by Joan Holub
Artemis shrugged. “If you say so.”
Nyx frowned. “I’m not a liar.”
At this Artemis and Athena exchanged a look. “Of course you aren’t,” Athena said soothingly. “No one thinks that.”
Too late, Nyx realized her social blunder. She shouldn’t have been so quick to assume she was being criticized. If she wasn’t more careful, Athena and Artemis were going to regret inviting her to MOA.
“Should we . . . um . . . let Zeus know I’m here before we go eat?” Nyx asked, trying to get back on the right foot by changing the subject. These girls seemed to view her positively, and she didn’t want to mess that up. Plus, she wanted to meet Zeus. If she saw an opening, she would try to explain the importance of night to him. It was every bit as important as day! If only she could make him understand that, he would spread the word. Everyone would believe the King of the Gods!
Athena glanced over at a closed door across the way. “Is Dad in his office?” she asked Ms. Hydra.
All nine of Ms. Hydra’s heads nodded. Her blue head clucked sympathetically. “Best not to disturb him right now. He’s taking a little nap. You know how it is with the new baby and all.”
“Athena has a new baby sister,” Artemis murmured to Nyx.
Nyx nodded, having read this news in the Greekly Weekly. She was glad that Artemis didn’t sound mad at her for her earlier remark about lying.
“One that doesn’t sleep much at night,” Athena confided to Nyx. Then she waved to the office lady. “Later, Ms. Hydra. We’re off to the cafeteria!”
Hearing this, Nyx lifted both her bag and her dome before the other girls could offer. The three of them left the office. Out in the hall, Artemis continued on about the baby. “Yeah, thanks to little Hebe, Zeus and Hera aren’t getting much sleep either. They’re kind of beginning to look like shades themselves.”
Athena nodded a bit worriedly. “I agree. They’re looking very pale and tired lately.” But then she smiled at Nyx. “When I took your invitation to my dad last Wednesday, he practically stamped that Z on it in his sleep.”
“So, probably a good thing we didn’t bother him just now,” said Nyx. “Sounds like he needs rest.”
“Right,” said Athena. “Besides, waking him could put him in a bad mood.”
Artemis grinned. “Athena’s not the goddess of wisdom for nothing,” she remarked to Nyx as they followed Athena out the door. “You know what they say: Let sleeping gods lie.”
“I think you mean dogs, not . . . oh, wait . . . that was a joke, right?” said Nyx.
“Right,” Athena said again. All three girls laughed.
Phew, thought Nyx. She’d escaped making another blunder. For now, anyway! As they made their way down the hall, she realized that she was already beginning to like these two goddessgirls. She hoped they liked her too.
Though her nervousness had eased some after meeting Athena and Artemis, it grew again when they approached the cafeteria. What kind of reception would she get from the students Athena and Artemis planned to introduce her to? Nyx worried. It would be easier if she was universally admired and appreciated. But she wasn’t, of course. Not by a long shot. Fearing her veil of darkness, which many seemed to see as something mysterious and even threatening, the majority of gods, mortals, and beasts shied away from her. Well, if the others here at MOA would give her even half a chance, she’d get them to change their minds about her and the value of what she did!
3
Ruffled Feathers
NYX, ATHENA, AND ARTEMIS HAD just stepped into the cafeteria when they ran into a boy wearing a lion-skin cape about to exit. The lion’s jaws fit his head like a helmet. Nyx gaped, suddenly feeling a little better. If people here accepted his “look,” why would they have trouble with hers?
“Nyx, this is Heracles,” Athena said. From the gentle, sweet smile she gave the boy, Nyx guessed he was probably Athena’s crush.
“Hmm.” Heracles squinted at Nyx as if trying to remember something. Then his face lit up and he grinned at her. “Goddess of the night, right?”
“Yeah. Um . . . uh . . . nice to meet you,” she mumbled awkwardly. Having lived a mostly solitary life, she wasn’t used to social introductions, especially to boys.
The girls started into the cafeteria, but turned back when Heracles spoke again to Nyx. “Did you come by chariot? Want me to take it and your horses around to the stables for you?”
“Horse,” said Nyx, nodding. “Just one. But Erebus doesn’t need any care because he’s enchanted. I only have to snap my fingers to make him and my chariot appear or disappear.” She almost snapped her fingers in demonstration, but stopped herself just in time. “Oops. I guess the lunch lady wouldn’t appreciate a horse and chariot magically appearing in here.”
“Probably not,” said Athena. When the others laughed, Nyx felt a little thrill. She’d accidentally said something funny!
“Could you take her bags up to the girls’ dorm, though?” Athena asked Heracles. “You can put them inside the door.”
To Nyx, Artemis explained, “Us girls stay up on the fourth floor. Boys’ dorm is on the fifth. Technically, we’re not allowed on each other’s floors, but we all slip stuff just inside the dorm hall doors from time to time.”
“Sure thing,” Heracles told Athena. He took the bag and dome from Nyx, and Athena smiled at him in thanks. “Later,” he told the girls. Then he started to push out through the cafeteria door.
“Oh, be super careful with that dome! Its contents are . . . fragile,” Nyx called over her shoulder to him. She had to speak loudly to be heard over all the voices in the cafeteria, plus the banging of trays and the clatter of cutlery. Her calling out drew some attention, and again she felt the curious stares of the MOA students already eating at tables around the large room.
Athena and Artemis gave Nyx a puzzled look as the door swung shut behind Heracles. “Fragile?” Artemis asked curiously as they moved toward the serving counter, took trays, and got in line.
“It’s a birdcage,” Nyx explained, following their lead and getting her own tray. “I brought my two parakeets with me from home.”
When both goddessgirls raised their eyebrows, she added, “That’s okay, isn’t it?” Had she made yet another blunder in bringing her birds?
Athena shrugged as an eight-handed lunch lady used all of her hands at once to set bowls of a steaming meat and vegetable stew on each of the three girls’ trays as well as on the trays of five other students in line ahead of them. The stew smelled really good. Hot and spicy. Just the way Nyx liked it.
“It’s just that Dad has to approve all pets,” Athena informed Nyx. “He’s kind of allergic.”
“A couple of little birds in a cage for one week shouldn’t be a problem, though,” said Artemis. “Oh, wait. We were going to have you sleep in my room. That might not work because I’ve got three dogs. They’re kind of rambunctious, and I don’t know how they’d be around your parakeets.”
“She can just stay with Aphrodite instead,” suggested Athena, referring to the goddessgirl of love and beauty.
“That should work,” said Artemis as the girls left the serving area and started toward a table. “Aphrodite and I don’t have roommates, so, like me, she has an extra bed,” she told Nyx. But then Artemis frowned. “Oh, wait,” she said to Athena. “What about Adonis?”
“That’s the kitten that Aphrodite and our friend Persephone share,” Athena explained when Nyx sent her a questioning look. “Luckily, Adonis should be with Persephone this week,” she said.
Good thing, thought Nyx as she shifted her tray between her hands to better balance it. Birds and cats definitely did not mix! It appeared that despite Zeus’s allergies, there were several pets at MOA.
“Sometimes I let Hypnos and Thanatos out to fly around a little, but they do mostly stay in their cage. Will that be okay with Aphrodite?” Nyx asked. Her question was forgotten though, as a girl with a flower tucked behind her ear and long red hair appeared beside them. It
was Persephone herself, goddessgirl of spring and growing plants. She sometimes visited the Underworld, so Nyx recognized her immediately even though she had only ever seen her from afar.
Persephone sent Nyx a confused smile, but she didn’t seem to care about Nyx’s goth look any more than Athena and Artemis had. “Did I hear you talking about Hypnos and Thanatos being in a cage?” she asked.
“She was talking about her parakeets,” said Artemis.
“Oh,” said Persephone, looking less confused now. “I thought you meant—I mean, I know two men with those same names.”
“Yeah, me too,” said Nyx. “They’re brothers.”
“This is Nyx,” added Athena. “Nyx, meet Persephone.”
“Hi,” Nyx said to the girl as they all went over to eat at the table Persephone had been sitting at before she came over. “I live in Tartarus,” she added. “I’ve seen you around the Underworld with Hades.” Hades, godboy of the Underworld, and this girl were each other’s crushes!
“Oh,” said Persephone, looking at her in sudden recognition. “Nyx! Yes, you’re the goddess of the night. I can’t believe we’ve never officially met. Next time you see me down there, you should give me a wave and come over to chat.”
Nyx smiled at the invitation. “Sure, okay.” She had always wanted to meet Persephone, but just wasn’t the type to go up and introduce herself to people she didn’t know. Normally, being pretty much a loner was fine with her. But it might be nice to talk with Persephone and some other girls her age every now and then. Like she was doing now!
“I named my parakeets after those Underworld guys—Hypnos and Thanatos,” she said to Persephone as everyone tucked into their stew. “My birds argue a lot, so they remind me of those two.”
Persephone laughed at this. “Hypnos and Thanatos are always fighting about which of them works the hardest,” she explained to Athena and Artemis.
“Even so, they’ve always been nice to me,” Nyx said quickly. She didn’t want these girls to think that she’d named her birds after the brothers to be mean. She was actually very fond of the birds and the brothers!
As her words died away, Nyx suddenly became aware that some kids at nearby tables were whispering and sneaking peeks at her. Her reception had been pretty great so far, so she was unprepared and embarrassed at all this attention. She felt the urge to flee—or at least to hide.
Uh-oh! Abruptly, the very thing she’d feared when she’d first arrived in the courtyard began to happen. She tried to concentrate on holding it back, but her shadowy defense mechanism kicked in anyway. An inky mist began to swirl around her. Within seconds, it spread over the entire room.
“Hey, who turned out the lights?” a boy joked.
But no one laughed. Even though the mist wasn’t all that dark, Persephone, Artemis, and Athena seemed momentarily stunned by its appearance, and an apprehensive murmur ran through the cafeteria. Nyx couldn’t really hear what people were saying, but she imagined it was along these lines: “Who’s that weird girl?” “What’s she doing at MOA?” “This mist is freaky!”
She was seriously considering ducking out of the cafeteria, when a beautiful girl in a pink chiton came up to the girls’ table. She had long golden hair threaded with pink ribbons. Smiling at Nyx, she set down her food tray.
“Hi, Nyx! Welcome to MOA!” she called out, loud enough for the whole room to hear. “Artemis and Athena told me you’d be coming today. Ye gods! We’re all so happy you came!” Pulling out the chair next to Nyx’s, she sat down. And just like that, the tension in the room eased and students went back to chatting with friends and eating.
Now that she was no longer the center of attention, Nyx’s anxiety—along with her black mist—evaporated. She flicked a grateful glance at Aphrodite. “Thanks. Sorry about that mist. It happens sometimes.”
Aphrodite smiled. “No problem.”
“Yeah, magic can be unruly,” Artemis agreed casually.
Relieved, Nyx ate another spoonful of her stew. “Mmm,” she said aloud. “This is delicious!”
Persephone smiled at her. “So you like Ms. Okto’s Underworld stew?”
“Underworld stew? Yeah, it’s cool!” Nyx enthused. Then she corrected herself. “I mean hot. Deliciously hot!” She spooned up another bite as the other girls laughed.
“A little too hot for me,” said Aphrodite, who was eating a salad. Between bites, she looked Nyx over as if sizing her and her fashion sense up. Finally, she said, “Your ‘look’ is awesome. I guess it makes sense that you’d like dark colors, being the goddess of night and all. But I’ve got a ton of clothes, so if you’d like to borrow anything, I could loan you something with a more vibrant dash of color just for fun. Maybe a pink scarf or belt?”
Before Nyx could think how to turn down Aphrodite’s offer without seeming rude, a couple of girls from a neighboring table came over to meet her. “So you’re Nyx?” said a girl with turquoise-colored hair. “I’m Amphitrite, and this is my roommate, Calliope.” She nodded toward the girl beside her. The other girl had long wavy red hair similar in color to Persephone’s. It was gathered in a loose ponytail at the back of her neck.
For a moment Calliope seemed at a loss for words. She was staring at Nyx as if she were some kind of mysterious and exotic flower. “Uh, hi,” she said, smiling at last.
Nyx smiled back. “Hi.” It was a small comfort to note that she wasn’t the only one who experienced socially awkward moments!
Amphitrite glanced at her friend. “Calliope is a Muse,” she said in an admiring tone. “She’s inspired tons of artists, musicians, and authors.”
“Including Homer,” Athena added, after swallowing a gulp of nectar from a carton.
“The famous author? The one who wrote The Odyssey?” Nyx said in surprise. In his book, Homer had written about Odysseus and Penelope, who in turn were mentioned in Athena and Artemis’s Unsung Hero essay. So, in a way, Homer’s book was at least partly responsible for Nyx being here at MOA.
“The very one,” Athena confirmed. Her skin had begun to sparkle just a little more brightly after her drink. Nectar was what kept the gods and goddesses immortal. It also made their skin glitter, but it had no effect on mortals.
“So do you like being goddess of the night?” Calliope asked suddenly. “Seems like it would get lonely being out and about when everyone else is sleeping.”
Hearing the question, the other girls turned toward Nyx to await her answer. Now was her chance to teach them a little about the importance of what she did. “I don’t get lonely,” she began. “I love being awake at night with the owls and the bats and other nocturnal animals. And the stars, too!”
She glanced quickly at Athena and Artemis. “It’s true that night can provide cover for acts that aren’t easily done by the light of day, like Odysseus sneaking home and Penelope undoing her daytime weaving. But its most important function is restorative.” Her dark purple eyes flashed as she warmed to her subject. “You need sleep to stay healthy. And the darkness of night promotes sleep. Without it, your mood would be affected and you could become cranky, or even sick.”
Just then the cafeteria intercom crackled to life. “Principal Zeus here,” a voice blasted out. “This message is for Athena and Artemis. Report to the office. And bring your visitor.” There was a brief pause, and then he added, “Now!” After some muffled thumping sounds, they heard him call out, “Ms. Hydra? Where’s the switch to turn off this confounded thing?” She must have come to his aid, because a few seconds later there was a click, and then the intercom fell silent.
A new black mist began to swirl around Nyx as she became nervously aware that everyone was looking at her again. She did her best to brush it away with her hands and succeeded in calming it down before it spread. Athena and Artemis had jumped up from the table with their trays at Zeus’s summons, so now she did the same. Luckily, she’d already finished most of her lunch.
“Good luck!” Aphrodite and Persephone trilled as Athena, Artemis, and Nyx heade
d for the tray return.
“Is Zeus mad? He sounded mad,” said Nyx as they walked.
“I’m not sure,” Athena replied. “You know what you were saying about lack of sleep affecting your mood? He could just be cranky because of my baby sister keeping him and Hera up at night.”
“Yeah, and besides, he always talks loud like that,” Artemis added.
Just as the girls passed a table where a bunch of godboys were eating, Nyx tripped over a dropped spoon. Her tray tipped and her empty nectar carton toppled from it to skitter behind a large column. “Oops. Catch up with you in a sec,” she told Artemis and Athena as she went to pick it up.
The instant she stooped to grab her carton, she heard one of the boys at that table say to the others, “I bet Zeus is going to send that goth girl packing. Unsung hero, my trident! What’s so heroic about the night, anyway? Now, the sea— everything about that is heroic, tidal waves, coral reefs, sand castles.”
“Yeah, but you really shouldn’t have written your Unsung Hero essay about yourself,” another godboy commented. “Because, as godboy of the sea, you don’t qualify as unsung. Plenty of actual songs have been written about you by mortals!”
As Nyx straightened, heat as red-hot as the Underworld stew she’d just eaten crept up her neck and across her pale cheeks. Glancing over her shoulder as she hurried away, she saw that the speaker who had just dissed her was the turquoise-skinned Poseidon. She’d seen his picture in Teen Scrollazine, too. She didn’t think he’d noticed her, thank godness. That would have embarrassed them both!
Cheeks still burning, she hurried on to the tray return before any of the boys at that table could look over and spot her. So she’d been right. Maybe Artemis, Athena and a few of their friends, and the teachers who’d judged the essays thought she was an unsung hero. But some people here apparently thought naming her a hero was a mistake. A feeling of doom and gloom came over her as she caught up to Artemis and Athena at the tray return.
