1269_UgliesFreeBook

WIPE OUT
Tally fell off. Again.
The spill didn’t hurt so much, this time. The moment
her feet slipped off the hoverboard, she’d relaxed, the way
Shay kept telling her to. Spinning out wasn’t much worse
than having your dad swing you around by the wrists when
you were little.
If your dad happened to be a superhuman freak and
was trying to pull your arms out of their sockets.
But the momentum had to go somewhere, Shay had
explained. And around in circles was better than into a tree.
Here in Cleopatra Park there were plenty of those.
After a few rotations, Tally found herself being lowered
to the grass by her wrists, dizzy but in one piece.
Shay cruised up, banking her hoverboard to an elegant
stop as if she’d been born on one.
“That looked a little better.”
“It didn’t feel any better.” Tally pulled off one crash
bracelet and rubbed her wrist. It was turning red, and her
fingers felt weak.