Fiyero cringed as Elphaba yet again managed to lose control of the ball. Master Bidsk had not been exaggerating. She was terrible.

"Okay, bring it back."

A clumsy dribble and a half dozen fumbles later, she returned in front of him, sweating and cursing her miserable lot in life. "This is ridiculous. At what point in life will I ever need to know how to run and bounce a rubber sphere?" She hurled the ball at the hoop, unsurprised when it fell well below.

He jogged back with the ball.

"Great. Even you can't think of anything reassuring to say. Mr. Sunshine himself."

That drew a laugh from him before he could stop it. "I can." He fought his broad smile into a poor attempt at a grimace, more like he'd eaten a sour lemon. "And I'm not Mr. Sunshine. I'm far too manly and dangerous for that."

"Yeah, right." She blew a loose strand out of her face. "Ugh, I quit."

He held out the ball. "No, you don't."

She eyed it as if it might secretly be a python. "I'm awful," she protested, but she took the ball.

"So you'll get better."

She aimed, poised, and hurled the ball toward the hoop with all her might. The ball smacked into the ground and rolled in the opposite direction. The look she sent him was somehow both smug and dejected.

"Let's start with your stance." Her face couldn't hold an ounce more misery, but she complied with his directions, bending her knees and miming shot after shot until he returned with the ball. "Try again."

She rehearsed the motion one last time and pressed his lips tight together. She stared at the basket in utter concentration. She bent her knees, supported the ball and shot.

The ball arced high. The basket loomed.

But the ball hit off the hoop and sprung off toward the grass again. She slumped over and groaned. "At least you hit the hoop this time. Much closer."

Her narrowed eyes threatened to murder him.

"Try again."

She shot again, and the ball fell short.

"Again." Off the backboard this time. "Again." She shoved it with a frustrated grunt, and the ball bounced off the rim to shoot back at them. He dove at it before it slammed into her face.

"It's a stupid little ball and a stupid little hoop, and there's no reason it should be this difficult! I snapped my wrist. I bent my knees. I angled my elbow. It doesn't work!"

She glared at him, waiting for a response. He gave her a long second to make sure she'd finished her tirade. Then he held out the ball.

For a second, he honestly thought she might punch him, but she snatched the ball out of his hands. It missed again, and the ball rolled halfheartedly away in the grass beyond the blacktop. "I'm wasting your time."

"You're giving up too soon." She scoffed, but he caught her hand. "Look, I know what it's like to feel bad at something. To try, and fail. It sucks. And it seems like it comes so easy to everyone else, but you have to work ten times harder at it."

"Yes, you and hard work are virtually synonymous." But she'd softened. She knew what he'd gone through in the last months. Even still he had to struggle to pass.

"Lucky for you, I've learned from a very stubborn, headstrong girl that doesn't take no for an answer. So shut up, grab the damn ball and shoot it."

She stared at him for a moment, and then snatched at the ball. She lined up another shot.

It rustled the net under the basket, so close his heart ached for her. She took the next ball without complaint, and he could see the gears working. She'd overcorrect again, he knew it. He caught her arm before she shot and flashed her a smile.

"Relax, it's just a game."

"It's not." Her nose twitched in a disgruntled expression. "It's a personal nemesis."

The ball hit too far to the left this time. A few more misses, and he could tell she was close to her limit. "That's enough for today. We'll focus on your dribbling tomorrow."

"But I still can't do it." She picked up the ball again, and he had to yank hard to pull it out of her hands.

"You didn't expect to turn into a basketball star in one session, did you?"

"But we've been at it for over an hour."

"I know," he commiserated with a teasing grin. "In this time you could've read six books, done a couple extra credit physics assignments and solved world hunger, but such is life."

She slumped. "You don't think I can do it."

"Tonight." He cupped her cheek. "I don't think you can do it tonight. But who knows, maybe tomorrow it will click."

"Maybe," she offered grudgingly. But she didn't buy it for one minute. She was a tough sell for positivity, even with his considerable talents.

He bumped her shoulder as he led her toward the dorms. "And you're much better than you were before." She peeked up at him with a skeptical expression. "Now you're pretty close to the basket each time."

"Still not good enough." But it was determination instead of self-defeat lacing her frown.

He chuckled. "You are really impatient, aren't you? I should have known."

"I don't like to waste time."

He considered her a moment, hair plastered to her neck and an oversized sweatshirt swallowing any hint of a figure, and he grinned at how human she seemed. She was usually so intimidating, a superpower of a girl, and seeing her this way, he couldn't help a sudden wave of affection. "Not everything has to be so important. It's okay to relax sometimes."

She rolled her eyes. "You would say that."

"Hey, no criticizing the teacher," he teased, and she bit her lip.

"You're right. I'm sorry. Thank you for helping me."

He made a face. "I was kidding."

"I know. But I mean it. Thanks."

He acknowledged it with a half-shrug. "Want to go over the literature notes with me? I could use the translation."

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing." He feigned an innocent look, but her gaze was shrewd. He had extra credit to spare, and she knew it. So it caught him off guard when she trained her eyes back on the door. "Fine."

"Great. Thanks."

She unlocked her room, and he followed her inside. She set the ball by the bookcase and picked up her notes as he lounged in her chair. With a straight face so utterly Elphaba, she brushed her hand against his in an awkward gesture of sentiment. "You're a good friend, Fiyero."

He blinked at her in surprise and swallowed a smile. "Only when it's called for."