Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked and I never will. :(

Elphaba Thropp was walking down the hallways of Shiz University. She kept her head up, despite all the cruel insults her fellow students flung at her:

"Hey, Artichoke!"

"Look, it's not every day you see a walking tree!"

"Hi-i, green girl."

Elphaba ignored their remarks and kept walking. If she could only make it to Doctor Dillamond's class, she knew her friends were waiting for her there…

"Hey, Green bean!" Avaric stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

She tried to push past him. "Buzz off, Avaric. Go bother someone with a lower intellect." She attempted to go around him, but he held her wrists and pinned her against the wall.

"What's the matter, Artichoke, you steamed?" She rolled her eyes at hearing this. It was the insult that Galinda had used on her their first day of classes.

Elphaba struggled, "Leave me alone, Avaric! Don't you have anything better to do?" Her struggling got her nowhere. As he moved in closer she glared at him, then aimed a kick below his right knee. He yelped in pain as she wrenched free from his grasp, running down the hall and darting into Doctor Dillamond's classroom.

As Elphaba walked into the class, she got a host of jeering looks from her classmates. She glared daggers at them as she sat down at her desk, next to her friends Boq, Fiyero and Galinda. Her sister Nessarose was there too, but she sat at the back, because of her wheelchair. Elphaba immediately pulled a book out of her bag and began reading.

Galinda poked her in the back. "What? No "Hello?"

"Hello." She mumbled.

Boq leaned over his desk. "Hey, Elphie. Come on, what's eating you?"

The green girl scowled back at him. "Nothing!" She snapped. "Can't someone read without being hassled? I'm fine!"

Boq looked skeptical. "Are you sure?"

"YES!"

Fiyero, who was sitting on her left, turned to her and asked,

"Was Averic bothering you again?"

Elphaba shut her book, staring at him. "How did you know that?"

Fiyero shrugged. "Call it a Winkie's instinct."

Elphaba sighed. "That jerk! Doesn't he have a shred of humanity in him at all? I mean, the only thing he's done since he's gotten here is heckle me endlessly! He won't stop!" She was practically in tears.

Galinda looked at her caringly. "Elphie, what exactly did he do? I've never actually seen you this worked up about something since you first got here."

Boq smiled. "Hey, I remember that! When she found out Nessa was going to room with Horrible Morrible."

Galinda cringed. "Just the thought of having to room anywhere near fish-face is enough to make my skin crawl."

She looked at Elphaba, who was staring down at her desk, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Elphie, what exactly did he do?" Galinda repeated.

Elphaba sighed heavily. "He didn't do anything inappropriate, if that's what you're thinking. He just won't stop bothering me. I don't know what to do!"

Meanwhile, Fiyero was just sitting there, laughing to himself.

"Elphie," He said, fighting back a chuckle. "You're the smartest student at Shiz, and yet you can't even see that the solution to your problem is right in front of you!"

Elphaba glared at him.

"And what do you expect me to do, Mr. Dancing-through-life?"

Fiyero laughed.

"It's obvious!"

"Care to elucidate?" Elphaba asked cynically.

"Wha-?"

"Explain."

"Oh… Anyway, it's simple. Just use your magic!" Fiyero said, sitting back in his chair and looking very pleased with himself.

Elphaba looked at him. She blinked a couple of times, letting Fiyero's idea sink in. A wide grin crossed her face.

"Oh, Fiyero I could just kiss you!"

Boq, who was sitting next to her, raised his eyebrows.

"Ooh! Elphie's got a boyfriend!"

Galinda slapped him upside the head. "No, you dimwit! Fiyero's my boyfriend!"

Elphaba, bushing furiously, yelled at her friends.

"Oh, would you two just SHUT UP!"

Elphaba was sitting on her bed, hunched over a thick, leather-bound book. Galinda, who was curling her hair, glanced over at her roommate.

"For heaven's sake, Elphie! What in the name of Oz are you reading? You haven't looked up from that book in a whole hour!"

Elphaba looked up from the book quickly, her glasses falling down onto her nose.

"What? Galinda, did you say something?"

Galinda sighed.

"I said: what in Oz' name are you reading?!"

"Oh," Elphaba held up her book, not stopping reading. On the cover it read:

Doctor Harbinger's complete guide to spell-craft and wizardry.

Galinda rolled her eyes. "Why are you reading that?"

Elphaba, not looking up from her reading, smiled.

"I have to find the right spell for Avaric. I can't just blast him!"

"Well…why not?" Galinda asked. Putting the last curler in her hair, she skipped over to her bed and sat down, bouncing a little. "It would be fun to see you do it!"

"Yeah, but…It would only make him madder. I need a spell." She then gasped, tapping a page with her finger.

"This is it! The spell I'll use for Avaric!"

Galinda got up from her bed and leaned over Elphaba's shoulder.

"Ooh! What is it?"

Elphaba beamed.

"It's called the Invocation for the Devastation of the Hostile and Coldhearted."

Galinda whistled low. "That explains Avaric to a tee."

Elphaba nodded, still smiling.

"This is going to be great!"

Elphaba walked down the halls once again. This time, however, she was taking her sweet old time. She was expecting Avaric, since it was around the same time yesterday that she had run into him. She slowed her pace to a crawl, which was very difficult considering how she hardly ever "took her time." At least while walking, anyway.

To her relief, Avaric finally appeared in the halls. Elphaba smiled to herself as she walked straight towards him, then tripped.

Meanwhile; Fiyero, Boq and Galinda were waiting in a classroom just inches away from where Elphaba had planned to meet Avaric. When they heard Elphaba fall they left the room, and filed out into the hall as inconspicuously as possible.

Elphaba had tripped exactly in front of Avaric, nearly landing on his feet. She deliberately dropped her books, sliding them across the floor. She tried to look as distraught as possible, stifling a grin that was nearly a mile wide.

Averic stared down at her, smirking nastily.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? The green bean's decided to drop by."

Elphaba remarked, as planned.

"Go die in a hole, Avaric!"

Avaric sneered. "What, and miss a chance to push you in one instead? Never!" He leaned down, grabbing her arm forcefully, and whispered in her ear,

"I've always wondered that if I pushed you in a hole, would you sprout leaves and grow into a tree. Want to find out?"

That was about all Elphaba could take. She gestured over to her friends, who ran over to help. Fiyero tapped Avaric on the shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?" He asked. Before Avaric could reply, Fiyero punched him in the nose. Avaric stumbled backwards, and Boq and Galinda pinned him to the floor. Elphaba stood over him, smiling smugly.

"How does it feel when the tables are turned? Huh, Averic?"

Averic struggled, but Elphaba held her hands out in front of her. Waving them in front of her, they began to glow as she recited something inaudible under her breath. A wispy green fog filled the hallways as Elphaba continued reciting. When she finished, the magic fog subsided.

Galinda looked mildly worried. "We lost hold of him!" She announced.

Elphaba smiled cleverly. She bent down to ground level, and picked up a small worm wriggling on the ground.

"Got him!" She said, holding the now-Worm Averic in her hand like a prize.

Fiyero, Boq and Galinda burst out laughing.

"You did it Elphie!" Galinda cheered. "You did it!"

Boq looked concerned. "What'll we do with him now?"

Elphaba smiled.

"Don't worry. The spell is only temporary. It lasts about forty-eight hours. 'Till then, let's have some fun with him."

"Elphie, you are positively wicked." Fiyero said, taking Worm-Averic from her.

Elphaba cackled. "I try my best."