1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 77
“It’ll be one orientation they won’t forget.”
Summer was over in two weeks. The population of
Tally’s dorm had been steadily dropping for the last year as
seniors turned sixteen. It was almost time for a new batch
to take their place. Tally watched the last few uglies make
their way inside, gawky and nervous, unkempt and uncoordinated.
Twelve was definitely the turning point, when
you changed from a cute littlie into an oversize, undereducated
ugly.
It was a stage of life she was glad to be leaving behind.
“You sure this thing is going to work?” Shay asked.
Tally smiled. It wasn’t often that Shay was the cautious
one. She pointed at the collar of the bungee jacket. “You see
that little green light? That means it’s working. It’s for emergencies,
so it’s always ready to go.”
Shay’s hand slipped under the jacket to pull at her belly
sensor, which meant she was nervous. “What if it knows
there’s no real emergency?”
“It’s not that smart. You fall, it catches you. No tricks
necessary.”
Shay shrugged and put it on.
They’d borrowed the jacket from the art school, the
tallest building in Uglyville. It was a spare from the basement,
and they hadn’t even had to trick the rack to get it free. Tally
definitely didn’t want to get caught messing around with fire
alarms, in case the wardens connected her to a certain incident
in New Pretty Town back at the beginning of summer.