1269_UgliesFreeBook

84 Scott Westerfeld
you’ve got to do something besides being a clever little ugly.”
“Like being a vapid, boring pretty?”
“No, like being an adult. Did you ever think that when
you’re pretty you might not need to play tricks and mess
things up? Maybe just being ugly is why uglies always fight
and pick on one another, because they aren’t happy with
who they are. Well, I want to be happy, and looking like a
real person is the first step.”
“I’m not afraid of looking the way I do, Tally.”
“Maybe not, but you are afraid of growing up!”
Shay didn’t say anything. Tally floated in silence, looking
up at the sky, barely able to see the clouds through her
anger. She wanted to be pretty, wanted to see Peris again. It
seemed like forever since she’d talked to him, or to anyone
else except Shay. She was sick of this whole ugly business,
and just wanted it to end.
A minute later, she heard Shay swimming for shore.