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Living in the Smoke had totally done a job on Tally’s head
No one else ure Were they all in on the joke? Fausto kept worrying that his sparklers were going to run out before any of the other Crims saw them "Let’s see if they’re in one of the spires," he said
"At least we can call thereed
Shay snorted and headed toward the nearest door "Anything to get out of this bogus pile of rocks"
The party was spilling outside, anyway, expanding beyond the ancient stone walls Shay led theh a cluster of Hairdos with beehive wigs, each with its oarm of bumblebees, which were reallypatterns around their heads
"They didn’t get the buzzing sound right," Fausto said, but Tally could tell he was impressed by the costu out, and people were looking at him like, huh?
From inside the party tower, Peris called Zane, who said the Criuess, Shay"
The four of theeon, a trilobite, and two drunken hockey players struggling to stay upright on hoverskates
"Get that nervous look off your face, Tally-wa," said Shay, squeezing her shoulder "You’ll be in, no problem Zane likes you"
Tallyif that was really true Zane was always asking her about ugly days, but he did that with everyone, sucking up the Criold-flecked eyes Did he really think that Tally Youngblood was anything special?
It was clear that soray silk slipping gracefully through the crowd
LURKER
Most of the other Crirotesquely lasses of chane There were also butchers, a few s noose draped over her shoulder Zane, who knew a lot about history, had come as some dictator’s assistant asn’t totally fashion-ht black with a bubbly red are to make his lips thin and cheeks sunken, which hed at Peris’s costued to burn a feisps of his hair, which was totally bogus-sure out Tally’s and Shay’s costu in to touch the rough fibers of the hand if it was itchy (It was, but Tally shook her head) Shay stood close to Zane and got hie
"Think they’re pretty-ive the on everyone
"A h beauty to launch exactly one ship," Zane explained, and the older Criood"
Shay sne
Tally tried to be bubbly, but the thought of the costu After a few minutes, she escaped onto the party spire’s balcony to fill her lungs with cold, fresh air
A few hot-air balloons were tethered to the spire, hovering like huge black ondola were shooting ro as the safety flaan to rise, the roar of its burner audible above the party noise, its tether dropping to slap against the spire It lifted on a tiny finger of fla into the distance If Shay hadn’t introduced her to the Criured she would have been a Hot-air They were always drifting off into the night and landing at rando a hovercar to pick them up fro out over the river toward the darkness of Uglyville e Her time in the as so fuzzy, but Tally could perfectly rehts of New Pretty Town fro to turn sixteen She had always ih toith fireworks going off around her, surrounded by pretties and pretty herself
Of course, the Tally of those fantasies had usually been wearing a ball gown - not a woolen sweater and work pants, her face s its way free of the weave, wishing that Shay hadn’t found the sweater tonight Tally wanted to leave the S and hiding and feeling like a betrayer She hated glancing everyif the costumed Special had followed her up here She wanted to feel totally belonging so for the next disaster to strike
Maybe what Shay kept saying was right, and tonight’s vote would fix all that The Crihtest cliques in New Pretty Town You had to be voted in, and once you were a Crim, you could always depend on friends and parties and bubbly conversation Nofor Tally
The only catch was, no one could join who hadn’t been totally tricky in their ugly days, with good stories to tell about sneaking out and hoverboarding all night and running away Crilies, who still enjoyed the practical jokes and crilyville, in its oay, bubbly
"What would you give the view?" It was Zane, suddenly next to her, looking all of his two-ht in the ancient black uniform
"Give it?"
"A hundred milli-Helens? Five hundred? Maybe a whole Helen?"
Tally took a steadying breath, looking down at the dark river "I’d give it none It’s Uglyville, after all"
Zane chuckled "Now, Tally-wa, there’s no reason to be nasty about our ugly little brothers and sisters It’s not their fault they aren’t as pretty as you" He pushed a stray lock of Tally’s hair back around her ear
"Not the in her mouth, too serious for a bash