Hestia the Invisible
Page 11
The committee lady looked back up and smiled. “And the winner of the first ever Service to Humankind Award is . . .” Drawing out the suspense, her eyes roamed from contestant to contestant.
Despite herself, Hestia found her heart suddenly beating wildly. What if there really was a chance that she’d won?
But then the committee head boomed, “Athena!”
Hestia felt a brief surge of disappointment. She wondered if the other finalists did too. Athena had won many contests already. Including the Temple Games a short time ago. But with her clever inventions and her wisdom and all that, Athena really had done more for humankind than anyone else at their table. This was an award she truly deserved.
Recovering quickly, Hestia turned toward Athena and joined in the cheers and applause that followed the announcement.
The committee head gestured for Athena to come up beside her to accept the fabulous golden trophy that Hephaestus had crafted with Aglaia’s help. Zeus was beaming at his daughter, his blue eyes full of delight. He was obviously proud of her, and who could blame him?
Athena accepted her trophy and spoke a few words of thanks, sounding surprised and pleased. That was one of the truly nice things about her, thought Hestia. She never bragged or acted like she even realized how great she was!
As Athena took her seat, there were new murmurs of excitement as Ms. Okto and Ms. Xena arrived, bearing the banquet dessert. Hestia jumped up from the table and went to help. The ambrosia ice cream at the top was still frozen. Her mountain wasn’t going to collapse. Hooray!
“Do I spy dessert?” Zeus roared happily. Sparks of electricity flew from his fingertips as he eagerly rubbed his palms together, but they quickly fizzled out as he patted the empty area atop of the table in front of him. “Set it here,” he commanded.
One did not disobey the King of the Gods and Ruler of the Heavens if one knew what was good for one, so that was exactly where Ms. Okto and Ms. Xena placed it.
After positioning herself to one side so as not to block anyone’s view of her dessert, Hestia chanted her flame spell. Then she flicked her fingers toward the half eggshell at the top of her meringue mountain. Instantly, the amber liquid inside the eggshell blazed to life. As she spread her arms wider and wider, the bright yellow-orange sparks that sizzled upward grew into a fountain of sparks shooting half-dozen feet high!
“Magnificent!” yelled Chef Soterides, who was seated at the same table as Zeus and Hera. Ms. Okto beamed at this. Phew! Hestia hadn’t let her down.
“It’s a volcano!” someone shouted from the side of the room as the dessert continued to sparkle high into the air.
“No, it’s Mount Olympus!” shouted someone else.
“Let’s eat!” boomed Zeus.
At this, clapping and cheering filled the room. Once the fireworks died down, Ms. Xena stepped forward and handed Hestia a knife to cut the dessert. “Well done,” she whispered. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks,” Hestia whispered back. She knew she had a wide smile on her face. So much for the fifth thing on her recipe card. Risk, schmisk! She’d done it. Check!
Asca, Aglaia, and the other students brought in stacks of silver plates and then passed around slices of the fabulous dessert as fast as Hestia could cut them. As contest winner, Athena was given the very first slice. “Dee-licious!” she pronounced after taking her first bite.
Zeus and Hera got the next two pieces, and Zeus dug in immediately. “Godsamighty, this is good!” he boomed, dropping crumbs on his tunic in his haste to devour his slice.
Other comments of approval circulated throughout the room. “It’s fantastic!” “Scrumptious!” “Divine!”
“What’s it called?” Hera asked as she discreetly handed Zeus a napkin.
Called? For a moment Hestia panicked. She’d always named her creations, but this one had been so last minute that she hadn’t thought to. Mentally, she reviewed the main ingredients that made up the dessert: chocolate cake, meringue, nectar-flavored icing, and ambrosia ice cream. And for effect, flames. Then suddenly it came to her.
“Flambrosia,” she announced quietly.
“Huh?” someone said. “What’s it called? What did she say?”
Speaking up loudly and proudly this time, Hestia repeated herself. “It’s called flambrosia!”
Hera nodded with pleasure. “The perfect name for the perfect dessert.” She paused, a forkful of flambrosia halfway to her lips. “I don’t suppose you’d share the recipe? I might like to make it myself sometime.”
To which Zeus responded wholeheartedly, “Great idea, sugarplum!”
“I’d be happy to share it,” Hestia told them. Overhearing, others began to clamor for the recipe too.
Then Pheme piped up, “The recipe for flambrosia will appear in the very first Hestia’s Home-Cooking column in Teen Scrollazine. Watch for it in next week’s issue!” The words floated high into the air in cloud-letters, letting everyone know at once.
As cheers greeted Pheme’s news, Hestia caught the spiky-haired girl’s eye from across the room and mouthed the word “thanks.” Even if she wasn’t as shy as she once had been, having a publicity person like Pheme to get the word out was a huge help!
Afterward, everybody’s forks got busy again. When all had been served—and Principal Zeus had had seconds—Hestia cut a slice of flambrosia for herself. What an amazing week it had been, she thought as she carried her plate to the finalists’ table and took her seat. Not only had she been a finalist in the Service to Humankind Award and found out how much her public hearths were appreciated by mortals down on Earth, but she’d also accomplished all five of the tasks she’d set for herself, and made a bunch of new friends.
And she would soon be teaching a cooking class and sharing recipes in Teen Scrollazine. Ms. Okto had agreed to the class as long as the students cleaned up after themselves. Hestia would miss Ms. Xena a ton, but if that lunch lady wanted to pursue a new challenge, then good for her. In fact, Hestia could hardly wait to check out the new restaurant Ms. Xena would be working at in the IM!
Aglaia had offered to help make a poster tomorrow to advertise the new cooking class. They would put it up in the locker area, along with a sign-up sheet, and see what happened. Maybe there were other undiscovered cooking talents at MOA. Regardless, anyone could benefit from knowing the basics of cooking. Like how to crack an egg.
Even after Ms. Xena left, Hestia would continue to let her light shine, just as the Gray Ladies had advised. Yes, there were risks—she could fail, embarrass herself, and so on—but playing it safe was also risky, especially when she considered how many good experiences she might miss. Life was a dish to be tasted!
Speaking of which . . . Hestia picked up her fork and took a bite of flambrosia. Then closing her eyes, she savored the sweet flavors. Mmm.
Don’t miss the next adventure in the Goddess Girls series!
Coming Soon
JOAN HOLUB has authored and/or illustrated over 140 children’s books, including the New York Times bestselling picture book Mighty Dads (illustrated by James Dean) and Little Red Writing (illustrated by Melissa Sweet). She lives in North Carolina and at www.joanholub.com.
SUZANNE WILLIAMS is the author of over fifty books for children, including the award-winning picture book Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg). She lives outside Seattle, Washington, and is online at www.suzanne-williams.com.
Together, Joan and Suzanne write the Goddess Girls, Heroes in Training, and Grimmtastic Girls series.
Aladdin
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READ ALL THE BOOKS IN THE GODDESS GIRLS SERIES
ATHENA THE BRAIN
PERSEPHONE THE PHONY
APHRODITE THE BEAUTY
ARTEMIS THE BRAVE
ATHENA THE WISE
APHRODITE THE DIVA
ARTEMIS THE LOYAL
MEDUSA THE MEAN
GODDESS GIRLS SUPER SPECIAL:
THE GIRL GAMES
PANDORA THE CURIOUS
PHEME THE GOSSIP
PERSEPHONE THE DARING
CASSANDRA THE LUCKY
ATHENA THE PROUD
IRIS THE COLORFUL
APHRODITE THE FAIR
MEDUSA THE RICH
AMPHITRITE THE BUBBLY
COMING SOON:
ECHO THE COPYCAT
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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First Aladdin hardcover edition December 2015
Text copyright © 2015 by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Jacket illustration copyright © 2015 by Glen Hanson
Also available in an Aladdin paperback edition.
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Book designed by Karin Paprocki
The text of this book was set in Baskerville.
Library of Congress Control Number 2015933169
ISBN 978-1-4814-4999-1 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-4998-4 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-5000-3 (eBook)