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UGLIES 225
“So you weren’t supposed to tell me?”
“No way. So when you actually showed up, it made
everyone nervous. They don’t know whether they can trust
you. Even David’s been acting weird around me.”
“Shay, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault!” Shay shook her head vigorously.
“It’s mine. I screwed everything up. But so what? Once they
get to know you, they’ll think you’re really cool.”
“Yeah,” Tally said softly. “Everyone’s been really nice.”
She wished she had activated the pendant the moment
she’d gotten there. In only one day she’d begun to realize
that it wasn’t just Shay’s dream she’d be betraying. Hundreds
of people had made a life in the Smoke.
“And I’m sure your someone will be cool too,” Shay
said. “I can’t wait till we’re all together.”
“I don’t know if . . . that’s going to happen.” There had
to be some other way out of this situation. Maybe if she
went to another city . . . or found the rangers again and told
them that she wanted to volunteer, they’d make her pretty.
But she hardly knew anything about their city, except that
she didn’t know anyone there. . . .
Shay shrugged. “Maybe not. But I wasn’t sure you’d
come either.” She squeezed Tally’s hand. “I’m really glad
you did, though.”
Tally tried to smile. “Even though I got you into trouble?”
“It’s not such a big deal. I think everyone’s way too
paranoid around here. They spend all this time disguising