Aphrodite the Beauty

by Joan Holub

  Aphrodite sprayed some conditioner into Athena’s hair. “Mmm, that smells good,” said Athena. “What is it?”

  “Essence of Hyacinth,” Aphrodite replied, combing it through. “It’s the best conditioner I’ve found. Not only does it smell good, but it also leaves your hair really soft and manageable.”

  “Essence of Hyacinth,” Athena repeated. “Could you write that down for me?”

  Delighted at her interest, Aphrodite took a sheet of sparkly pink papyrus from a drawer in her desk and jotted down the name of the conditioner with her red feather pen. “Here,” she said, handing the papyrus and her pen to Athena. “In case you want to make more notes as we go along.”

  “Thanks,” said Athena, setting them on her lap. “I just might.”

  “We’ve chosen six possible hairstyles,” Persephone announced, bringing over several of the scrollazines.

  After a quick look at them, Athena pointed to a painting of a goddess with her hair pinned high on top of her head. “I think I’d like to try this style.”

  “Okay.” Aphrodite grabbed her Spell-ology textscroll from the top of her desk and unfurled it. “Use this one,” she said, pointing to a spell. Then she handed her friend a silver-backed hand mirror. Looking into the mirror Athena read the chant aloud: “Magic mirror, let me see . . . how this style would look on me.”

  As her words died away, Aphrodite touched the painting to the center of the mirror. When she lifted it again, she said, “Take a look.”

  Athena peered at her reflection. Laughing, she reached up to touch her magically restyled hair. “No good. I look like someone’s mother.”

  “You’re right,” agreed Persephone. “In fact, you could be my mother.”

  “Looks like you’re wearing a beehive on your head,” added Artemis.

  “Ye gods!” said Athena, giggling.

  “Let’s see the others,” suggested Aphrodite. After trying a few more hairstyles, they finally found the perfect one.

  “Fabulous!” said Aphrodite. “I like how the layers frame your face.”

  “Yes,” said Persephone. “And long bangs are so glamorous.”

  “You look like a different person,” said Artemis. “In a good way.”

  Athena smiled at herself in the mirror. “Thanks.” She smoothed a hand over her feathery new hairdo. Then she reached for the pink papyrus and Aphrodite’s pen, quickly making notes. “What’s next?” she asked, obviously getting into the spirit of things.

  As if it had been waiting for these very words, the makeup brush sprang out of its box again. It went to work, dusting Athena’s cheeks with a medium shade of rouge, then brushing her eyelids with a sparkly gray eye shadow that was slightly darker than her eyes. As Athena scribbled more notes, Persephone gave her a thumbs-up. “Looking great!”

  Glancing at the brush, Aphrodite nodded her approval as well. “Good job.” Its bristles curved into a smile before it hopped back into its box.

  Next Persephone began to work on Athena’s nails, filing and painting them. In the meantime, Aphrodite flung open both of her closets and pulled out one chiton after another for Athena to try on. Artemis, however, seemed to have lost interest in the makeover. After poking through all the stuff on top of Aphrodite’s makeup table, she grabbed a small glazed pot and retired with it to the spare bed.

  When her nails were dry, Athena stepped behind a folding screen painted with delicate pink rosebuds to try on the various outfits Aphrodite had selected for her. “How about this one?” she asked, modeling a chiton the color of daffodils.

  Aphrodite shook her head. “Yellow’s good on Persephone, but it doesn’t suit you. Where’s that turquoise one?” she mumbled, searching through her closets again.

  “Probably in your remote closet,” said Artemis. She was sitting cross-legged on Aphrodite’s spare bed, waxing the string of her bow.

  “That better not be my leg wax,” said Aphrodite, pulling her head out of the closet.

  “Oops, sorry,” Artemis said meekly. She set aside the little pot she’d taken from the desk earlier.

  “Remote closet?” Persephone belatedly echoed.

  “I let Aphrodite use my extra closet for her overflow since I don’t need it,” Artemis explained. With that, she dashed off to her room, reappearing moments later with the turquoise chiton.

  Athena’s eyes lit up when she saw it. She tried it on behind the screen and came out twirling.

  “Perfect,” said Aphrodite. “Turquoise looks great on you!” Digging through a drawer, she found some silver combs for Athena’s hair and also a silver belt with hammered links in the shape of leaves.

  “You look fantastic!” Persephone said when Athena’s makeover was complete.

  Busily filing an arrow tip with one of Aphrodite’s nail files, Artemis barely glanced up, but even she seemed impressed by the transformation. “Yeah, you do look nice, Athena.”

  Gazing into the large mirror above the makeup table, Athena turned this way and that, studying her reflection. “Wow,” she said. “I look . . . sophisticated.”

  The others laughed. “Just wait till everyone else sees you!” said Aphrodite.

  Persephone snapped her fingers. “That reminds me. Tonight’s Friday, right? Hades told me there’s a party in the godboys’ dorm on the fifth floor. We could go and show off Athena.”

  “Great idea!” Aphrodite exclaimed. “How about it, Athena?”

  Athena hesitated, as if a little unsure. “I guess so.”

  “All right!” said Aphrodite. She could hardly wait for everyone to admire the work she’d done on her friend. A godboy or two was sure to notice the transformation. With any luck, this could turn out to be the night of Athena’s first crush. And it would all be thanks to Aphrodite!

  3

  Party Time

  WHEN THE GODDESSGIRLS MET UP AFTER dinner, Athena’s roommate, Pandora (one of the few mortals at MOA) came too. “How did you make Athena look so fabulous?” she asked Aphrodite as the girls climbed the stairs to the fifth floor. Before Aphrodite could reply, Pandora plowed ahead. “This party should be a lot of fun, don’t you think? Won’t it be great if there’s a band playing? Hey, could you do my hair and makeup sometime?”

  “Uh, sure,” said Aphrodite. Her reply would’ve worked for any of the questions. With Pandora it didn’t really matter anyway. She was always so busy asking questions that she never paid much attention to the answers she received. As if a sign of her curiosity, her bangs, streaked blue and gold like the rest of her hair, were plastered against her forehead in the shape of a question mark.

  The party was in the common area at the end of the boys’ hall. Loud voices and laughter greeted their ears as the goddessgirls approached. But as Aphrodite led her friends into the room, a hushed silence fell over the godboys and goddessgirls milling around the snack table and perched on couches. Aphrodite was used to causing a stir wherever she went—especially if godboys were present—but this time everyone seemed to be looking at Athena.

  Staring at Athena in open-mouthed surprise, Poseidon did a double take and dropped his trident. It clattered to the floor, barely missing the lizardlike tail of another godboy, who flicked his forked tongue in annoyance at him and then scuttled away. “Wow, Athena,” Poseidon said at last. “You look really . . . different!”

  “Is that a compliment or an insult?” Athena teased, but Aphrodite noticed she was blushing.

  “A compliment,” Poseidon said quickly. “Let me get you some nectar and some chips,” he said as several other godboys gathered around to fawn over Athena.

  “How about some grapes?” offered Dionysus, a godboy with curly black hair and small horns.

  “Want to sit by me?” asked Atlas.

  Lifting one of the couches, he tipped it forward so that the godboy and goddessgirl who had been sitting on it together slid off. “Hey!” they cried as they landed on the floor.

  Ignoring them, Atlas lowered the couch. “See, plenty of space.”

 
Aphrodite couldn’t help grinning in delight. It seemed she’d succeeded in making Athena irresistible. And she wasn’t even wearing any of Aphrodite’s Lucky-in-Love lip balm!

  Unused to the increased attention, Athena seemed a bit flustered. When Artemis’s twin brother, Apollo, offered her a seat next to him, she replied, “No thanks. I prefer to stand.”

  Poor girl, thought Aphrodite. Athena could really use some pointers on how to flirt! She glanced around the room. There were only a few godboys who seemed oblivious to Athena’s charms. One of them was Hades. Dark and brooding, he’d been crushing on Persephone for weeks now. The two of them were huddled together near the punch bowl, deep in conversation. Kneeling nearby, Artemis was feeding chips to her dogs.

  “Hey everybody!”

  Aphrodite’s eyes sparkled as Ares entered the room. He really was the cutest godboy in all of MOA. A beefy godboy named Kydoimos and a squinty-eyed one named Makhai followed in his wake. “Hi, Ares!” she called out, waving to him.

  To her embarrassment, he didn’t seem to notice her. His gorgeous blue eyes settled on Athena and stayed there. “Well, well!” he said speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. “Who’s the new girl?”

  Kydoimos and Makhai laughed. But Aphrodite wasn’t so sure Ares was joking. He’d never paid any attention to Athena before. It wouldn’t surprise her if he really didn’t recognize her. As she watched him saunter over to Athena, Aphrodite got a tight feeling in her chest. Surely she couldn’t be . . . jealous of one of her best friends? Over a godboy?

  “Um, hello, Aphrodite,” someone said from beside her.

  She turned to look. It was Hephaestus, the skinny godboy Atlas had hefted over his head in the lunch line as if he weighed less than a feather pillow. Which, from the look of him, he probably did. “Oh, hi,” said Aphrodite. Hearing the disappointment in her own voice, she smiled, hoping to cover it up. “Nice party, huh?” she said brightly. But her eyes kept flicking back to Ares and Athena. What were they saying to each other?

  Hephaestus nodded. “Especially now that you’re here,” he said. Then he blushed.

  “Uh-huh, thanks,” said Aphrodite. Normally, scrawny little godboys like Hephaestus didn’t speak to her. It was as if they guessed—rightly, she had to admit—that they didn’t stand a chance with her. Not when all she had to do to make even the handsomest of godboys fall for her was look in his direction and smile. Did that make her shallow? she wondered. Once Artemis had accused her of being overly concerned with outward appearances. Uncomfortably, she remembered Athena’s question about how often she looked at herself in a mirror. Still, why shouldn’t she choose the handsomest boys when she could pick whomever she liked?

  “Want something to eat?” Hephaestus asked. “Some chips and ambrosia dip?”

  “Sure, why not,” said Aphrodite. She studied him curiously as he moved toward the table, limping slightly. He was lame in both legs. If she were being honest, he was also not very good-looking. His forehead was too high, his chin too weak, and his eyes too close together. Still, none of the other godboys were paying any attention to her right now. Tonight their eyes were only for Athena.

  “Ha!” Ares voice boomed out. “Good one, Theeny!” Theeny? Principal Zeus was the only one who called Athena that. And he was her father. What did it mean that Ares was using the nickname? Glancing toward the couch where Athena now sat surrounded by a half-dozen godboys, Aphrodite watched Ares lean in and rest his hand on Athena’s shoulder. Aphrodite gritted her teeth. Athena could have any crush she wanted, but not Ares.

  As Athena smiled up at him, Aphrodite’s stomach somersaulted. Suddenly, she couldn’t stand being at the party a moment longer. She headed for the door, completely forgetting Hephaestus and not noticing that she’d left him standing in the middle of the room, balancing two plates of snacks.

  When Pandora saw her leaving, she leaped up from her chair. “Hey, where are you going? Don’t you like the party? Aren’t you having fun?”

  Everyone heard her, of course. They all stopped talking and looked in Aphrodite’s direction. “I’m just a little tired, okay?” said Aphrodite, trying to shush her. “I’m going to my room.”

  Persephone and Artemis stared at her in surprise, but Athena called out, “Wait up. I’ll go with you!” She rose from the couch, but immediately a throng of godboys began begging her to stay.

  “Please don’t go,” said Poseidon. “You haven’t told us about your newest inventions yet.”

  “And I want to hear more about that town the Greek mortals named after you,” Ares said, his voice oozing with admiration.

  “Athens? Oh, all right, I guess I can stay a few more minutes.” Sounding only a little reluctant, she settled onto the couch again.

  Aphrodite hesitated, waiting for the godboys—especially one particular godboy with blond hair and blue eyes—to beg her to stay too. But none of them did. Feeling humiliated, she rushed the rest of the way to the open door. Unfortunately, Medusa chose just that moment to arrive with Stheno and Euryale. The triplets all had skin the color of spring leaves, but only Medusa had snakes for hair. Rattling and hissing, they coiled and uncoiled around her head forming different hairstyles at whim.

  With a little yelp, Pandora ducked her head and ran to the back of the room. The snakes gave Medusa the power to turn mortals to stone if they happened to look into her eyes. Because they were mortal, Artemis’s dogs were susceptible too. “Drop and cover, boys,” Artemis commanded. Immediately, all three hounds lay down on the floor and covered their eyes with their paws.

  Still standing in the doorway, the triplets blocked Aphrodite’s escape. “Leaving already, Bubbles?” Medusa asked with a smirk. One of her snakes lunged toward Aphrodite, flicking its tongue at her.

  Eyeing it warily, though it could do her no harm, Aphrodite gritted her teeth. “That’s right. Please move so I can get by.”

  Medusa swept her gaze over the crowd, obviously relishing an audience. “Certainly. Far be it from me to add to your troubles, Bubbles.” Stheno and Euryale cackled as if she’d just cracked the funniest joke ever.

  “Know something?” Aphrodite retorted, thinking about the time, several weeks ago, when Medusa had gotten her just desserts, “I think I liked you better as a statue!” Squeezing past the triplets, she fled the room. Tears brimmed in her eyes. She’d wanted godboys to notice Athena, but she hadn’t figured on them ignoring her! Especially Ares. This wasn’t at all what she’d imagined happening when she decided to help Athena out. How could things have gone so wrong?

  When she reached her room, Aphrodite collapsed onto her bed. But before she could give vent to her tears, her window began to rattle violently. Startled, she rolled off the bed and leaped to her feet. Suddenly, the window blew open and a strange, glittery breeze whooshed in, bringing with it a rolled-up piece of papyrus. “Art thou Aphrodite, goddessgirl of love?” the wind howled.

  Too stunned to reply, Aphrodite merely nodded. Abruptly, the breeze stilled. “The mortal Hippomenes petitions thee for help,” it said. Then it dropped the papyrus and whooshed back out the window as fast as it had entered.

  Aphrodite caught the scroll as it floated toward the floor. Unrolling it quickly, she began to read:

  Dear Aphrodite, Immortal Goddess and Champion of Lovers,

  Please hear my plea. I am in love with a beautiful mortal maiden named Atalanta. I wish to marry her, but she has vowed to take as husband only the youth who bests her in a race, and she is very fleet of foot.

  Her father, King Schoeneus, has made a law that those who lose against her shall also lose their lives. I am prepared to forfeit my life for love but would really rather not. So, I’m hoping for your divine assistance in this matter.

  Your devoted follower, Hippomenes

  Aphrodite sighed. How romantic. Ares could certainly learn a few lessons from this mortal! Suddenly it struck her that this Atalanta was likely the maiden of the rumors—the one who ran as swift as the wind. Interesting! Grabbing her bag, she
fished around in it for her red feather pen. Then she dashed off a reply on a sheet of pink papyrus:

  Dear Hippomenes,

  Your appeal has gone straight to my heart. I will meet you at the racecourse behind King Schoeneus’s palace tomorrow morning at eight to discuss your request.

  Immortally yours, Aphrodite

  After rereading her note, she worried that her tone was too informal and not commanding enough. Mortals always seemed to expect gods and goddesses to issue orders. Well, she could fix that. She added a postscript:

  P.S. Don’t be late!

  That should do it, she thought. She rolled up the sheet of papyrus, tied it with a red ribbon, and then stepped to the open window with it. Holding it loosely, she chanted the Send spell: “Blow wind, blow. Off you go. Deliver this message, and don’t be slow.”

  Immediately a breeze whisked the papyrus scroll from her outstretched hand and carried it away.

  4

  Hippomenes

  APHRODITE WOKE EARLY THE NEXT MORNING. Remembering her promise to meet Hippomenes, she climbed out of bed and dressed quickly with barely a glance at the mirror above her makeup table. Artemis’s dogs were whining next door. Usually Artemis was up at the crack of dawn to take them for their morning walk, but she’d probably come home late from the party and was still asleep. Maybe she could quiet them before they woke anyone else, thought Aphrodite.

  Going next door, she knocked lightly and then opened Artemis’s door a crack. Before she could stop them, the boisterous dogs pushed it wider and rushed into the hall, yapping and bouncing around in high spirits. Lying tangled in her bedcovers, Artemis just snuffled and rolled over in her sleep.

  “Shh!” Aphrodite tried to corral the three hounds, but it was impossible to catch them. Seeming to think it was all a game, they tore off through the hall and down four flights of stairs. “Stop!” she called, keeping her voice low so as not to wake the entire dorm as she chased after them.