She gives us all a knowing look. “And lastly, the gods have asked me to convey their regrets. Without our beloved eternal fire, they are unable to attend today’s ceremony. They hope to come see you as soon as it is fixed.”
Murmurs of confusion and disappointment sound all around me, echoing the feelings spiraling deep inside me. Nothing about this day has gone as planned, and the gods not showing up—when they do, as far as I know, every year—is the icing on a very disappointing cake.
“Rest assured,” Dr. Themis continues, lifting her voice so that it echoes above the confused whispers, “there will be other chances for you to hear from the gods over the course of the year. And in the meantime, they’ve asked me to wish you a strong, faithful, gift-filled year and request that you accept this token of their affection and confidence.”
As she finishes, fireworks explode directly above the amphitheater. Reds and golds and greens and blues and purples fill the air as people cheer all around me.
“Isn’t this great?” Fifi yells to be heard over the crowd. Her dark brown skin is gleaming in the light from the fireworks,and she’s grinning from ear to ear as she grabs my arm excitedly. “So much better than a speech from the stodgy old gods.”
I’ve been looking forward to a speech from Athena all summer, but I don’t tell her that. Instead, I just pull my arm away and try to figure out what in Olympus’s name is going on.
Surely this is just the prelude. Surely the gods are going to do more than just send down some fireworks to welcome us here.
But as the Aphrodites pass out handfuls of sparklers all around me, I realize that this really is it. The first day of the rest of my life at Anaximander’s.
14.The Apple of My Cry
FIFTEEN MINUTES—AND MORE THANa dozen close calls with sparklers—later, a tall woman breaks off from the group of teachers gathered around Dr. Themis in the orchestra and heads straight for Fifi and me and the rest of the Aphrodites.
Logic, and the giant apple hat she’s wearing, tells me she must be Zaharah Dione, the faculty head of Aphrodite Hall. Still, knowing her name from the brochure—not to mention spending the morning witnessing just how showy Aphrodites tend to be—didn’t prepare me for the power and glamour that radiate from her.
To begin with, she’s absolutely beautiful—lush black hair, bright periwinkle eyes, golden brown skin—which isn’t a surprise, considering she’s Aphrodite’s most powerful representative at this school. What are surprises, though, are the sparklein her unusually colored eyes and the wide smile that encompasses the entire Aphrodite section.
Of course, her beauty isn’t the only thing that draws attention to her. Besides the very noticeable, very elaborate red apple fascinator she’s wearing on her head, Dr. Dione is dressed in flowing red palazzo pants and a red vest with a billowy hot-pink shirt underneath. Her sparkly hot-pink heels have giant hearts on them, while earrings shaped like black swans (another favorite of the goddess of love) dangle from her ears.
She’s basically a walking, talking embodiment of all things Aphrodite in the world. But somehow, it’s not nearly as off-putting as it should be. Probably because the woman herself is even more fantastical than her clothes.
Is she a little over-the-top—and by a little, I mean a lot? Absolutely. But as I glance behind me at all the people laughing and jiggling and waving two or three or even four sparklers at the same time, over-the-top appears to be the perfect fit for the Aphrodites.
In fact, the whole group seems like a perfect match—from Fifi with her red and pink beads and the pink heart she’s drawn on her cheek to Arjun with his red glasses and red band T-shirt to the older Aphrodites at the top of the stands who are dressed almost as outrageously as Dr. Dione. Everyone, that is, except me.
Even messy and torn up, my classic shorts and blouse are way out of place here. In fact, the only part of me that seems to fit in at all is my wild, wavy, totally frizzy red hair now thatit’s starting to dry from what I will henceforth call the Great Waterfall Escapade.
Considering I can’t stand how wild my hair is, this definitely doesn’t seem like a match made by the gods…or even by the gods’ gumball machine.
I glance over at the Athenas—who are already leaving their seats in two long, organized lines—then back at the unorganized chaos of the Aphrodites. As I do, one of the older Aphrodites, a tall boy with a huge blond Afro, waves his sparkler a little too close to his hair and sets a couple of his curls ablaze.
Instead of freaking out, he just laughs as the girl next to him dumps half a bottle of water over his head. Neither of them—or the friends surrounding them—seem the least bit fazed by the fact that he was literally just on fire. And neither does Dr. Dione, who simply shakes her head indulgently as she smiles up at them.
See? Total, unrelenting, disastrouschaos.
And these are the people I’m supposed to spend the next year with? Even worse, the nextsixyears with? There’s no way.
Absolutely, positively no way.
I just have to figure out how to convince Dr. Dione—and Dr. Themis—of that fact. Surely it won’t be hard. One look at me, once my hair is tamed, should tell them I don’t belong here. And if that doesn’t work, then the runaway ball in Dr. Themis’s pocket should definitely seal the deal.
It has to have an owl in it. It just has to—there’s no other explanation for this mess. All I have to do is figure out howto convince her to open it and let me switch halls to Athena, where I belong.
In fact, since no one here seems in any big hurry to head over to Aphrodite Hall, maybe now is as good a time as any—
“Hello, my darling Aphrodites!” Dr. Dione projects as she raises both arms and waves enthusiastically at our entire section.
Beside me, Fifi squeals as she waves back. “Can you believe it’s her?” she says to Arjun and me. “My sister says Dr. Dione is the best hall director to have! She’s super smart and super fun.”
I watch Dr. Dione’s swan earrings bob around as she continues to wave at all of us and decide to reserve judgment on that. Especially since she just interrupted my plan to try to talk to Dr. Themis.
“Welcome to all the new members of Aphrodite Hall!” Her gaze skims the crowd, lingering on the first years. “We’re all so happy to have you here, aren’t we?”
