1st Entry

I'm titling this the first entry because, frankly, dates are not important. They are just measurements made up by people to keep track of time. Besides, if anyone ever decides to read my journal, which I doubt they will, they'll probably read it for the so far pathetic life of a disfigured teenager. Meaning they'll read it for the story. Dates won't matter to you,my imaginary reader. So I won't bother putting them down.

As I write this first entry, the train takes me farther and farther away from my Munchkinland home and closer to what I'd like to think of as a new beginning. Alright, so maybe I'm getting a bit metaphorical. But my home in Munchkinland is the only one I've ever known, and living there hasn't been…easy.

Let me start from the beginning. My name is Elphaba Ilana Thropp, the daughter of the governor of Munchkinland. Some cruel trick of fate saw to it that I was born green, not a normal, healthy shade of pale pink or dark brown or anything in between. My parents viewed me as an abomination, a blemish to the family name. Not that I can recall much of those early years, of course. I only know the facts: Mother became pregnant again, Father tried to prevent the baby from being green by making Mother chew milkflowers, the baby, little Nessarose, came prematurely and was born a cripple, and Mother just…never woke up.

Everyone says that Nessa is "tragically beautiful." Well, she is certainly pretty, with soft brown hair and big, brown eyes. I, on the other hand, am just the opposite. Everything about me other than my black hair (which is usually pulled back in a braid) is green. I'm awkward and say too much and can be short-tempered, while baby Nessa inherited much of the family tact. And if she weren't confined to a wheelchair, she'd probably…well, we'll never know, will we?

I guess, in a way, Nessa's disability is my fault. Father obviously thinks so, as he has made it clear that my essential purpose in life in to take care of Nessa. I can't resent Nessa for this. It isn't her fault that she's confined to a wheelchair. But wherever she goes, I go. When Nessa was sent off to school, I went with her. And let me tell you, reader, the kids at that school were absolutely brutal! The Cripple naturally got more sympathy than The Green Girl, who got nasty looks and horrible nicknames. To make matters worse, whenever I happened to lose my temper, strange things happened. Once the bully's pants caught on fire, which was amusing but got me punished for a freakish accident that I didn't even have anything to do with (or so I believe). Another time, when I was probably 12 years old, these girls who were teasing me mysteriously disappeared and reappeared on the rooftop of the chapel.

But enough about that. Like I said, wherever Nessa goes, I go. So now, as she's headed off to college, I'm with her for no other reason than to take care of her. I'll study there, of course, but if not for Nessa I would probably never even go to college. My father would have probably kept me locked away in isolation for my entire life. If he locked me in a library…I'm a bit of a bookworm, so that might not have been so bad, but I guess I owe a lot to Nessa.

It's actually always been my dream to go to college, get a real life, meet people who don't care about the color of my skin, and not have to be shunned anymore. Not that it's bad being different; I can't imagine what it would be like to have a "normal" skin color. But maybe at Shiz University there will be people who like me for me and aren't blinded by my exterior. Yes, I'm going to Shiz U. I know that it isn't one of the top 5 colleges in Oz, but it is still a good school overall. I've heard much about their sorcery program.

Part two of my dream (see above) is to meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. From everything I hear about him he sounds magnificent. Maybe he, of all people, would be able to make me normal. It's a feeble hope, but it's a hope nonetheless. Nevertheless, I'm excited beyond belief to actually be doing something, going somewhere, and maybe, finally, being accepted.

I have to go. The train is slowing down, and I can see the tops of buildings in the distance. We're almost at Shiz (!), and Nessa needs my help with luggage and such.

Yours truly,

Elphaba