1269_UgliesFreeBook

360 Scott Westerfeld
Reaching the greenbelt, they turned back the way they’d
come, neither of them speaking, concentrating instead on
navigating through the trees. This arc of the belt brought
them through Cleopatra Park, where Tally threaded the
slalom poles for old times’ sake. Her instincts twitched as
they passed the path down to her old dorm. For a split second,
it felt as if she could make the turnoff, climb in through
her window, and go to bed.
Soon, the jumbled spires of the Uglyville art school rose
up, and Tally brought the two of them to a halt.
This part was easy. It seemed like a million years ago
that Tally and Shay had borrowed one of the school’s
bungee jackets for their final trick, Shay’s leap onto the new
uglies in the dorm library. Tally retraced her steps to the
exact window they’d jimmied, a dirty, forgotten pane of
glass concealed behind decorative bushes, and found that it
was still unlocked.
Tally shook her head. This sort of burglary had seemed
so daring two months before. Back then, the library stunt
was the wildest prank she and Shay could dream up. Now
she saw tricks for what they were: a way for uglies to blow
off steam until they reached sixteen, nothing but a meaningless
distraction until their mutinous natures were erased
by adulthood, and the operation.
“Give me the flashlight. And wait here.”
She slipped in, found the rack of spares, grabbed two
bungee jackets, and was out in less than a minute. When