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Her throat still stung fro, but Tally said hoarsely, "Never"

"All I ask is that you think about it Take your ti - it’s all the sah that ice You can have that feeling every second" Dr Cable waved a hand casually "And if it makes a difference, I may even find space for your friend Zane I’ve had my eye on him for soh Tally and she shook her head "No"

Dr Cable nodded "Yes Zane was very forthco about David and the Smoke, that time he didn’t run away"

She turned and disappeared into the trees

BREAKUP

Tally stuer, its heat pushing back the revelers into a wide circle So enough to burn through the Crims’ collective carbon allowance for a athered froreen wood reminded Tally of cook-fires in the Smoke, when the water inside fresh-cut trees would boil, steary spirits of the forest

She looked up at the coluainst the sky That’s how the Sotten its name As Dr Cable had said, the Ss had been pulling that particular trick for thousands of years; a few centuries before, they’d alh carbon in the air to screw up the cliood Only when so bacteria into the air had Rusty civilization been brought to a halt, and the planet saved

And now, at their bubbliest, the Crims were instinctively headed in the same direction Suddenly, the warm, cheery fire just made Tally feel worse

She listened to the voices around her - bragging about how far they’d hoverbounced on the soccer field, debating who’d done the best interview for the feeds Her unhappy conversation with Dr

Cable had left Tally’s senses sharpened; she could separate every sound, tease apart every strand of conversation Suddenly the Cri the stories of their petty victories to one another again and again Just like pretties

"Skinny?"

She turned from the fire to find Shay next to her

"Is Zane okay?" Shay peered closer, and her eyes widened "Tally-wa, you look"

Tally didn’t need her to finish, she could see it in Shay’s eyes: She looked terrible Tally smiled tiredly at this news That was part of the cure, of course She eous - her bone structure perfect, her skin flawless - but Tally’s face revealed the turhts, she would no longer be beautiful every er, fear, and anxiety were not pretty-ht It’s justan arm around her "Why so sad, Skinny? TellCri, kind of"

Shay lowered her voice "I thought today went perfectly"

"Sure Perfect"

"Until Zane went and drank too ht?"

Tally made a noncommittal sound She didn’t want to lie to Shay Eventually, she would tell her all about the cure, which ·wouldTally harder There was a moment of silence, and then she asked,

"Skinny, what happened to you guys up there?"

"Up where?"

"You knohen you clied you, somehow"

Tally played with the scarf around her wrist, wishing she could tell her friend everything But it was too risky to share news of the cure until they were safely outside the city "I don’t knohat to say, Squint It was really bubbly- up there You can see the whole island, and you can fall at any moment Die, even That makes a difference"

"I know," Shay whispered

"You knohat?"

"How it feels I cliured out how to hack the o for it To h"

"Really?" Tally stared at her Shay’s face gloith pride in the firelight, her i, but if Shay was hackingthe Valentino tower, she ay ahead of the rest of theht?"

"Only way to get aith it, since you and Zane got so totally busted Fausto said I should wear a bungee jacket, but I wanted to do it like you did I could have fallen - died, like you said I even cut myself on a cable" With a smile, she showed a red mark that stretched across her pal on her forehead "But it was kind of disappointing"

"How?"

"It didn’t change ed "Well, everyone’s different"

"I suppose so," Shay said softly "But itthe toas it? There was so else that happened that day, Skinny You’d never even hung out alone with Zane before, but since then you two have your own secret club, s all the tio anywhere without each other"

"Squint," Tally said, and sighed "Sorry if we’ve been all coupley But, you know, it’s my first crush as a pretty"

Shay stared at the fire "That’s what I thought, at first But it’s gone way past that, Tally You’re so different from the rest of us - both of you" Her voice rose above a whisper "Zane gets those weird headaches that he tries to hide, and that was you screao, wasn’t it?"

Tally sed

"What changed you guys that day?"

Tally pointed at her wrist "Shhh"