this any easier," Frex said, gently hugging Nessa.
"I want to stay with her!" Nessa sobbed.
"Shhh! It's okay!" Frex comforted.
The carriage pulled up to the university. Elphaba was the first one out of the carriage. It felt good to stand up and stretch out her leg after a three-hour carriage ride. She looked around at the big buildings of the university. She started to feel a little bit overwhelmed. But, she knew if she let it show, Nessa would never leave her alone. Nessa got out of the carriage next. She had stopped crying, and was now ready to let Elphaba explore a new chapter in her life.
"Welcome new students!" a woman in elaborate robes said, coming out to great the new students. "I am Madame Morrible, head Shiztress here at Shiz University. Ah, yes, and now, room assignments."
Elphaba watched closely, waiting for Madame Morrible to call her name. "And Miss Elphaba Thropp will room with Miss Galinda Upland."
"Of the Upper Uplands!" a girl called out. Nessa turned her head to look at the girl who would be sharing a room with her sister. She had blonde hair that was gently curled at the ends. She was wearing a white uniform and carrying a small, white purse. She was sitting on a tower of luggage. She waved at Nessa, thinking that she was going to room with her. She paid no attention to the green girl standing next to her. An Antelope began to push Galinda and her tower of luggage towards the girl's dormitories. Nessa and Elphaba exchanged looks, laughed and followed the blonde.
While they were unpacking, Galinda attempted to make conversation with Nessa, whom she assumed was Elphaba.
"Well… um… hi," Galinda said to Nessa.
"Hello Miss Galinda. I'm Nessarose."
"It's very nice to meet… wait, what did you say your name was?"
"Nessarose. That's Elphaba," Nessa explained, making a graceful gesture towards her sister. She was trying so hard not to laugh at the mix-up.
"That's Elphaba?" Galinda whispered. Nessa nodded. "She's…" Glinda didn't finish her sentence.
"Green? Yeah, I know. Don't worry, it's not contagious. If it was, I would have been green by now," Nessa laughed.
Galinda looked over at Elphaba again. She was carefully putting her dresses into the closet. She was humming a song that sounded like a lullaby under her breath. It was surprisingly on key.
"I don't know how she does that!" Nessa exclaimed.
"What?" Galinda asked.
"Oh, nothing," Nessa said, not knowing if Elphaba wanted her to tell Galinda her secret yet.
"Are you staying? I didn't hear Madame Morrible call your name."
"I'm not. I'm only 15. I have to go back to Munchkinland with our father today. I just wanted to say goodbye to Elphaba," Nessa answered sadly.
"Oh," was all that Galinda could say.
Elphaba turned around to look at her sister and new roommate. Nessa gave her sister a goofy-looking smile. Elphaba could tell that Galinda mixed up the two sisters. She chuckled at the thought and resumed putting her dresses away.
"What's she like?" Galinda asked Nessa, afraid of approaching the green girl.
"She's strong-willed, opinionated, caring, and um…" Nessa was considering adding mute and deaf to the list of adjectives, but decided against it. "Different," she said, for lack of a better word.
"Really?" Galinda asked, half-sarcastically.
"In more ways than one," Nessa muttered under her breath. Galinda gave her a confused look, but didn't say anything.
"Miss Nessarose!" a voice called from down the hall. Galinda and Nessa turned around and saw Madame Morrible standing in the doorway. "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but your father is requesting your presence back at the entrance. He says that it is time for you to return to Munchkinland."
"Thank you, Madame," Nessa said as nodded to the headmistress. She walked over to Elphaba. "It's time for me to go now, Fabala," Nessa said sadly. Elphaba looked up from her suitcase. Nessa was trying her best not to cry. Elphaba stood up and hugged her sister. "I promise to write," Nessa said when she was released from her sister's hug. Elphaba smiled and nodded.
During this, Galinda wondered why Elphaba didn't say anything to her sister. Maybe she's in so much pain to see her sister go, she can't say anything at all, she thought. That was perfectly understandable to her. There have been many times when she felt so much pain while saying goodbye to someone that she couldn't say anything. Unknown to Galinda at the time, Elphaba didn't have a choice.
After Nessa left, Elphaba decided that she wanted to finish the book she was reading. She was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed in front of her. Galinda was sitting down in front of her mirror, brushing her hair.
"Miss Elphaba, would you be so kind as to hand me my bag?" Galinda asked. Elphaba didn't answer her. "Miss Elphaba?" she called again. "MISS ELPHABA!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Why is she ignoring me? Galinda thought. Galinda turned around to face the green girl. She stomped over to her bed. Elphaba looked up and saw an unhappy Galinda looking down at her. Elphaba closed her book. Galinda narrowed her eyes at Elphaba and huffed. She grabbed her bag and sat back down in front of her mirror.
Elphaba was confused. Why was Miss Galinda angry with her?
The first day of classes wasn't particularly exciting for either one of the girls. Elphaba woke up first. I can't believe I got through a night without Nessa, Elphaba thought as she got out of bed. I wonder how Nessa is doing. Hopefully, she didn't miss me too much.
Elphaba quickly got dressed for the day. She chose to wear a navy blue dress with a white sweater. She brushed out her hair. She remembered when Nessa used to brush her hair when they were younger. She decided to leave her hair down. She took out a small picture from her bag and studied it. Unknown by the rest of her family, she would do this every morning and every night. It was a picture of her mother, father and herself together. This was before Nessa was born. Before the accident. Before her world was changed forever. A few tears fell from her eyes. She missed her mother. She missed her old life. She took a deep breath, returned the photo to her bag, and quietly left the room.
Elphaba quickly found her way around the campus. She would watch as students stopped and stared at her. She didn't like it, but she was used to it. She was also glad that she couldn't hear the whispers or the rumors that she knew was going to start eventually. She would have her first test right about… now.
"And she completely ignored me!" Galinda complained to her friends.
"How rude of her!" a girl named ShenShen said.
"Quite rude!" agreed another girl named Avanna.
"And, on top of that, she's green!" Galinda said in disgust. The two girls laughed.
"Oh, Galinda! I know that you are upset with her, but there's no way she's green," ShenShen laughed. Galinda caught sight of Elphaba. "If you don't believe me, turn around and see for yourselves."
ShenShen and Avanna turned around. Their mouths dropped open in complete and utter shock. Galinda smirked. "Oh my Oz, Galinda. You were serious!" Avanna managed to say.
"She's as green as a vegetable!" ShenShen muttered.
Elphaba pretended that she didn't know that the girls were there, much less knew what they were saying. She just kept walking, eyes on her shoes, avoiding everyone's gazes.