Chapter 13 Great Gumballs of Fire
ALL AROUND THE AMPHITHEATER, PEOPLE gasp as they lean forward to get a better look at what just happened.
Somewhere behind me someone mutters that this has never occurred before while in front of me, Dr. Themis looks from me to the fallen ball and back again. I can see in her eyes that she’s as confounded as everybody else.
And that’s when the panic starts deep inside me. It’s one thing for the students to be freaked out. It’s another whole issue for the headmaster to be confused—especially when that headmaster is one of the smartest, most accomplished, most powerful people in the world.
What is happening here, and why, oh why, is it happening to me?
My breath catches in my throat. My stomach twists and turns. Every cell in my body goes on high alert as I wait to see how Dr. Themis will respond.
At first, it doesn’t look like she’s planning on doing anything. But after a few excruciating seconds have passed, she finally bends down and picks up the red ball. Then, without so much as a glance in my direction, she slips it into the pocket of her long, shimmering gold coat.
I stare at her in shock, unable to move, as murmurs break out all over the amphitheater. Until, finally, she gives me a pained smile and says, “Go ahead, Penelope. Open your ball.”
I stare down at the green ball in my hand like it’s suddenly become one of those snakes on the bridge that seemed so desperate to bite me.
I want to tell her no, want to ask for the red ball instead. But the truth is, I have no idea which of these balls is supposed to be mine. If I ask to trade and I get the wrong hall, what am I going to do?
At the same time, if I don’t ask to trade and the green ball doesn’t have an owl in it, what will I do then?
“Open the ball,” Dr. Themis says again. Her voice is kind, but she still looks a little rattled, which does absolutely nothing to calm my own rampaging fears.
Desperate for any kind of reassurance, I search the Athena stands until I find Paris. His eyes lock with mine and in them I find the calmness I need.
“It’s going to be okay,” he mouths. “Just open it.”
Paris can be a pain, but he knows me better than anyone. He also knows exactly what’s at stake for me here, and he’d never steer me wrong on purpose. Which is why with Dr. Themis, Paris, and the entire school looking on, I do the only thing I can do right now.
I twist the ball open and wait for an owl—my owl—to fall out of it.
Only that doesn’t happen. Instead, a small golden apple falls straight into my palm.
An apple. Not an owl, but an apple.
Shock thunders through me, makes my knees weak and my hands clammy as I turn back to a serenely smiling Dr. Themis.
“This isn’t right,” I whisper, but she doesn’t hear me. She’s already moving away, toward the Aphrodite section of the bleachers.
“Aphrodites, please welcome the newest member of your hall! Penelope Weaver!”
My name hangs in the air as I stand there for a few seconds, speechless with horror.
But then shouts and whistles explode through the amphitheater as the entire Aphrodite section surges to its feet.
Handfuls of confetti and glitter rain down from the stands as they stomp and clap and jump up and down so hard that the ground beneath my feet trembles.
Or maybe that’s just me.
As I look back down at the apple in my hand, I realize my whole body is shaking.
This can’t be happening. This just can’t be happening.
Not getting into Athena Hall is a horrible nightmare. But getting stuck in Aphrodite is So. Much. Worse. Especially since I’m convinced the ball in Dr. Themis’s pocket has to have an owl in it.
My owl.
“This isn’t right,” I say again, louder this time. “I’m an—”
“Aphrodite.” Dr. Themis speaks over me. “You’re an Aphrodite, and it’s time for you to join your hall.”
She’s still smiling, but there’s steel behind that smile—a warning as well as a welcome. And I don’t know much right now, but every instinct I have is screaming that any hope there is of changing her mind—and changing my fate—rests on me not making a scene.
Which means, at least for now anyway, I’m an Aphrodite.
A shiver of dread runs down my spine as I walk over to the very crowded Aphrodite section on legs that wobble with each step that I take. The only thing keeping me moving—keeping me upright—is the knowledge that this is a mistake.
And mistakes can be fixed.
Now may not be the time or the place to fix it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t sort things out later. Surely if I talk to the head of Aphrodite Hall, they’ll agree I’m not a good fit. I just need to explain that the other ball was mine. I just need to show them that I’m an Athena, not an Aphrodite.
But what if the red ball has an apple in it too? Or worse, a forget-me-not from Hades Hall?
The thought slithers into my mind like a snake, has my already shaky knees threatening to go out from underneath me completely.
I reach out, trying to grab on to the railing for support. But instead of cold metal, my hand connects with warm flesh instead.
“Ellie!” A girl with bright brown eyes and dozens of long, gorgeous braids tipped in red and pink beads grabs my hand and tugs me into the bleachers next to her. “You can sit with me!”
Before I can say anything—or even register what’s happening—she turns to the boy next to her and orders, “Scoot down, will you, Arjun? Ellie needs a seat.”
“My name’s Penelope.” My throat is so tight and dry that I barely recognize my own voice.
She waves a hand. “Penelope’s so boring and serious. Ellie’s more fun. Like my name, Fifi!”
I start to tell Fifi that I’m boring—or at least serious—but before I can, the sky throughout the amphitheater turns as dark as night.
This must be the grand finale Dr. Themis was talking about.
I straighten up in my seat as excitement drowns out my shock. Because if this really is the finale, it means the gods themselves will be coming down to welcome us to Anaximander’s. It’s one of the few traditions my parents were willing to share with Paris and me.
I know I’m not in Athena Hall—yet—but I still want to see Athena.
But instead of the gods like I was expecting—like we all were expecting, judging from the surprise on my classmates’ faces—Dr. Themis raises her arms as she looks over the stands.
“Just a quick reminder that after the ceremony concludes, you will be escorted to your hall by your hall managers. Once there, first years will receive their room and muse assignments, as well as their schedules. Then there will be time to settle in before your hall parties. Enjoy yourselves, but do keep in mind that classes start tomorrow.”
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.