32_To the Temple

As soon as Hermes had disappeared into the house, Julia whirled to face Markos. " Why did Hermes laugh at the idea of my coming to the banquet?” she demanded. Markos looked surprised. “ Females are never allowed at that sort of banquet. And I think only unmarried females are allowed at the Games. ” ” What?” Julia frowned. She was getting tired of hearing about all the stuff that girls and women weren’t allowed to do in ancient Greece. “ But Hera will be at both events, won’t she?” Julia argued. “ She’s female! ”

” She’s a goddess, ” Markos replied. “ That’s different. All the goddesses will be there with their champions, of course. ” Julia glanced at Brody. He didn’t look upset at all. “ Aargh! ” Julia exclaimed, stomping away from the courtyard. “ Hey! ” Brody called after her. “ Where are you going?” Julia didn’t answer him or slow down. Right now she wished the boys would just ignore her, like everyone else in ancient Greece seemed to do.

But footsteps soon pounded behind her. A moment later Brody and Markos reached her. “ Are you all right?” Markos asked. ” She’s just upset because of the whole girl thing, ” Brody told him. “ In our world girls can do all the same stuff boys can do. ” He paused. “ Well, most stuff, anyway. They don’t usually play football. ” Julia rolled her eyes, but she didn’t respond. She was staring up at the Temple of Caerus. The moon had just risen, and the temple looked beautiful perched on the hillside in the silvery light. For a second she almost smiled.

Then she remembered that their only way home lay inside that temple. “ Let’s go up there, ” she said. “ To the temple?” Brody said. “ Why?” Markos looked worried. “ You’re not going to try to sneak through the rift again, are you?” ” We wouldn’t do that, ” Julia said. “ We know that would make Hermes punish your family. ” ” Yeah, ” Brody added. “ Besides, dinner will be ready soon at your house, and I’m hungry. ” ” It will only take a few minutes, ” Julia said. “ I want to try to peek in, to make sure the rift is still open. ”

“ Why wouldn’t it be open?” Brody asked with a shrug. “ Hermes said it would stay that way until after the Olympics, at least. ” Julia corrected him. “ He said it probably would. Anyway I just want to see it. ” She bit her lip, not wanting to admit that she was homesick. Being in ancient Greece was fun and sometimes interesting. But at other times it felt dangerous and hard; there were so many things she couldn’t do. “ I wonder what our parents are thinking, ” she said to Brody. “ Do you think they called the police when we went missing?”

He looked startled. “ I never really thought about that. They probably did. They must be super worried about us, right?” Julia nodded, glancing at the temple again. “ At least we’ll be home soon. The Games are only three days away. ” “ Right. ” Brody stared at the temple. “ Maybe it’s not a bad idea to try to get a peek at the rift. ” Julia smiled at him. He smiled back. Then he turned away and charged up the path. ” Be careful, Brody! ” Markos called. “ We don’t want the guard to see us, or he might tell Hermes we were looking around the temple. ”