Plans and Gossip

Wow, today’s training was intense. ” Brody collapsed onto a bench in Markos’ courtyard that evening. Every muscle in his body ached. “ You did well, Brody. ” Markos sat beside him. “ Hermes seemed pleased with your speed by the end of the session. And your long jump was much improved. ” “ But not improved enough, ” Julia said. “ Did you see Athena’s champion? He jumped much farther than you, Brody. ” “ Julia! ” At that moment Markos’ older sister hurried toward Julia. “ We need your help in the kitchen. The men are hungry. ”

哇，今天的训练很紧张。”那天晚上，布罗迪瘫倒在马库斯家院子里的长椅上。他全身的肌肉都在疼。 “你做得很好，布罗迪。”马库斯坐在他旁边。“在训练结束时，赫尔墨斯似乎对你的速度还算满意。你的跳远成绩也有了很大提高。” “但还不够，”茱莉亚说。“你看到雅典娜的冠军了吗？他跳得比你远得多，布罗迪。” “茱莉亚！”就在这时，马库斯的姐姐急忙向茱莉亚走去。“我们需要你来厨房帮忙。男人们都饿了。”

“ That’s right. ” Brody smirked at Julia. “ We’re hungry. Go cook our food, woman. ” Julia gritted her teeth. “ I’m busy, ” she told Helene. “ I’ll be there in a minute. ” Helene frowned. “ Please hurry. We’re expecting Hermes and Caerus for dinner again, and Father wants them to be pleased with our hospitality. ” “ You should go to the kitchen, ” Markos said to Julia as Helene disappeared. “ Hermes will be angry if you are not following the customs here. ” “ I’m going, ” Julia retorted. “ But first we should talk about what to do. ”

“没错。”布罗迪对着茱莉亚傻笑。“我们饿了。去做饭吧，女人。” 茱莉亚咬牙切齿道。“我很忙，”她告诉海伦。“我马上就到。” 海伦皱了皱眉。“请快点。我们期待着赫尔墨斯和卡埃罗斯再次共进晚餐，父亲希望他们对我们的款待感到满意。” “你应该去厨房，”海伦消失时，马库斯对茱莉亚说。“如果你不遵守这里的习俗，赫尔墨斯会生气的。” “我要去了，”茱莉亚反驳道。“但首先我们应该讨论该怎么做。”

“ What do you mean?” Brody asked. “ We already know what we’re going to do. I’m going to keep training until I’m stronger and faster than I already am. Then, after I win the Olympics, we’ll go on my victory tour before going home. ” “ Forget your victory tour, ” Julia said. “ The passage could close at any moment, remember? We need to get home as soon as we can. ” Brody shrugged. Julia worried too much. Hermes was a god, which meant Hermes could do anything. That probably included opening a new passage if the first one closed.

“你是什么意思？”布罗迪问。“我们已经知道我们要做什么。我会继续训练，直到我比现在更强壮、更快。” 然后，在我赢得奥运会之后，我们将在回家之前进行我的胜利之旅。” “忘掉你的胜利之旅吧，”茱莉亚说。“通道随时可能关闭，记得吗？我们需要尽快回家。” 布罗迪耸了耸肩。茱莉亚担心过度了。赫尔墨斯是神，这意味着赫尔墨斯可以做任何事。这可能包括在第一条通道关闭时打开一条新通道。

Still, Brody was too tired to argue with Julia about it right now. “ Okay, ” he agreed. “ So the plan is, I win the Olympics, and then we go home. Is that better?” “ Yes, ” she replied. “ Julia! ” Helene yelled again. Julia sighed loudly. “ Coming! ” she yelled back. Then she stomped off into the house. “ She might be right, you know, ” Markos said after Julia was gone. “ Once the Games are over, you should take the first opportunity to return home. ” “ Why?” Brody stretched and yawned. He wondered what was for dinner.

尽管如此，布罗迪太累了，现在无法和茱莉亚争论此事。“好吧，”他同意了。“所以计划是，我赢得奥运会，然后我们回家。这样会更好些吗？” “是的，”她回答。“茱莉亚！”海伦又喊了一声。 茱莉亚大声地叹了口气。“来了！”她喊道。然后她跺着脚进了房子。 “你知道的，她可能是对的，”茱莉亚走后，马库斯说。“一旦奥运会结束，你应该第一时间抓住机会就回家。” “为什么？”布罗迪伸了个懒腰，打了个哈欠。他想知道晚餐吃什么。

“ Because . . . ” Markos hesitated, glancing around carefully, and then lowered his voice. “ The gods can’t be trusted. If you delay, Hermes might forget his promise to let you go. ” “ Really?” Brody blinked in surprise. “ But don’t worry too much, ” Markos said. “ If you bring glory to Hermes through your performance in the Games, he might not forget. In fact, if you beat Zeus’ champion, Hermes will probably let you do anything you want, including leave. ” Brody relaxed again. “ Then I’ll just have to win, ” he said. “ No problem. ”

“因为。。。”马库斯犹豫了一下，小心翼翼地环顾四周，然后压低了声音。 “众神不可信。如果你拖延了，赫尔墨斯可能会忘记他放你走的承诺。” “真的吗？”布罗迪惊讶地眨了眨眼。 “但不要太担心，”马库斯说。“如果你能通过在奥运会上的表现为赫尔墨斯带来荣耀，他可能就不会忘记了。 事实上，如果你击败了宙斯的冠军，赫尔墨斯很可能会让你做任何你想做的事，包括离开。” 布罗迪又放松了下来。“那我就只能赢了，”他说。“没问题。”

Over the next couple of days, Brody did his best to put the plan into action. He trained as hard as he could, doing everything Hermes asked him to do. Hermes was still focused on the running races in the Games, though he also made Brody practice wrestling and javelin throwing. Then one day Hermes told Brody it was time to practice throwing the discus. Brody had never done that before. “ I’m really good at throwing a football, ” he told himself. “ It’s probably the same thing. ”

在接下来的几天里，布罗迪尽最大努力将计划付诸行动。他尽其所能地训练，做赫尔墨斯要求他做的一切。 赫尔墨斯仍然专注于奥运会的跑步比赛，尽管他也让布罗迪练习摔跤和标枪。有一天，赫尔墨斯告诉布罗迪，是时候练习掷铁饼了。 布罗迪以前从未做过。“我真的很擅长扔足球，”他告诉自己。“大概是一回事吧。”