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On cue Alex entered stage left Mr Appleblossoed sandals The white, feathery wings flapped, and slowly Alex rose in the air He concentrated to keep his balance as the sandals propelled hie-headed costu it high, Alex projected his voice in a sinister tone "Aha! You there, Medusa, your snakes betray you I co Polydectus, who has de a bit reckless and pent-up, Alex ad-libbed, "I see it shall take several platters to hold it all"

Lani glared And with that, Alex shouted, "Have at you!" and brought down the sword upon the top half of Lani’s ornate costu snake portion of the costu Whether she trembled in fear of the sword or as part of her act, Alex wasn’t sure He grinned wickedly That felt good

Mr Appleblossom stood up on his chair and applauded wildly, a pencil and his orn script tucked under his arm "Bravo, Perseus! Brava, Medusa!" He stopped to scribble so J P Sousa" He cued the brass band

Lani ripped off what relared up at Alex, her hair flying about with static fro Medusa head Her eyes flashed, and she pointed "You almost chopped my real head off, Alex! Watch it or I’ll--"

Alex, as still flying about helplessly as he waited for the distracted Mr Appleblossolared at Lani and spat back, "Or you’ll what?"

Lani whispered so under her breath

"Knock it off--," Alex yelled, but it was too late She had cast a spell on hi sandals He felt his body harden into stone and tip sideways, then upside down in the air The sandals flapped frantically but could not hold his new stone weight, and he plunged to the stage, crashing and breaking into a thousand pieces The winged sandals flew about the roo Alex’s feet "Not funny," Alex’s ht "Not funny at all"

Still, everybody but Alex laughed, even as Mr Appleblossoether and hand out detentions Once Mr Appleblossoain, flesh and bone rather than stone, he patted the boy on the back, chuckling ood as new, my boy, I’ll have you know Perhaps I’ll write that bit into the show!"

Alex groaned Things couldn’t getMistake

The weather in Artih Mr Today tossed in an occasional bit of rain or a thrilling thunderstors up and remind them all how much they preferred the pleasant sunshine

On the day that marked six months of Alex’s time spent in Artimé, a crisp breeze blew, and the leaves on the trees were a brilliant purplish red Weather like this never occurred in the dry desert land of Quill

Alex had grown tired of hiding in his roo unreasonable with them, but he just couldn’t seem to deal with theical Warrior Training, and the ache of er than he cared to admit--which no one else seerounds to keep away frole, a little farther each day, hesitantly at first but growing bolder at each attele, but for the reeted hi nuts and roots and berries, stalking prey, feeding their young Rarely did he witness anything that proved to be too frightening, though on several occasions he saw a huge gray wolf streaking off to find cover in the brush or resting on warm rocks near the seashore It was al Alex, and the boy hoped he wouldn’t become the wolf’s next meal Yet the animal never approached Alex or threatened him in any way, so Alex felt fairly safe Today the as nowhere to be seen

Alex was quite fond of the cool darkness under the thick canopy of trees, and he was pleased to find a sparkling brook running through the jungle There was one briny river back in Quill that the Necessaries used for transporting equipment to broken-down vehicles stranded around the cos to the e wooden rafts But the stream here in Artimé was clear and cold, and Alex could see schools of fish now and then On this particular boring Saturday he trekked alongside it to see where it led, and found hientle waves lapping the seashore in a sort of lagoon he’d never seen before As he parted the bushes to le and onto the beach, he stopped abruptly, for there, floating in the water, was a large white boat glinting in the sunlight He’d seen pictures of boats in his art books, but he’d never seen a real one before

"Wow," he whispered, looking at the gleaolden seats and shiny chrome that ran around its peri"

If he could have safely ventured out in the water to climb aboard, he would have, but Mr Today had warned thee body of water, this sea contained carnivorous creatures like sharks, and so he’d advised the students to swim only in the protected waters of the cove near the mansion