“Call me when you can,” Laura muttered. “And lose the dramatics—they don’t work.”
She hurried down the stairs, trying to lose herself in the lunch crowd. He wants two girlfriends, she thought angrily. Peter is just like Jake and Cody and all the rest of them—just in love with himself!
After school Mercury sat in Cupidity’s yellow convertible, waiting for the cherub-in-disguise to exit the school. He finally spotted her, surrounded by other teenagers, all of them yakking. Who could possibly be listening when they all talked at once? Nevertheless, Mercury was impressed by how many friends Cupidity seemed to have, and there was one handsome lad, dressed in black leather and silver chains, who would have commanded attention among the gods themselves. He even gave Cupidity a kiss on the cheek.
Before Cupidity reached her car, she bid her friends adieu, although several of them stared curiously at her “father.” Mercury tipped his hat politely.
Cupidity gave him a smug smile as she climbed into the driver’s seat. “See, I told you they all liked me, and I’ve got everything under control. Seriously, Mercury, you don’t have to hang around here.” She started the car engine with a loud vroom, and the fumes made Mercury wrinkle his nose.
“They’ve accepted you, but that doesn’t mean you’ve done the job,” said the elderly god with a sniff. “So far, you’ve paired up other mortals, but not Laura Sweeney.”
“They were just warm-ups,” insisted Cupidity as she backed the sports car out of its parking space. “I told you I was out of practice. Besides, we’re talking about two lousy couples. That’s nothing for me—in the old days, I’d do two pairs before breakfast.”
“I’ve met Laura Sweeney,” said the elder, “and it doesn’t seem that it would be difficult to make a match for her.”
The young lady laughed. “Ah, you don’t know Laura that well. Outside she seems normal, but inside she’s a fruit loop.”
She motioned to a gang of students who clogged the sidewalk. “Most of them are ruled by their hormones, but Laura still depends on her brain. Makes it very difficult to get just the right match for her. Sure, I could pair her up with anyone—even you—but would she be happy?”
Mercury shrugged. “Who can guarantee a mortal happiness?”
“Hey, I’ve only had a few days to get to know her,” said the cherub as her car careened around the corner, tires squealing. “You all agreed that I should have some time to get to know her, so let me do my job! Tell Jupiter and those worried old ladies that all will be well. I’ve planned a double date for tomorrow night, and I’m sure the arrows will be flying.”
“Do you have someone picked out for her?” asked Mercury.
“Yes, Cody Kenyon. Maybe you saw him—black leather jacket, spiked hair, Elvis sneer.”
“Oh, yes,” answered elder with a knowing smile. “I approve.”
“Well, good. So leave me the Hades alone!” Cupidity pulled to a stop and looked at the messenger god. “Can I take you to the airport?”
“Why can’t I stick around?” asked Mercury, sounding hurt.
“Parents just get in the way.” Cupidity stared pointedly at him. “Airport?”
“You just want to be able to smoke cigars again,” muttered the god.
“Well, duh!” Cupidity scowled. “Listen, I’ll be back at Mount Olympus when the job is done. You won’t be missing anything.”
“Remember, your disguise doesn’t last forever,” warned the god.
“I’ve got two more weeks!” scoffed the beautiful cherub. “I’ll be out of here long before that, believe me.”
Mercury sat stiffly in his seat. “Well, I was able to go to the office and fill out some paperwork for you. Perhaps you need me.”
“That’s good they got to see a parent,” allowed Cupidity. “But I don’t really need a parent—I’m three thousand years old! Come on, Merc, I took a couple extra shots as a warm-up, but now I’m ready to get down to business. You can see that everything is fine here.”
“Okay, take me to the airport,” grumbled Mercury. “We won’t watch you or nag you—we’ll just trust you.”
“Good idea!” chirped Cupidity as the yellow convertible jumped the curb and headed off down the boulevard.
*
Right behind them came a white sedan driven by a preoccupied Laura Sweeney. “Wasn’t that Cupidity’s car?” asked Taryn from the passenger seat. “She has the coolest car.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so,” muttered Laura. In truth, she was still so miserable over Peter that she could barely concentrate on driving.
“She had an old guy with her,” Taryn pointed out.
“That’s her father.” Laura brought the car to a stop at the corner and tried to snap out of her daze. “Listen, I’m going to the library. Where am I taking you?”
“To cloud nine,” answered Taryn dreamily as she hugged her books to her chest. “Can you believe it? I’ve got a date for Homecoming!”
“Congratulations,” answered Laura, trying to muster a smile. “Chester the Homeboy—who would have thought he was crushing on you?”
“Well, I catch him looking at me a lot in class,” answered Taryn, “but I thought he was trying to copy off my paper.” She laughed so joyfully that Laura couldn’t stay jealous of her old friend’s new relationship.
“Are you two going out this weekend?” asked Laura.
Taryn nodded gravely. “Yes, we’re going to a rap concert. What do you wear to a rap concert?”
“I’m sure you can wear almost anything. Chester will look out for you.”
They drove a bit farther in silence, Taryn gazing wistfully out the window and Laura trying to concentrate on the road. As they turned down the street to Taryn’s house, Taryn said, “I know we made fun of Peter and Megan, then Jake and Emma, but I don’t think Chester would have asked me out if they hadn’t broken the ice.”
“Probably not,” admitted Laura. “Anarchy in the high school social order is a good thing.” She pulled to a stop in front of Taryn’s house. “Here you are—cloud nine.”
Laura’s friend squeezed her arm and looked sympathetically at her. “Don’t worry, Laura, we’ll get you a date too. Now all the boys in school are up for grabs—not just the ones you’re supposed to date.”
Laura mustered a smile, but that thought wasn’t very comforting. Now she could be turned down by any guy in school. Taryn jumped out of the car and ran toward her house, no doubt anxious to spread the news about her date. Trying to be happy for her friend, Laura sniffed back her conflicting emotions and waved good-bye as she pulled away from the curb.
Since she had the car, she decided to drive downtown to the big library, where they had all kinds of old and rare books that weren’t allowed to be taken out of the building. Laura wasn’t sure exactly what she was looking for, just some general research into the supernatural aspects of love. Cupidity might be a regular girl with a regular father, but some kind of love bug had infected the kids at Fimbrey. Maybe there was another explanation.
At the library Laura’s footsteps echoed down the marble staircase and into the cavernous main chamber. A cold draft swirled around her, and she smelled the musty odor of old paper, fabric, glue, and dust—books. A door creaked somewhere in the old building, and she felt a chill. It almost felt as if these ancient tomes didn’t want to give up their secrets. Maybe this was a stupid waste of time, but Laura felt as if she had to do something. It was research or go crazy.
She dove into the card catalog and computer listings and grabbed all the books she could find off the regular shelves. An hour of looking through them didn’t really give her anything that she thought was pertinent to the love epidemic.
So Laura culled through the listings of rare and fragile books, which were kept in a special room and not allowed to leave the library. Clutching her requests, she found a librarian, an older woman in a business suit with flaming red hair, and gave her the slips of paper.
“Love spells, love potions, love can
dles, fortune-telling,” said the old librarian, reading the subjects she had requested. When she was finished, the old woman clicked her tongue and gave Laura a sympathetic smile. “You know, dearie, those love spells don’t work. Why don’t you try the personal ads, like I do.”
“Personal ads?” said Laura with a nervous laugh. “I’m a little young for those.” She didn’t add that the librarian looked a little old for personal ads. “I’m really doing this for a school project. If you’ve got any books about Cupid or Venus, that would be good too. I’ve read all the mythology books on the shelf.”
“Hmmmm,” said the librarian, sounding impressed. She gave Laura a wink. “I’ll bring you all the good stuff, but they don’t have many pictures.”
Laura laughed nervously. “That’s fine. I don’t need pictures … I have a good imagination.”
“Give me a few minutes.” The old woman tottered away, but she didn’t return for almost half an hour. Laura had almost given up on her when she finally wheeled in a cart full of books, most of them old and tattered.
“You want the good stuff, right?” she said with a chuckle. “I hope you’re not going anywhere for a while.”
Laura sighed. “No, I’m not. No place else to go.”
Laura Sweeney read and skimmed until the words on the yellowed pages blurred and the windows darkened except for pools of light from the streetlamps. A fierce wind kicked up, and branches scraped against the windows. The history of love, famous lovers, love spats, love spells and potions, and gobs of myths about love spilled from the books. Ghostly love, true love, tragic love, unspoken love, and lots of variations were discussed at length, sometimes with statistics. Laura learned more than she wanted to know about some topics, but she didn’t find anything that would explain what was happening to the kids at Fimbrey High.
In all the morass of words and images, there were plenty of stories about Cupid and his mother, Venus. Laura’s eyes were drooping as she leafed through one musty volume of Roman mythology, which she had read before. Normally she could lose herself for hours in a book like this, but her energy and hope were waning.
Suddenly Laura’s bleary eyes landed on a picture of an old Roman fresco that had been uncovered in the ruins of Pompeii, Italy. The ancient image stopped her cold, and she blinked in amazement at the painting of Cupid and his mother. The youthful cherub wore long blond hair, making his face look an awful lot like Cupidity’s. But that wasn’t what startled Laura—it was the bow and arrow in his hands. The weapon looked remarkably similar to Cupidity’s bow, down to its harp shape and ornate workmanship.
“What the—?” she muttered, rubbing her eyes. “That can’t be.”
“Did you say something, dearie?” asked the old librarian.
Gripping the book, Laura jumped excitedly to her feet. “Can you make me a photocopy of this page?”
“As long as the pages aren’t too brittle,” answered the librarian. The old woman grunted when Laura handed her the heavy tome, and she peered at the page with curiosity. “That’s what you were looking for … a picture of Cupid and Venus?”
“It’s perfect for what I need,” answered Laura with a forced smile. And that’s to discover the truth about Cupidity, she decided, which I will do tomorrow night when I get a closer look at her bow. I have to find out whether I’m crazy or the rest of the world is.
Smart Cody, thought Laura the moment she opened her front door and saw her date for Friday evening. Cody had enlisted a guy from another high school but of the same tribe as himself—a scruffy, handsome skater dude with spiky, dyed-auburn hair. Laura was reminded of Peter, who had real red hair, but she quickly put that image out of her mind.
“Laura Sweeney, this is my bud Rip Durkens,” offered Cody, sounding like the perfect host. Cupidity stood on the step behind her date, looking pleased at his show of good manners. “Rip’s a senior, too,” added Cody. “He goes to the charter school down at the mall.”
“Hi,” said the scrawny skater, giving her a wry smile. “I didn’t know what to expect, but Cody never steers me wrong.” He was charming, especially for someone who was trying to act tough, and Laura was definitely attracted to him.
Down, girl, she told herself. You have no idea if Rip even wants to be on this date, or how long it’s going to last. So just enjoy it for what it is.
“Cupidity never steers me wrong either,” lied Laura, trying to fit in with the theme of the evening. As she stepped out of the house, she yelled back, “Bye! We’re leaving now!”
Nobody answered, because her parents were hiding again. The four students walked slowly to the car, and Laura asked, “So what’s the plan? Burgers and a movie?” That’s what they had talked about earlier, and she hoped it would be a somewhat normal date.
“Burgers, for sure,” answered Cody, “then we’ve got a couple of parties to go to. And maybe we’ll end up at Cupidity’s place for a private party.”
Hmmmm, thought Laura, not certain she liked the sound of that. “Is your dad home?” she asked Cupidity.
“No,” Cupidity answered with a flip of her perfect blond hair. “Daddy Dearest went back to California last night. He just wanted to make sure I was settled in.”
Cody laughed appreciatively and turned to his friend. “Rip, can you believe it? Cupidity lives alone. No parents around.”
“Niiice,” replied Rip, casting a sidelong glance at Laura, who tried not to appear too sultry. “Cody and me are going to get a place, as soon as we graduate.”
“Shouldn’t college or a job come first?” asked Cupidity as they reached her car. Even though the air was getting chilly, she still had the top down.
“Ahh, we’ll be on the pro skateboard circuit by then,” answered Rip confidently. “You should see us on the half-pipe.”
While they talked about their fantastic future, Laura walked to the rear of the car. She felt her back pocket to make sure she still had the picture of Cupid and his bow. “Cupidity,” she called. “I’ve got this heavy purse—do you think I could throw it in your trunk?”
“Sure,” Cupidity replied. Pulling a lever under the dashboard, she popped the trunk lid while she made conversation with the boys.
While they were occupied, Laura looked inside the trunk and saw the duffel bag she knew so well. Even though no archery was planned for tonight’s date, Cupidity had still brought her bow and arrows with her, which was rather suspicious. Knowing this wasn’t the right time to get nosy, Laura dropped her purse into the trunk and shut the lid.
Rip gallantly held the car door open for her with one hand while he pulled the front seat forward with the other. Laura could’ve jumped into the backseat, but this was nicer. As Laura climbed in, she began to worry about what Cupidity might have planned for them this evening. If she really was a female Cupid, then she was like a god. She could strike without warning, and Laura might find herself crazy in love with a wild skater boy by the end of the night. The prospect of turning into a love zombie, like Peter and Megan, made her shiver.
Suddenly frightened, Laura almost bolted from the car, but Cupidity started the engine and roared away from the curb, tires squealing. Cody laughed merrily at her reckless driving, and Laura buckled her seat belt. She felt a wiry arm around her shoulder, because Rip was already getting friendly. He didn’t even need to be hit by a magic arrow.
“So what are you into?” Rip asked her. “What do you like to do in your spare time?”
“Well,” she mused, “I had a job at the Dairy Queen, but I quit that when school started. I like to read.”
“Read?” echoed Rip, as if he had never heard of such a thing. “Like what, magazines?”
“Greco-Roman mythology,” she answered hesitantly.
Cupidity laughed and said, “Yeah, Laura is really into that stuff—all those silly gods and goddesses.”
That remark ticked Laura off, and she decided to give Cupidity a little test. When they stopped at a traffic light, she said, “There are some great love stories in mythology
, like Cupid and Psyche. Psyche was the most beautiful woman in the world, and Venus got jealous of her. So she sent her son, Cupid, to make Psyche fall in love with a monster, but instead Cupid fell in love with Psyche. But he was so short and funny-looking that Psyche ran away from him.”
“Funny-looking?” scoffed Cupidity. “She never saw him—Cupid was invisible. It was all her stupid sisters!”
Cody gave his date a quizzical stare. “Oh, so you’re an expert, too. But look at your name!” He laughed as if he was the first one who had ever made the connection.
Cupidity chuckled uneasily and glanced back at Laura. “I’m no expert … but I happen to know that story.” As the light changed, she peeled away from the line.
They drove to the Gaslight, a 1950s-style diner where the waitresses wore poodle skirts and beehive wigs. It was a good enough place to get a burger, and Laura ate while Cody and Rip told stories about each other’s exploits on skateboards, snowboards, and rollerblades. They were a mutual admiration society, and they were both ready to go pro, by their assessment.
All through dinner, Laura caught Cupidity gazing curiously at her, as if measuring her for an arrow. When Laura mouthed the word “What?” Cupidity shook her head and looked away. Even though her father had left, his visit still seemed to be having an effect on Cupidity. Tonight the new girl seemed uncertain, troubled, and just as real as anyone, and Laura began to feel guilty for thinking such bizarre thoughts about her.
I’m crazy, thought Laura. She’s just trying to do me a favor, and I’m so suspicious of her. How can I be so ungrateful?
While the boys were laughing at each other’s stories, Laura reached over and touched Cupidity’s arm. “Hey, cheer up. I’m having a great time. I want to thank you for doing this.”
Cupidity brightened. “Are you really? Good, I was beginning to think that it was all for nothing. You do want a boyfriend, don’t you?”
“Yes, but it’s got to be the right one,” answered Laura. “Any dude off the street … I could do that myself.”
“Am I ‘any dude off the street’?” asked Rip with a chuckle. “What are you guys talking about?”
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