by Clea Hantman
Her horrifying scream threw my concentration south and my mini-tornado died, leaving me to hit the hard ground with a painful thump. I toppled over and fell deep into a puddle of sludgy mud.
Polly ran to my side.
I just cried louder.
“Era, no, no powers. C’mon, you can do this. Get up.”
“I can’t. You were right all along, this was a stupid idea.”
“Yes, but the point is, we’re here. And we’ve got to get through it, without our powers. If we don’t, we haven’t learned anything, and we have no hope of getting home. You can do this. I know you can. C’mon, let’s just go slow, at our own pace, together. I’ll help you.”
“Really, you’ll help me?”
“Well, I’m not going to carry you if that’s what you’re thinking, but yes, I will help you.”
Rats, I thought. I continued to pout.
“You really thought I’d carry you?” Polly cried.
“Not carry, exactly. Maybe I could lean on you a little.”
“C’mon. Let’s go.”
Everyone else was farther along than us. But that just meant fewer eyes to stare at us while we stumbled through the course. We trudged up the hill slowly, in unison. Each of Polly’s steps seemed to inspire me to take one of my own.
“Concentrate on the trees, Era, not on your legs….”
“Right, okay. Yes, the trees.”
“Let’s guess how old they are as we go, okay?”
“Okay, yes. One hundred sixteen.”
“Two hundred twelve.”
“Ninety-five.”
It took our minds off the pain a little bit.
“Do you think we will ever get home, Pol?” I asked. The wind had died down. It was so quiet now, we could clearly hear a little tiny finch up in this tall elm nearby.
“Yes, yes, I do. Someday.”
“Yeah, someday.”
I stopped again. I felt like I was going to cry. It was just so much. I tried to think about the trees. I tried not to think about my legs or the pain, but I couldn’t help it. I plopped down again in the dirt. I just didn’t care.
Polly gave me a little pep talk.
“Look at you, my most ‘indoor-minded’ sister is out in the mud—that shows change.”
“Yeah, but is it the right kind of change?” I was pouting, and I knew it.
“I think so. One step at a time, right?”
“Right.”
And only twenty-three steps later (I wasn’t counting or anything) we hit the top of the hill we had been climbing for what seemed like hours (but was probably only thirty minutes, thirty long minutes). We were shocked! And thrilled!
“Look, down there, Era, it’s the finish line.”
“There’s Josh! And the others! Hallelujah, I’m not going to fail! I’m not going to die!”
“Of course not, silly. Hey, if you think you’ve got it in you, we could just barrel down this hill and…”
But before she’d even finished her sentence, she was off and running, propelled by the downhill slope and the rush of adrenaline. I got it, too, and I was off.
We sprinted (or sort of hobbled quickly) directly for that line like our immortality depended on it. I threw my hands out to the sides like I was flying. I actually felt good, I felt free! Polly practically skipped. Or maybe it was stumbling, but it looked vaguely like skipping.
Down and down and around a tree and another.
Quicker and quicker.
Faster and faster.
And through the finish line! We fell into each other’s arms in the longest, squishiest hug we could find within our tired bodies.
Josh came over to congratulate us. He patted us both on the backs. And told us that despite being last in the class, we still deserved a big, fat A because we had accomplished our goals and completed the test.
And we both dropped to the ground in total exhaustion, just like that.
NINETEEN
Apollo, as Dylan, arrived at Thalia’s door nervous and excited. His time spent on earth with Thalia had possibly been even better than his time spent in Olympus with her, as himself. Even the Furies hadn’t been as much trouble as he’d expected here on earth. Although now that he’d thought about it, he realized they probably had had something to do with that disheartening camera incident.
But their tricks hadn’t worked. That was the thing. He and Thalia were too good together, too strong together, to let even the Furies get in their way. Apollo grinned, shaking off the image of the evil ones. He was eager to see Thalia again, even under this ruse. And it only flattered him that she seemed so torn over liking him because he knew deep down, it was because of him. Because she felt like she was cheating on Apollo.
He stood outside Thalia’s front door for a few moments, soaking in his life. He was three thousand years away from home, who knew how many miles, yet here he was, on the other side of a single door from his soul mate.
He took a deep breath and rang the bell.
Thalia came rushing to the door and dramatically threw open the screen.
Apollo noticed her left eye was twitching rather fast. Otherwise she looked perfect.
“Hi, you look really beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she said, grabbing him by the arm and ushering him inside. “Let me have your coat and sit down, please.”
He was nervous, but in a good way. He sat down on the cushy floral couch in the living room. She came back into the living room and sat down close to him. Real close.
She smacked her gum, loud. And then said, “So, you wanna make out?”
“What? Thalia, you’re acting weird—what’s going on?”
“I mean, that’s what you came over for, right? That’s why I invited you. So how ’bout it?”
“Wait, not that I’m not flattered or intrigued, but you invited me here for dinner, right? And what about that boyfriend you have, the one back home?”
“I dumped him. I’m all yours.”
“What? Why are you acting like this—what’s going on?” Dylan stood up, a little dazed and a little confused.
“Oh, calm down. Jeez, I know it’s you, Apollo, you can cut the Denver act.”
“What? What do you mean?” he questioned. Dylan looked scared, nervous. He began to pace (a nervous habit).
“I’m messing with you. I’ve known all along that it was you or you were he or that, well, you know what I mean.”
“You have?” he said as he threw his hands up in the air in shock.
“Yep, and I thought it was cute. And very sexy. Meow.”
“You did?”
“Yep, and I’m ready to be Mrs. Apollo, forever and eternity. I mean, you stuck it out, even when I was a mean and nasty little Muse. I am seriously impressed with your dedication.”
“You are?”
“Yes, now will you stop asking me all these silly doubting questions and kiss me?”
But he was still standing there in disbelief. Apollo had been sure Thalia didn’t know who he really was.
Thalia ran over and jumped into his arms and laid a big wet one right on his lips. It was sloppier than he remembered, her lips weren’t quite as soft, but was he really going to argue? This was the love of his life, right?
After she finished slobbering all over him, she said, “This is how I see it. You should go back home and tell Daddy I’m ready and willing. For real this time. No tricks. I’m sure Daddy will let me come home if I marry you.”
“Well, actually, no, he said if I let on to my real identity, Hera would never let either of us back in Olympus again. Thalia, I can’t go back.”
“Nonsense! Father was just trying to scare ya. I’m sure he’ll let me come home. Now just go on back home ASAP and tell him. I need to tidy up all my earth business down here, and then I will be up in a flash.”
“I think he was very serious about Hera, Thalia. I don’t know.”
“That was just an act, to keep you in place. Hera’s strong willed, but she’s not evil.
Now go home and tell Father!”
“Thalia, wait, it’s just, I realize now I rushed you before. I was thinking we should date first. It would be a great honor. I don’t want to force you into anything you’re not ready for.”
“Ready, schmeddy. Let’s get married!”
“Are you sure about this?”
“As sure as my name is Thalia, silly. Now tell Father that the girls and I will be outside under the wild cherry blossom tree at one A.M. tomorrow night. We will be ready, our bags packed. He can beam us up then. Do you got that?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“No buts! Hurry along, I’ve got lots of packing to do.”
“But what about dinner? What about my casserole surprise?” he asked.
“Trust me when I say this, you do not want to eat Thalia’s cooking!”
He sort of half laughed. He had never heard Thalia talk about herself in the third person. He didn’t really like it.
“Now kiss me, you fool!” she said, and she grabbed Apollo’s neck, pulling him close to her, and kissed him hard on the lips. Then she blew a huge bubble gum bubble. Pop!
TWENTY
I woke up on our couch, in our living room, shivering. But all the windows were closed. I couldn’t stop shaking. I was in a daze. And I could have sworn I’d heard a noise.
Oh goddess! How on earth had I fallen asleep right before my big dinner with Dylan? Could I have missed him? No, I couldn’t have. It wasn’t possible.
I jumped up and ran for the clock.
Whew. I was only asleep for a few minutes. It felt like eternity. I was supergroggy, like when you lick an ancient toad’s left front foot.* I just couldn’t warm up.
But Dylan was due anytime. I pulled myself together and threw the bean burgers in the toaster.
Funny thing was, I wasn’t even hungry. I had had this dream about eating ice cream with Era and Polly, only they were being bratty—not like themselves, but a little mean. I even felt like I had an ice cream tummy ache now. And the shivering wouldn’t stop. Dreams are funny like that.
Maybe I’ll toast the buns, I thought. I got them out of their bag and threw them in the toaster, too. I placed a hand on each side of the hot metal box. It wasn’t warming me up, either.
Huh, he was now eleven minutes late. That was odd, wasn’t it? Hmmm. No, I told myself not to be silly. I decided to get a sweater.
When the burgers were done and the buns were toasted, I put them on the plates. Surely he’d be here shortly. I’d already concocted a story about why my host parents were nowhere to be seen. I was going to tell him that they were on holiday in Uruguay. I saw Uruguay on the globe and thought it sounded like a great place to go. They were collecting seashells in Uruguay, yeah.
I went to the cold box and got out the ketchup, mustard, relish, and chocolate sauce for the burgers.
Hmmm, now he was twenty minutes late. The bean burgers were getting a little cold. I decided to just sit down and relax. I was a little nervous.
My tummy wasn’t just full now, it was also a little sick. I had melancholy belly.
Fifteen minutes later and nothing. Okay, now I was really nervous. No word from him at all. Maybe he hurt himself. Tripped and fell over a sprinkler. Or walked into a tree. It could happen. Course he probably had that helmet on. He should be fine.
Sick. Sick. Sick.
Oh, oh, oh, I heard something. I ran to the door quicker than a dwarf being chased by a giant. But nothing. I looked outside. Nothing. I walked all the way around the house. Nothing. I ran up the street, to the corner. Nothing.
Over half an hour late now. This is what Pocky calls being “stood up,” I thought miserably. He said it happens to him all the time. But why would Dylan stand me up?
This didn’t make any sense.
I really thought he liked me.
I really liked him.
I really needed to puke.
TWENTY-ONE
Three days later and a million miles away…
Apollo sat in Zeus’s chamber, his head in his hands. He felt weak and tired. The journey back to Olympus had taken a toll on his body and his mind. Once home, it was the wait that just about killed him.
“She wasn’t there, Apollo, the girls weren’t under the tree at one, not today, not yesterday, not the day before that. My daughter has once again played you and me for fools!”
“This can’t be—I don’t believe it. Perhaps this is just another one of your glitches,” Apollo boldly suggested.
“How dare you! I don’t make glitches. Just slight and slim slips. This is most certainly not my doing. Even the Furies themselves report no sign of them stirring.”
“And you believe those little witches?”
“It is not for me to question—”
“Yes! Yes, it is for you to question. They’re untrustworthy freakish finks! They are exceptionally evil and most monstrously mad. You can’t possibly believe them?”
“I have nothing that proves them to be saying anything fake, faux, or fictitious.”
“They could’ve used their own magic to keep the girls from the wild cherry blossom tree. Maybe they physically stopped the girls! Blocked their way! Put a spell on them!”
“Nonsense. That is just wishful thinking on your part, Apollo. The evidence speaks alone here, young man. If you have anything, any shred of evidence that can provide any sort of explanation, please, bring it forth now. Otherwise just go.”
“But sir,” begged Apollo.
“Nothing, then? You have nothing? I can’t look at you any longer. Do you know I have the hall reserved for your wedding already? I had to bump Pygmalion and Galatea a week from Thursday to open it up for you and my deceitful daughter. This is all most upsetting.”
“Well, I have to say, Thalia was acting strange, very oddly, on that final day,” recalled Apollo. He was shaking his head hard, trying to remember all the details.
“Oddly how?” asked Zeus, who was truly interested in getting to the bottom of this mess.
“Well, she was rather pushy.”
“Oh, please, Thalia is always pushy,” Zeus said, and threw his hands in the air.
“No, not pushy, exactly. She was very, um, how do I say this delicately?”
“Delicate, schmelicate, say it, boy,” bellowed Zeus.
“She was very impudent. She was, um, rather affectionate. She was kissy, sir.”
“That’s what you’ve got? Pshaw! If she was trying to convince you she was in love with you, wouldn’t she act that way? This is nothing, you have nothing. Go!”
“No, you don’t understand. Thalia may be bold in her manner, but not when it comes to these matters. I know her. Something wasn’t right.”
“Yes, and I daresay that something was you. She obviously is having the time of her life down there and wants nothing to do with home. She will get her wish. You are forbidden to return to earth, and she is forbidden to come back to Olympus until her attitude changes drastically. This is my final word on this matter. Now, leave.”
“But I know it, I know something was not right. Her lips, they weren’t nearly as soft, her breath wasn’t nearly so sweet…in fact, it was rather stinky.”
“Leave! At once!”
“But…”
“Now!”
“Yes, O noble and honorable and handsome sir,” said Apollo.
“Flattery will not work this time…. Apollo, don’t let the chamber door hit you in the behind.”
But it did. And it hurt.
TWENTY-TWO
“Do you want half of my banana-and-peanut-butter-sandwich?” It was Polly, trying to feed me.
“No thanks, I’m not hungry.”
“But you haven’t been hungry since that boy left town. We’re going on four days now—you’ve got to eat more than the occasional grape.”
“I know, I’m just really not hungry.”
Claire was having lunch with us, too, in the quad. “Well, you can’t possibly say no to a vegan torta with avocado, soy mayo
, soy cheese, salsa, tomatoes, and sprouts, can you?” Claire had gone vegetarian when I wasn’t looking. She and Polly had bonded over it. “Eat it now!” Claire demanded.
It was really good. But I still felt crummy.
In fact, I felt worse than crummy. The Fates were messing with me. They had played some cruel, sick joke on me. I had real feelings for some weird mortal named Dylan from Denver, but I was getting karmic payback for the lousy way I’d treated Apollo. And Apollo, I felt crazy sick over him, too. The guilt had caught up with me, and now I couldn’t move much. How could I have done this? I had two wonderful guys in my life, and I pushed one away while the other ran, and fast. I was selfish. Selfish and horrible and I deserved everything I had coming to me and more.
I would’ve, should’ve spent the last three days since Dylan stood me up sleeping, but I was too scared of what my dreams might hold. What evil punishments and weird ice cream trips they would bring. So I’d been awake, thinking, pondering what went wrong, for hours upon hours upon hours (three whole days’ worth). I hadn’t come up with much. Other than that selfish thing.
“What are you thinking about, Thal?” asked Era. I guess I had gone off into a daze.
“That dream. That weird dream.”
“Not the dream again. You’re going to make yourself crazy,” Polly said softly.
“It was just so real. I mean, you two, you said the obstacle course test was canceled. And then we went out for ice cream. What if the dream was related to his disappearance?”
“It was a dream, sweetie. You’ve got to let it go,” said Era.
“They’re right,” added Claire. “I have realistic dreams all the time. Like in last night’s dream, I kissed weird little Marc Banks and then I got on a bus with a llama.”
We all sort of smiled. Even me.
“You know,” she said, “that Marc guy can really kiss. What flavor ice cream did you have?”
“Mint chip.”
“Well, you see, we can analyze this,” claimed Claire. “Now, had you said ‘vanilla,’ I would say your subconscious was trying to tell you that you didn’t like Dylan at all. Had you answered ‘strawberry,’ I could say that you felt he was the sweetest guy that ever lived and you were head over heels. But since you said ‘mint chip,’ I’m gonna translate that dream to mean that you were mixed up about him. See, the chips represent little obstacles, aka little droplets of doubt, in a big mound of tingling, aka love, the mint.”