Chapter Four
Elphaba had looked over her schedule the night before; she had just one class this morning, and two classes this afternoon. She and Galinda headed to their first class, English AP.
As everyone took his or her seat, the teacher waltzed in, quickly taking off his satchel. This man was relatively short and stubby, with squareish glasses, a receding hairline, and a full goatee. Elphaba sighed; the goatee reminded Elphaba of their dearest lost Goat professor, Doctor Dillamond.
After fumbling through a few papers, the professor finally addressed the class. "Hello, class." This was projected throughout the lecture hall. His voice was loud and enthusiastic. He neither exclaimed nor plainly stated his greeting. He was an interesting man. He continued, "My name is," he picked up a marker and wrote his name on the board, "Jacob Glickman – Mr. Glickman, or just plain Glickman, to you."
Elphaba's jaw dropped. Jacob Glickman – as in, the Jacob Glickman, her favourite author of all time? He couldn't be the same man! She quickly whipped out her copy of "The Nature of Literature," and thumbed through the pages, trying to find an author's biography. Finally, in the back of the hardcover, she found it. And there it was, a picture of the very man standing before the class. Elphaba's jaw dropped yet again. She quickly shut her mouth.
She opened it again to remark to her friend, "Galinda, do you know who that is?" She was very enthusiastic. Galinda was slightly confused as she replied, "Our new English teacher…?"
"Yes," Elphaba replied, "but he is also the author of this book!" She tapped her finger vigorously at the book. She was acting like Galinda when she saw a new dress she wanted.
"You mean thathuge thing you've been attached to for the past two months?"
"The very same." Elphaba smiled.
"Since I am new here, I'd like to get to know you all better," Mr. Glickman began. "We'll start with names. When I read your name off the roll, repeat it back to me. If you'd rather be called a nickname, just say so." And so he read off the list: "Arduenna, Galinda?"
"Galinda, here," Galinda replied politely back to him.
He took a short look at her, and continued down the list. He finally got to the T's. "Tenmeadows, Avaric?"
"Avaric!" Avaric exclaimed, rather pompously. Glickman scoffed and grinned at this, rather amused.
Elphaba was anxiously waiting for him to call her name.
"Tiggular, Fiyero?" Glickman read out.
Wait, Elphaba thought. Fiyero was in this class? She glanced around. He wasn't in sight.
"Mr. Tiggular?" Glickman called, "Has anyone seen him?" There was silence. "Hmph. Someone skipping on the first day back, I suppose. What a shame, what a-" He was cut off by a person hurriedly coming through the door.
"Sorry I'm late!" Fiyero bounded in. "I'm new here, and I couldn't find the building, and then I had trouble finding the room, and-" Mr. Glickman cut him off. "It's nice you showed up Mister…?"
"Tiggular," he answered. "I'm Fiyero Tiggular." He took a seat beside Elphaba.
Galinda hit Elphaba's arm playfully, and had a wide grin on her face, as if saying 'It's him, it's him it's him!' Elphaba rolled her eyes.
The professor's eyes quickly darted to the movement between the two girls, and then back to the latecomer. "I certainly won't forget you, Mr. Fiyero. Lucky you came just now; I was just about to mark you absent. Please try to come on time next time. And, I'm Mr. Glickman. Welcome to English AP."
"Thank you, sir." Fiyero said curtly.
Elphaba was smiling to herself at this display. She then looked at Fiyero while Mr. Glickman got himself sorted out again.
"Hey!" he whispered. "I'm glad you're in this class; I doubt anyone would let me sit with them, especially not after that." She nodded.
Glickman continued with roll call, "Thropp, Elphaba?"
"Elphaba." She replied concisely back to him. He looked up to get a good look at her, grinned, and continued calling out the rest of the students' names.
Elphaba wondered why he grinned. Was it because of her colour? Or was it because the interruption, Fiyero, decided to sit next to her? She felt that Glickman had some secret thought or intuition about her. He seemed like the kind of person who was rather spontaneous, and thought way too much for his own good. And indeed he was that type of person. Elphaba knew that this would be her new favourite class.