Page 6 (1/2)

Pretty Boring

"I think you’re ready"

Tally cruised to a stop - right foot down, left foot up, bend the knees

"Ready for what?"

Shay drifted slowly past, letting the breeze tug her along They were as high up and far out as hoverboards would go, just above treetop level, at the edge of town It was ah, with nothing but a board and bracelets between her and a long fall

The view from up here was fantastic Behind them the spires of New Pretty Town rose froreenbelt, a swath of forest that separated the enerations of pretties lived out in the suburbs, hidden by the hills, in rows of big houses separated by strips of private garden for their littlies to play in

Shay sht ride"

"Oh Look, I don’t know if I want to cross the river again," Tally said, re her promise to Peris She and Shay had shown each other a lot of tricks over the last three weeks, but they hadn’t been back into New Pretty Town since the night they’d et turned, of course After last time, the wardens are probably all - "

"I wasn’t talking about New Pretty Town," Shay interrupted "That place is boring, anyway We’d have to sneak around all night"

"Okay You lyville"

Shay shook her head, still coasting gradually away on the breeze

Tally shifted her weight on the board uncomfortably "Where else is there?"

Shay put her hands in her pockets and spread her ar her dorm’s team jacket into a sail The breeze pulled her farther away from Tally By reflex, Tally tipped her toes forward so that her board would keep up

"Well, there’s out there" Shay nodded at the open land before them

"The suburbs? That’s dullsville"

"Not the burbs Past thees of the board Her skirt caught the cool evening wind, which tugged her away even faster She was drifting toward the outer edge of the greenbelt Off-limits

Tally planted her feet and dipped the board, and pulled up next to her friend "What do you mean?

Outside the city completely?"

"Yeah"

"That’s crazy There’s nothing out there"

"There’s plenty out there Real trees, hundreds of years old Mountains And the ruins Ever been there?"

Tally blinked "Of course"

"I don’t ht?"

Tally brought her board to a sharp halt The Rusty Ruins were the re reminder of back when there’d been way too ly "No way Don’t tell me you have"

Shay nodded

Tally’s mouth dropped open "That’s impossible"

"You think you’re the only one who knows good tricks?"

"Well, maybe I believe you," Tally said Shay had that look on her face, the one Tally had learned to watch out for "But what if we get busted?"

Shay laughed "Tally, there’s nothing out there, like you just said Nothing and no one to bust us"

"Do hoverboards even work out there? Does anything?"

"Special ones do, if you kno to trick the past the burbs is easy

You take the river the whole way Farther upstreah for skiain "You really have done this before"

A gust of wind billowed in Shay’s jacket, and she slid farther away, still sain to stay within earshot A treetop brushed her ankles as the ground below them started to rise

"It’ll be really fun," Shay called

"Sounds too risky"

"Co to show you this since we met Since you told me you crashed a pretty party - and pulled a fire alar she’d told the whole truth about that night - about how it had all just sort of happenedShay seeest daredevil now "Well, Iwas partly an accident Kind of"

"Yeah, sure"