Aphrodite the Fair Read online

  Aphrodite fluffed her golden hair with one perfectly manicured pink-fingernail-polished hand. Did she have to spell it out? “Well, I am the goddessgirl of love and beauty.”

  “So?” Athena said again. “For the Fairest could as easily mean the trophy is meant for the one who is the most fair and just. As in justice. As in the goddessgirl of wisdom. And that would be me.”

  The two girls glared at each other as Eris held the trophy between them. From the corner of her eye, Aphrodite glimpsed Ares and Heracles exchanging looks of concern. But she couldn’t seem to break free of the trophy’s enchantment, and neither could Athena.

  “I’m sorry,” she told Ares helplessly. It took some effort to send Athena an apologetic look, but when she did, Athena returned it.

  “Me too,” Athena replied, “but I can’t help it. I want that trophy too.”

  “Well, if the contest continues, one of you will win it in the end,” Eris coaxed. She’d begun to grow taller again. More powerful.

  “Wait!” Ares said, sounding desperate. “Maybe we could flip a coin to decide the winner.”

  “Huh?” said Heracles. “That would end the contest, all right. And maybe stop team members from fighting. But what about the enchant–oof!” Ares had elbowed him in the ribs.

  “God-dude! What’d you do that for?” Heracles complained, rubbing his side. Aphrodite was wondering the same thing.

  Eris scowled at the two boys. Did Ares fear his sister would grow angrier still if she guessed they all knew for sure that the trophy was enchanted? Aphrodite wondered even in the midst of her longing for it.

  Ignoring the boys now, Eris held the trophy even closer to her and Athena. “Touch it,” she said to them, her eyes glittering. “You know you want to.”

  With a huge effort of will, Aphrodite took a deliberate step backward. At the same time, Athena did too. The two girls locked eyes, and as they did so, Aphrodite felt a mutual softening in their gaze. Athena is my friend, said a small voice inside her head. Friendship is more important than any old contest or trophy.

  Athena smiled at her, and she smiled back. Was it possible they were having similar thoughts? As if sensing that help was needed, Artemis joined the two girls, and they all linked arms. Perhaps it was that little bit of extra support that enabled her and Athena to break free of the trophy’s hold over them. At least for now. Because unlike poor Eris, the goddessgirls’ strength came from friendship, not discord.

  Thinking about that, Aphrodite got the best idea ever. An idea that was sure to satisfy everyone, no matter how the coin toss came out. She glanced over at Ares. “Okay, let’s do it,” she said.

  Eris let out an exasperated sigh, but luckily, she kept her temper.

  Ares reached into the pocket of his tunic only to come up empty-handed. “Anyone got a coin?” he asked, looking around sheepishly.

  Heracles came up with one and handed it to him. Ares examined it, saying, “Never seen one like this. Where did you get it?”

  “It’s an old Trojan coin. Cassandra gave a bunch to Apollo, and he gave one to me.” Cassandra was Apollo’s crush, and though she and her family lived in an apartment in the Immortal Marketplace now, they were originally from Troy.

  “That’s her brother, Prince Paris, on the ‘head’ side,” Heracles went on to explain. “The walled city of Troy is on the ‘tail’ side.”

  “Okay, then,” said Ares. “We’ll use it. Heads or tails?” he asked Aphrodite and Athena as he flipped the coin in the air. “Heads!” Aphrodite called out as at the same time that Athena shouted, “Tails!”

  Ares caught the coin as it fell and deftly flipped it onto the back of his left hand, keeping the coin covered with his right.

  “Ready?” he asked the girls.

  “Ready!” the girls called back.

  12

  Paris Decides

  Ares and Aphrodite

  ARES UNCOVERED THE COIN. “HEADS!” he announced. “Looks like Paris has decided the winner. It’s Aphrodite.” He didn’t much like the idea of her taking possession of the enchanted For the Fairest trophy, though. Who knew if it might continue to cause trouble? But at least the contest was over.

  To his astonishment, Aphrodite didn’t immediately take the trophy for herself. “I need a minute alone with Athena,” she said instead.

  The two girls stepped to one side of the olive grove to whisper together. Ares and the others watched as Athena nodded her head at whatever Aphrodite was saying to her. What were the they up to? he wondered.

  He didn’t have to wonder for long. Soon the two goddessgirls returned, standing together. Aphrodite said to Eris, “Athena and I have agreed that the fairest decision is for you to keep the trophy.”

  Hearing this, Ares’s mouth fell open. So did his sister’s. But whereas the girls’ decision pleased him, Eris seemed taken aback by it. “But–” she started to protest.

  “If there’s a real winner in this contest, it’s you,” Athena told her. “You’re the reason MOA’s test scores and grades have improved over these last two weeks.”

  “Yes,” Aphrodite agreed. “So, we think that you deserve the trophy much more than either of us do. Besides,” she added. “You rescued Adonis!”

  Eris seemed to have been caught off guard by this strange turn of events. Ares wondered if anyone else in the group noticed how her height accordioned up and down widly as she tried to decide if she should be pleased that Aphrodite and Athena wanted her to keep the trophy–or annoyed. But in the end, she accepted the trophy back.

  “Well, I guess this proves I really am  the fairest of us all,” she said, unable to resist a semi-snarky remark. But then, dipping her head in apology, she added, “No offense.”

  “None taken,” Aphrodite replied graciously.

  Athena nodded.

  Ares could only stare at his crush in admiration. Clever, clever Aphrodite! Was it possible they’d all soon be rid of Eris?

  Eris slipped the trophy into her bag and everyone started out of the grove. Ares fell into step beside his sister as the others went on ahead of them. Though relieved that neither Athena nor Aphrodite would be taking possession of the trophy, he was worried that it could still cause trouble if it remained at MOA. Somehow, he was going to have to find a way to convince his sister to leave the Academy. But before he could bring up that touchy subject, she spoke first.

  “You know,” Eris told him. “You were right all along about there being an enchantment on my trophy. The Be a Hero shop owner, Mr. Dolos, promised it would affect anyone who touched it, but he–”

  “–was wrong about that,” Ares said, finishing her sentence. “ ’Cause it didn’t affect me.” Whether that was because he was her brother or because he was male was hard to say, since no other boys but him had handled the trophy.

  Eris shrugged. “Yeah.”

  They crossed the courtyard, and at the bottom of the granite steps, they caught up to the others. Then, to Ares’ utter astonishment, Eris made an announcement. “Hey, everyone. I hope you all won’t be too disappointed, but I’ve made up my mind to return home.”

  “Really?” said Ares, his heart lifting. This was an incredible stroke of luck! He sensed the collective sigh of relief that swirled around the group, but luckily, Eris didn’t seem to notice it.

  His sister shot him a wry smile. “Really. I mean, I like it here at MOA, but I miss my friends back at Corinthian Middle School more than I thought I would. “Well, one friend, anyway,” she said with a blush.

  Ares totally missed the blush. He was focused only on the fact that she was leaving. And that she’d made the decision all on her own! In his joy, he surprised both himself and Eris, and probably his friends as well, by giving her a big old bear hug.

  “Aha! I knew it,” Aphrodite exclaimed in delight to Eris after the hug ended. “That blue letterscroll. You’ve got a crush!”

  “Maybe,” Eris said with a hint of her old defensiveness. Then she growled, “But don’t even try to weasel his n
ame out of me because I’m not telling!”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Aphrodite said quickly. She wasn’t Pheme, after all! She glanced around as they all started up the steps to the Academy. They were way late for second period by now. There were no other students around. But that was okay. She was sure she could sweet-talk Ms. Hydra into giving them all late passes.

  “The thing is,” Eris confided, “my friend wrote me that the principal at Corinthian has agreed to my return.” She paused, then added, “You see, I’ve been zipping back and forth to help out at my old school while you’ve all been in classes these past two weeks, trying to make amends for that unfortunate roof incident. The roof is fixed now, by the way. School starts up on Monday.”

  Huh? So she fibbed to Zeus and all of us about being on semester break? Typical, thought Aphrodite. Only it sounded like her school had probably been closed for repairs this whole time. Whatever. At any rate, she had to smile a little at Eris’s second use of the word “incident.”

  “When will you be leaving?” Artemis asked the girl.

  “Right away, actually, now that I’ve decided,” Eris told everyone. “Since the competition’s not going to continue and all. There’s nothing to pack since I didn’t bring anything from home except my trophy.” She glanced at Aphrodite. “Only I guess I need to return your chiton.”

  Aphrodite liked that chiton Eris was wearing but it was kind of torn and ruined by now. Besides, she had tons of others she liked as well. “Please keep it,” Aphrodite told her. “As a going-away gift.”

  “Thank you,” said Eris, seeming genuinely touched.

  Meanwhile Ares had asked Athena for the winged sandals she was holding–the ones she’d hoped to use to help get Adonis down from the tree–and Athena had handed them over. “Take these winged sandals to make the trip back to Earth a little faster,” he offered, handing them to his sister. “Next time I’m home to visit, I can get them and bring them to MOA.”

  “But of course you’re welcome here anytime,” Aphrodite assured Eris as she sat on a step to put on the sandals. She didn’t want the girl to feel hurt. Ares’s comment had made it seem like he didn’t expect her to ever be back! Eris was his sister, after all, and she did have a sweet side–sort of.

  “You know, Zeus was close to offering me a place here at MOA,” Eris remarked. “I hope he won’t be too disappointed I’ve decided not to stay.” She hesitated before putting on the second sandal, as if reconsidering her decision to go.

  “Oh, I’m sure he’ll understand,” Ares rushed to say.

  “Yes!” Heracles nodded. “He will.”

  “I know Dad appreciates everything you’ve done,” Athena added.

  “You’ve certainly made these last two weeks interesting,” added Artemis.

  Aphrodite hid a smile. It was clear that they–and probably all of the students at MOA–were anxious for Eris to leave so that things could get back to normal again.

  Moments later they all got their wish. With a wave, Eris left for Earth, clutching her bag with the enchanted trophy and her letterscroll inside. Aphrodite and all the others watched as she skimmed away from the school in the borrowed pair of winged sandals.

  “Well, that’s that,” Athena said with a sigh of relief. “I’ll go post a sign declaring that the contest is over.”

  “Say it was a tie,” Aphrodite advised.

  “Good idea,” said Heracles. “Then maybe everyone can get back to being friends again!”

  “What about the prizes Principal Zeus promised the winning team?” Artemis thought to ask.

  Ares grinned. “When we tell him my sister has left, I bet he’ll be as relieved as we are. He’ll probably give the whole student body prizes galore!”

  “Now that Eris is gone, taking her discord with her, the idea of making the opposing team be our servants for a day probably won’t seem like such a big thrill,” said Athena.

  “I’d be happy with a week of homework-free days,” Aphrodite put in.

  “Me too,” said Artemis.

  “Yeah, I think I’ve studied harder in the last two weeks than in all my years here put together!” said Ares.

  “I hear you, buddy,” said Heracles, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Our brains need a rest!”

  As everyone started toward Zeus’s office to report on Eris’s departure and to get late passes from Ms. Hydra, Aphrodite fell into step beside Ares. She tugged on his arm gently to get him to slow down, and the two of them dropped back behind the others. “You know, I never did get Eris to tell me anything about you when you were a little boy.”

  “Good,” said Ares. Then, when she made a pretend pouty face, he took a deep breath. “Okay, I know I never told you this, but she used to beat up on me when we were growing up. Pinching, taunting, kicking, trying to get me in trouble all the time. I was terrified of her,” Then he added softly, “At times I still am.”

  “Anyone would be. Even Zeus, I bet,” Aphrodite said. “Eris can be pretty intimidating when she wants to be!” His vulnerability had touched her. He didn’t often show that side of himself.

  “Believe it or not, though, I think I’ll miss her a little,” Ares said. “But not all the turmoil she causes.” As they headed off to class, he smiled at Aphrodite. “Want to go to the Supernatural Market for shakes after school?”

  “Hmm,” said Aphrodite. “That does sound good, but I really should study a bit more for my Hero-ology test tomorrow morning.”

  “Aw, come on. The contest is over,” he said. “And it’s only one itsy-bitsy quiz. . . .” As she hesitated, Ares pulled something from his pocket. It was the Trojan coin. “I forgot to give this back to Heracles after the coin toss.”

  She took it form him, sending him a mischievous look. “Want to let Paris decide about the shakes?”

  Ares grinned, nodding. “Okay. Heads we get shakes after class? Tails we study?”

  Aphrodite flipped the coin high in the air and Ares caught it. And for the second time that day, it came up heads.

  “Shakes it is,” Aphrodite said, beaming. “Which is fine, actually. I can wait to study till after dinner.”

  “Yes!” crowed Ares.

  Aphrodite smiled at him. Principal Zeus might be a bit disappointed if test scores dipped some with Eris’s departure and the grades contest’s end. But she figured that by now even Zeus would agree that too much competition was not necessarily a good thing.

  Slipping her hand in Ares’s, Aphrodite hurried up the stairs with her crush and then off to class.

  Don’t miss the next adventure in the Goddess Girls series!

  Coming Soon

  JOAN HOLUB has authored and/or illustrated over 140 children’s books, including the New York Times bestselling picture book Mighty Dads (illustrated by James Dean) and Little Red Writing (illustrated by Melissa Sweet). She lives in North Carolina and at www.joanholub.com.

  SUZANNE WILLIAMS is the author of over fifty books for children, including the award-winning picture book Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg). She lives out­side Seattle, WA, and is online at www.suzanne-williams.com.

  Together, Joan and Suzanne write the Goddess Girls, Heroes in Training, and Grimmtastic Girls series.

  Aladdin

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  READ ALL THE BOOKS IN THE GODDESS GIRLS SERIES

  ATHENA THE BRAIN

  PERSEPHONE THE PHONY

  APHRODITE THE BEAUTY

  ARTEMIS THE BRAVE

  ATHENA THE WISE

  APHRODITE THE DIVA

  ARTEMIS THE LOYAL

  MEDUSA THE MEAN

  GODDESS GIRLS SUPER SPECIAL: THE GIRL GAMES

  PANDORA THE CURIOUS

  PHEME THE GOSSIP

  PERSEPHONE THE DARING

  CASSANDRA TH
E LUCKY

  ATHENA THE PROUD

  IRIS THE COLORFUL

  APHRODITE THE FAIR

  COMING SOON:

  MEDUSA THE RICH

  AMPHITRITE THE BUBBLY

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  First Aladdin paperback edition December 2014

  Text copyright © 2014 by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

  Cover illustration copyright © 2014 by Glen Hanson

  Also available in an Aladdin hardcover edition.

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  Cover designed by Karin Paprocki

  The text of this book was set in Baskerville Handcut.