The Girl Games (Goddess Girls)

by Joan Holub

  “That was a terrific jump,” said Hera. After placing the very first wreath of the Games on top of Persephone’s head, she shook her hand. “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you.” Persephone waved at the crowd as they applauded and whistled. Only now did she allow herself to think about the prizes she had won. As a champion, she’d have no homework for a whole month. And she’d get an Immortal Marketplace shopping certificate.

  Best of all, a statue inscribed with her name would be erected in one of Hera’s temples on Earth. Or if she didn’t want a statue, she could choose to have a painted portrait of herself placed on a temple column. Incredible!

  Persephone practically floated over to the stands where she accepted more congratulations and hugs from her friends. Then Aphrodite put Adonis into Persephone’s arms. “Take care of him,” she said just before she, Athena, and Artemis hurried to the track. Their footrace would start next.

  “I will,” Persephone said softly after Aphrodite had gone. She hugged the kitten gently, practically melting when his round green eyes gazed up at her. Adonis rubbed his face against her cheek, purring. And right then she knew she’d give up all the prizes she’d won, if only Adonis could be hers forever.

  19

  Aphrodite

  Saturday morning.

  ARES WAS WAITING FOR APHRODITE alongside the track. It was only minutes before the two-hundred-meter race. “Now remember,” he said. “Push out fast, pump with your arms, knees high, and take long strides. Don’t worry about how you look.”

  It was all stuff he’d told her before, of course. “Do you like my new running chiton?” she asked, twirling around in her sparkly pink outfit.

  He frowned. “Uh-huh. Very nice.”

  “Oh, don’t be so serious,” Aphrodite said, playfully tapping his shoulder. “This is meant to be fun, right? That’s why the events are called games.”

  Ares relaxed a little. “Right.” Reaching out, he brushed back a strand of golden hair that had escaped her ponytail. His blue eyes softened as they looked down into hers. “But you will try to win, won’t you?”

  Aphrodite smiled. “You bet, godboy. I don’t do losing,” she said with a dramatic flourish.

  “That’s it. Think positive.” Ares encouraged. “And remember the battle plan.”

  “Right. Battle plan,” she said, smiling slightly. Who else but the godboy of war would think of a race as a battle?

  Aphrodite felt curiously light and relaxed as she took her place on the girls’ track. She stretched her legs as she waited for the race to begin.

  She’d told Ares she didn’t do losing. But really all she wanted was to enjoy the wonder of this moment. Just being here on the track in the very first Girl Games, with her friends all around her, was reward enough. It had taken a lot of planning for this to happen, and it would all be over way too soon.

  Glancing several lanes over at Artemis and Athena, she smiled and waved. Athena returned her smile, but her expression was kind of tight. Did this race matter more to her brainy friend than she’d let on? Then again, maybe she was just upset that Heracles hadn’t yet returned to MOA and so wasn’t here for her race.

  Artemis didn’t even notice Aphrodite’s friendly wave. She was staring straight ahead with the same fierce look of determination on her face that she always wore during any competition. Looking up into the stands, Aphrodite checked on Adonis and Persephone. Persephone held Adonis’s paw up, moving it from side to side in a tiny wave. If she was secretly rooting for one of her three goddessgirl pals, she’d be too tactful to ever say.

  A hush settled over the stands as the heralds blew on their salpinxes and announced the names of the runners in the two-hundred-meter race. She and the other nine runners would pass five stakes during the race: one at the start, another at the finish, and three stakes in between. She’d be going too fast to notice them, though. The entire race would take less than half a minute!

  Next thing she knew, a trumpet blew. And the girls took off!

  Aphrodite’s feet practically flew over the track. She was so caught up in the glorious feeling of her arms and legs pumping together that everything else was a blur. She had no idea where the other runners were—ahead or behind her. How many stakes had she passed? Two? Three? She hadn’t a clue. For once, she was completely focused on the race.

  Suddenly she saw the row of cute pink flags that was strung across the finish line. It had been her idea to make them pink, of course. With a final burst of speed, she broke through them. Her momentum carried her forward, but eventually her feet slowed.

  Then she turned around. Still breathing hard, she watched the other nine girls finish the race. The cheers of the crowd sounded in her ears. Cheers for her! She’d won! She could hardly believe it.

  She glanced over at Ares. He was pumping his fist in the air and beaming from ear to ear.

  There was a commotion in the stands. Her eyes rose as a row of MOA boys seated up high jumped to their feet. Each was holding a big, blank cardboard sign. At a signal, the boys all turned their signs over. Now each sign had a letter printed on it, and together the letters spelled out: WE LEVO APHRODITE!

  Huh? What was that supposed to mean? she wondered. At her confused expression, the boys looked down at their signs. Then two of them quickly switched places. Oh! Now the sign read: WE LOVE APHRODITE! She smiled up at them and wiggled her fingers in a wave.

  Seconds later Artemis and Athena ran over to congratulate her. “You ran like the wind today!” Artemis exclaimed.

  “You were incredible,” added Athena.

  “Thanks,” said Aphrodite. “I got lucky.”

  Artemis shook her head. “No way! You won because you ran faster than the rest of us!”

  Aphrodite smiled. She had, hadn’t she? Amazing!

  When Hera came forward with an olive wreath, Athena and Artemis went to join Persephone in the stands. As the crown was placed on Aphrodite’s head, she burst into tears of joy. Her ponytail had come undone, so her hair was a straggly mess. She was sweating, and she knew her mascara must be running. Yet for once she didn’t care how she looked.

  Ares was waiting for her in front of the stands. “I knew you could do it!” He gave her a big hug.

  “Ye gods!” she exclaimed, pulling away. “I’m all sweaty!”

  Ares grinned. “You’ve never looked more beautiful to me.”

  “Oh, go on,” she said. But she was smiling. Because she could tell he meant every word.

  20

  Athena

  Saturday morning.

  I AM A TOTAL LOSER, THOUGHT ATHENA. Her shoulders slumped as she and Artemis sat in the bleachers next to Persephone. Aphrodite was still talking with Ares near the track below. She didn’t begrudge Aphrodite her win. But she was sorely disappointed by her own performance. Of the ten girls in the race, she’d come in dead last.

  She reminded herself that just making it into the Games counted as a success. No one could be best at everything, and there was still the cheer competition to come. It wasn’t an individual event, but she’d still be pleased to win as part of a team.

  She scanned the crowd. “I really hoped Heracles would be back by now.”

  Artemis nodded. “Yeah, too bad he didn’t make it in time.”

  “Maybe he’s on his way back now,” Persephone said as she snuggled Adonis in her lap. He was lying on his back with all four paws up, fast asleep.

  “Maybe,” Athena said. On the other hand, at least he’d missed seeing her come in last! As they watched the other footraces, she cheered and clapped along with everyone else, trying to get back into the spirit of the Games. She refused to be a bad sport! Plus, she needed to get her confidence back because the cheer event was coming up fast.

  The relay race turned out to be great fun to watch, and she was glad when the Norse team won. They’d done a fabulous job of gripping their stuffed pony’s tail as they passed it from runner to runner.

  When the races were over, Hera awarded more olive
wreaths. The girls who won were jumping up and down with excitement. But even those who hadn’t won seemed thrilled about getting to keep one of the stuffed animals. Now no one would have to leave the Games empty-handed, thought Athena. Not even her.

  She glanced down at the little brown and gray owl she’d chosen. It was really cute, but a stuffed animal wasn’t exactly an olive wreath crown. Not in her scrollbook, anyway!

  “Look how wowed all the racers are,” Persephone said. “They love getting to keep those stuffed animals.”

  “Using them instead of batons was an awesome idea,” Artemis told Aphrodite, who’d just come to sit with them. “Your ordering mistake turned out to be a stroke of luck.”

  “Yeah,” said Aphrodite, grinning. “Who knew that my screw-up would work out so well!”

  The goddessgirls all laughed. Then the salpinxes sounded again as the heralds announced that the archery competition would take place at the range behind the gymnasium in a few minutes. Artemis jumped up and left before the other girls to go get ready.

  “That kitten is amazingly calm,” Athena said to Persephone after they’d climbed down from the bleachers. “Most cats would be freaking out in the middle of all this action and noise.”

  Persephone grinned. “I know. Isn’t he great?” Ducking her face into Adonis’s fur for a second, she murmured, “Did you get used to lots of hustle and bustle while you were lost in the Immortal Marketplace, my little kitty-witty?”

  Athena couldn’t help smiling. But why was Persephone calling the kitten hers? It was a good thing Aphrodite hadn’t heard. She’d run ahead to catch up with Ares. But as Athena and Persephone began walking toward the range, Hades, Ares, and Aphrodite paused to wait for them.

  As soon as they caught up to the others, Aphrodite reached for Adonis. “Thanks for kitten-sitting,” she told Persephone. “I’ll take him now.”

  “Okay,” said Persephone. But she seemed reluctant to let him go, cuddling him for a few more seconds before finally giving him up. Luckily, Aphrodite didn’t seem to notice. She was too excited about showing the kitten to Ares.

  “So this is my competition for your time lately,” he said, laughing. “I wondered why you were so preoccupied. For a while there I thought—well, never mind what I thought.” He stroked the fur under the kitten’s neck and Adonis purred up at him.

  “Ha! Were you jealous?” Aphrodite guessed. “I wondered what was up with those weird looks you gave me yesterday.”

  Athena noticed that Persephone had dropped back from the group, a gloomy expression on her face. Hades sent her a concerned glance. He probably knew by now how much Persephone doted on that kitten. It was pretty obvious.

  Spotting Pandora as they neared the range, Athena broke away from her friends to chat with her roomie. “How’d the thumb wrestling go?” The competition had been held that morning, at the same time as the footraces.

  Pandora blushed. “Not so good? I was dis—dis—” She paused, as if searching for the right word.

  “Disappointed?” Athena guessed. That’s how she’d felt coming in last in her race.

  Pandora shook her head.

  “Disconcerted? Discombobulated? Distracted?”

  Pandora blinked. “Yeah, that last one! But how did you know the judge in the competition said I was a distraction?”

  Of course, that wasn’t exactly what Athena had meant. But before she could say so, Pandora went on. “It’s like there were just so many things to ask the other thumb wrestlers, you know? But when the contest began, the judge said I had to stop asking everyone questions, only, how could I? And so I got disqualified—can you believe it?”

  “Yikes,” said Athena. Compared to disqualification, losing her race didn’t seem so bad!

  After chatting with Pandora a few more minutes, Athena rejoined her friends in the stands at the archery range. The other nineteen archers in the competition were already in place by the time she got there. They’d lined up at a distance of ninety feet from the brand-new targets that she and Persephone had helped Artemis unpack last night. Though each girl would be shooting at her own target, they would all aim and release their arrows at the same time.

  When the audience was seated in the stands, the heralds sounded their salpinxes and announced the names of each competitor. The three goddessgirls cheered for all of the contestants, but loudest of all for Artemis, of course.

  On a signal from Ms. Nemesis (an MOA teacher who was helping with the competition) the girl archers all pulled arrows from their quivers and nocked them. Athena watched Artemis adjust her stance as she stood sideways to the target.

  “Ready . . . aim . . . ,” yelled Ms. Nemesis. “Fire!”

  The girls’ arrows shot toward the targets. But before they could hit them, something very strange happened. The targets rose twenty feet into the air! There, like a synchronized swim team, they proceeded to swoop, loop, and pinwheel in formation.

  The crowd gasped, and the archers stared in dismay as the arrows they’d fired fell to the ground. They’d completely missed the targets!

  Suddenly something clicked in Athena’s brain. “Fancy Flyers!” She looked at Persephone, her blue-gray eyes wide. “Remember?”

  “Yeah, that’s what was written on the boxes the targets came in!” Persephone exclaimed.

  “What?” Aphrodite gave them a look of confusion.

  “You weren’t there when we unpacked them,” Athena said. “Artemis thought Fancy Flyers was just the name of the company that made the targets.”

  “But it looks like the targets really do fly!” Persephone finished.

  Down on the field there was mass confusion now. The archers were all waving their arms and talking loudly, mostly at Artemis.

  “I hope they’re not blaming her,” Athena said. It’s not her fault.” Finally, Artemis and several of the other archers put their heads together with Ms. Nemesis and the three judges. At last Ms. Nemesis turned to speak to all the onlookers in the stands. Her large wings fanned out behind her as she announced, “The competition will now continue.”

  A roar of approval went up from the crowd. “Can’t wait to see how they fix this,” Athena heard a boy next to her say. ”I can’t wait, either,” she murmured to her friends. They nodded in agreement.

  The solution turned out to be surprisingly simple. Now that the archers knew they’d be shooting at moving targets, they simply adjusted their strategies. In the next round, they tried to anticipate where the targets would move before releasing their arrows.

  “This is so exciting!” Athena heard Aphrodite say. And it was. She’d never seen an archery event like this before! After several elimination rounds, the contest came down to just three archers: Artemis, Penthe, and Skadi.

  Athena held her breath and crossed her fingers as the trio nocked their arrows. This was the first of the three final rounds. In each, all three finalists would be shooting at the same target.

  As the single target zoomed up in the air and did a cocky whirl, the girls raised and drew their bows. Ms. Nemesis called the signal. All three girls fired at the same time.

  The crowd gasped as Penthe’s red-feathered arrow struck dead center and Skadi’s white-feathered arrow landed right next to it. Artemis’s silver arrow, however, hit just outside the bull’s-eye.

  “Oh, no,” Athena groaned. Persephone and Aphrodite groaned too. They knew how important this contest was to Artemis. She’d practiced so hard. It would be a shame if she flubbed up now.

  Glancing toward the edge of the field, Athena spotted Actaeon watching the event intently. Was he feeling as anxious for Artemis right now as she was? Or was he rooting for Penthe instead?

  Her gaze swung back to the competitors. In quick succession, they released their second arrows. Zzzing. Zzzing. Zzzing! This time all three hit the bull’s-eye in a tight little triangle.

  Artemis’s last shot would have to be perfect for her to win. The three goddessgirls all held hands and squeezed tight, hoping.

  Athena
could feel the tension in the stands now. No one said a word or moved a muscle, waiting to see how things would turn out. For a split second she wondered if she should really be rooting for Artemis.

  Because if Artemis did win, then Athena would be the only one of the four best friends without a wreath. The only one who wouldn’t get a statue or a portrait in Hera’s temple. She swallowed hard, suddenly feeling left out.

  Stop with the pity party! she scolded herself. After all, she had a whole city named after her: Athens, down in Greece. Earlier that year the mortals there had honored her for her invention of the olive tree. Of course she wanted Artemis to win!

  Leaning forward, she cupped her free hand around her mouth. “Go, Artemis!” she cheered.

  21

  Artemis

  Saturday morning.

  HEARING ATHENA’S SHOUT OF ENCOURAGEMENT, Artemis glanced up at her friend and smiled. Then, feeling other eyes on her, she looked over and found Penthe studying her.

  With a crafty grin on her face, Penthe switched her own gaze to the edge of the field—to Actaeon. Making a dramatic show of it, she blew him a big kiss. Startled, Actaeon gave a little jump, as if the kiss had actually smacked him on the nose.

  Grrr, thought Artemis. She could feel her whole body tense as she reached into her quiver and drew out her last arrow. Her hands were shaking so hard, she nearly dropped the arrow before she got it nocked. She was mad! And maybe a little jealous, too, which only made her madder.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the smirk on Penthe’s face. She looked like she knew exactly how Artemis felt and loved it.

  With a jolt, Artemis finally understood what was going on here. Penthe had been flirting with Actaeon on purpose, to try and upset her. To throw her off her game!

  Well! That plan was not going to work. Not anymore. Artemis took a deep breath and exhaled, blowing out the air, and all of her anger, too. With new determination, she calmly focused her eyes on the target. As it zipped into the air in a series of twirls, she, Penthe, and Skadi took aim.