“I swear, it’s okay.” I force a smile I’m definitely not feeling and continue, “I really want to know.”
My words must be the reassurance he’s looking for, because his entire face lights up, “It’s so cool, Pen. We have a giant library filled with every book you can imagine—including the entire unabridged version ofAncient Myths for Any Occasion.”
“All forty-nine volumes?” I whisper as envy sweeps through me. I’ve always wanted to see the complete set, but I never have—at least not in real life.
“I didn’t count how many volumes there were, but they took up five of the biggest shelves I’ve ever seen. Plus, they have an entire section of the library devoted to games of strategy. Chess, Risk, Catan, plus tons more. And they’ve got strategic video games and real-life simulators too. It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Except for the fake war room they’ve set up, where the upperclassers plan a wholepaintball war against Zeus Hall. There are battles several times throughout the year, and before graduation, the faculty chooses a winner.” Even though it’s only our second day here, he looks proud as he says, “We’ve won the last ten years in a row.”
“That sounds amazing!” I tell him, because it does. Planning stuff is pretty much my favorite thing in the world to do—I can’t imagine how much fun it would be to plan a paintball war that lasts the entire year.
“What about Aphrodite?” he asks, and it’s obvious he’s trying to cheer me up. “What do you guys have over there?”
I think about the disco apple and the stolen fireworks and the rooftop party. They’re all cool, but I can’t see myself trying to explain them to Paris. He wouldn’t get it, at all. Plus, there’s no rooftop cool enough to equal a yearlong paintball war.
Thankfully, I’m saved from answering when Dr. Minthe claps his hands. “Okay, class, everyone is here and it’s finally time to get started. Let’s begin by thanking Agatha for her participation today.”
He pats the giant eagle perched next to him on the ground, even as a loud groan arises from some of the other students. I turn to find several of them looking more bruised and scratched up than I feel. So much for Agatha not hurting anyone.
“Okay, okay, we’ll skip the thank-yous for now, though I think it’s a little rude.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out an entire hamburger. “You did a great job,” he tells her, stroking her wing. Then he tosses the hamburger superhigh, and she lunges for it. She catches it and swallows it in one bite before launching herself into the air and flying away.
Dr. Minthe watches her go with a fond smile on his face before turning back to the class. “All right, then, let’s get down to it. Tell me everything you know about the myth of Pandora’s box.”
29.A Hit and a Myth
RHEA’S HAND SHOOTS UP SOfast that even I can’t keep up. Then again, that might also be because I’m thinking about the box I saw before. Was I right after all? I thought the Pandora’s box myth was too obvious for a school that wants us to figure so much out on our own, but maybe not. Maybe Dr. Themis and the rest of the faculty decided to give us a break.
I raise my hand along with half the class—including Paris and Fifi. But Dr. Minthe calls on Rhea, who gives the rest of us a smug look before replying, “Pandora opened a box and let all kinds of evils escape into the world.”
Dr. Minthe looks a little disappointed at her answer, but he doesn’t correct her—probably because that’s the basic premise of the myth. He does, however, put her on the spot by asking, “How many evils?”
Rhea looks uncertain, and several long, awkward seconds go by before she finally guesses “Ten.”
“Seven.” The word is out of my mouth before I know I’m going to say it. I brace myself for a reprimand for speaking without being called on—the way I shout things out when I’m excited used to drive my old teachers crazy. But Dr. Minthe doesn’t say a word about my behavior.
Instead, he nods. “You’re right, Penelope. It was seven. Can you name them for me?”
As he—and the rest of the class—stares straight at me, I have trouble remembering my own name, let alone what kinds of things Pandora let out of the box. But I take a deep breath, tell myself to calm down. And then I say, “That actually depends on which version of the myth you’re talking about. Most retellings differ, at least a little bit, on what those seven things are.”
“Interesting that you point that out.” Dr. Minthe looks intrigued. “Why do you think that is?”
“I’ve never really thought about it before.”
“No?” He quirks a brow. “Well, think about it now.”
“Is it because things change based on who’s telling the story?” Fifi suggests in a voice so quiet I barely recognize it. In every other situation we’ve been in, she’s always the loud one. But something about answering in class—or at least this class—seems to have turned her almost timid.
I wonder what that’s about. Besides being attacked by a giant eagle, of course.
“Perhaps. But are you suggesting that it’s all just onegiant game of telephone, where people change the story because they forget? Or is it something more sinister?”
The inflection he puts on “sinister” has chills skating up and down my spine. But before I can figure out what Dr. Minthe is trying to get at, Rhea jumps in again.
“I don’t think it’s sinister at all,” she tells him. “It’s just the way things evolve through time. The myth first came about like four thousand years ago—”
“Twenty-eight hundred, actually,” he corrects her.
Rhea’s face flames, and I tell myself I shouldn’t take pleasure in her embarrassment. But then I remember the way she looked at me before she knew I was Paris’s sister, and how she turned the fake act on as soon as she did know, and I don’t feel so bad.
“Still, twenty-eight hundred years is a long time ago,” her sister, Selene, jumps in.
