Greek Goddess Athena
Source: TelecomTV
You managed to survive your first week of school by putting your head down and doing your work per usual. Besides small talk with a few people, Athena has really been the only person that you have kept up with and talked to consistently since school began.
Once Monday morning rolls around, Athena walks in to first period and waves hello to you. Class ends and you walk out together like usual.
"The word on the street is that we have a pop quiz over our readings this week. How about we go to my house after school and start studying for it? I'll have my dad send a cloud after school if you want to."
"Yeah that sounds like fun. I'll meet you out front after sixth period?"
"Sure, I'll see you then."
You both wave goodbye and head opposite directions to your next classes. The day goes by slow as Mondays do and once the day is over you wait outside next to the garden of statues. Looking around, you notice there is a large statue of Zeus and remember that he's Athena's dad. Well, he's also half of the school's dad. Athena comes up to you and says hello and you make small talk while you wait for the cloud. One thing you notice is how Athena knows almost everybody- it feels like everybody knows everybody. You start to get more curious about all the drama she was talking about last week and wonder if it's because everyone is so closely related.
Suddenly a bolt of lightning flashes and a cloud appears right in front of you. This certainly turns heads and leads people to start wondering who the mystery girl is with Athena. Being in the spotlight isn't your cup of tea, so you look down at the textbook in your hand to pretend like everyone isn't watching you. In retrospect, hanging out with somebody like Athena makes it hard to avoid the spotlight, and especially at a school like this.
"Hey, our ride is here. Are you ready?" asks Athena. You say yes and both hop on the cloud. Another bolt of lightning flashes and suddenly you're on Mount Olympus.
Once you arrive, you're outside a gorgeous white house with tall pillars, perfectly manicured shrubs, and views over all of the surrounding cities from the top of the mountain. It's much more beautiful than you could have imagined. Upon entrance, you see a grand entryway with tall ceilings and artwork, with everything in sight either white or gold. You're greeted by Hera as you walk in the kitchen.
"Athena, you didn't tell me we were having guests today. I would have cleaned up more," Hera said. The whole house was already spotless.
"We're happy to have you over. I'll make a snack for you girls to take upstairs. What's your name?"
You introduce yourself and thank her for letting you come. She hands Athena a plate of olives and you both start to head upstairs.
"Thanks, Hera. We'll be studying for a quiz upstairs," Athena tells her.
You get up to her room. It is spotless and filled with books of all kinds and different plants on her shelves, with not one thing out of place. You gather that she probably enjoys being organized.
"Hera is only my step-mom. My real mom was my dad's first wife. Her name is Metis. There have been six other women after her. Hera is cool and all, but I'm never sure how long they stay around. You never know with my dad. That's why I say that half of the school is technically my sibling."
"Is your dad home?"
"No, he's never usually around much. It's hard being that high-profile. There's always somewhere to be. I've gotten used to it over the years."
You pull out your notebook and the textbook for your War Strategy class and start reading. After you finish the plate of olives, Athena asks you how you're liking the school so far.
"I don't mind it. I try not to get too opinionated since I likely won't be here very long. I am starting to get curious though, you said there's a lot of drama at the school, right? What kind of drama?"
"Honestly, I try to stay out of it. There's only one time that I was in the middle of something- last year's prom. Eris, who LOVES to get everyone talking, decided since she didn't get nominated for prom queen that we should do something called the golden apple queen to start drama. The golden apple was supposed to represent who the school thought was the most beautiful. Whoever won got to take home the golden apple. Pheme, Aphrodite, and I were all nominated. I don't care too much about the title, but boy do I love to win. Plus from my humble opinion, I think the golden apple queen should have been a well rounded mix of smarts and beauty. Not that I'm suggesting that's me or anything. The school voted on it and chose Aphrodite only because she was bribing people for their votes. It was totally rigged. After that a war basically started because some people were mad about Aphrodite cheating. It's really not that big of a deal but some people hate her for it now. Other than that, I prefer to sit back and observe the stupidity. Aphrodite, Pheme, and Eris are always involved in something. Given my school and extracurriculars and the mock war team, I just don't have time for it."
"Well, I'll be sure to avoid them and stay out of the mix. Sounds like there's always something to talk about."
You study for a little while longer and decide to go home for dinner. You thank her and Hera again for having you in their home, and a cloud transports you back home. Now that you have some clarity on what the school is really like, you have a good idea of who to avoid. You know to prepare for an interesting school year.
Author's Note
This story serves to give a little bit more insight into the life of Athena. Athena's parents are Zeus and Metis, but Zeus remarried many times after. The story that I used about the Golden Apple Queen was based off of the judgement of Paris. In this story, the goddess Eris was upset that she didn't get invited to a wedding, so she brought an apple to the ceremony that was meant to be a representation of beauty. Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite claimed it with the motive that they were the most beautiful goddess, but Aphrodite won the prize by bribery. This event eventually led to the start of the trojan war. I changed the story line to fit high school by making it a prom setting and using Pheme instead of Hera because Hera is Athena's step-mom and had the school vote instead of Zeus choose the winner, and said that it started drama between friends to eliminate the element of war. Since there is supposed to be drama all in the high school, I wanted to include a story with Athena to give background about her life although she will be narrating the other stories as well.
Bibliography
The Judgement of Paris. Theoi