“Different,” Fifi tells him as she pulls out her phone. “I snapped a pic before we came down.”
When she hands him the phone, Leah and Charlie crowd around too. “Yep, those are definitely weird,” Leah says. “What doessolve a riddleeven mean? What kind of riddle? And what do you have to do to solve it? Just guess the answer or actually live the riddle or…?”
“That’s kind of what we were hoping Levi could answer,” I tell her.
“Yeah, I’ve got no idea. I’ve never seen anything like these. Then again”—he shrugs—“I’ve been at this school six years, and I’ve never met anyone who had one of the Big Nine for their muse. That’s probably why they’re different.”
“I say try to do one of them and see how it goes,” Charlie suggests. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
I could fail and disappoint Athena and ensure that she never, ever lets me belong to Athena Hall. But I can’t exactly say that to this table full of Aphrodites. Instead, I settle for asking, “What happens if I fail?”
“What do you mean?” Levi looks baffled.
“Let’s say I try to solve a riddle but I don’t do it the way the gods want, or I mess it up and don’t actually solve anything. Am I punished for it?”
“Punished for making a mistake?” Charlie shakes her head. “That’s kind of the point of this school. It’s certainly the point of your labors.”
“That’s why you’ve got six years to solve them all,” Levi adds. “You’re supposed to fail, and learn from that failure. Then you’ll try again and probably fail again. I’m in my last year here, and I’ve only completed three labors so far.
“But that’s what the gods—and the teachers—expect. If you could do all the labors now, what would be the point of spending six years at this school? You’d already know everything.”
“I thought knowing everything was the point,” I mutter, stabbing my spoon into the half-eaten remnants of my sundae.
Charlie laughs. “Now you sound like one of those Athena or Zeus robots across the lake. Sometimes the goal isn’t really the point. Sometimes it’s how you get there that’s important.”
I don’t have a clue what to say to any of that—the robot insult directed at Athenas or the idea that I’m supposed to care about learning, not achieving. It’s so different from anything I’ve ever been taught that I’m not sure how to even think about it.
Not to mention it totally ruins my plan to do all my labors quickly to get Athena’s attention. If they’re right and the labors are meant to last six years, I’m totally out of luck. Which means I need a new idea.
Too bad I’m completely out.
“Enough school stuff!” Fifi says as she finishes the last of her ice cream. “Ellie and I need to get going. We’ve got plans for the rest of the night.”
“We do?” I ask. I thought mandatory attendance at this partywasthe plan.
“Oh yeah?” Leah looks intrigued. “What have you decided to use?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Fifi gives her a super prim look.
“Paint?” Charlie asks, leaning forward eagerly.
“Stickers?” Levi suggests.
Fifi looks down her nose at them. “We have no idea what you’re going on about. Do we, Ellie?”
“Nope,” I answer, partly because of roommate loyalty but mostly because I really don’t have a clue.
“You’re good,” Levi acknowledges with a wag of his finger. “But not good enough. Iwillget it out of you.”
“Hearts?” Leah suggests.
“Lace?” Charlie volunteers.
“Spiderwebs?” Levi ponders.
“What do you take us for? A bunch of amateurs?” Fifi links her arm through mine and starts propelling the both of us toward the other side of the roof.
“A couple of first years!” Charlie calls after us.
