Just a little time/
just a little feeling gaining speed /
I'm dreaming of going somewhere else
~o0o~
Elphaba took a deep breath and strode away from Fiyero's carriage before he could wake up and see her.
It was time to try something different. What, she wasn't exactly sure. There were cooking classes, but she already considered herself a decent cook, having been fully trained by the chef at home so she could take over on his days off. Maybe she would stop by the open classes to try expanding her skills.
Just so she would have an alternative outfit from her uniform, she made herself a new one using pieces from Secondhand Rose, including the jacket Fiyero had liked so much, this time paint free.
She stopped outside a roller rink. She remembered when one opened up in Nest Hardings. It was all her class could talk about for days and it had become the big hang out, especially when the bowling alley was built next door.
To her surprise, when she went inside this one it was fairly empty. Was it due to it being a week day? Were they actually closed and just forgot to lock the door?
She went up to the counter and looked around.
"Hello?" she called.
A Tiger in uniform ran up from the back, looking surprised. His name tag read: Daveed.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't expecting any customers at this hour. Do you want to make a reservation for a skating party?"
"No, I'd just like to skate, please," she said.
"Certainly! Just you?"
"Just me. I'll need skates…" she looked at the row of beat up, beige skates coming in all sizes for human and Animal, then noticed a section full of brand new ones. "I think I might like to buy them. Do you carry women's size thirteen?"
Daveed leaned over the counter to look at her feet.
"I can take a look," he said. "I may have the sister size in men's."
"That'd be alright," she said and followed him to the display of custom roller skates. "As long as they're ready to wear."
He motioned for her to take a seat and disappeared into the back. She sat on one of the seats in the center of the space and he returned with four boxes.
One pair was solid black, the next were yellow with green tiger stripes, another were simple beige, and the last were mint green with a coral pink tongue, laces, and stitching.
Elphaba tried on all of them, finding the pink and green ones the most comfortable. She rose to her feet and wobbled.
"Have you skated before?" Daveed asked.
"Uh-uh. First time for everythING!" She pinwheeled her arms and Daveed caught her then pulled her over to the checkout counter.
"Tell you what, I'll throw in this helmet for free," he said, grabbing one and placing it on the counter. "And a skating pass for three full months."
She paid him and went over to the rink. It was a glossy wood the color of honey, scratched up with use. There was a balcony with an organ and one of those newfangled booths that controlled pre-recorded music.
"Any preference?" Daveed asked.
"No preference," she said.
He set up a record that played over speakers rigged around the room. It was doo-wop music. Definishly nothing Frex would approve of. He went on very long rants about the dangers of rock and roll and doo-wop and rhythm and blues, saying they were a trap door to a pit of sin. When Elphaba asked if he knew that from observation or experience she got the switch.
Nessa parroted this, despite lingering outside after school to listen to Barley Meadowlark's radio before heading home. Elphaba didn't know if her sister was secretly listening to the forbidden stations on Morrible's radio, but she wouldn't put it past her.
Elphaba had never been on good enough terms to touch Galinda's bubblegum pink radio and couldn't justify the cash to buy her own only for Frex to confiscate it.
When she broke out of the loop, she would get a job for some pin money and buy all the things denied to her.
She skidded and grabbed onto the side of the rink for the umpteenth time so she wouldn't fall flat on her back.
"Have you ever done this before?" someone asked.
A young Tigress with an unusual coat pattern of white and gold with orange stripes leaned against the railing.
"Am I that obvious?" Elphaba asked. "Do you work here?"
"Yes, Papa thought you might need some… pointers," she said, stepping into the rink in sparkly silver skates.
"Maybe one or two." Elphaba's foot decided to fly out from under her. "Are you a teacher?"
"I teach children's courses," she said. "I also compete in roller derby."
She held out a paw.
"I'm Darla."
Elphaba accepted her help in getting upright.
"Elphaba," she said.
"Why don't we get started on some basics?" Darla suggested.
"That'd be good."
Darla went over the basics with her, holding onto her hands until she got used to moving forward and managed to circumnavigate the rink once without falling down.
"You're getting it!" she said in the tone she used for the children.
Elphaba grinned. True, she was on the same level as a toddler, but this was fun.
"What made you decide to try roller skating?" Darla asked, supervising while Elphaba continued skating in circles.
"It always sounded like fun," said Elphaba. "Though the girls in school acted like something was wrong with you if you didn't go to the rink after school most days. It wasn't that I didn't want to go, but my sister physically can't roller skate and it wouldn't be fair. She uses a wheelchair."
"All wheels are allowed on the floor," said Darla. "She could still come and socialize."
Hm. If only someone had told Frex that.
"Well… now that we're in college, we can have our own interests anyway."
"Sure," said Darla. "I've always enjoyed roller skating. Good thing we own a rink, but we're not as busy as we used to be. Weekends are usually pretty good, but weekdays are dead unless we have a class."
"Well, I'd like to keep this up," said Elphaba.
Darla smiled. "Do you want to come see the derby tonight? Ever been?"
"Never been," said Elphaba, grabbing onto the wall for support. "That sounds like fun."
"Great, you can meet me here at five," she said. "My team always meets here for a warm-up."
"Darla!"
Elphaba was glad she was flexible as her legs swung into the splits. She hauled herself to her feet to see a Pangolin trot over.
"Zulia!" said Darla. "What's wrong?"
"It's Eda," she said. "She twisted her knee."
"What?! How?!"
"She won't say. I think she's embarrassed." Zulia shook her head. "Actually, I doubt she's actually injured. Either way, we need a replacement."
"I'd offer my services, but this is my first time skating," said Elphaba.
"We'll call you plan B," said Darla. "You're girl-shaped, you have skates, we'll let you know at five."
Elphaba left the rink and put her skates inside the portal in favor of her boots. She felt weird walking out, like her shoes should still have wheels.
There was still a lot of time to kill.
"Excuse me!"
Rather than run, she found herself stopping and facing Fiyero. He blinked in surprise at seeing her skin.
"Uhh…"
"Shiz is on the West side," said Elphaba. "You follow this road straight to the canal and turn left. Follow the bike trail with the blue stones, you can't miss it."
"Thanks," he said and tipped his head. "Have we—"
"Met? No." She kept walking.
"That's a really cool jacket," he said, hurrying to catch up to her.
"Thanks," she headed to Javawocky to relax until the meet time.
"Are you a student at Shiz?"
"I am."
"Well, I'm throwing a party tonight," he said. "You should come."
"No thanks, I have plans," she said.
"What's his name?"
"Darla."
His demeanor changed slightly. He was still friendly, but the flirtation dropped.
"Ah! You could invite her," he said.
"No thanks," said Elphaba. "We're going to a roller derby."
"Well, if your plans change, feel free to stop by," he said. "And bring your girl, too. All are welcome."
Rather than correct him, Elphaba just nodded.
"I'll keep that in mind," she said. "See you."
"See you around then, Miss…"
"Elphaba."
"Miss Elphaba. I'm Fiyero." He offered his hand.
She shook it and pointed him the right way before entering the coffee shop. The Gorilla was there playing his set. Elphaba ordered her meal and listened to him, then watched him a bit afterwards. He was tucked into a corner, scribbling in a notebook and sipping coffee.
Elphaba thought of that guitar in Secondhand Rose and how she'd like to learn to play it. She checked the time, then got up and approached him. Animals tended to treat her with less hostility from the get go. She still hesitated on how to open a conversation.
"Can I help you?" he asked, looking up.
"Erm, maybe," said Elphaba. "See, I was wondering if I could pay you to teach me guitar."
He paused and really looked at her.
"I kinda gave up on advertising lessons," he said. "But I suppose. Mondays are usually best for me. I sing here and write my songs, but I can take an hour or two. Do you play any other instruments?"
"Piano," she said, wiggling her fingers.
"Alright, then," he said. "I think we can work something out Miss…"
"Elphaba," she said.
"I'm Bo," he said.
Minimum wage was $1.15 an hour and he would be taking time out of his day…
"So, if I come back and offer five dollars an hour for a lesson, would that work?" she asked.
He spluttered on his coffee.
"Uh… yeah!" he said. "That'd be great! Open with that and I wouldn't say no."
"Then I will see you next Monday, Bo," she said. "Thank you for your time. I'd better go, I'm going to a roller derby."
"I've never been to one of those," he said keenly. "Where's it at?"
"I don't know," said Elphaba. "I'm on my way to meet the girls at the rink. Maybe you could come too and see?"
"Yeah, alright!" he said and packed up his things. "Nothing like a good event to inspire the creative juices."
And he wouldn't remember any of it.
Well, maybe this was the key.
They made it to the rink right at five. There were a few customers waiting to skate while five girls in matching uniforms skated around the rink. The fifth, a human girl, didn't seem to be all that much better at skating than Elphaba.
Though their uniforms were the same, white tops with short green sleeves and a green star on the chest with short-shorts that were sparkly green with silver zig-zags up the sides, they each wore different roller skates designed to mold to their different feet. In addition to Darla and Zulia, there was another human girl and a Black Bear.
"You'll have to do, Lor," said Darla. She spotted Elphaba and smiled, coasting over to her. "Hey! Oh, you brought a friend."
"This is Bo," said Elphaba. "Alright if he tags along?"
"Sure! I've seen him around here, it's been a while."
"Yeah, haven't had much time anymore," said Bo.
"So, ready to see a real roller derby?"
"I am," said Elphaba.
"Great!" she dropped her voice. "And maybe I can work with you to be our replacement." She returned to a normal volume. "Come meet the others."
Elphaba was introduced to the other team members, Odalia the Human and Honeydew the Black Bear. Lor was Odalia's younger sister and was clearly only there as a favor. They both had Vinkun tattoos on their hands, though instead of diamonds like Fiyero had, theirs were intricate, weaving up their fingers, palms, and wrists. Odalia had dots beneath her eyes and Lor had dots going down her nose. Lor was very small like a Munchkin, though Elphaba wasn't sure if it'd be polite to ask if one of their parents was one.
"Never seen a human like you before," said Honeydew.
"Neither have I," Elphaba shrugged.
They hopped on a train to Tenniken, which was only 45 minutes by rail. Elphaba was relieved to find that she could leave Shiz entirely. Why she hadn't thought to do so sooner she wasn't entirely sure.
On the way, she was told the rules of the derby and some term names. The name of their team was the Off Colors because they were such a different blend of people and tended to be the underdog group.
"We're getting better though," said Darla. "We just need a fifth who doesn't flake out on us."
The train stopped and Elphaba automatically grabbed the handles of Bo's wheelchair.
"Ow!" she pulled her hands back and saw he had wrapped barbed wire around his handles.
"Well, why are you touching my chair?" he demanded crossly.
"I… I'm sorry, my sister usually needs me to push her. She gets fatigued easily."
He softened. "Ah, I guess I can forgive that."
They hurried off the train and Odalia brought out her emergency kit, wrapping Elphaba's hands.
"I'm sorry for grabbing your chair," said Elphaba. "I should know better. Nessa hates when people aside from me touch her chair, too."
"We'll call it even," said Bo.
The arena wasn't far from the train station. In fact, it was situated under a wide set of tracks that led to other parts of Oz. It was crowded with people, humans and Animals alike, many wearing the colors of the team they were rooting for. On the ride there, Elphaba and Bo had their faces painted in silver and green. Well, Bo got green. The green would have been redundant for Elphaba.
"Okay," said Darla by the snack stand. "We'll meet you here after."
"Good luck," said Bo.
Elphaba didn't often get to have street food and Gillikin street food was different than the street food in Munchkinland, which was mostly corn based. This one was wheat based. She ended up with a pretzel and some kind of sticks that were called "funnel cake fries". It was sugar, so she wanted it, plus they sold fountain drinks. She carried her and Bo's food to the stands and they managed to get in the front row when a couple very kindly ran away screaming and gave up their seats.
"So what were the rules again?" Bo asked.
"Um… hit the other girl as hard as possible?"
He chuckled and took his drink from her, sipping it.
The first thirty minutes was made up of races between each member of the teams. There were six teams in total, all made up of five members. The remaining time would be dedicated to the actual derby. This seemed to be a way to get the players warmed up and the crowd energetic.
Three hours later, Elphaba had screamed herself hoarse and was wishing she was good enough to really get in there and play for herself.
The Off Colors did well, but since Lor was inexperienced, she kinda dragged the team down and they got fourth. They seemed disappointed, but knew it was better than what they hoped for with a last minute replacement.
Even so, their spirits were high enough on the way back to Shiz and Bo suggested they meet his friends at one of the discotheques in town he liked to frequent.
As they drank and talked, Elphaba realized that she had all the time in the world to become the player they needed.