Lurlinemas break passed quickly for Elphaba. She had a relatively okay holiday. She went to help Nessa up Lurlinemas morning and was greeted with a wide, cheerful smile from her sister. As usual, most of the presents under the tree were for Nessa, but Elphaba had two presents from her sister and surprisingly, one from Frex.

She gingerly took the box pulled out a golden hairbrush with soft bristles. She gasped, turning it over and seeing Melena Skarr engraved on the handle in neat cursive.

"It was your mother's," Frex said simply.

"It's beautiful," Nessa smiled as she watched her sister examine the detailed work on the back of the brush.

"Thank you," Elphaba said sincerely to the governor, who nodded.

She cleaned out her room, having to borrow two of Nessa's suitcases, and looked around. For twenty years, this had been her sanctuary, her hideout, and her special space. It was small, but it was hers. She felt like a part of her was dying, but knew it would be replaced with something better.

It wasn't hard to say goodbye to the Governor's Mansion, nor was it hard to say goodbye to Munchkinland. She was never one for sentimental goodbyes, so her goodbye to Frex was brief and curt, as it always was.

On the way back to Shiz, Elphaba was quiet, but she didn't look troubled. She was calm, at peace with herself knowing that she did the right thing. She knew that it was also hard on her sister, but she appreciated her support.

Once they got back, Elphaba peeked out the window for signs of reporters. Morrible had assured her that they would be banned from the campus, but she had to make sure. Reporters were very sneaky in their ways of getting information.

Once she was assured she wouldn't be accosted, she got out and helped the driver with her sister and her chair. The girls quickly made their way back to their rooms, their driver using a large cart to carry their suitcases.

"What will you do with your extra things?" Nessa asked as her sister helped her bring her bags into her room.

"I'll bring them to the Emerald City. I go back in two weeks."

"Could I…"

"What?"

"Could I come with you one time to the Emerald City? I know you usually bring Galinda –"

"Of course you can come," Elphaba interrupted quickly.

"And could we see 'Wiz-O-Mania'?"

Elphaba laughed. "I think once is enough for me, but I'm sure Galinda wouldn't say no to seeing it a second time."

Once she was sure her sister was settled, the green girl walked up the stairs to her room. It took her two trips since she couldn't bring the cart up the stairs, but she managed to do it on her own. The blonde still hadn't returned yet, leaving Elphaba alone to unpack. She put her suitcases from her room in her closet to go to the city. She unpacked her suitcase and put her books back on her desk and her clothes back in her closet.

Galinda came soon after and immediately demanded to know the news from over the break.

"Did you write to the Wizard?" she asked as she unpacked with Elphaba's help.

"A letter or two. It wasn't anything important."

"Are you going back this weekend?"

"No, next weekend. And… I invited Nessa."

Galinda glanced at her friend. "How did it go with your… um… ex-father?"

The green girl gave her friend a weird look. "Ex-father?"

"I don't know what else to call it."

"It was… surprisingly okay," Elphaba said thoughtfully. "We talked. There wasn't any yelling or crying. We just… had a civil conversation."

"That's good. It would have been horrendible for you to have parted on bad terms."

"Yeah. I suppose you're right."

"I know I am."

Once the girls were done unpacking, they went done to the café for a snack. Elphaba was met with a few stares and even more curtsies and bows, which annoyed her.

"Those are the same people who wouldn't stop calling me names and throwing things at me," she hissed to the blonde. "And now they're all deferential."

"They just don't want you to hex them," the blonde said with a light chuckle.

"I could have hexed them long before finding out that the Wizard is my father."

After having the weekend to relax, it was back to classes on Monday. This semester, Galinda didn't any classes until the afternoon, but Elphaba had one at ten AM. Once she got to her writing class, as soon as she walked through the door, everyone immediately stood and either bowed or curtsied.

Elphaba stared at them with wide eyes, blinked, then sighed as she made her way to a seat in the second row and sat down. Once she sat, everyone else sat as well. She took off her winter gear except for her scarf, since it had the Shiz emblem on it.

"Good morning, class," the professor, an Antelope, said as he walked in. "My name is Dr. Hyatt and welcome to Fictional Works and Writing. The first item of business, attendance."

Elphaba waited patiently for her name to be called. When the professor finally got to the 'T's, he paused briefly. "Um…"

"Elphaba Thropp?" the green girl spoke up, raising her hand. "Present."

The professor looked at her and nodded before writing something in his book. He began class by giving the class a short writing prompt. He wrote a sentence on the board and gave the class fifteen minutes to write a one-page story as he handed out notebooks.

The melody of the music box soothed me.

Elphaba thought for a moment before hurriedly scribbling in her notebook. She wrote a story about a young girl whose grandmother gave her a music box for her tenth birthday, and how, years later, she uses the melody to comfort her own children the way it had comforted her.

Once the fifteen minutes were up, Dr. Hyatt collected the notebooks and began talking about old fictional novels and why they are so famous.

"Yes, um…" Dr. Hyatt said, faltering as to what to call Elphaba.

"Elphaba," the green girl said, knowing that the professor didn't forget her name. "Just 'Elphaba' is fine."

"Miss Elphaba," he nodded.

"'Heart of Gold' is a famous novel not because of the plot, but because the characters are three-dimensional and they speak and do things that actual people do. That's what makes them so relatable and lovable."

"Very good, Miss Elphaba," the professor nodded and continued with the lesson.

Soon, the class was over. Elphaba quickly packed her things and made for the door. A small cluster of students was already there, but the moment they saw Elphaba, they immediately stepped aside, clearing the doorway.

"Thank you," Elphaba said after staring at them for a moment before hurrying out. She walked out to the Science Building and up to the second floor to her Life Sciences class.

Once she walked in, the exact same thing happened. Everyone stood, but before they could bow or curtsy, Elphaba spoke up.

"Anyone who bows or curtsies is going to lose a limb."

It probably wasn't the most-princess-like thing she could have said, but it got the job done. Everyone immediately sat back down. Satisfied, Elphaba sat at a lab table and took out a brand new notebook.

By the time she returned to her room later that evening, she was exhausted. She hadn't been in her room since that morning, having bounced around between the different buildings, the café, and the library. She flopped down on her bed, her lower back aching.

Galinda, whose nose was buried in an OzTeen Magazine, looked up slightly. "Tough day?"

"Yeah. Dealing with everyone was exhausting."

"You didn't hex anyone, did you?"

"No…"

"Did you threaten to hex anyone?"

"… Maybe… But they were asking for it…"

Galinda sighed. "I hope Madame Jabal has a 'temper management session' planned soon."

"Well, I wouldn't have to control my temper if people weren't so infuriating."

"You're going to have to deal with infuriating people, Elphie. You'll have to learn how to remain calm and not fly off the handle."

Elphaba glared at the blonde, but was ignored. Sighing, she decided to take a quick nap before dinner. She knew her friend was right, even if she didn't want to admit it out loud.


The next morning, Madame Morrible called all the first-year students together in the assembly hall to talk about their annual Day Of Service projects.

"Every year, the first year class is divided into groups and they go throughout Shiz and the surrounding cities doing good works for the community," she explained as the two upper-class girls handed out papers with their group assignments. "This is your chance to make a difference, and as Shiz creates and molds Oz's future leaders, I trust I will not be disappointed. Now, I should also mention that this is a graduation requirement. All first-years who do not attend and participate will not graduate unless they complete a supplemental assignment for me. And I can assure you, the supplemental assignment will not be an easy one."

Elphaba looked at the paper to see who her group would be. She would be with Galinda, Jellia Henden, Randon Artiez, and Uzric Bachaaum going to the Shiz Orphanage and Transitional Home.

"All groups will meet in their designated areas Saturday morning at eight-thirty sharp. And you must be in uniform. Everyone is dismissed."

"We're in the same group," the blonde giggled, linking arms with her best friend as they left the assembly hall.

"And Fiyero's in Nessa's group going to the Dixxi Second Home Senior Center," Elphaba smiled.

"Wait… don't you have to go back to the Emerald City?"

"I'll write to Oscar. He'll understand that this is a graduation requirement and I don't want to find out what'll happen if I miss it."

Saturday morning came quickly. Surprisingly, Galinda was up before the green girl and had to shake her awake. Elphaba had been up late finishing her writing assignment and had no desire to get up early. Eventually, she slowly slid out of bed and got ready. They put on their uniforms and bundled up before heading outside.

When they got there, Jellia and Uzric were already waiting. Jellia was in Elphaba's writing class, and while she didn't have any classes with Uzric, she had seen him around the campus a few times.

"Hi, Elphaba," Jellia said with a small smile.

"Hi, Jellia," the green girl smiled back. Jellia had never been horrible to her (at least, not to her face), but she never went out of her way to be super nice.

Uzric simply gave her a polite nod before looking back down at the ground. Randon arrived soon after, running and huffing as he called out 'Here!' as soon as Morrible called his name. Once everyone was present and accounted for, they went with their groups to the waiting mini-trolleys to take them to their destinations.

The Shiz Orphanage and Transitional Home wasn't very far from the campus. It took around fifteen minutes to get there, and the director, Mr. Harv Pruntz, met them at the door.

"Welcome, Shiz students," he smiled, then noticed Elphaba.

Before he could say anything, Elphaba held up her hand and shook her head with a soft smile. Today wasn't supposed to be about her.

Understanding, he simply nodded and led everyone inside, telling them to hang up their coats in the hallway closet. "The orphans live in the boarding houses in large community rooms," he explained, leading them up a flight of stairs. "The children staying with their parents in the transitional part live in small apartments on the other side. The families stay here for up to a year, then we help them find homes all across Oz. We help both humans and Animals."

He led them down the hall and opened a large set of double doors. Inside, it was some sort of rec room with a multitude of children and Animals inside. Some were running around together, others sat at a table and colored.

"How old are these kids?" Randon asked, looking around.

"Right now, the five to eight-year-olds have play time in here. The nine to twelve year olds are outside on the playground, and the teenagers are in the gym downstairs," Mr. Pruntz answered.

The students dispersed and began to interact with the children. Galinda sat down with a group of five-year-olds coloring, while Uzric played basketball with the boys. Jellia and Randon went over to a group of older looking Animals and started playing a board game with them.

Elphaba walked around for a bit, looking around the room. The children who noticed her immediately stopped whatever activity and stared at her, but she didn't let that bother her. She saw two children, a little boy and a female Lion, take out a game of dominoes and walked over to them.

"Hi," she said, grabbing their attention. "May I join you?"

The two stared at her for a moment before shrugging their indifference and setting up the game. It took a while, but the two children, who Elphaba found out were named Ebaline and Kilyer, warmed up to her and started asking her questions.

"Were you born green?" Kilyer asked. "Or did you turn green by eating a lot of vegetables? My mommy says that you are what you eat."

"If that were true, then she'd be a vegetable, not just the color of one," Ebaline countered.

"Either way, I don't like eating vegetables." He looked to Elphaba, waiting for her answer.

"I was born green," Elphaba answered, taking her turn.

"Why?"

"I… don't know." Sure, she lied, but the children wouldn't understand and she really didn't want them asking more questions about her skin.

"You look familiar," the young Lion said, tilting her head as she studied the green girl.

"I do?" Elphaba asked, deciding to entertain them.

Ebaline nodded. "Yeah. I just can't remember where I saw you before."

"How could you forget seeing someone with green skin?" Kilyer asked with an eye roll, and Elphaba had to bite back her laughter.

By the time they finished their game (Kilyer won), Ebaline still hadn't figured out where she had seen Elphaba before. Elphaba chuckled softly and said that she was going to join another group, but when she figured it out, to come and let her know.

Ebaline seemed satisfied and watched as Elphaba walked away. Galinda had joined in on the board game with Jellia, while Randon was playing with the blocks with a young Zebra, Donkey, and Lamb. Uzric was putting his art major skills to work by teaching a group of boys the art of finger-painting. Elphaba heard a soft cough and turned to see a young girl sitting all by herself in a corner. Her legs were pulled up to her chest and her arms wound tightly against her knees. Her light brown hair was held back in a messy ponytail, held by a loose, red ribbon.

Elphaba slowly approached the girl and knelt down next to her. "Hello."

The girl startled slightly, but didn't look at the green girl.

"What's your name?"

"Zola," the little girl said softly, still not looking at her.

"It's nice to meet you, Zola. I'm Elphaba."

The girl was silent.

"How old are you?"

"Six."

"Why are you over here all by yourself? Why aren't you playing with the other kids?"

"I can't play with them because I can't see them… or anything at all."

Elphaba leaned over a bit more and saw the little girl's dark blue eyes vibrating uncontrollably back and forth, not focusing on anything.

"I can't run around like they can, and they don't want to play with me. They're too loud."

"Well, would you like to play with me?"

Zola wrinkled her nose. "You don't sound like a kid."

Elphaba laughed. "I'm not. I go to Shiz University."

"The big-kid school?"

"Yes. The big-kid school."

"What are you doing here?"

"Some of us came to have a very special day with all of you."

Zola thought for a moment. "Could you read to me?"

"Of course. Can you come help me to pick out a book?"

The little girl frowned. "I can't help."

"I think you can," she said, gently taking the little girl's hand and giving it a squeeze.

Zola slowly rose to her feet and shuffled behind the green girl, one hand holding hers, and the other holding onto her long skirt. Elphaba walked slow, making sure she wasn't going to fast for the little girl. They finally made it to the bookshelf and Elphaba looked down at the books.

"Alright, Zola. What type of stories do you like?"

"Magical princesses!"

Elphaba had to laugh at that (for more reasons than one) as she looked through the children's books. "Alright, magical princess. We have 'The Magic Music Box', 'The Unicorn's Journey', 'The Mermaid Queen', 'The –"

"That one, please!"

"Alright, 'The Mermaid Queen' it is," Elphaba said as she took the book and sat on the rug with the little girl sitting comfortably next to her.

As she read, she noticed out of her peripheral vision that more of the children were slowly starting to sit around her and listen to the story. She looked down at Zola, who was clearly very invested in the story. Soon, she found herself to be the designated story reader, with children handing her book after book for her to read to them. Even Galinda, Jellia, Randon, and Uzric sat down, surrounded by the children, and listened to Elphaba. She read story after story, only having a break when it was time for lunch. But the second she finished her sandwich, a boy handed her another story to read.

"Alright, children," Mr. Pruntz said as he came in two hours later. "It's time for our guests to leave now."

The children whined, clearly not wanting story time to end.

"What do we say?"

"Thank you!" they all chorused together.

"You're welcome, everyone!" Galinda smiled as she and her friends stood.

The kids all gave the university students hugs as they prepared to leave.

"Do you have to leave now?" Zola asked as she clung to Elphaba's hand.

"I do," Elphaba said gently.

"Will you come back?"

"I'll try to. Can I have a hug, Zola?"

The little girl quickly wrapped her arms around the green girl's waist and Elphaba gently hugged her back.

"Ebaline! Kilyer!" the green girl called. The children turned and hurried over to her. "Why don't you two play with Zola?"

Kilyer frowned. "But she's –"

"A new friend to play with," she interrupted quickly, giving the children a pointed look.

"We were gonna play over there," Ebaline said, pointing to a group of kids. "We were gonna use the big matching cards."

"Then one of you could help Zola."

"Okay," the young Lion cub said, taking gently taking Zola's hand in her paw.

Zola seemed surprised to feel the fur against her palm, but smiled softly as she followed her back to the group.

Elphaba watched with a smile, then turned to leave with her classmates.

"I had fun," Randon smiled as they rode back.

"I did, too. The children and Animals were so sweet," Jellia added. "And I think Uzric picked up a girlfriend."

The girls giggled as Uzric blushed, referring to the seven-year-old girl who followed him around the entire time.

"My favorite part was Elphaba's story time," Randon smiled at the green girl.

"Mine, too," Galinda nodded, giving the green girl a knowing look.

"Okay, I had a good time, too," Elphaba admitted. "The children were very nice. Very inquisitive, but nice. A Lion cub thought she saw me before, but couldn't remember where."

"It was probably in the newspaper," Uzric suggested softly.

"Most likely."

"It's too bad they have to live like that. From what I've seen, they're outgrowing the center. And it has to be a transitional home and an orphanage. They should be two separate facilities," Galinda said, sending a discreet, yet knowing, glance to Elphaba.

The rest of the ride back to Shiz was spent talking about the children. Elphaba said quiet, deep in thought, and Galinda knew exactly what she was thinking about.

"You know," she said when they got back to their room. "You could help them. You could help them and lots of other people like them in Oz. And you know how."

"I know."

"You have a good heart, Elphie. And I'm glad I got to see that side of you today."

Elphaba smiled. "Thank you. But between the two of us, I never want to see another book about a magical fairy princess who slays the monstrous green giant."

"Even if the scary giant turned into a handsome prince at the end?"

"That was the worst part."

Galinda fell onto her bed from laughter.


Yes, the shelter and the kids will be important later.