The Girl Games (Goddess Girls)

by Joan Holub

  “Looks like you were right about the party,” Aphrodite said gleefully to Athena.

  “Yeah. How sweet of them!” Athena agreed.

  “Speaking of sweet, there better be food at this thing,” said Artemis. “We haven’t had dinner.”

  “It’s almost dark now,” said Persephone. “Let’s go find out!”

  When they reached the open-air domed cupola at the very top of the school, the MOA boys were nowhere to be seen. But someone had decorated the interior for the celebration—using leftover stuff from the Games.

  Pink sand had been sprinkled on the floor and a string of pink flags hung from the ceiling. Some of the stuffed animals from the relay races were perched here and there too.

  “This is sooo cute!” cooed Aphrodite.

  Where was Heracles? Athena’s heart sank when she couldn’t find him. She’d been hoping so hard that he’d be waiting for her. He wasn’t avoiding her—was he?

  “Food!” she heard Artemis squeal in delight. Athena had been so busy looking around for her crush that she hadn’t noticed the snacks table.

  Bowls of chips and ambrosia dip and a big bowl of nectar punch sat on it. There was also a huge, round chocolate-frosted dessert of some kind that was rather sunken in the middle and tilted to one side. Tiny MOA flags attached to toothpicks decorated the outside edge of the dessert.

  Athena and her friends gathered around the table along with Medusa and some other girls. “What a lovely . . . um . . . cake,” Persephone said tactfully.

  “Is that what it’s supposed to be?” Medusa asked. “Looks more like a giant deflated doughnut.”

  “I have a feeling the godboys baked it,” said Aphrodite.

  “I know! It’s a representation of the gym,” Athena guessed. She pointed to the sunken middle. “The swimming grotto is down here.”

  “If you say so,” Medusa said dubiously.

  “Where are those boys anyway?” Aphrodite asked, fluffing her stylish hairdo with one perfectly manicured hand. “They should be swarming around us by now, showering us with compliments on our fabulous performances today!” She sounded like she was only half-joking.

  Only then did Athena notice that none of the girls’ crushes were at the party. So maybe she was wrong to worry that Heracles was avoiding her. “Well, whatever those boys are up to, they must be in it together,” she said.

  The girls discussed ideas about what the boys might be plotting as they began busily snacking. A few minutes later all of them jumped at the sudden, sharp sound of the herald’s voice as he stepped onto a small makeshift stage at the far side of the room.

  Wearing his usual pompous expression, he announced, “Welcome to one and all! Gather around.”

  After everyone settled in chairs that had been set up around the stage, the herald continued, “The boys of the Academy have invited you all here to honor our MOA girls, who have just finished successfully hosting their very first Games. Let this night be a celebration of them, their hard work this week, and the hands they extended to other cultures in friendship!”

  “Yay us and all the girls in the Games!” Athena called out. A cheer went up among the girls, filling the room. When it died down, the herald went on. “And now . . . without further ado, may I present to you the phenomenal cheer team—Zapped by Lightning!”

  Huh? Athena and the other three goddessgirls exchanged puzzled glances, wondering what was up.

  All at once music blared in a dance beat from salpinxes held by two other heralds, one standing on either side of the stage. On cue, a five-girl squad slid onto the stage, their backs to the audience.

  The entire team was dressed in black chitons decorated with white lightning bolts. All five had long, wild curly hair. But some of the hairdos were lopsided. And the two girls on either end were incredibly tall and muscular.

  “Amazons?” Athena whispered to Artemis.

  “Nuh-uh,” Artemis whispered back. “All the Amazons are in the audience with us.”

  “Hit it, girls!” yelled the team leader in an unnaturally high voice. At that, the squad turned to face the audience. There was a moment of stunned silence.

  “Ye gods!” the goddessgirls shouted in unison. The squad was all boys!

  As Heracles, Hades, Actaeon, Ares, and Apollo began their comic routine, the girls and everyone else in the audience burst out laughing. The routine was full of hilariously clumsy leaps and strikingly awkward poses. But the chant the five boys had made up was actually pretty good:

  “Clap your hands,

  Stomp your feet.

  Those MOA girls can’t be beat!

  Go, blue.

  Go, gold.

  You’re a wonder to behold!”

  The boys tripped over one another, lost their wigs, and fell down a lot. At the end of their routine the pyramid they tried to form collapsed as badly as their cake had. They wound up sprawled on the floor. Making the best of it, they came up grinning.

  Athena and her friends laughed until their sides ached. After the boys took their bows, they took off their silly wigs and hurled them into the audience. Athena caught the one Heracles threw and set it on her chair. She was going to keep it in her keepsake box to remember this night forever.

  The boys were all leaping off the stage now to talk to the girls and congratulate them on their successes. Heracles barreled up to Athena but then stopped short right in front of her.

  “Missed you! X-O-X-O!” he told her, grinning broadly.

  “Me too,” she told him, sending him a deliriously happy smile in return.

  He took her hand in his. “Tell me everything that happened while I was gone,” he said. And so Athena did.

  25

  Artemis

  Saturday night.

  AFTER THE BOYS’ HILARIOUS CHEER EVENT, it was time to say good-bye to all the guests who were traveling home that night. Artemis joined Athena, Aphrodite, and Persephone out in the courtyard as the MOA girls hugged the many new friends they’d gotten to know during the Games.

  Most of the visitors were going home with olive wreaths and other prizes. All of them, even the ones who hadn’t won championships, cuddled small stuffed animals as they departed. Everyone seemed to have loved the Games.

  Artemis went to hug Skadi when she and Freya came into the courtyard. A flash of gold from around Freya’s neck caught her eye as the goddess climbed into a chariot drawn by two large cats.

  “You found your necklace!” Artemis exclaimed. “Where was it?”

  Freya’s eyes twinkled. “Remember Wen Shi?”

  Artemis’s eyes widened. “The Chinese swimmer with the baby snakes? She didn’t take it, did she?” She hated to think that any of the athletes would do such a thing.

  “No, she didn’t,” Skadi answered. “But her snakes did. Apparently they love shiny objects. Wen Shi found Freya’s necklace in her travel bag just a few minutes ago when she went to pack tonight.”

  “Since the Chinese girls were rooming across the hall from us, we figure the snakes must’ve slithered under the door to our room and helped themselves,” added Freya. She touched her necklace fondly, obviously glad to have it back.

  “Wow,” said Artemis. “Her snakes stole it? That’s unbelievable!” She heard a weird, strangled cough behind them and turned to see Medusa listening in.

  “Have your snakes ever stolen anything?” Artemis asked.

  “Certainly not,” Medusa replied, but she’d hesitated for just a fraction of a second before answering. And her snakes, which had frozen while awaiting her reply, looked a bit sheepish.

  Hmm. Artemis suspected there was more to the story than Medusa was letting on, but she let it go. She was just glad the necklace had turned up.

  The Amazon girls were some of the last to leave. They were planning to march down to Earth, camping along the way, and then sail home. Artemis was kind of surprised when Penthe sought her out, saying, “It was an honor to compete with you.”

  Her words softened Artemis’s feelings to
ward her. “Thanks,” she said. “You and Skadi were worthy opponents.”

  “Then you forgive me for hitting on your boyfriend? All’s fair in competition, after all.”

  “Well, I’m not sure about that!” Artemis exclaimed. “And Actaeon is not my boyfriend,” she confided honestly. “We’re just—”

  “Friends?” Penthe interrupted with a smile. “Naw. You like him more than that. And I can see why. He’s a cutie!” She stuck her nose in the air. “More so than most boys anyway.”

  At her snooty look, Artemis burst out laughing. “Come back for next year’s Games, okay?”

  “Are you going to have those Fancy Flying targets again?” Penthe teased.

  Artemis cocked her head and looked upward as if considering the idea. Then she said, “No—I’m thinking maybe next year we’ll use Excellent Exploding targets instead!”

  Penthe hooted with laughter and gave her a high-five. “Sounds awesome!” Then she waved bye and caught up with her departing friends.

  “Hey there,” said a voice. Artemis turned to see Actaeon standing right beside her. “Good Games, huh?” he said.

  “The best,” Artemis agreed cautiously.

  “Congrats on winning the archery championship,” he said. “And your cheer routine was amazing. That bow and arrow thing was classic.”

  Artemis relaxed, smiling at him. “Your routine in the cupola was pretty classic, too.”

  Actaeon laughed. Then it got quiet between them. His gray eyes searched her midnight blue ones. Was he going to hold her hand (for the fourth time ever)? she wondered hopefully. It was dumb to wait around—maybe she should just reach out and take his hand first. She’d lifted her hand to do just that when he spoke up.

  “There’s something I’ve been wanting to say.”

  He sounded serious. Artemis quickly clasped both of her hands tightly behind her back. Was he going to break up with her? Not that there’d ever been any real understanding between them, of course.

  Actaeon rammed his hands in the pockets of his tunic. “I . . .”

  “Yes?” she said impatiently. “Go ahead. Just get it over with!”

  “Huh?” Actaeon drew back his head as if startled by her grumpy tone.

  Suddenly she felt confused and flustered. “I . . . I . . . just say whatever it is!” she blurted out. Even if he broke her heart, she’d get over it. Just as she had with that dumb Orion.

  “Well, I—” Actaeon leaned closer, studying her face as if to determine her mood.

  But before he could finish whatever he’d been going to say, Aphrodite came up to them. She and Persephone had brought Adonis out to say good-bye to everyone, and now she was holding him in one arm.

  “Oh, for godness sakes,” she tsked, shaking her head at Artemis and Actaeon. “You two are pathetic.”

  Then she reached out and gave Artemis a little shove. It wasn’t a hard shove, but it caught her off balance. She stumbled forward—bumping right into Actaeon!

  “Sorry!” she told him as his hands flew from his pockets to catch her. “I didn’t mean to . . .” But then she stopped talking because Actaeon was bending toward her. His lips brushed her cheek. “What I wanted to say is that I like you.”

  “Yeah, um, me too,” said Artemis.

  Actaeon grinned from ear to ear. He straightened again as Heracles called him over. “See you later?” Actaeon asked as he turned to go.

  Artemis nodded, feeling like she was in a happy dream. She couldn’t believe it. She’d just gotten her very, very, very first kiss. And it was the coolest thing ever, ever, ever! She wasn’t going to wash her face for a week!

  As she watched Actaeon go, she realized that Aphrodite was still standing there holding Adonis. He was sound asleep, making a gentle purring sound. “Forgive me for the push?” she asked Artemis, her eyes twinkling. “I just thought maybe you both could use a little help from the goddessgirl of love.”

  Artemis smiled dreamily. “You’re forgiven.”

  Athena joined them, her blue-gray eyes sparkling with happiness. “What a fun day, huh?” she said, a smile in her voice.

  Adonis’s green eyes blinked open and he yawned. “What did you think of the Games?” Aphrodite asked him.

  The kitten stretched out his front paws. “Mew!” he replied.

  “I think that means he liked them,” said Persephone, who’d come up behind her. She and Aphrodite gazed tenderly at the kitten. Now that they knew Adonis could stay and they’d decided to share him, the tension between them had disappeared.

  Principal Zeus’s kitten-sharing idea had been a good one, Artemis thought. Just like “his” idea to let the girls hold their Olympics. All in all, things had turned out better than she could’ve hoped. Awesomely better, if she counted the kiss. She could hardly wait till she and her friends began planning next year’s Girl Games!