The Girl Games (Goddess Girls)

by Joan Holub

  As they headed for some targets at the end of the row, Artemis told them, “Thanks for—” She paused, unsure of how to finish what she’d started to say. Thanks for rescuing me? She wasn’t even sure Satet and Neith had known that the Amazons were picking on her before they’d come over.

  Neith rolled her eyes. “Those Amazons are all about winning. They need to be taken down a notch.”

  “Besides, we’re serious,” Satet added. “We really do want to learn from you. So show us your stuff.”

  Artemis grinned. “All right. If you say so.” When they reached the shooting line, she pulled a silver arrow from her quiver. She fitted the notched end into her bowstring. Pulling back on the string, she took careful aim at the target. Then she released her arrow.

  Zzzing! It shot toward the center of the bull’s-eye. Not bad, she thought as she watched it find its mark. But having seen some of the other archers—especially the Amazons and the Norse archer, Skadi—she knew she would have to shoot perfectly every single time to have a chance at winning Saturday’s competition.

  6

  Persephone

  Thursday night.

  PERSEPHONE SAT ON THE FLOOR OF APHRODITE’S room and dangled a pomegranate-red hair ribbon in front of Adonis. She giggled as the kitten leaped at it, batting it with his white-booted paws. She’d found the ribbon in Aphrodite’s drawer. That girl had so many ribbons that Persephone figured she surely wouldn’t care if Adonis scratched this one up.

  She hoped Hades wasn’t mad at her for blowing off their afternoon practice session. He’d looked kind of mad, though, when she’d told him she wanted to take a nap instead. Even though she’d tried to act sleepy and yawned a lot, she wasn’t sure he’d bought her performance. He could usually see through her lies like no one else.

  She would’ve liked to tell him about Adonis, but she and her friends had all agreed to keep the kitten a secret—even from their crushes. The fewer people who knew about the kitten, the better.

  It was more fun playing with Adonis than practicing her jumps anyway. He was so cute with his pink nose, his curious green eyes, and his soft black-and-white fur. She was falling in love with him every bit as much as Aphrodite was!

  “Are you hungry, sweetie?” Persephone asked when Adonis grew tired of playing. “I’ll get you some snacks.” Since there was no kitten food around, she sneaked into Artemis’s room next door and snagged a few of her dog treats. Then she crumbled them into pieces. While the kitten gobbled those down, she found a cup in the bathroom down the hall and got him some water, too.

  Adonis was so dainty, the way he picked up the crumbs one at a time and crunched them down, then lapped up the water with his little pink tongue. It was fun taking care of him like this. Almost like he was her own.

  After he was full, he curled up on Persephone’s lap and fell asleep. He was still napping there as she sat cross-legged on Aphrodite’s spare bed—her bed for the weekend—when Aphrodite returned. As she burst in the door, Persephone set aside the Teen Scrollazine she’d been reading.

  “Adonis!” Aphrodite exclaimed. “I missed you, cutie-pie!” She practically dove for the kitten, snatching him from Persephone’s lap.

  A startled “mew!” escaped the kitten. Surprised and maybe a little scared, he accidentally knocked the scrollazine on the floor and almost scratched Persephone’s leg. Aphrodite held him up in front of her face. His back legs dangled and squirmed in midair as she kissed the top of his head. “Did you miss me too?” she cooed.

  No. He didn’t, Persephone felt like saying. Instead, she said huffily, “You need to support his feet.”

  “I know how to hold a kitten,” Aphrodite said with a trace of irritation. Still, she shifted her arms to better support him.

  Then her eyes widened. “Godsamighty!” she squeaked in alarm. “He’s going to the bathroom!” She quickly set him on Persephone’s Teen Scrollazine on the floor. A puddle formed around him on the parchment.

  “It’s not his fault!” said Persephone. “He needs a cat box. With cat litter in it.”

  “Well, I haven’t had time,” said Aphrodite as the two girls cleaned up the soggy scrollazine. Afterward they bundled Adonis in a towel and sneaked him outside just in case he still had to go.

  As he scratched in the dirt, they kept a lookout. Luckily, by now most everyone was at dinner and the coast was clear. “He’s going to need some proper kitten food,” Aphrodite said.

  Persephone had to bite her tongue to keep from saying that she should’ve thought of that earlier. But really, if things had been left up to Aphrodite, Adonis would’ve starved by now! “I fed him some dog treats from Artemis’s room while you were gone. And I gave him water too.”

  “Dog treats?” A horrified expression came over Aphrodite’s face. “Those can’t be good for him!”

  Yikes, thought Persephone. From Aphrodite’s reaction, you’d think she’d tried to poison Adonis! “They won’t kill him,” she said stiffly. “But if you’re going to the Supernatural Market, don’t forget cat litter, too. Want me to watch him while you go shopping?”

  Now that the kitten had done his business, Aphrodite wrapped him up in the towel again, leaving an opening for air to get in. “No, I think I’ll take him with me. So he can try some of the different chow they sell. So I don’t buy something he doesn’t like.”

  “Uh-huh.” Persephone had a feeling the real reason was that Aphrodite didn’t want to leave her alone with the kitten again. Since neither girl was willing to leave Adonis with the other, they both decided to go.

  The market was beyond the sports fields. To avoid anyone who might be out practicing late, they skirted the fields by a wide margin. They didn’t want anyone asking questions about the bundle Aphrodite was carrying.

  When they were almost to the market, Persephone elbowed Aphrodite’s arm. “Uh-oh. Pheme alert,” she whispered, nodding toward the orange-haired girl just leaving the store. She was carrying an issue of Teen Scrollazine that she’d probably just bought. Pheme always made sure to get the newest scrollazines, so she could learn the best bits of celebrity gossip before anyone else.

  “Oh, great,” said Aphrodite. “The nosiest girl in the whole Academy!”

  Before they could hide, Pheme spotted them. “Yoo-hoo!” she called out. “What’re you up to?” As usual, her words puffed from her lips to form little cloud letters above her head.

  “Nothing much,” said Persephone, trying to sound as if that were true. In fact, her heart was beating faster than the wings on a pair of magic flying sandals.

  Pheme’s eyes, which rarely missed anything, went straight to the lumpy towel Aphrodite was holding. “Whatcha got there?” she asked.

  “You mean this old towel?” said Aphrodite, as if she hadn’t even realized she was holding it. “I just . . . um . . . found it. Somebody must’ve dropped it. Probably one of the girls practicing for the swimming event.”

  “I’m going past the laundry on my way back to MOA. Want me to drop it off?” Pheme reached for the towel.

  Aphrodite twisted away from her in alarm. “Don’t touch it!” she yelled.

  Startled, Pheme drew back. “Okay, okay. I won’t.”

  The towel started wiggling. “Mew, Mew.”

  “Achoo! Achoo!” Persephone fake-sneezed to cover the kitten’s meows. “Allergies,” she explained. Taking Aphrodite’s arm, she steered her toward the market’s door. “That’s why we’re here,” she called back over her shoulder to Pheme. “To get some herbal medicine. See you later!”

  Giving the two of them a puzzled look, Pheme then shrugged and started back toward the Academy.

  “Phew,” said Aphrodite, giggling. “That was close.”

  “No kidding,” Persephone agreed, joining her laughter. Inside the Supernatural Market the girls bought some kitten chow and kitty litter. Since they hadn’t had dinner, they also got some snacks to share on the way home. Then they hurried outside again.

  They’d worried that Pheme might chang
e her mind and decide to wait for them, but when they came out, she was nowhere in sight. “Do you think she’ll forget about the towel incident?” Aphrodite asked anxiously as they started back to the Academy.

  Persephone couldn’t help smiling at her choice of words. Aphrodite liked to call any troublesome event an “incident,” even something as serious as the Trojan War! Which Aphrodite had accidently helped start. Fortunately, they made it back to the dorm room without further “incidents.”

  Persephone had hoped Aphrodite would offer to let her carry Adonis part of the way, but she didn’t. And when the girls crawled into bed to sleep, Aphrodite tucked Adonis in with her.

  In the middle of the night Persephone woke to the sound of the kitten’s meows. She sat up. He was sitting on the floor. Somehow he’d managed to tumble out of Aphrodite’s bed. Persephone slid out of her bed and picked him up.

  “Huh? Wha?” Aphrodite mumbled.

  “Shh,” Persephone whispered. “Go back to sleep.” She was relieved when Aphrodite rolled over and did just that.

  “Sweet Adonis,” Persephone cooed, as she tucked the kitten in with her. “You can sleep with me. I’ll take care of you.”

  7

  Aphrodite

  Friday morning.

  WHEN APHRODITE WOKE THE NEXT MORNING, she looked for Adonis under her red-velvet comforter. He wasn’t there! Or on the floor, either. Was he hiding somewhere?

  She hopped out of bed and hunted for him, opening drawers and digging through her closet. She tried not to make too much noise since Persephone was still asleep.

  “Here, kitty, kitty,” she called softly. “Where’s my sweet kitty?” But Adonis didn’t make a peep. Or a meow.

  Aphrodite’s heart began to hammer in her chest. What if Persephone had gotten up to use the bathroom down the hall during the night and left the door open? Adonis could have escaped. He could be lost again! Trusting Persephone to take care of the kitten was a mistake. Yesterday, she’d fed him dog food!

  Just then Adonis peeked out from under Persephone’s covers, looking sleepy. “So there you are!” Aphrodite whispered. Relief flooded through her as she scooped up the kitten. Making sure she supported his back feet this time, she cuddled him to her chest.

  “How did you end up in Persephone’s bed?” she asked him, though she could guess the answer. It was obvious, wasn’t it? Persephone had waited until Aphrodite had fallen asleep, and then she’d stolen Adonis.

  Well, if Persephone wants a kitten, she should get her own, thought Aphrodite. Because I found Adonis yesterday, so he belongs to me!

  While Persephone went on sleeping, Aphrodite poured some kitten chow into a small saucer for Adonis. Then she sneaked down the hall to the bathroom and refilled his water bowl. She nearly spilled it when she turned from the sink, however. Because Pandora was standing in the doorway!

  “Uh, Persephone gave me a plant,” Aphrodite blurted out, in case the girl was wondering about the bowl. “It looked a little dry, so I thought I’d better water it.” Since Persephone, like her mom, took a special interest in flowers and plants, Aphrodite’s made-up story wasn’t all that farfetched.

  “Huh?” Pandora mumbled as she ran a hand through her tousled hair. Her bangs immediately snapped back into the shape of question marks on her forehead. Then she yawned and shuffled toward one of the stalls.

  Phew! Close one, thought Aphrodite. When she got back to her room, she set down the bowl of water, and Adonis lapped some up. While she was watching him, Aphrodite’s stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten a real dinner last night.

  She got dressed, then glanced over at Persephone. Should she wake her? They could take turns going to the cafeteria and watching Adonis. No. She didn’t want to leave Adonis with Persephone. That girl was getting too possessive of the kitten for her own good—too possessive for Aphrodite’s good, anyway!

  Besides, Adonis was getting the same look on his face as he’d had last night, right before he’d made a puddle on her scrollazine. Ye gods! She’d forgotten to get a box for the cat litter she’d bought last night.

  “Wait! I’ll take you outside,” she told the kitten, crossing her fingers that they’d make it before there was another accident.

  Wrapping him in a towel hadn’t been such a great idea, so she reached in the back of her closet and grabbed the first thing she found that might work as a carrier. It was a huge woven bag that she’d forgotten she even had. She halfway recalled buying it on impulse months ago, but she’d never used it, for some reason.

  Quickly, Aphrodite stuffed a pink, heart-shaped bed pillow into the bottom of the bag to make it nice and comfy. As she gently set Adonis inside, Persephone snuffled and rolled over, but she didn’t wake up. The kitten mewed softly and then curled up on top of the pillow.

  Holding the bag, Aphrodite hurried down the hall and then took the marble staircase, checking on the kitten every few steps. Once outside the Academy, she ducked down a trail and let the kitten out. Just in time! As the kitten did his business, she studied the bag she’d brought him in.

  Hmm. She didn’t remember the floppy poppy-flower decoration on the front being quite so enormous. Or quite so bright yellow. But the bag was big and its weave was loose. Plenty of air would reach Adonis as she carried him inside. The bag made an excellent kitten carrier, she decided.

  When Adonis was ready, he went back in the bag and curled up on the pink pillow again. “Good boy,” Aphrodite told him. She carried him back up the trail, crossed the courtyard, and was soon inside the Academy again.

  Aphrodite glanced toward the cafeteria. She was starving. It seemed dumb to go all the way upstairs to her room just to put Adonis inside. Besides, then Persephone would probably tuck him into her bed again.

  “Try to be as still as a mouse,” she whispered to Adonis as she pushed through the cafeteria door.

  The cafeteria was packed with MOA students and some of the girls who were visiting. The sounds of their chatter and laughter filled her ears. All that noise combined with the banging of trays and the clatter of silverware would surely drown out any sounds Adonis might make, she decided. Seeing Athena already at their usual table, she headed there.

  Athena’s eyes rounded at the sight of the bright, floppy poppy bag Aphrodite set on the table. “Hi. Um. Nice bag,” she said doubtfully.

  Aphrodite nodded. “Yeah. It’s purr-fect, don’t you think? Mew-velous, in fact.”

  Athena’s puzzled look suddenly changed to one of understanding. “Oh no!” she exclaimed. “You brought him here? Are you crazy?”

  “No, just hungry. And we were out for his bathroom break, so . . .”

  “Can he breathe in there?” Athena whispered.

  “He’s fine. Will you keep an eye on him while I grab something to eat, though?” She slid the bag in front of Athena. Athena nodded, clutching the bag and glancing nervously around as if she expected someone to try to peek inside it at any moment.

  As Aphrodite got a tray and went to wait in the breakfast line, Ares left his table and ambled over to her. “Hey,” he said, coming up behind her. Pushing a lock of her shiny golden hair behind one ear, she smiled up at him. Then she craned her neck to see the breakfast choices. Hmm. Should I have oatmeal with nectar or ambrosia cakes or . . .?

  “Up for one last practice before the eliminations this afternoon?” Ares asked.

  “Um, no, I’m good,” she told him, only half-listening. She was so preoccupied with thoughts of food and kittens that for once she hardly noticed how handsome he was, how tall and how blond.

  In fact, now that she had Adonis, she wasn’t quite so interested in the race, either. Oh, she still planned to do her best, but she wanted to spend as much time with her kitten as possible. Especially since she wanted him to bond with her, not Persephone!

  “You may be ‘good,’ but you could be better with more practice,” Ares joked. “And we want you to ace today’s elims and actually make it to the Olympics on Saturday, right?” He held up
a hand to knuckle-bump her shoulder, but just then she reached for a plate of hambrosia and eggs that the eight-armed lunch lady held out, and he missed.

  “Yeah, I guess.” Aphrodite slid the plate onto her tray just as Artemis walked into the cafeteria with her three dogs right behind her. Immediately the hounds perked up and bounded toward the girls’ table. Ye gods! Had they smelled Adonis?

  “Well, how about if we just hang out? We can talk about the fine points of the perfect stride.” Ares was saying. “Maybe—”

  “Sorry, gotta run,” Aphrodite told him in a rush. “Later.”

  He sent her a puzzled frown as she clutched her tray and dashed off. She would’ve liked to explain about the kitten. But she and her friends had agreed to keep him a secret. And, anyway, there was no time. She needed to rescue Adonis from those big, drooly kitten-sniffing dogs!

  8

  Athena

  Friday morning.

  ATHENA WAS HUGGING THE UGLY BAG AND peeking inside now and then to check on the kitten when Artemis’s dogs raced over. They skidded to a stop in front of her table and immediately began to push their noses at the bag.

  “Shoo!” Athena hissed, shoving them back. “Get away!” But the dogs wouldn’t budge. In fact, they just became even more kitten crazed. The beagle began to bay at the bag. “Aroo!”

  Noisy conversations and the clatter of dishes weren’t enough to drown that out! Students all around her began to turn toward the goddessgirls’ table. Everyone was staring. The dogs jumped up and down in excitement, jostling her from every angle.

  Ten minutes ago she’d been minding her own business, eating oatmeal and nectar. How had she gotten into this mess?

  “Down, boys! Sit,” Artemis commanded as she raced over. Wagging their tails, the dogs obeyed, but they kept their greedy pooch eyes fixed on the bag.

  Aphrodite plopped down her tray, reaching the table at the same time as Artemis. “Is Adonis okay?” she gasped.