And so the first year passed, majority of it having been spent in loneliness for Elphaba, but in the end she reaped the benefit of Galinda Upland; the only friend she would ever have. She stayed at Shiz over the summer with Boq and waited for the warm, summer day that would bring the carriage containing her sister.
She didn't know how people would react to Nessa. It was always different. Some people talked about her affliction when she wasn't in earshot; others asked right away. Nessa was young and sensitive, hardly the age for university, but still she insisted and when had Frex ever denied Nessarose?
Madame Morrible, of course, would come out to greet the governor's daughter herself, as if determined to make as big a spectacle as she could. Perhaps she was simply trying to draw as much attention to Nessa as she could now and get the initial shock over with. Obviously, no one had bothered to do as much for Elphaba.
"Miss Nessarose, how lovely to meet you!"
"Lovely to meet you also, Madame," Nessa replied timidly.
Morrible made a boisterous show of asking Nessarose questions about her travels, her home and every small, miniscule subject she could think of until the small group that had formed around them dispersed carelessly.
"Nessa!" Elphaba called, running towards her sister and kissing her on both cheeks.
Nessa smiled luminously. "Isn't this exciting? I'm so nervous!"
"Don't be! We've got everything set up for you," Elphaba reassured. "Would you like to see some of the school?"
Nodding excitedly, Nessa allowed Elphaba to lead her away from the headshiztress who didn't look too pleased at being forgotten so quickly.
It didn't take long for Nessa to fit in to Elphaba's small circle of friends. She was clever and could debate with Boq; she didn't care much for Avaric, but Galinda was becoming a fast friend. Elphaba noticed, however, that Fiyero didn't seem to want to be around them anymore and would avoid at any cost, which Galinda also noted sullenly, because it meant Avaric was taken away from her too.
Galinda had forgotten her obsession with Fiyero and although she held him in high regard, she began to notice that the feelings weren't mutual and so she moved on. Poor Avaric was her new focus, although he didn't seem to mind the attention.
As second years, their workload increased and so did Elphaba's suspicion. Not only had she not heard a single word from Dr. Dillamond, but she noticed that her math teacher, who happened to be a Gorilla, disappeared too. Still she had an idea of what was going on and it scared her. If the Animals were disappearing, where were they going? Carted off to Southstairs and tortured to death? The ideas only got more gruesome as she started to read up on the topic. And if this was happening to the Animals, who was the orchestrator? And would people be the next target? Elphaba could imagine the horrible mastermind behind this going after Quadlings and Vinkuns, seeing them as no more than Animals, or animals for that matter.
"My sorcery class is such a joke," Galinda giggled one day.
"That's why you should have taken science," Elphaba replied curtly, without looking up from her book.
"Pfft. Who needs that? I'm never going to be a scientist," Galinda scoffed.
"I do enjoy my science class though," Nessa threw out.
"That's because it's all boys!" Galinda exclaimed. "You have something to look at, meanwhile I'm in sorcery watching the professor make a fool of herself...or sometimes Morrible comes in and scares us half to death. I never did like the old Fish."
Nessa eyed Galinda irritably. "That's not very kind!"
Elphaba placed her book beside her and leaned back against the tree they were sitting under. "No, I agree with Galinda here, there's something not to be trusted about her."
"You say that about everyone," Nessa muttered.
"She's right," Galinda agreed, "I think-"
A voice called across the range of the ground and Avaric sidled up to them, dropping his head in Galinda's lap and wasting no time in making himself comfortable. "How are we today?"
Fiyero came up silently beside Avaric and claimed the spot beside Nessa, furthest away from Elphaba.
"Fiyero, I feel like I haven't seen you in a year!" Galinda exclaimed.
"Time flies when you're having fun," Fiyero said lightly.
"Workin' hard or hardly workin'?" Avaric threw in.
"Any other clichés to add?" Nessa asked sarcastically.
Narrowing his squinty eyes at her, Avaric retorted, "Sure give me a second and I'll come up with some good ones just for you, Nessie."
"Why don't you like us any more Fiyero?" Galinda demanded. "Is it me?"
"It's not you, I swear!" Fiyero defended. "There's been some trouble back home."
"What's happening in the Vinkus?" Elphaba asked curiously. But he didn't look at her. Why wasn't he looking at her?
"The Wizard's trying to control the monarchy," he said quietly. "My parents want me to do something."
Avaric slapped Fiyero on the back. "Ah man, let it go! Move to Gillikin with me! The time's gonna come when you'll want to rule over something more than a wasteland of twenty people."
"But why would the Wizard want the Vinkus?" Elphaba demanded loudly. She knew Avaric was an asshole, but did he really have to make it so blatantly obvious?
"I don't know!" Fiyero snapped.
Elphaba stopped, having been caught off guard by his tone.
After the disappointing conversation with Fiyero the other day, Elphaba decided it was time to get to the bottom of it. She didn't like being ignored when she didn't deserve it. Okay, so that happened often, but Fiyero was supposed to be one of her closest friends.
During science class Elphaba slipped into the seat beside Fiyero, which was usually occupied by Avaric. Word around campus was that Avaric was skipping science today. Sometimes gossip was useful. Who would have thought?
But she placed her books on the desk and Fiyero shifted over to the next seat, leaving a space between them. Elphaba, not willing to take that, slid into the seat and continued the pattern until they were at the very end of the row with no other seats to escape to.
"Why are you avoiding me?" Elphaba demanded angrily, as she slammed her textbooks onto the desk.
"Why are you following me?" Fiyero shot back, looking towards Pfannee and Shenshen who were giggling on the other side of the classroom.
Elphaba stepped in his line of vision and he looked down. "You won't even look at me!"
"People know, Elphaba."
"People know what?"
"People know that I helped you!" Fiyero said. Frustration dripped from his voice, making Elphaba cringe.
Elphaba's eyes narrowed and she planted her hands on his desk, leaning over menacingly. "Why do you care what they think?"
"I don't care what they think."
"UGH! Yes you do!" The teacher walked into the classroom and Elphaba dropped into the chair in front of him instead, sliding her textbooks across the desk and to her new seat.
Now that she was in front of him, Fiyero's eyes were drawn to her. She pushed her chair out far from the desk and leaned forward, her spine arching over as she made notes. He felt bad for what he had said, he really did.
The class passed without another interruption and at the end as everyone was still packing up their belongings, Elphaba scooped up her books and passed by; slipping a note under Fiyero's textbook. He hesitantly reached out and took the note as if it were an explosive.
Will you at least talk to me in private? Galinda's out between nine and eleven.
Fiyero waited outside the door wondering if he should knock or not. It could spell out certain doom, but he did it anyway. He heard shuffling inside the room and then the door opened. Elphaba backed away patiently and waited for him to come in by his own accord. He slipped in and closed the door behind him. "So, you wanted to see me?"
"Yes. I was wondering what's going on with your family."
"It doesn't matter," Fiyero replied curtly. "It's none of my business."
"But it is! Or it will be!"
Fiyero crossed the room and sat on Galinda's bed. Elphaba stayed standing. "I don't want it to be."
A touch of ironic sympathy entered her eyes. "That's the downfall of being born into royalty isn't it? You've got it whether you want it or not."
"That isn't true," Fiyero argued. "There are other options."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm planning on abdicating the throne."
Elphaba's eyes widened. "YOU CAN'T! Fiyero, that means the Vinkus will be under the Wizard's control! Do you know what he'll do?"
"I thought you were big on the Wizard," Fiyero commented drily.
"I'm not big on anyone who puts another race down for his own advancement."
Fiyero wanted to leave, but he didn't get up. "We're different people. You're not going to convince me otherwise."
"What if I wrote to your parents?"
"My parents don't care," Fiyero said plainly. "You're not going to change my mind."
"Fiyero, wait until you're done Shiz and then make the decision," Elphaba begged. Fiyero ignored her and Elphaba slumped onto her bed in defeat. "I'm not letting this go," she told herself. An uncomfortable silence fell between them. "Fiyero, I was sure a few months ago that we actually had a chance at being friends."
"People change."
"But I want you to be my friend. Talk to me at the very least!"
"I didn't think you wanted to be my friend," Fiyero countered.
"At first I thought it was my kissing skills, but then I figured I couldn't have been that bad if you tried it again." Elphaba combed her fingers through her hair, drawing Fiyero's gaze to the raven curtain framing her face. "That was before Galinda showed me how wonderful having a friend is. I guess I've gotten greedy."
Fiyero laughed, feeling the mood lighten substantially. "Alright then."
"You don't even have to be my friend," Elphaba said quietly. "Just don't deny me anymore."
Her eyes were trained downward, her hair falling across her face and her voice quiet. Fiyero wanted to be her best friend all of a sudden; make it up to her for the useless jerk he had been. "I'll be your friend, Elphaba, I'll mean more to you than Galinda and Nessa combined."
"You're teasing," Elphaba chuckled.
"I suppose I should be going," Fiyero muttered, glancing at the clock. "No boys in the girls' dorm past ten."
"Rules are made to be broken," Elphaba replied.
So Fiyero made himself comfortable and they talked late into the night, even after Galinda bounced in and joined their conversation.