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Ugly for Life

They must have forewarned the one, off on some unscheduled school trip But they hadn’t found out in time to save her stuff When Tally reached her old roo, furniture, the pictures on the wallscreen - it had all reverted back to Generic Ugly It even looked as if so a strange drink can in the fridge

Tally sat down on the bed, too stunned to cry She knew she would start bawling soon, probably losing it at the worst possible time and place Now that the encounter with Dr Cable was over, her anger and defiance were fading, and there was nothing left to sustain her Her stuff was gone, her future was gone, only the view out there to remind herself every few minutes that it had all really happened: the cruel pretties, the strange buildings on the edge of town, the terrible ultione horribly wrong A weird and horrible new reality had opened up, devouring the world she knew and understood

All she had left was the s she’d packed for the hospital She couldn’t even re it all the way back here Tally pulled out the few clothes, which she’d shoved in at random, and found Shay’s note

She read it, looking for clues

Take the coaster straight past the gap,

until you find one that’s long and flat

Cold is the sea and watch for breaks

At the second make the worst mistake

Four days later take the side you despise,

and look in the flowers for fire-bug eyes

Once they’re found, enjoy the flight

Then wait on the bald head until it’s light

Hardly any of it made sense to her, only bits and pieces Shay had obviouslyreferences only the two of them would understand Her paranoiamet Dr Cable, Tally could see why David wanted to keep his city - or camp, or whatever it was - a secret

As Tally held the note, she realized that it hat Dr Cable had wanted The wo across the room from the letter the whole time, but they’d never bothered to search her That meant that Tally had kept Shay’s secret, and that she still had soain with

It also meant that Special Circumstances could lies come back in before lunchtime As they filed off the school transport, all of them craned their necks to look up at herA few pointed before she ducked back into the shadows Minutes later Tally could hear kids in the hall outside, growing silent as they passed her door

A few even giggled, as new uglies always did when tried to keep quiet

Were theylaughing at her?

Her ru stomach reminded Tally that she hadn’t eaten breakfast, or dinner the night before You weren’t supposed to have food or water for sixteen hours before the operation She was starving

But she stayed in her room until lunch was over She couldn’t face a cafeteria full of uglies watching her every ly face When she couldn’t stand her hunger anymore, Tally stole upstairs to the roof deck, where they put out leftovers for whoever wanted thelies saw her in the hall They claious What had the minders told them? Tally wondered That she’d pulled one too ly-for-life? Or just that she was a Special Circumstance?

Everywhere she went, eyes looked away, but it was the mostvisible she’d ever felt

A plate was set out for her on the roof deck, sealed in plastic wrap, her name stuck to it Someone had noticed that she hadn’t eaten And, of course, everyone would realize that she was in hiding

The sight of the plate of food, wilted and solitary, made the suppressed tears well up in her eyes Tally’s throat burned as if she’d sed soet back to her rooed sobs

When she got there, Tally found that she hadn’t forgotten to bring the plate She ate while she cried, tasting the salt of her tears in every bite

Her parents came by about an hour later

Ellie swept in first, gathering Tally into a hug that eround

"Tally, irl, Ellie She’s had a tough day"

Even without oxygen, it felt good inside the crushing eht, like a mom, and Tally always felt like a littlie in her arms Released after as probably a solidthat she wouldn’t cry again She looked at her parents sheepishly, wondering what theyShe felt like a total failure "I didn’t know you guys were co"

"Of course we came," Ellie said

Sol shook his head "I’ve never heard of anything like this happening It’s ridiculous And we’ll get to the bottoht lift from her shoulders Finally there was someone else on her side Her father’s middle-pretty eyes twinkled with calm certainty There was no question that he would sort everything out

"What did they tell you?" Tally asked

Sol gestured, and Tally sat down on the bed Ellie settled beside her while he paced back and forth across the sirl Sounds like she’s a lot of trouble"

"Sol!" Ellie interrupted "The poor girl’s "