Elphaba's favourite class was history with Doctor Dillamond.
Not only was he an excellent teacher - always interesting, always fair - he was also Shiz's only Animal professor, a Goat, to be exact.
The young woman felt a strong sympathy for the teacher as he stood out in his own way, he was different, like her.
They had just begun discussing the uprising suppression of Animals, how there were not many Animal professors left in Oz beside him and the overall frequency of Animals in any work position had decreased dramatically over the last years.
At the beginning of the lesson, he went around the class room and handed each student their essays back.
"I am thrilled to be able to announce that there has been a lot of improvement in these essays, although", he stated, then turned in Galinda's direction, "some of you seem to value form over content after all. Miss G'linda, may I ask why you decided to write your essay in pink ink? It is rather hard to read, makes one's eyes hurt after a while."
Galinda's eyes narrowed.
"My name is Galinda, sir, with a 'Ga'."
"Oh, I am very sorry, Miss G...linda", the professor replied, obviously having a hard time with the pronounciation of the syllable.
"I don't know what's so hard about it", Galinda remarked with an arrogant tone, "every other professor doesn't seem to have any problems with pronouncing it right."
This was enough for Elphaba.
"Maybe, Doctor Dillamond has more important things to do than perfecting the exact pronounciation of your oh-so-precious name! Just maybe, he might be a little different than other professors but has it ever occurred to your little blonde brain that some of us are just not like all the others?"
She was now standing, fists clenched as she got angrier and angrier by looking at Galinda's face that only displayed a smug grin.
"Looks like the artichoke is steamed", she spat cattishly and caused the posse sitting close to errupt in spiteful laughter.
Elphaba looked down, embarrassed and steaming with anger as Doctor Dillamond's voice cut through the cackling.
"Enough, quiet now! Miss Elphaba has a good point. It is widely known that I am Shiz' sole Animal professor, the 'token goat' as you might want to call it. I often wish you had known how it was a long time ago, when there were Animals seen in the hallways of this venerable walls..."
He drifted off into his usual deliberations about the variety of species roaming the school's halls a long time ago and how a lot of things had changed since then.
"Can anyone tell me, what could be marked as the starting point of the riots?", he asked at the end of his little speech.
Elphaba's hand shot up in the air and she started talking before Doctor Dillamond could even say her name.
"If I remember right, it was during the great drought."
"This is correct, Miss Elphaba. The great drought caused declining profits in the agriculture and therefore, people became hungry and, as a result, angry.
And whenever people become angry, they need someone they can be angry at, someone they can blame.
Can anyone explain what the word 'scapegoat' means?"
Elphaba's hand shot up immediately again.
"Maybe someone besides Miss Elphaba?"
To Elphaba's great surprise, Galinda raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss G'linda?"
"It is Ga-linda, with a 'Ga'!", she said, stressing every word as if she was talking to a small child.
"And I can't see why you won't just teach us about history instead of just going on and on about the past!"
Doctor Dillamond blinked at the girl incredulously, but didn't comment on her snide remark.
"Maybe the questions I have prepared for you can be of assistance with..."
He was cut off by a loud gasp that went through the classroom as he turned the blackboard in the front.
As he realized what had been scribbled on it instead of his questions, he looked down, ashamed.
"Who did this?", he asked calmly, but his voice was cold now.
The classroom was so quiet one could have heard a needle drop.
"Class dismissed", the teacher murmured then.
"But professor...", Elphaba began, but Doctor Dillamond cut her off.
"I said, class dismissed!"
Hurriedly, the students began to stumble out of the classroom.
Elphaba was making her way to the door as well, pushing her sister's wheelchair but just before they exited the room, she turned around, looking at her teacher who sat discouragedly at his desk.
"Nessa, you go ahead alone, I'll be there in a clock-tick", she mumbled to her sister and then walked back into the room, towards the disheartened professor.
"Animals should be seen and not heard?", she read out the nasty scribbling from the blackboard.
"What is this even supposed to mean?"
"Oh, Miss Elphaba, don't worry, it's nothing. Really, no need to worry about me, I'll be fine, you go and join your friends."
Elphaba had to laugh.
"That's alright, I don't have any."
"Any what?"
"Any friends."
Elphaba made a shrugging-motion as Doctor Dillamond looked at her in surprise.
"Listen, professor, you mustn't let silly scribblings like this one get to you. I mean, I always let them get to me, but you really shouldn't.
Would you like to share my lunch?"
Elphaba pulled out a sandwich wrapped in paper.
"Oh, that is too kind of you, thanks plenty."
With that, the teacher took the paper from Elphaba's extended hand and started nibbling on it, not noticing his student's surprised expression.
They sat there eating in silence for a few moments before Doctor Dillamond put the paper wrapping down.
"It seems like I have lost my appetite.
You must understand, Miss Elphaba, things like this", he pointed to the blackboard, "aren't just bad jokes anymore. I hear of incidents like this on a daily basis by now. And the effects it has on the Animals' life!
So many colleagues of mine have lost their jobs in the last months and not only that, some of them are starting to lose the ability to speak!"
Elphaba looked up from her lunch, alerted.
"They can't speak anymore? But how is this possible?"
"I don't know, I fear. I can only sense that this is something baaaaaad! Oh my, excuse me! Something bad."
The young woman stared at the professor in shock.
"Doctor Dillamond? Is everything alright? Should I get you a glass of water maybe?"
She was trying to overplay the fact that her teacher had just made a noise typical of his animal equivalent.
"No, thank you, I think I am fine. Oh, Madame Morrible!"
Elphaba shot around.
The headmistress had entered the room without her noticing it.
"My dearest colleague, Doctor Dillamond, it has been reported to me that there has been some kind of /disturberance/ in you history class earlier, is this correct?"
Doctor Dillamond had hurriedly stepped over to the board to turn it back to the timeline on the front, hiding the rather obvious cause of said commotion.
"Yes, Madame Morrible, but the incident has already been cleared up, no need to further investigate in it."
"I am glad to hear that, professor. Now to you, Miss Elphaba, were you not supposed to be in my classroom for the first lesson on sorcery a good ten minutes ago?", she asked the young woman with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, uh, yes, of course, Madame, I am sorry, I'll be coming right away", Elphaba spluttered, embarrassed that she had missed the start of her very first lesson.
"I do hope so, Miss Thropp, sorcery is a serious topic and I only choose students I am sure I can rely on and it would be a pity if you disappointed me. I'll expect you in my classroom at once! One cannot allow oneself to be so sloppy when one has ambitions that include meeting the Wizard, can't one?"
"Yes Madame."
Elphaba waited for Madame Morrible to leave the room, so she could turn back to Doctor Dillamond, an idea come to her mind.
"Doctor Dillamond, the Wizard has to know if there is something happening to the Animals, he is there to protect Oz and all its inhabitants! Nothing bad will happen if the Wizard is involved! I'd better go now, though."
"Oh, Miss Elphaba, I do hope you are right. I couldn't stand something baaaaaad! Ahem, something bad, happening to the animals. Have a nice day, Miss Elphaba!"
As the animal sound escaped the professor again, he had started to head to the door, looking confused and shaken and leaving his student remaining alone in the classroom.
As Elphaba made her way to Madame Morrible's sorcery tutorial, she thought about what had happened.
How hadn't she noticed yet what was going on in Oz?
But this surely wasn't anything the Wizard wouldn't be able to fix.