by Holub, Joan
Medusa tightened her grip on Euryale’s hand. “You’re cutting off my circulation,” Euryale complained. Medusa pretended not to hear. Back in third grade they’d once accidentally dropped her when they were first learning to use the sandals. She’d skinned her knees badly, and every time she looked at the scar on her left knee, she was reminded of how much she depended on them. It was awful to be so needy. Just one more reason she wanted to be a goddessgirl. Then she could take care of herself.
Minutes later they were inside the Immortal Marketplace, which was located halfway between the Academy and Earth. A magical talking wedding cake as tall as they were greeted them just inside the mall entrance. “Gods Gift is where you want to go if you’re shopping for Zeus and Hera,” it said, pointing them toward a store selling wedding gifts.
“I bet I won’t be able to buy much with my eight drachmas,” hinted Medusa as she and her sisters headed there together. “That’s all I have saved.” She hoped they would say they’d each loan her enough to get something really nice. But they didn’t.
There was a scroll posted in the display window at Gods Gift. In swirly gold letters it announced:
Mighty Zeus,
King of the Gods
and Ruler of the Heavens,
is soon to wed Hera.
Buy the perfect gift here!
Medusa headed inside, and her sisters followed. Every shelf and table in the store was covered with splendid wedding gifts set atop white satin tablecloths edged with real pearls. Artfully arranged among the gifts were decorations that included papyrus-tissue wedding bells and big white gift boxes with elaborate bows. She had a feeling the boxes were empty, because all the actual gifts were unwrapped and on display.
She actually did need to buy a gift for the wedding, she realized as she looked around. After all, everybody knew how much Principal Zeus liked presents.
Some of the gifts for sale were silly, like the pair of GodsBobble dolls. They were dressed as a bride and groom and stood about six inches high. Those were probably Zeus’s idea, thought Medusa. She could just imagine them on top of his wedding cake, their heads constantly boinging up and down on springs every time his booming footsteps shook the ground. But the set of elegant silver goblets engraved with the entwined letters Z and H had to be Hera’s idea.
Maybe if she found a gift that cost at least thirty drachmas, her sisters would lend her the twenty-two drachmas she needed. She could buy a gift here today, then return it tomorrow for a refund. With their drachmas plus her eight, she’d have the thirty she needed to buy the Immortalizer. She wouldn’t need money once it turned her into a goddess. Because with her newfound immortal powers, she’d be able to create a superfabulous amazing wedding present. It was the perfect plan!
“Help me pick something out,” she said, reaching up to nudge her snakes. Eager to oblige, they began flicking their tongues toward their choices.
“Are you talking to those slimy reptiles again?” Stheno asked.
“Reptiles aren’t slimy,” Medusa replied, setting aside the goblet she was holding. “Here, want to pet one and see for yourself?” She angled her head toward her sister.
“Eek!” Stheno jumped back. “Get those things away from me.”
Medusa smiled. She’d thought having snakes for hair was going to be a curse at first. But in the months since Athena’s Snakeypoo invention had accidentally turned her hair reptilian, these snakes had become her best buds. They were really rather sweet and fun. Like pets. And if someone messed with her, they stood up for her—or rather lashed out. She trusted them and could be herself around them. Something she couldn’t do with anyone else.
“Can’t you wear a hat or something?” complained Stheno, keeping her distance from Medusa.
“Yeah, those snakes are embarrassing. And they mock us,” said Euryale.
“Huh?” said Medusa.
“Like that.” Stheno pointed to a spot above Medusa’s head.
Spying a delicate hand mirror—one of the gifts Hera had probably chosen—Medusa reached for it to check her reflection. Luckily she stopped herself just in time. Since she was mortal, she could turn herself to stone with one glance too! Instead she looked upward, smoothing her snakes down her forehead like bangs, to eye them better. They squirmed beneath her gaze, like they knew they’d been doing something they shouldn’t have, the little rascals.
“They were making faces at us,” Euryale told her, sounding annoyed. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know. They do it all the time.”
Medusa grinned at her snakes, delighted. She actually hadn’t known, but she thought it was funny. Giving them a wink, she let them loose, and they sprang upward again. Then she said to her sisters, “How would I know? Can you see the top of your head?”
“C’mon, Euryale. Let’s go to Cleo’s Cosmetics,” Stheno suggested, sounding bored. “I need some more green face powder. And I want to hit that new store, The Green Scene. All their clothes are green. How cool is that?”
It sounded very cool to Medusa, but if they left, she wouldn’t be able to carry out her plan. She tried to think of a way to stop them. They just had to give her a loan!
But her sisters were already pushing open the exit door. “Meet us back at the marketplace entrance in one hour,” Stheno called over her shoulder. Both sisters gave her and her snakes the stink eye and then flounced off to shop on their own.
“Fine. Be that way,” Medusa muttered. She’d just have to talk them into lending her some money later. The first step was to find a gift that cost thirty drachmas. And another that cost only eight. Then she’d show them how great the former was and how lame the latter was. Since they cared about appearances, surely they wouldn’t want their sister to show up with the ickiest gift at the whole wedding. When they finally caved and gave her the loan, she could put her perfect plan into action. And the Immortalizer would be hers!
As she passed the GodsBobble dolls, she tapped their heads and watched them bounce. The she picked them up, looking for a price tag. Maybe these could be her eight-drachma gift. “Hmm. No price tag,” she murmured.
“None of our gifts are marked. Please make an inquiry to me if you wish to know a price,” said a stiff, formal voice.
Medusa glanced around in surprise. “Who said that?”
“I did.” Then she noticed that the lid had lifted on the nearest decorative box, and a puppet had popped out like a jack-in-the-gift-box. It wore a white tunic with a formal black bow tie at its neck. There were similar gift boxes, each about ten inches square, sitting on every table. Did they all contain such helpful puppets?
“Okay. How much are these bouncy dolls?” she asked the puppet.
“I’m sorry, but those have already been purchased. You’ll have to make a different choice.” The puppet looked down its long nose at her. Medusa felt about the size of a green pea under its snooty gaze. And whenever anyone tried to make her feel small, she fought back!
“Fine. I will, Jack,” she told him, mimicking his snooty tone.
“Why are you calling me Jack?”
“No reason, Jack,” she said, smugly. She picked up an odd-looking shoulder bag that looked sort of like Artemis’s arrow quiver. Only instead of olive wood this bag was made of gold! Scenes of Zeus’s heroic exploits had been exquisitely carved on its surface.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“An over-the-shoulder thunderbolt holder,” the gift box replied.
Medusa giggled. This had to be Zeus’s idea. “What does it do?”
In formal tones the gift box began describing it for her. “Made of the finest hammered gold from the mines of Thásos, the thunderbolt holder is four feet long and fifteen inches in diameter, with a woven filigree strap that is eight feet long. This magnificent item can contain the force and fury of three dynamic thunderbolts at any given time. It—”
The jack-in-the-gift-box droned on, but Medusa was thinking so hard now that its voice sounded far away. As she ran her hand over the gleaming go
ld of the thunderbolt holder, she remembered how Zeus had once granted Athena a single wish. It was earlier in the year, back when she’d invented the olive tree to win the school invention contest. Athena’s wish had been for an old friend from Earth to visit her at MOA.
Medusa knew what she would have wished for—immortality! This golden thunderbolt holder was something special. If she gave it to Zeus, he would surely take notice and favor her. And he sometimes granted wishes to those he favored. Maybe this thing would do the trick. It was pretty amazing. You never knew with him.
“Is it sold?” she asked anxiously.
“No.”
Relieved, she asked, “How much?”
“A mere three hundred drachmas.”
“What?” Medusa’s eyes went wide.
“Remember, it’s pure gold from Thásos,” the puppet informed her, beginning to go through his description all over again. Quickly she set the thunderbolt holder down, and the puppet stopped speaking midsentence.
Moving away, she began lifting other gifts on other tables, one by one. Each time, the nearest gift box puppet popped up and gave her the price along with a description of the item.
“Oh, no!” she groaned after the twelfth Jack-puppet stated yet another price that was crazy expensive. Everything cost too much! There wasn’t a single gift in here for thirty drachmas, much less eight. She couldn’t even afford the cheapest gift—a silver thimble! So much for her perfect plan. Now what was she going to do? She couldn’t be the only one at the wedding with no gift at all!
Dejected, she started out of the store. With each step she felt like she was dragging the weight of the world behind her—literally.
Screech! She winced. What was that noise? Screech! It sounded every time she took a step toward the shop’s door.
As she was pushing the door open, a snooty voice shouted, “Stop, thief!” Medusa glanced back to see one of the jack-in-the-gift-box puppets staring in her direction and getting rather apoplectic.
She looked around. She was the only customer in the shop right now. “Who, me?” she asked, looking over at the puppet.
“Yes, you! Someone call the security guards!” yelled the Jack.
“What? Why? I’m not doing anything!”
But as she shoved the exit door wide, she heard that terrible screeching sound again. Something really was dragging behind her. Turning, she saw what it was. The golden thunderbolt holder!
She reached up and felt for her snakes. All twelve of them had wrapped themselves around the thunderbolt holder’s carrier strap. They must’ve grabbed hold of it when she’d passed by the display table a minute before.
Her snakes were shoplifting!
4
Double-Dealing
DROP IT!” MEDUSA SCOLDED HER SNAKES. “You’re going to get us in trouble!” She shook her head until they loosened their grasp on the carrier strap. Bam! The thunderbolt holder hit the floor.
Medusa picked it up and set it on the nearest table. “There. Problem solved,” she told the blabby Jack. But it was too late! By now all the other gift boxes in the store had begun to chime in with calls of, “Thief!” “Halt!” “Security!” “Get her!”
The marketplace’s security guards were going to be after her any minute, she thought wildly. Heart pounding, she did the only thing she could think to do. She ran.
Dashing from the store, Medusa darted around a corner, then ducked through a clothing store and out a side door. Finding herself in the marketplace atrium, she hunkered down next to the splashing fountain at its center. She curled into a ball under a rhododendron bush, hardly daring to breathe.
Heavy footsteps approached. Thump! Thump! Security guards hot on her trail, no doubt. Since she was green, she luckily blended in quite nicely with the plants surrounding the fountain. The guards ran past without noticing her!
She waited till their footsteps faded, wondering what to do next. Should she turn herself in and explain the situation? No, it was too late for that. She would look guilty because she’d run.
Since she was the only person she knew with snake hair, it wasn’t going to be hard for the guards to find her once the gift boxes ratted her out, though. Would this get her kicked out of MOA? School rules clearly stated that students would be expelled for stealing. Really, her snakes had done it. But who would believe she hadn’t put them up to it?
Besides, if her snakes wound up having to go to reptile jail or something, she’d have to go too. They were attached to her head, after all. Ye gods! She had to get out of here before they were caught!
When the coast was clear, Medusa grabbed an empty flowerpot sitting nearby, turned it upside down, and set it atop her head. My sisters would be pleased I’m wearing a hat, she thought hysterically, even if it is made of terra-cotta!
Hoping the flowerpot hat would make her less recognizable, she slipped from the atrium garden. As she headed in the opposite direction of the footsteps, she made herself walk calmly so as not to draw unwanted attention. Once she reached the main exit doors, she set the pot down and darted outside.
How long till her sisters showed up to meet her? she wondered. Had it been an hour yet?
Suddenly she heard a shout. Two guards burst through the doors and came stomping outside. She had to get out of here! If only she had the magic to make her winged sandals fly. Honestly, being mortal really stunk sometimes!
She dashed around the nearest corner. Parked just ahead she saw a beautiful silver chariot with mighty white wings. It was mounded high with small papyrus tubes. Hermes’ Delivery Service chariot! She rushed toward it and dove into the back.
The tubes were actually small scrolls, she discovered, each only about ten inches long. She dug her way through hundreds of them to hide underneath. Once she was completely covered up, she smoothed all twelve of her snakes back. Then she looped them in a ponytail at the base of her neck so they wouldn’t pop up and give away her hiding place.
The guards thundered past, the sound of their footsteps eventually fading in the distance.
“That was a close call, guys,” she quietly scolded her snakes. “I know you were just trying to help me out, but shoplifting could get us kicked out of the Academy. Promise me you’ll never, never, ever, ever try something so stupid again.”
The snakes curled around her neck, their way of saying they were sorry. Since they usually napped in the middle of the day and were exhausted by all the excitement, they soon settled down to sleep. Medusa pushed a few scrolls aside and peeked from the back of the chariot. No guards in sight.
Still, this was a good hideout. She’d wait here until she was absolutely sure the coast was clear. And at the same time she’d keep an eye on the mall entrance to watch for her sisters.
One of the cream-colored scrolls poked her cheek, and she pushed it away. All the scrolls were identical, she realized, each one addressed in sparkly gold writing and tied with a gold ribbon. She managed to unroll one of them and read:
You are hereby invited to
the illustrious wedding
of the mighty
Zeus,
King of the Gods and Ruler of the Heavens
to
Hera,
soon to be Queen of the Gods and Co-Ruler of the Heavens.
Nuptials to take place
next Sunday at noon.
Don’t even think about being late!
These were Zeus and Hera’s wedding invitations! When Medusa let go of the scroll, it magically rolled back up with a snap and its ribbon retied itself. Hermes must be planning to deliver the scrolls all over Mount Olympus and Earth. She examined more of them. Some were addressed to dignitaries and officials, and others to the wedding couple’s relatives and friends.
Hearing a soft flapping that grew increasingly louder, she cocked her head to listen. What was that sound? She puzzled over it for a minute, before it finally dawned on her. The chariot’s wings!
Before she could climb out, the chariot gave a huge lurch. “Up and away!�
�� called Hermes, causing the chariot to lift off the ground. Whoosh! In an instant they were zooming upward. Medusa slid sideways, then tumbled backward as they flew ever higher, sailing into the clouds.
“Wait!” she protested, but she was buried so deep in the scrolls by now that it sounded more like “mmpthf.” It was no wonder Hermes didn’t hear her. She tried to claw her way out of the scrolls, but it was like trying to make her way out of wedding invitation quicksand!
“Wait!” she shouted again when she was finally able to stick her head out.
The chariot wobbled horribly as hands reached back and grabbed her around the shoulders, pulling her out of the scrolls until she found herself face-to-face with a god wearing a winged cap. Sure enough, it was Hermes. And he did not look happy.
“Aha! I wondered why my chariot was riding rough,” he told her. “Too much weight. You know what happens to stowaways, don’t you?” Suddenly she found herself hanging in midair just outside the chariot, with the wind whipping her chiton, and nothing but clouds below her feet. Any minute now she feared he might shout “Medusa away!” and drop her. Then she and her snakes would be history.
“No! I didn’t mean to stow away,” Medusa protested. “It was an accident! Take me back to the Immortal Marketplace, or better yet, to MOA. Please.”
“Not gonna happen. I’m behind schedule already. My merchandise deliveries have been delayed until I can get all of Zeus’s wedding invitations out.” Hermes nodded toward the scrolls filling his chariot.
“I could help you with that,” Medusa offered quickly. “I could drop off the invitations while you drive.”
He wrinkled his brow, as if considering. “That would speed things up,” he said at last.
“Yeah, and afterward you could drop me off at MOA in thanks, right?”
“Deal.” Nodding, Hermes pulled her back inside.
Medusa spent the rest of the day flying across purple mountains and sparkling blue seas and tossing invitations here and there. Her snakes thought this was great fun, and turned out to be a big help in flinging the little scrolls into mailboxes.