Last Farewell

This is our last farewell

This is our final goodbye

She was sitting in the back corner, the one where the light wasn't quite as bright. It made reading a little harder, but it made it a lot harder for the others to stare. She didn't raise her hand to answer anymore either, though she liked Mr. Plott alright. Raising her hand gave the other kids permission to turn around and look, and only gave them more names for her. Like teacher's pet to go with lettuce face.

Currently everyone but she was working on the history test. Even the second and third smartest in the class were having trouble with it. But she'd finished about ten minutes ago.

This class was far too easy for her. She knew it, even at the ripe old age of seven. Mr. Plott the teacher knew it, so did the rest of the school board. She could have given the children two grades ahead of her a run for their money, and she would have enjoyed school more if she was learning with them. But her father refused to hear of it. He didn't want her finishing school too far ahead of Nessa, that would just create problems should Nessa want to attend college.

So now she sat watching the others take their test. Many of them had awkward expressions on their faces, a few were chewing on pencils and all of them were nervously watching the clock. Though they still had almost an hour to finish.

Mr. Plott was grading papers at his own desk. His face was serious as he tried to make out the less than legible writing much of the work had been done in. Elphaba looked at her own handwriting, she liked it. It wasn't cursive, like Mr. Plott sometimes wrote in, they wouldn't do that till next year. But it was neat, curly and suited her just fine.

She stopped watching her classmates after a while and pulled out a book. She was nearly finished with it to begin with however, and finished with in thirty minutes of starting. Which left her nothing to do but, well, space out.

She let her mind wander, dreaming of the future when she could leave this awful place, leave her father's house. She wanted to go to the Emerald City, maybe she'd work for the Wizard. She was interested in politics, maybe she could be the advisor to the Wizard of Oz. He wouldn't treat her like the people here, he wouldn't fixate on her greenness. He was much to wise and wonderful to do that. Besides, the Emerald City was green anyway, she'd fit right it.

A long while later, someone tapped her shoulder. It was Bry Holmes, he was the youngest of the group, and the dirtiest, he hated water almost as much as she did. Unlike her though, he wasn't forced to bathe more than once a week. Which was his reason for sitting in the back. He didn't talk to her very often, but when he did it was usually to make a joke. So she didn't give him more than half of her attention.

"Check it out," he said, nodding toward the front board.

She looked ahead and her jaw almost dropped clear off her face. The eraser and the chalk were dancing. Plain as day, if they'd had arms and legs one could have easily seen they were doing the Winkie Waltz, the latest craze from the land of the trade. She'd been imagining just that only a few seconds ago.

Unfortunately the sight startled the other half of Elphaba's mind focused and the writing tools dropped to the floor. Earning a glance from Mr. Plott, who got up to retrieve them, muttering something about ghosts.

"Darn, but that was cool," Bry hissed. Though bright he hadn't seemed to link the rumors about her mysterious powers to what had just happened. "What do you think that was? Mr. P's always going on about how the school is haunted. Do you suppose he's right?"

Elphaba just shrugged and buried her nose back in her book, trying to hide within the pages. Luckily no one else had noticed, no one but Bry had been finished with their test yet. She set down her book once more and doodled, trying anything to keep her mind from wandering again. She couldn't believe she'd let her power get away with her again. She'd been beaten within an inch of her life the last time, and that had only been at the dinner table in front of Father, Nessa and Nanny. She couldn't imagine what would have happened had anyone from school seen her.

W I C K E D

Later when the test was finished the class went out to recess. Elphaba stopped at the library to get a new book before heading out to her usual haunt: a willow tree not too far from the building. She could climb up into it and not be seen again until the bell rang and they had to go back in.

She almost made it. But the stop had given the class bully and his gang just enough time to get out the doors first and they were waiting for her when she came through.

"Hey bookworm, you'll turn green as an inch worm if you don't quit readin' so much!"

"Too late for that!" They taunted.

"Hey lettuce face are you seasick? You look a little green about the gills!"

She glared at them, she went through this on a regular basis and was sick of answering.

"Have you always been green?" One of stupider boys asked when he couldn't think of anything else.

"Of course she hasn't, her parents made her eat grass when she was little. I told you vegetables weren't good for you."

Elphaba walked on, she didn't head towards the tree, that would've have just given them a clue as to where to look for her next time. They followed her snickering all the way.

"Hey Your Greenness, I heard your mom saw you and died of fright." The biggest bully's head honcho gibed, setting his partner up for the punch line. Elphaba's temper flared, and the spot in the back of her mind blazed with anger. She could feel her power course through her clear to the tips of her fingers. She desperately tried to suppress it.

'They're not worth it,' she told herself.

"No you moron, she saw her and got scared half to death," The leader continued. "When her sister showed up she got scared the other half and cashed in."

That was it.

The next thing anyone knew the leader's hair was bright green. So was his stooge's. Elphaba turned on the rest of them, they ran away. A few's shoelaces came untied and they tripped over themselves. Next various balls that others about the playground were playing with flew from their games and pelted the boys, who screeched and cried like babies. Covering their heads and running for the doors.

Meanwhile the other two still hadn't figured out what she'd done to them. That is until they turned to each other to plan a counter attack. Both yelped and pointed. Turning on her ready to use their fists, and just mad enough to actually deck her. Elphaba ducked just in time and the two collided.

"What's going on!" Mr. Plott demanded, striding up and ripping the two boys apart, while another teacher grabbed one and the principal took Elphaba by the arm.

"She just-

"Did you see what she-

The other boys came up, each trying to put their own two coins into the story.

"Enough," the old principal said firmly. "Mrs. Vandrake you will accompany these boys to the office. Mr. Plott and Miss Elphaba you will come with me."

Elphaba walked away, her anger replaced with shame and a little fear. The school would tell her father what had happened. There would be no slinking beneath the rug on this one. She stopped long enough to pick up her book.

When they were in the office she sat down next to Mr. Plott in front of Principal Attus's desk. She waited to be berated for her lack of responsibility and rebuked for her odd quirk.

"Miss Elphaba I realize that you have not had an easy time here. And I can appreciate that," Principal Attus smiled a little self-depreciating smile. He was missing an arm himself, though still quite powerful in his own right. "However I think you've suffered enough and it is time that your father did something about it."

Elphaba looked at him imploringly, this was the first time in her life she hadn't been reprimanded for her use of her talent. Did he not know what she'd done?

"Elphaba I know you are a talented young lady, very talented," he said as if reading her young mind. "And it would be a shame to let that talent go to waste or to cause it to whither in these conditions. So if your father does not agree to provide a private tutor the school board will. I think he meant well sending you here."

'I doubt it,' she thought darkly.

"But enough is enough."

'Yeah well I've never belonged anywhere, my father sent me here to get rid of me and now you're sending me back.' She thought some more, it wasn't helping. In fact she was destroying her own ego. But she couldn't help it.

"Mr. Plott, maybe you ought to call Elphaba's father, get her things and return to your class?" Attus suggested.

Mr. Plott nodded to her, "It's been a pleasure." And left.

"My dear I understand what you're going through. I'm not sure you realize how much. But these gifts were given to you for a reason. One day you will help Oz see that differences are what make us strong. Until then you must be strong. Candy tart?" He asked. One dropped into her lap from nowhere.

She gasped and looked at him. His eyes twinkled, and she ventured a smile in return.

Her father had not been happy when he'd heard of the fight. Though Principal Attus had not told him about the use of her ability. He'd finally agreed to a private tutor, and accepted the one the school board agreed to provide. Elphaba hadn't realized that the school board had no resources to do that at the time, and so she didn't know that Attus would be her tutor until he started teaching her a week later.

There were benefits of course. Attus, in addition to her regular lessons, taught her how to control her ability. So at least she could squash it when she needed to to avoid getting into trouble for it.

Her father didn't know about the magic lessons. He would have thrown a fit if he had. It was bad enough she had episodes, but actually learning to intentionally use it (though she vowed she never would), was an entirely different matter.

After one lesson, nearly two years later, she and her mentor sat on the front porch of Colwen Grounds. Watching the sunset.

"I used to wish I was from the west," she said. "So I could see the edge of the sunset."

Attus smiled, his eyes dancing in the reds and purples of the fading light.

"One day you will, you'll see it then. People will look to the western sky and find you there always. You've come a long way Elle." He said softly, using his nickname for her. "Remember to celebrate yourself my dear. You can't hide who you are forever, the time will come when you will find yourself at a crossroads. You will have what is right and what people want you to do laid out before you. You need to decide now which path you'll take."

"What do you mean?" He sounded as if he was saying goodbye.

"You'll see soon enough. Too soon. Just remember who you are. Don't play by the rules of someone else's game, make your own. Head to the edge of the horizon. Defy gravity my friend. You'll get where you're going soon enough."

She didn't know what to think at that point. Wasn't sure whether he was joking or if he was looking at the future again, as his own talents sometimes allowed him to do. But she committed the words to memory, and promised him she wouldn't forget.

That was his final farewell. He retired from the world that night. But when Elphaba looked to the western sky days later, after his funeral. She could've sworn she saw him smiling again in the twilight.

"Defy gravity my friend." She whispered before heading inside.

W I C K E D

Well there ya are for chapter two. (And you thought she was talking about the wizard when she sang that:) Hope ya like it so far, please review. I'm new to this Wicked thing, ya gotta tell me how I'm doin'.