The upperclassers whoop and holler as the boy sitting behind us slaps an enthusiastic hand on Fifi’s shoulder and the other one on mine. “Welcome to Aphrodite!” he yells. “You’re going to have one heck of a time here!”
“We’re so excited to be here!” Fifi yells back, all but vibrating with joy.
I’m too busy trying to peel his pink-cotton-candy-coated fingers off my shoulder to answer. Wet, torn, and now coated with sugar—this shirt isnevergoing to recover.
I just hope the same can’t be said about me.
When I turn back around, it’s to find Dr. Dione standing right in front of me. “We’re particularly happy to have you as part of Aphrodite Hall, Penelope. Welcome.”
My brain goes blank as those bright purplish-blue eyes stare kindly into mine. Manners dictate that I tell her I’m happy to be here in Aphrodite Hall, but I’m not. I’m also a horrible liar, so she probably won’t believe me even if I do manage to get the words out. Which leaves me at a total loss as to what I’m supposed to do.
In the end, I just smile back at her a little sickly. Thankfully, though, Fifi has enough enthusiasm for both of us.
“Ellie and I are so excited to be here!” she explodes, grabbing my arm and shaking it as she dances back and forth on her toes. “We can’t wait to see Aphrodite Hall!”
“I can’t wait to show it to you!” Dr. Dione answers, her eyes alight with pure laughter now. I can’t tell if it’s because of Fifi’s enthusiasm or my lack thereof. Either way, something tells me she sees a lot more than her wild exterior suggests.
The idea makes me like her better even as it makes me more uneasy. If I’ve learned nothing else today, it’s that nothing at Anaximander’s is quite what it seems.
“Well, then, I’d say it’s about time to get this train on the tracks!” Dr. Dione raises her voice so the top of the bleachers can hear her. “Levi, Elysia! Come down here so I can introduce you to the first years.”
“Ugh.” Fifi flops her forehead down onto the back of her hand dramatically—which I’m coming to find is the sameway she does everything. “Levi has been so full of himself all summer because Dr. Dione selected him as one of the hall managers.”
“Levi?” I ask, turning to watch two of the older kids make their way down the narrow stairway at the end of our section. One of them is a short girl with a bouncy blond ponytail and red heart gems glued near the corners of her blue eyes while the other is a tall boy with a dark brown gaze and a wide smile that looks a lot like Fifi’s.
“My older brother,” she confirms with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “Now that he’s in his final year here, he’s become completely unbearable. He already thinks he has the right to boss Charlie and me around at home just because he’s the oldest. Now he thinks he gets to do it here as well.”
“Charlie?” I ask, trying to keep up with all the names and information she’s throwing at me.
“My sister.” She waves a hand over her shoulder. “She’s back there somewhere with the rest of the third years. You’ll meet her soon enough.”
As Elysia and Levi take their places next to Dr. Dione, our hall director continues, “First years, I’d like you to meet your hall managers for this year, Elysia Braverland and Levi Auclaire.”
Elysia waves and bounces around like a cheerleader at the most important game of the season while Levi takes avery dramaticbow.
It must run in the family.
“Both Elysia and Levi are sixth years,” Dr. Dionecontinues. “And they both know almost as much about Aphrodite Hall as I do. So if you have any questions or need anything and I’m not around, feel free to find one of them and ask for help. Levi’s room is on the third floor and Elysia’s is on the fifth, and they both have hall manager signs on their doors so you can find them easily.
“Now.” It’s her turn to pause dramatically—apparently drama is an Aphrodite thing and not just a Fifi’s-family thing—before pointing at the sky and moving her hand in a circular motion.
No, not quite circular, I realize as a bright, sparkly pink heart forms above her head. Then another and another and another. “Follow your hearts to Aphrodite Hall, where they—and you—belong.”
15.If the Sparkly Heart Fits
BESIDE ME, FIFI SQUEALS WITHjoy as Dr. Dione whirls around in a swish of red and pink fabric and heads toward the nearest exit.
“How did she do that?” I ask, glancing around to see if any of the other hall directors have done something similar.
Turns out the answer is no, they haven’t. The closest thing any other hall has to sparkly, floating air hearts is the very neat Athena placard carried by a student at the front of the two lines currently exiting the amphitheater. It has an owl on it and reads This Way.
So, no. Definitely not the same as sparkly pink hearts at all.
“Do what?” Fifi responds to my question as she grabs both Arjun’s and my hands and drags us out of our seats and down the one step to the ground.
She sounds so confused that I start to wonder if I’m the only one seeing the bright pink hearts. Did I hit my head during that whole waterfall situation and not know it? Maybe this is just a horrible hallucination and I’m actually in Athena Hall after all.
“Just kidding!” Fifi says with a laugh, completely unaware that she’s just destroyed my last hope as she hooks her arm through mine and continues to pull me along. “I know you mean the hearts. Charlie says she’s always doing stuff like that, and nobody knows how she does it. But Levi says she has a lot of power because she’s an actual descendant of Aphrodite.”
