Elphaba knocked quickly on Dr. Dillamond's door. She looked over her shoulder nervously and then knocked again, not stopping. "Dr. Dillamond," she called, whispering, knowing he couldn't hear her. She stopped for a second and listened, then kept knocking. She stopped as the door opened, then flew past him into the house.
Dr. Dillamond quickly shut the door. "Elphaba?" he asked.
Her hands were shaking, and she set the Grimmerie and her broom down on his table. "I was seen," she blurted. "They're going to tell everybody."
Dr. Dillamond took a look at her scared face. "What happened?" he asked her.
She started to pace. "I was down the street after leaving Sillnin's, and I heard two men, and they grabbed me, but then I elbowed one and they saw my skin and so they knew it was me, and they let me go and then I flew off on my broom and they saw me and then they ran."
She was speaking quickly, and Dr. Dillamond could hardly understand her. "Are you sure they knew it was you?"
"How many green people do you know?"
Dr. Dillamond nodded, his head spinning. "All right, calm down. Do you think that they followed you?"
She shook her head. "They ran off in the other direction." She wrung her hands. "But maybe they followed me after that. I should go, I should…"
She started to grab her stuff, but Dr. Dillamond grabbed her arm. "It's okay," he told her firmly. She was still shaking, and he gently guided her to the couch to sit down. "You're okay."
…
She was up early the next morning, just after sunrise. She had insisted on sleeping on the couch this time, and he took the bed. She raised herself to a sitting position, listening for Dr. Dillamond. She heard him in the kitchen and got up to go see him.
He was sitting at the table reading the paper, and he jumped guiltily when he saw her, throwing the paper down. She stayed in the doorway. "Is it in there?" she asked him.
He knew what she meant. "No – well, I don't think so. I haven't seen it yet, and I would think it would be in the article about you – I mean, it would be in the first…" he trailed off, not certain how to fix all of what he had said.
She pretended not to hear most of it. "It's not in there, then?"
He shook his head. "No."
She took a deep breath, relieved. "I think they were drunk," she told him. He could see the hint of a smile on her face. "Maybe they forgot."
He smiled. "I'm glad."
…
Nessa sat at her desk, studying quietly. It was four days after her sister had become an outlaw, and she was still not yet at terms with it. Working on schoolwork made it easier; she could forget. Glinda had not come to see her again, she blushed when she saw Nessa in the halls, and didn't want to talk with her. Nessa was hurt when she first saw that; she liked Glinda – and wanted Glinda to like her.
There was a noise in the hall, and she heard Madame Morrible's voice. She couldn't make out what she was saying, she was whispering. Madame Morrible hadn't come back at school since before Elphaba had left, and, remembering what Glinda had said about what she had done, Nessa felt her face heat with rage. She didn't do anything, though. She expected Madame Morrible to come see her.
Nessa was right. In a few moments, the door was flung open. She never knocked. "Nessarose," she said, her tone falsely polite.
Nessa could sense something was up, and she wheeled her chair around to face her. "Yes?" she asked, her tone the same.
"Nessarose…" Madame Morrible paused delicately, looking at one of Nessa's trinkets on her dresser next to the door. "Given the circumstances, I believe that we're going to have to move you out."
Nessa stared at her, tilting her head to the right. She had expected consolation, or something like that. That her sister had abandoned her. That she had sent a letter to her father that he hadn't yet returned. That she was shunned by her classmates and her teachers, that no one would talk to her. Now what was she telling Nessa?
"You want me to move out?"
"Yes, I just don't think this will work out here. You can move into one of the smaller rooms…perhaps share a room with one of your classmates."
Nessa looked away from her face. She didn't like living next to Madame Morrible anyway. "Why?"
It had escaped before Nessa could think, but she looked back at Madame Morrible's face. She knew why. She wanted to hear Madame Morrible say it.
Madame Morrible took a breath, looking irritated. "I don't have to justify myself to a student, Miss Nessarose. You'll be moving out tonight. I'll find accommodations for you elsewhere. Pack your things." With a sweeping flourish, she exited the room, slamming the door behind her.
Nessa looked at the door with a rage, then picked up her quill and threw it against the wall. Damn my sister, she thought angrily.
…
That night, after Nessa had her belongings in boxes, a couple of staff members moved her things down into a new room. She followed, wheeling herself behind them. They didn't speak to her. After going down a few hallways, they stopped in front of a room. One of the staff members got a key and opened the door, setting the boxes inside the door. They moved out of the way for her, and, after giving them a quick glance, wheeled herself in.
Nessa looked over her shoulder to thank them, but they were already heading back. She turned back to her room. It was half the size of her old room, with a small bed, a desk with words carved in it, and stark white walls. It barely left any room for her chair, and had no window. She crossed her arms sullenly, realizing for the first time that she had liked being treated like a queen by Madame Morrible. This wasn't fair.
…
Glinda smiled a big, fake smile. "Flying around on cleaning appliances, I don't know what's wrong with her. How could I possibly tell you?"
The group she was sitting in all laughed, and Glinda tossed her hair and giggled. She was becoming used to these inquiries about Elphaba, and she was beginning to feel numb to them. She was even beginning to enjoy the attention – something she hated admitting. But she had to notice it…she was even more popular now that everyone was calling her a hero.
She was fielding questions about Elphaba from a group of students at lunchtime. Fiyero wasn't there. He had excused himself when her name was brought up.
An old friend of hers, Shenshen, spoke up, looking nervous. "Do you think she could…you know…come and kill us or something?"
They all giggled, but none thought it was funny. Glinda smiled at her. "I don't think so," she told her, trying to seem kind.
"You don't think she'd come and kidnap you, do you?"
Glinda shook her head. "No, I don't think so," she said. "She wouldn't come back here. There's too many people."
"I wonder where she is," a girl that Glinda didn't know very well pondered.
"I'll bet she's here," the boy sitting next to Glinda teased.
"Hiding under your bed!" the first girl shrieked.
They laughed again, and Glinda laughed with them. It was a good question, though. Where could she be?
…
That evening, Elphaba lay on the couch, staring at Dr. Dillamond sideways. "Anything else you want to tell me?"
He crossed from the kitchen doorway to the chair, scratching behind his ear. "About what?"
"Any developments. About me. Or Glinda. Just…anything I might be interested in."
"It's pretty much the same thing all the time. Making up a few new rumors to keep it interesting, things like that."
Elphaba turned her face away from him.
"Elphaba, why don't you stay here? Just a few more nights. I'm not sure…I'm not sure if I have many more people for you to go to," he admitted.
She stared back at him. His Goat's face was very honest, and she didn't want to get him into any trouble. "I really can't," she told him. "It's too dangerous. When you run out of people, I'll think of something. I'll be fine. I'm the Wicked Witch," she told him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I can do anything."
He laughed. "I forgot," he said sadly.
She folded her green hands and leaned back against his couch. "So where do I go next?"
…
A/N: This chapter sucks. Sorry.
Sparkling Patronus: First off, I like your screen name! Hooray for Harry Potter! And thanks very much! Yeah, I'm kind of assuming how I would be in that situation…and then realizing that I would be cowering in a corner so then I just try to do what makes for a good story. : )
PinkElphaba: I'm not going to say I'm not slightly relieved that you said that, but seriously, you should write it! I admit it, when you first told me that you were planning on writing a fic that would have basically this idea, I went and looked at your writing and did a face-scrunching moment as I realized that your fics were really quite good – and a lot better than mine! You should write it. Anyway, I went to that name site (I knew which one you were talking about, even though the URL didn't work) and you were right! Thanks!
Blufair: Yeah, the whole glasses thing always made me mad. I wear glasses (I tried contacts but didn't like them…in case you're interested…don't know why I told you that), so I guess I probably pay more attention to that kind of stuff than most people. So yes. She now has blurry vision (but I can fix that, can't I? Foreshadow, foreshadow…). Thanks for the name suggestion! Just tried that, that's awesome! Too perfect, thanks much!
Anna Marie Raven: Thanks! The musical does kind of make light of…everything, actually. I love it! But it kind of took the book and made it fluffy. Not too fluffy, obviously, as she is hated and all that stuff, but lighter than the book. Sorry, random rant…but anyway, thanks!
Jemima: Lol thanks. : ) My names are the products of seeing a random object/word and going hm…what can I do with the name "olive" (Hence: Oveel). And…I don't know, just stupid stuff like that. And I like Elphie better, too. But that's just because I like misunderstood people better. Glinda's probably a more developed character, but I think people being misunderstood is just so sad.