Alternatively

Make an Effort

Life as a goddess used to be so much more interesting in the old days. Kill a few people, start a few wars, meddle in many people's lives. When more of humanity put their faith in the gods, she had all of the power in the world. As their brand of deity lost public attention, they weakened their grip in human affairs, something that didn't sit well with the goddess of love.

She used to be feared and revered, an honored household name. People prayed to her more than they did to Zeus or Athena; love was the foundation of everything.

Fortunately for her, she could adapt with the times. Progression was nice; equality on the inevitable rise, the invention of curly fries, and the ever lasting pining for a fairy tale. Her area of expertise only grew with the times and she rather enjoyed her predicament. There were relationships all around the globe just waiting for her care, and they didn't need to be ones of national importance. She could meddle in whatever she wanted, small or large scale. And sometimes, she took on special projects.

Aphrodite twirled her hair around her finger, watching over the rim of her glasses as the barista called for the person next in line. It didn't take that much to start something beautiful. A simple introduction could be the beginning of a lovely romance. She could see a person's heart and from there, she could find it's perfect match. A true and honest love; the ultimate goal. The two she was setting up had such chemistry, she was positive they'd only need look at each other and know.

The barista called next and Aphrodite sat a little straighter, excited to see her lovers set into motion. They really were quite cute; two high schoolers with big dreams and big hearts. Young people tend to catch her fancy more often than not, as they had a soup of emotions to wade through. Oh, she could just hear the declarations of devotion.

But the connection of souls never came.

Frowning, she followed the barista with her eyes as he traded shifts with a coworker, effectively passing up his chance to meet his soulmate just one person back in line.

No matter.

There are many opportunities to have them meet, they go to the same school and everything. Falling in love at a coffee shop might have been the aesthetic choice, but she is bold enough to admit when something doesn't work.

So she set the boy on a course to meet the girl, a task that would definitely set their love in motion. The classic lab partners troupe would suffice for sure. She posed as a substitute, passing out an activity on behalf of their teacher out sick with the flu. It was important that they didn't have any of their friends in that particular class, the assigned partnerwork forcing their undivided attention to each other. The work itself wasn't too difficult, just some stoichiometry review game, and it would be just boring enough for them to stray to other topics of conversation.

It was a classic for a reason.

She gathered the worksheets as the students filtered into the classroom, scanning the juniors with an amused smile. High schoolers were simply a delight to toy with, but it was just as well watching them try to fumble their way through adolescence themselves. He liked her, she liked someone else, that someone else had a girl friend who was in love with her best friend who was so focused on a 4.0 GPA, she didn't even realize how infatuated her friend was. A whole web of complications and only in the first handful of kids who slumped in their chairs.

Her target leading lady marched in with an attitude of steel and air of untouchability, deftly slinging her bag over the back of her chair before sitting down. Aphrodite admired her spark and she was sure the boy would appreciate it as well.

"Man, she's hot."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the student's comment; Aphrodite wasn't hot, she was gorgeous.