Joan Holub

“Athena looked down at the map just in time to see Odysseus sink into the Mediterranean Sea. She must’ve dropped him when she fell asleep! “This is real water?” She reached for him, grabbing his foot in the nick of time. Something under the water’s surface nibbled at her finger. She bent to look closer. A grinning sea monster about ten inches long splashed out and licked her nose. “Ew!” she said, jerking back. Not only were the seas and oceans real, the beasts that lurked in them were too! Holding Odysseus in one fist, Athena quickly grabbed the bag at her feet with her other hand. After digging around in it a minute, she pulled out the little ship she’d found on the stairs on the way to class. “Here you go,” she said, plopping it into the Mediterranean Sea and setting Odysseus inside it. “This ship is just the thing to get you where you’re going. Once I decide where that is.” “Good save,” murmured Aphrodite. “Thanks,” she said. “But I almost drowned poor Odysseus. What a terrible thing to do to a poor, unsuspecting mortal!” “Don’t worry. You’ll get better at this stuff after a while,” said Aphrodite. But what if I don’t? worried Athena. What if I make a mistake and do something like that to another mortal someday? Like Pallas, for instance. That would be awful! Athena was beginning to think supernatural powers were nothing but a big pain. Every little mistake the gods and goddesses made could cause trouble. And the whole world was watching their every move. So was Mr. Cyclops. Although he only had one eye, it seemed to notice everything. “You’d better get going,” Medusa told her haughtily. “King Menelaus just commanded Odysseus to bring Helen back from Troy.” “You–he can’t do that,” Athena protested. Aphrodite gently elbowed her. “Yes, she can,” she warned.”
― Joan Holub, Athena the Brain

“I was just telling Claire about a guy I met in bread class. I hate him, but he could be my soul mate.”
― Sarah Addison Allen, First Frost