Free Uglies by Scott Westerfeld Page B

way back to some old black-and-white ones in an English she could barely understand. There was no one to go to concerts with, and dorm sports were boring to watch now that she didn’t know anyone on the teams. All the other uglies looked at her enviously, but no one saw much point in making friends. Probably it was better to get the operation over with all at once. Half the time, she wished the doctors would just kidnap her in the middle of the night and do it. She could imagine a lot worse things than waking up pretty one morning. They said at school that they could make the operation work on fifteen-year-olds now. Waiting until sixteen was just a stupid old tradition.
    But it was a tradition nobody questioned, except the occasional ugly. So Tally had a week to go, alone, waiting.
    Shay hadn’t talked to her since their big fight. Tally had tried to write a ping, but working it all out on-screen just made her angry again. And it didn’t make much sense to sort it out now. Once they were both pretty, there wouldn’t be anything to fight about anymore. And even if Shay still hated her, there was always Perisand all their old friends, waiting across the river for her with their big eyes and wonderful smiles.
    Still, Tally spent a lot of time wondering what Shay was going to look like pretty, her skin-and-bones body all filled out, her already full lips perfected, and the ragged fingernails gone forever. They’d probably make her eyes a more intense shade of green. Or maybe one of the newer colors—violet, silver, or gold.
    â€œHey, Squint!”
    Tally jumped at the whisper. She peered into the darkness and saw a form scuttling toward her across the roof tiles. A smile broke onto her face. “Shay!”
    The silhouette paused for a moment.
    Tally didn’t even bother to whisper. “Don’t just stand there. Come in, stupid!”
    Shay crawled into the window, laughing, as Tally gathered her into a hug, warm and joyful and solid. They stepped back, still holding each other’s hands. For a moment, Shay’s ugly face looked perfect.
    â€œIt’s so great to see you.”
    â€œYou too, Tally.”
    â€œI missed you. I wanted to—I’m so sorry about—”
    â€œNo,” Shay interrupted. “You were right. You made me think. I was going to write you, but it was all . . .” She sighed.
    Tally nodded, squeezing Shay’s hands. “Yeah. It sucked.”
    They stood in silence for a moment, and Tally glanced past her friend out the window. Suddenly, the view of New Pretty Town didn’t seem so sad. It looked bright and tempting, as if all the hesitationhad drained out of her. The open window was exciting again. “Shay?”
    â€œYeah?”
    â€œLet’s go somewhere tonight. Do some major trick.”
    Shay laughed. “I was kind of hoping you’d say that.”
    Tally noticed the way Shay was dressed. She was wearing serious trick-wear: all black clothes, hair tied back tight, a knapsack over one shoulder. She grinned. “Already got a plan, I see. Great.”
    â€œYeah,” Shay said softly. “I’ve got a plan.”
    She walked over to Tally’s bed, unslinging the knapsack from her shoulder. Her footsteps squeaked, and Tally smiled when she saw that Shay was wearing grippy shoes. Tally hadn’t been on a hoverboard in days. Flying alone was all the hard work and only half the fun.
    Shay dumped the contents of the knapsack out onto the bed, and pointed. “Position-finder. Firestarter. Water purifier.” She picked up two shiny wads the size of sandwiches. “These pull out into sleeping bags. And they’re really warm inside.”
    â€œSleeping bags? Water purifier?” Tally exclaimed. “This must be some kind of awesome multiday trick. Are we going all the way to the sea or something?”
    Shay shook her head. “Farther.”
    â€œUh, cool.” Tally kept her