fandomhighdorms | Fifth Floor Common Room, Monday evening

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Fifth Floor Common Room, Monday evening

Bruce had been planning on going to the common room and watching History International (since the regular History Channel was far too focused on reality programming, which just seemed silly since historical programming was about as real as you could get, thank you very much). Instead, the TV decided to work against him again. It was stuck on Dancing With the Stars. When Bruce tried to change the channel, the audio switched to the Spanish track.

It was going to be one of those nights, wasn't it?

[OOC: I'm not watching DWTS, nor do I know if it has a Spanish dub. But let's ignore both of those facts and just go with the idea that 'celebrities' are dancing on TV in Spanish and say, hey, open CR!]

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"They aren't very good dancers," Elphaba remarked on her way into the common room. "The guests are gone now, right?"

She barely didn't add the snarky 'So it's safe for me to come out?'

"Unless there's a couple hiding somewhere," Bruce said. "But if there are, they aren't on this floor."

"Good," Elphaba said. "Then I won't be disturbing anyone." There was a bit of sarcasm, there. "I hope you're protecting your brain."

She started poking about the kitchen for an apple.

"I always try to, just in case," Bruce joked. Yes. Joked. Really. ~~No, not really.~~ "But I get the feeling I'm missing something."

"Oh, the TV rots your brain, haven't you heard?" Elphaba joked. Mostly. "I originally thought it was just a saying, but after seeing enough of those programs I think it's not too far from the truth."

She found her apple and moved closer so they could converse properly.

"I've heard it, but I don't believe it. There's plenty of mentally stimulating shows if you know where to look," Bruce said. What was currently on wasn't one of those programs, granted. "But what's this about you disturbing people?"

Elphaba gave Bruce a little skeptical look. "I had it very well explained to me that many parents wouldn't wish to see the school's more... unique students."

"Somebody had a humanoid lobster visiting as a guest," Bruce said. "And I think he was a doctor. I guarantee that would be more distressing than green skin. And if anyone didn't properly prepare their family, that's their own fault."

Elphaba's expression changed to a little smirk. "You're very clever," she said. "I suppose my weekend of reading quietly in my room was unnecessary, then."

"Probably," Bruce said. "That said, I can't really object to your weekend. Once in a while, I need a weekend like that."

"Oh, I can't really complain," Elphaba admitted, honestly. She took a bite of her apple. "If I'm honest, I didn't do it for the benefit of people's precious parents, really."

"Then why did you do it?" Bruce asked.

"Because I expected gawking," Elphaba said. "And while I know it's something I'll have to get used to again when I return to Oz, I didn't want to be quite reminded of how that feels yet."

She shrugged, then took another bite of her apple.

"I can understand that," Bruce said. "But next time, remember that you're far from the only student here who doesn't fit in with the most traditional human look."

"Also, I don't think I've ever introduced myself. I'm Bruce."

"Elphaba," she introduced, giving him a polite nod. She knew very well she wasn't the only one. It was because of Jono and Kurt's story that she'd felt a little obligated to stay inside over the weekend.

"You must have been at this school for some time," she said. "Or you come from a place where my skin isn't uncommon. You barely reacted at all."

"Since January, and no, I've only met people with more traditional skin colors back home. Well, I met a demon in my world once, but that was after I'd already been in Fandom," Bruce said. "I'm just accepting of what this world is. There's no point in being surprised by something like green skin past maybe the first week."

Or, if you were Bruce, you realized that things were strange before you even got on the shuttle to the school and made sure you were ready for whatever people threw your way once you got here. He realized he was a rare case.

That actually matched Elphaba's experience rather closely.

"You know, I'm suddenly very interested as to how you met a demon in your world," Elphaba said.

"I was learning about magic with a tutor," Bruce said. "A ghost from Victorian times stole an artifact from my tutor's office, so he summoned a demon with whom he was familiar to help get the artifact back."

That was largely the truth.

"That was the first time I witnessed magic of any sort in my world."

"Your tutor summoned a demon," Elphaba said. "Are you... a bad witch?"

It was a clunky question, but one she felt the need to ask.

"... No, I'm not," Bruce answered. "I don't do magic. I was learning about it. My tutor is just resourceful. He knew of a demon bound to serve good, so he summoned that one."

Or it was bound to his tutor, and their collective mission was to fight an evil witch. Close enough.

"Then you are quite lucky to have such a well learned and powerful tutor," Elphaba said. "Your family must be quite influential at home. Or at least rather rich."

"The 'Wayne' name does carry some weight," Bruce said, avoiding specifics. "But my tutor appreciated my want to learn more than he would appreciate a big payday."

"So you actually have an interest in studies," Elphaba said, chewing her apple a bit between sentences. "That's actually rare from what I've gathered from our classmates. I suppose I should applaud you."

"You'll get a lack of dedication in a lot of schools," Bruce said. At his last school, that was the guy who got kicked in the face a lot. His last school was a dojo, of course. He never quite figured out how to dodge fast enough. "But you might be surprised by how many people are serious about it."

"I'm sure it'd be easy to surprise me," Elphaba said. "And it'd be a pleasant surprise. But I think most people our age have other priorities."

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Fifth Floor Common Room, Monday evening

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