Aphrodite the Fair

by Joan Holub

  • • •

  “What did you and Eris talk about last night after the party ended? The game? The trophy?” Athena asked Aphrodite at lunch. Artemis and Persephone raised their eyebrows at her questions. Morning classes had flown by, and now all four friends were at their usual table in the cafeteria.

  Why did Athena sound so anxious? Aphrodite wondered. Was it just curiosity about Eris? Or something to do with that trophy? Her own desire to win it spiked up a notch as she realized Athena still wanted it too. She didn’t really like feeling competitive with one of her very best friends like this, though.

  She set down the carton of nectar she’d been sipping. “I didn’t actually get a chance to talk to her much. She went to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. And she was up and out of my room this morning before I was even dressed.”

  Athena’s shoulders seemed to relax a little at this news.

  “So she stayed the night with you?” Persephone asked Aphrodite, her green eyes blinking. “I thought she was only here for the party.”

  “After you left, Principal Zeus told her she could stay on till after dinner today,” Artemis informed her.

  “Long enough to finish last night’s game,” added Athena. She and Aphrodite glanced at each other warily, then both of them looked away.

  “Wonder where she is now?” Artemis shifted the bow and quiver of arrows strung over her back and glanced around the room.

  “ATTENTION, STUDENTS!” a voice boomed out just then. Everyone in the cafeteria jumped at the sudden command.

  “Ah! Question answered,” Artemis murmured, taking a bite of her nectarburger.

  All eyes turned toward Principal Zeus as he strode to the middle of the cafeteria. Eris was at his side, her apple trophy bag clutched tightly to her chest.

  “Somebody looks happy,” Persephone murmured.

  She was right. Eris was beaming brighter than Helios the sun god’s golden chariot. Did that mean what Aphrodite thought it meant? Could Eris have won Zeus over so quickly?

  Zeus’s gold bracelets flashed as he crossed his muscular arms over his massive chest and planted his feet wide. “Last night I began going over your semester-end grades,” he called out to students in a thunderous voice. “And I finished the job this morning.” He frowned, and his bushy red eyebrows jammed together. “Except for a few notable exceptions, your results were less than stellar. In fact, they were dismal.” His piercing blue eyes swept the crowd as he paused to let this disastrous news sink in.

  No one dared breathe a word as he finally went on. “I have to say, I’m SERIOUSLY disappointed in you all. Mortals look up to us. This Academy has STANDARDS to uphold. Standards of the absolute highest, and–”

  As he continued to drone on about MOA’s standards and the importance of meeting them, Aphrodite peeked over at Athena. Her shoulders were slumped, and she was looking really upset. Almost as if she believed herself personally responsible for everyone’s awful grades. For Athena, slacking off would mean getting a mere A on a paper or test instead of her usual A plus!

  Persephone nudged Athena. “Not your fault,” she whispered with a sympathetic smile. Aphrodite nodded, but Athena was looking the other way and didn’t notice her show of support.

  Lightening up a little now, Zeus was saying, “Though hugely disappointed at your results, I’ve decided to give you all additional time to bring those grades up before taking any sterner measures.” Out of the corner of her eye, Aphrodite saw him shoot Eris a sidelong glance. “And I have a plan to help assure your success. A ‘friendly competition’ between two teams to see who can earn the best grades by the end of the next two weeks!”

  Dead silence filled the cafeteria for a few seconds. Then Eris piped up. “It’ll make learning more fun. Promise!”

  Hmm, thought Aphrodite. She’d bet her best pink chiton (the one that Eris happened to be wearing), that Zeus’s success plan had come from Ares’s sister! When he heard an idea he liked, it could be pretty easy to convince him that he’d thought it up in the first place. Had Eris figured that out?

  “As team leaders, I’ve chosen two Hero-ology students who recently succeeded in leading the great hero Odysseus safely home to his family,” Zeus continued. Electric sparks shot from the ends of his fingers as his arm swung out, causing the students nearest him to duck. He pointed toward Aphrodite and her friends’ table.

  “One team will be headed by Theeny, my most favorite daughter in the whole wide universe. And the other team by Aphrodite!” Zeus boomed.

  Aphrodite sat bolt upright, startled to hear him name her as the second team leader. Athena had been mainly responsible for guiding Odysseus home. All Aphrodite had done was work at keeping his wife, Penelope, safe from suitors until he could get back to Ithaca. Because, thinking Odysseus was dead, the suitors had wanted to marry Penelope and take over Odysseus’s estate.

  Hmm. Eris was grinning from ear to ear now. Aphrodite had a funny feeling that the choice of team leaders had been her idea as well! But why?

  “There will be prizes galore for the team that wins,” Zeus promised. “As for the losing team, they will have to act as servants to the winning team for one entire day!”

  As the students whooped their approval of the competition prizes, Eris held her black bag high. “And a special prize will go to the winning team leader!” she called out.

  She must mean the trophy, Aphrodite thought. Picturing the lovely golden apple at its top, a small spark of yearning flamed brightly inside her and she wished she could see it and hold it right now. She saw a similar spark in Athena’s eyes.

  As for Eris, she seemed oblivious that Zeus had begun scowling at her. She really should be more careful about making such comments, thought Aphrodite. He didn’t like to be upstaged. Catching her eye just then, the girl winked at her. Then she lowered the bag to her side.

  Clank! Athena had finished her ambrosia salad and had begun to stack her dishes on her tray with a little more force than necessary. “What did that mean?” she demanded suspiciously. “That wink.”

  Aphrodite spread her hands, feeling defensive. “I don’t know. She told me she wants to go to MOA. Maybe she thinks this competition is her ticket in.”

  Persephone tilted her chin in thought. “I wonder if this new contest idea of Zeus’s could actually be her idea.”

  Aphrodite nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”

  “Probably found out that Zeus was upset about semester grades and used that information to her advantage,” said Artemis, tossing bits of her nectarburger under the table to her dogs.

  Athena’s expression softened, and she smiled fondly. “My dad does love a good competition.”

  “So are you guys going to pick teams, or what?” Persephone asked.

  “No clue,” said Aphrodite. And she was a little worried that everyone would want to be on Athena’s team, given how brainy she was.

  But then Zeus announced that the two teams had already been decided. “Ms. Hydra has randomly assigned names to two lists,” he announced. After producing two small scrolls tied with ribbons from the pocket of his tunic, he called Athena and Aphrodite up beside him and presented one listscroll to each of them.

  Aphrodite caught Ares’s eye in the crowd. For some reason, he looked worried. Did he think her team wouldn’t have a chance of beating Athena’s? Her already fragile confidence wavered.

  Zeus smiled at Athena and Aphrodite, his white teeth gleaming. “I’m counting on you to do your very best to inspire your teams,” he told them. “Eris has some good ideas for the contest, and since she’s currently on semester break, she has offered to stay on at MOA to help. She’ll be keeping score for your teams during the next two weeks and reporting to me how things are going.”

  Turning back to the gathered students, he clapped his big hands together. “That’s it, then. Athena and Aphrodite will read the team assignments!” With a curt nod, he turned abruptly and strode from the cafeteria.

  “So no more Two Tr
uths and a Lie game?” Athena asked Eris.

  “Forget that. This competition will be way more fun. Isn’t it cool that I talked Zeus into naming you team leaders?” Eris told them as they untied their scrolls. “Just think, one of you will definitely win this!” She patted her trophy bag meaingfully.

  Aphrodite shrugged, feeling her interest in the trophy sag. Being a team leader was going to be a big responsibility. Athena didn’t look all that thrilled either.

  Seeming a little alarmed at their lack of enthusiasm, Eris pulled the trophy from her bag and pushed it into Athena’s hand, causing her to drop her team list.

  Hardly realizing what she was doing, Aphrodite quickly stuffed her own list into the pocket of her chiton. She couldn’t resist reaching toward Athena to run her hand over the brightly polished golden apple at its top. Just touching the trophy again strengthened her competitive spirit. Suddenly, she felt more determined than ever to win it!

  She looked at Athena and saw the same desire to win surge into her eyes. Uh-oh.

  “This is going to be awesome,” Eris enthused as she slipped the trophy back into its bag. “Of course, your smarts will probably give your team the edge over Aphrodite’s,” she said to Athena. “Your grades alone would raise any team’s overall score.”

  “Think so?” Athena was beaming. “Thanks!”

  Aphrodite felt a stab of jealousy. Her grades had always been pretty good, but even if she studied all day and all night she’d never achieve the kind of perfect grades her brainy friend Athena got. No one at MOA could.

  Nervously, she fingered the double-G-shaped charm that hung from the gold necklace that she and all three of her besties wore. The necklaces were a symbol of their friendship, only right now that friendship was feeling a little strained.

  “On the other hand,” Eris said, turning toward Aphrodite, “it’ll take more than a single team captain’s over-the-top grades to win this competition. I bet all of the boys, not just my brother, will study superhard if they think it’ll impress you. And I’ve heard that the girls look to you to set fashion trends, so if studying becomes mega-fashionable, well . . . I think you can see what I’m saying.”

  Aphrodite smiled, her confidence restored. Eris was right. With a bit of motivation, there was every reason to hope that her team could best Athena’s. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Athena anxiously biting her lip. Ha! Seemed like the sandal was on the other foot now!

  Eris quickly explained the rules she and Zeus had come up with to both girls. “Students on each team will earn points for their team every day based on grades made on quizzes, tests, projects, and reports. A’s earn fifteen points. B’s earn ten points. C’s, five. But D’s and F’s earn zilch. Teachers will report test grades each day, and it’s my job to add them up. Got it?”

  Athena and Aphrodite nodded together.

  “Hey! Who wants to hear the team lists?” Eris called out to the cafeteria.

  Everyone cheered and clapped enthusiastically. With just minutes left in the lunch period, the two goddessgirls pulled out the lists Zeus had given them. A hush fell over the students as the girls quickly unrolled and scanned their listscrolls.

  Aphrodite frowned when she saw that Ares was not on her list. Drat. That meant her crush would be competing on the opposing team. Then she discovered that Heracles was on her team. Since he was Athena’s crush, that seemed to even things up a little. Their two best buds were split up too, she noticed. Artemis was on Aphrodite’s team, but Persephone wasn’t. For a randomly designed list, it actually seemed pretty fair.

  “I’ll need a place to stay. So I thought I’d trade off with you both,” Eris told Athena and Aphrodite quickly. “One night in one room and the next in the other. Back and forth, you know?”

  “Athena has a roommate. You can stay with me, though,” said Aphrodite. It might give her an edge.

  “No! Pandora likes dogs and snakes. She won’t mind staying with Artemis or Medusa every other night,” Athena insisted.

  Aphrodite doubted Pandora would appreciate being booted out of her room every other night for two weeks, but whatever!

  “Cool!” said Eris. Then, stepping between the two girls, she put an arm around each of their shoulders. She looked out over the cafeteria crowd. “Okay,” she shouted. “Let’s read out the teams lists and get this competition started!”

  6

  Obsessed

  Ares

  A LITTLE OVER A WEEK later, Ares was at his locker after school when he overheard Aphrodite speaking in a sharp tone. He looked over to see she’d cornered Poseidon, who was a member of her team in the grades competition, at his locker.

  “You made a C on your Science-ology quiz?” she exclaimed, shaking the papyrus quiz under Poseidon’s nose. “I expected better from you. Much better.”

  “Well, I am the godboy of the C’s,” Poseidon joked. “Get it? Seas as in oceans and C’s as in the letter C?”

  The old Aphrodite would have laughed, even if it was kind of a lame joke. But not the new team leader Aphrodite.

  “Your quiz grade is going to drag our team down,” she scolded him. “And we’ve only got till Friday–four days–to win this thing. You need to shape up and study harder.”

  Looking apologetic, Poseidon ducked his head. “Okay,” he mumbled. “I’ll try.”

  “You’d better,” she told him. “There’s a lot at stake here, buster.”

  Ares shook his head in disbelief. Both Aphrodite and Athena were taking this competition way too seriously. Over the past week, point totals had seesawed back and forth with Aphrodite’s team ahead one day and Athena’s the next. Team members had stayed friendly toward one another during the first few days. There had even been a lot of joking about what kind of servant work each student would get another to do if their team lost.

  Medusa swore to get her sisters to clean her room. Iris, who had recently been named the goddessgirl of rainbows, planned to have students polish the rainbows she created, to travel on as slides for delivering messages. And Poseidon was going to get students to clean the statues in the outdoor fountains he’d designed around the school.

  However, as the second week had begun and the end of the contest approached, the atmosphere at MOA had grown decidedly tense.

  As soon as Poseidon took off, Ares went over to Aphrodite. “Don’t you think you were kind of rough on him?” he asked, falling into step with her as she took off down the hall. “Anyone would think that you are the god of war instead of me. You’re making this whole grades contest into a battle!”

  “I’m a goddess, not a god,” Aphrodite said testily. “And this is a battle. One I intend to win, by the way.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “No thanks to you!”

  Ouch, thought Ares. Guess she’d found out about that A he’d made on this morning’s Science-ology quiz. Which had increased the point totals for Athena’s team, of course. Ever since this competition had started, he’d felt torn. He was competitive himself and wanted to be a good team player and perform well for himself. And for his team and the school. But whenever he turned in a good grade on a test or a report, Aphrodite made him feel like a traitor.

  Spotting Heracles, who was also on her team, Aphrodite sped off down the hall. “Hey, Heracles! What’s this about a B minus in Literature-ology?”

  Heracles was no fool. He zoomed out the front door of the Academy before she could nab him.

  Ares joined Aphrodite outside on MOA’s front steps. She was standing with her hands on her hips, watching Heracles disappear toward the sports fields, a huge frown on her face. Now was probably not the best time to mention his sister’s earlier advice against frowning, he figured.

  “You tell your lion-caped buddy that he’d better shape up or else,” she instructed Ares, all in a huff.

  “Yes, sir!” he said, saluting her.

  “Not funny,” she said, glaring at him. “Have you seen Pandora? Oh, there she is.” Seeing the blue-and-gold-haired girl in the courtyard, she zoomed af
ter her, the next victim on her team.

  She hadn’t even noticed that Ares was wearing the new Fly like the Wind sandals she’d given him for his birthday. For now, the sandals’ laces were tied loosely around the wings to keep them still so he could walk at a normal speed. He’d free the wings once he hit the sports fields for track practice. It was time to start seriously training for these upcoming war games.

  After taking the granite steps downward, he crossed the courtyard and was halfway to the sports fields when he heard a sound.

  “Psst!” It was Heracles. He was hiding behind a fountain alongside the path. “Where’s Aphrodite? Is the coast clear?”

  Ares couldn’t help laughing. “Are you kidding me? You’re actually scared of the goddess of love?” Heracles was taller and stronger than him, even though both boys were equally muscular and Heracles was a mortal.

  Heracles straightened his lion cape and stepped onto the path, looking a little embarrassed. “Didn’t you hear her back there? Your crush can be scary, god-dude.” He gave a mock-shiver.

  “Yeah, yours too,” said Ares. “I’ve been making A’s partly just to avoid Athena’s wrath.”

  “This whole grades competition thing is getting worse and worse,” Heracles complained as the two of them continued on to the sports fields. “It’s starting to stink more than cow poop in King Augeas’s stables!”

  Ares grinned. “That bad, huh?” Cleaning up the king’s enormous stables had been one of twelve labors Heracles had had to perform before gaining a permanent place at MOA. Though Ares hadn’t been there to help, he could imagine how those stables must have reeked. P-U!

  “Don’t blame Aphrodite,” said Ares. “Eris has been dodging me all week, so I haven’t been able to ask her, but I’m guessing that this whole grades contest was her idea.”