Content Advisory: Bullying, Phobia Related Fear


Chapter Four: A Change of Address

Elphaba couldn't imagine a more beautiful sight than Munchkinland fading into the distance as her train sped west, that is, until Shiz University's gorgeous campus loomed into view.

Her father and Nessarose stayed behind at the station to flag down a luggage cart, but Elphaba was much too anxious to linger. She secured a map and kept her nose in it as she walked towards the campus square for orientation. When she saw other students with suitcases congregating, she put away the map and broke into a near sprint.

"Excuse me—is this the new student orientation?" Elphaba asked, tapping a girl on the shoulder.

"Yes! It is—" the girl began to say as she turned.

At the sight of Elphaba, her jaw went slack and her face drained of color. Then, after recovering from the shock, the girl elicited a shriek and darted towards the other side of the square. The shriek gained a few people's attention and Elphaba took a deep breath as eyes all around began shifting towards her. Resolute and only mildly deterred—Elphaba a few strides towards the students and waved her hand to show she meant no harm.

It did no good.

People scattered, hid behind suitcases, and one girl nearly fainted as the skittish students made a point to put as much distance between themselves and the green girl as possible. Elphaba swallowed as she considered her next tactic. She was, of course, accustomed to this type of reception. Their shock could be forgiven. But her peers would prove more tolerant once the shock wore off. Right?

"What? Do I have something stuck in my teeth? Is my slip showing?" said Elphaba, attempting a self-aware joke.

"Everyone is seeing this, right?" chimed an incredulous voice.

Elphaba turned to see a short blonde woman with a polished appearance step down from a cart transporting a gigantic stack of fancy luggage. The way the other students parted for her made it clear that the girl had them wrapped around her little finger.

Elphaba deduced that the girl was also used to being the center of attention—albeit in a much different way.

"Pinch me if I'm having delusions—but is that girl really green?" the blonde gasped, fanning herself swooningly.

The glossed smirk that twitched at her lips suggested that the girl was not feeling faint in earnest, but rather relishing in her own nastiness.

"Your eyes don't deceive you…" Elphaba answered firmly. She took a calming breath and, resolving to make an effort, thrusted her hand towards the girl to shake. "I'm Elphaba Thropp."

The girl's eyebrows shot up. She regarded Elphaba's hand with piqued curiosity before slowly extending her own hand forward.

"Careful, Galinda!" a girl shouted from behind her. Galinda's hand paused. "She could be contagious."

Elphaba saw something devious glint in Galinda's eye and she turned to address her peers, as if she were delivering a public service announcement.

"Oh! You're absolutely right, Pfannee! But I'll still do it. I'll still shake her hand! Would you like to know why?" Galinda turned and looked at Elphaba with an innocent, cutesy shrug. "Even freaks need goodness."

Elphaba's jaw dropped as the masses exalted Galinda for her charity.

"Oh, you're so good, Galinda!" "I could never do it." "Brave and kind!"

"However! We must always remember…" Galinda cut off their praise with a flourish of her arms. She pulled a handkerchief out of her little white purse and waved it in the air. "Safety first."

Galinda draped the handkerchief over her hand and, now properly protected, reached for Elphaba's hand once more. Astonished by her callousness, Elphaba yanked her hand away before Galinda could take it.

"You little—" Elphaba hissed. "You wicked little—"

"Elphaba!" her father's voice boomed from behind her. His hand clenched around Elphaba's arm and pulled her aside. "Stop making a spectacle of yourself!"

"I'm trying but they—she—" Elphaba pointed vaguely towards Galinda.

"Elphaba, please," Nessarose whispered.

Elphaba drooped and she kneeled beside her sister.

"I'm sorry, Nessa. I'll do better," Elphaba shifted her eyes up towards her father. "I promise."

Their father fondly saw his favorite daughter off with hugs, boasts of praise, and a extravagant parting gift. Nessarose was appropriately dazzled by a pair of silver, jeweled heels, too dazzled to pay heed as their father bid farewell to his eldest daughter with a single phrase.

"Try not to talk so much."

Their father trod away and Nessarose giggled as sparkled specks refracted onto her clothes.

"Oh, Elphaba. They're so…tragically beautiful!" Nessarose gaped. She looked up at Elphaba and her face fell as she registered her lack of gift. "Oh, well. I'm certain he just didn't know what to get you. After all, you're so—"

"Beautifully tragic?" Elphaba filled in.

Nessarose smiled guiltily and Elphaba offered her a kind look to assure her all was well. She often had to censor herself around Nessarose due to her sensitive nature.

"Welcome new students!"

A lavishly dressed woman with liberal amounts of makeup that did little to mask her age promenaded into the square with her arms out in a flourish to welcome the new scholars. She introduced herself as Madame Morrible, their Headmistress. Madame Morrible did a double take upon seeing Elphaba, which was not uncommon, but her gaze lingered in an appraising manner which puzzled Elphaba.

"Ah! The Governor's daughters. Welcome to Shiz University," Morrible greeted them personally before tapping her clipboard. "I have a note here regarding your room assignments—"

"Yes, we will be rooming together," Elphaba confirmed

"That's not what it says here," Morrible corrected. "We received a special request a few days ago and made our arrangements as such. Miss Nessarose is to share my private compartment where my housekeeper can assist her as needed."

"Wait—what?" Elphaba started. "No. There must be some mistake."

"It's stated quite plainly," Morrible tutted. "Miss Elphaba, I presume? Miss Nessarose is to be housed with me."

"But—but I've always looked after my sister!" Elphaba said in a voice loud enough to catch the attention of nearby groups of students.

"Elphaba!" Nessarose flushed.

"Oh, sweet goodness!" Galinda gasped from afar. She scurried over to Madame Morrible to gain her attention. "Galinda Upland of the Upperuplands. I know you remember my entrance essay—no need to gush."

"Thank you for your humility, Miss Galinda. I will attempt to restrain myself," Madame Morrible deadpanned. Elphaba snorted.

"I just wanted to express what a shame it is that Miss Nessarose already has her accommodations. I would have been more than happy to share my private suite with the Governor's daughter," Galinda smiled sweetly.

"How splendid, Miss Galinda! It just so happens you can share a room with the Governor's daughter," Morrible exclaimed.

"Huh?" Galinda cocked her head to the side.

"While we have already made arrangements for Miss Nessarose, we had yet to find a room placement for Miss Elphaba! Seeing as you have already offered your room, well…I'll consider the matter done!"

"What?! No!" Elphaba and Galinda said in unison.

"Wait—you're mad about rooming with me?" Galinda gaped at Elphaba. "I'm the one that should be mad about rooming with you!"

"Oh, I'm definitely on the losing side of this bargain," Elphaba snapped.

Galinda made an offended sound and was about to respond, but Elphaba was distracted by Madame Morrible wheeling Nessarose away.

"No! No, no, no—hey," Elphaba called after them. "Pardon me, Madame. May I be permitted a private word with my sister?"

Morrible nodded and gave the sister's some space. Elphaba wrung her hands as she watched her go before hastily kneeling beside Nessarose.

"If you don't want to live with the Headmistress you don't have to," Elphaba said conspiratorially. "I'll figure out a way that we can still room together like we planned. That way we can—"

"Elphaba, please," Nessarose sighed in exasperation. "I'll be alright."

"But—"

"I want to room at Madame Morrible's."

Elphaba couldn't help her bewildered expression. But…they were supposed to do this together. After all—Nessarose needed her.

"You want—"

"Yes, I do. It'll be something new, and I'm sure the living quarters will be quite nice. I'll be okay," she repeated earnestly.

"Quite right! Now off you go now to your room with Miss Upland," Madame Morrible approached and waved Elphaba off.

"Elphaba? You'll be okay too," Nessarose assured before leaving her behind.

Elphaba appreciated her sister's baseless promise, but things looked different from where she was standing.

By the time Elphaba arrived Galinda had claimed her side of the room. It was suspiciously larger than Elphaba's. Her bed, already adorned with a fluffy comforter, had plenty of breathing room on all sides and her belongings were placed spaciously across the room. Elphaba's cot was crammed as far over as possible with enough room for a single person to walk between it and the dresser flush against the leftmost wall. Galinda's plentiful luggage served as a barrier wall between them.

"My side," Galinda gestured before flicking her stupid handkerchief towards Elphaba's squished corner. "Your side."

"Is that so?" Elphaba asked, dropping her suitcase with a loud thud. "And I suppose it was arranged like this when you arrived?"

"This was supposed to be my private suite, you know. I packed accordingly. Besides, you won't need much space by the looks of that filthy old thing," Galinda sniffed towards Elphaba's suitcase. "It's good of me to let you stay here in the first place."

"So good! Oh yes, you're so good! Allow me to take a lesson from how good you are," Elphaba growled.

She strode towards her bed and began shoving her cot further inward, the legs screeching along the floors as it collided with Galinda's wall of suitcases to push it along.

"Stop it!" Galinda shrieked, grabbing her suitcases frantically out of Elphaba's path of destruction. "Those are my things!"

"And you can place your things from here—" Elphaba gestured to the halfway mark, "—over!"

"I am Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands—"

"And I'm tired of you!"

"This isn't over," Galinda warned, scooting her things towards her own side with an audible pout. "I'll have you know that I am very, very popular and intend to be the top of Madame Morrible's sorcery seminar. You're going to live to regret that rotten attitude of yours!"

"I'm shaking," Elphaba retorted.

"Don't worry, Galinda," Galinda affirmed, taking a cleansing breath. "You'll just have to make the best of a bad situation."

The roommates didn't speak for the next few hours as they unpacked, opting to communicate exclusively through scoffs and glares. When she was properly settled, Elphaba threw her bag over her shoulder and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Galinda asked.

"Away from you."

Campus streetlamps began to flicker to life and Elphaba quickened her pace to reach her destination before dark. Madame Morrible's fair manor on campus loomed above Elphaba as she knocked on the door. It was answered by a Badger who was presumably Morrible's housekeeper.

"Hello. I'm Elphaba Thropp," she introduced, reaching out to shake the Badger's hand. "What is your name?"

"A-Amalia," she answered timidly, faintly surprised to be asked. "Miss Amalia."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Amalia. My sister Nessarose moved in today, I was hoping that I may meet with her."

"Oh—yes, Miss Thropp," Amalia nodded, escorting Elphaba to Nessarose's room so the sisters may visit.

"Are you settling in alright?" Elphaba asked as she helped organize Nessarose's vanity. "I wish I'd been able to help you unpack."

"They've been quite accommodating. Amalia unpacked most of my things," she said. "I was in the middle of writing to Father…"

"I won't keep you long," Elphaba said. They lapsed into an awkward silence. "Shall I brush your hair?"

Nessarose hesitated and glanced at her mirror before finally nodding. Elphaba removed Nessarose's headband and began running her long fingers through her thick, straight locks. "Your shoes from Father are beautiful."

"They are, aren't they?" Nessarose lit up before suddenly wilting. "Although…"

"Although?"

Nessarose sighed.

"He told me a few days ago to expect a special gift, and they are special! They are. But I had this idea in my head that he was going to give me something that belonged to Mother."

"I see."

"It was silly, I know. But Elphaba, you know how much I've always wanted something of hers! Anything of hers. Part of me has always hoped that Father was holding on to something and was simply waiting for the right time to give it to me. But I suppose it's true, he's gotten rid of everything…everything that belonged to her."

"Yes, it seems that way," Elphaba agreed before changing the subject. "Your living quarters are certainly a step up from mine, you know. I already loathe my roommate."

"Galinda?" Nessarose's eyes widened.

"Galinda Upland of the Upperuplands," Elphaba said in a high-pitched mocking voice. "We'll have quite the time together, make no mistake."

"Elphaba, don't quarrel with Galinda," Nessarose warned. "She knows everybody, and it was kind of her to want to room with me."

Elphaba scoffed. "Can't you see through her act?"

"Can't you just be nice?"

Elphaba paused her brushing and looked at Nessarose's eyes. Her expression was scolding but softened into her patented plea.

"Please, Elphaba…" she repeated softer. "Please just be nice."

Nice. It was a loaded word for Elphaba. People put so much meaning on niceties. Speak nice, act nice, be nice. Elphaba had never played nice with people, then again, the world had never played nice with her.

"I'll try, Nessa," Elphaba sighed heavily. "I'll try."

Before long, Elphaba bid her sister a good evening and began walking home before night could fall in earnest. A loud honk jostled her out of her reverie and she quickly side stepped out of the way from an oncoming cart hurtling towards her.

"Hey!" she barked towards the driver who halted to a stop.

"Watch where you're going!" the driver shouted.

"Watch where I'm going?! This square is practically empty and you still managed to nearly run me over!"

Elphaba charged towards the cart and registered its passenger. A college aged boy wearing sunglasses, despite the time of day, was fast asleep in the backseat.

"Please—miss. You'll disturb him!"

"I certainly will!" Elphaba announced, charging forward and whacking at his shoulder to rouse him. "Wake up, you!"

The sleeping boy groaned and pulled off his sunglasses, squinting around his surroundings before his eyes landed on Elphaba. His eyebrows raised and he slowly stretched as he got out of the car.

"Am I still asleep or are you actually—"

"Green?" Elphaba jumped in. "Yes, I am. Green as grass, green as sin, green with envy. Ferns, frogs, cabbage—I've heard it all. That's not important. What's important is that your cart almost ran me over!"

"Well, maybe the driver saw green and thought it meant go," he quipped. Elphaba blinked. "Heard that one yet?"

She scowled and crossed her arms. No…she hadn't heard that one yet.

"Anyway, this has been fun, but I've had a long trip so, you know…I'm just gonna—"

He nodded his head towards the male dormitories with a click of his tongue and began to saunter off.

"Wait!" Elphaba barked after him. He turned casually. "Aren't you going to apologize?!"

"Question. Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"I don't give a twig who you are! Apologize to me now!"

He put his hands in his pockets and flashed a rage-inducing smirk her way.

"Nah. I wasn't even driving. But good luck with," he gestured vaguely at Elphaba's being. "All of that."

Elphaba watched the boy stroll away and land a lackadaisical heel click as he swept along. He knew she was watching, and she was certain he was doing this for the sole purpose of ticking her off. Had it not been for her recent promise to Nessarose to be nice, the boy never would have gotten off so easily. She managed to restrain herself with a self-soothing thought.

Shiz University had a massive campus. It was unlikely that they'd cross paths again.

When Elphaba creaked the door open to her and Galinda's shared dorm, she was dismayed to find that Galinda had gone to bed early. She could hear her snores, but she could not see her, for the light had been turned off in their room. Elphaba's throat began to constrict as she stared down their shadowy dorm. The drawn curtains appeared to be light blocking which made the room darker than it would have been naturally. Elphaba felt a cold sweat forming on her brow as she weighed her options.

She could turn the lights on…but she'd risk waking Galinda. Disturbing her roommate was not what concerned her, but Elphaba couldn't imagine anything worse than Galinda finding out about her phobia.

Elphaba, thankful that her side was closest to the door, spotted her suitcase at the foot of her bed within the strip of hallway light streaming through from the doorway. Checking to ensure no one was around, she lowered herself to her hands and knees and scrambled to yank her suitcase out of the room. She sat against the wall in the hallway where it was safe and dug through her belongings until her trembling fingers found what she was searching for—a simple glass nightlight.

She shoved her suitcase back along the floor and slowly stood to full height. She'd scouted out where the outlet was earlier in the day to prepare for this very moment, a fact that provided little comfort. She took a long moment to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth several times before steeling herself to enter.

She left the hallway door open and sped into the room, immediately feeling a surge of horror vibrate up her spine. She darted between their two beds and knelt on the ground beneath the window, her hands shaking as she attempted to connect the nightlight's prongs to the outlet. She at last managed to attach it and she sighed in relief as the room filled with cool light. It wasn't enough to feel completely safe…but it was enough to breathe.

Elphaba closed and locked the door, grabbed her suitcase, and darted to her bed where she yanked her feet off the floor and shoved them under her covers. Feeling reasonably safe at last, she rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out her most cherished keepsake. A tiny, green glass bottle.

Her mother's green glass bottle.

Nessarose was correct. Father had been thorough when he cleared out their mother's possessions, but Elphaba had managed to save the trinket before the purge. Nobody knew that she had it. Not Father, and certainly not Nessarose.

As she slipped her secret treasure under her pillow and closed her eyes, her thoughts unexpectedly drifted to Yero. After the first day she'd had, she feared that preemptively cutting off her one friend had been a sorry mistake indeed.