LAST TRICK

It was strange, but Tally couldn’t help feeling sad. She knewshe’d miss the view from this window.
She’d spent the last four years looking out at NewPretty Town, wanting nothing more than to cross the riverand not come back. That’s probably what had tempted herthrough the window so many times, learning every trickshe could to sneak closer to the new pretties, to spy on thelife she would eventually have.
But now that the operation was only a week away, timeseemed to be moving too fast. Sometimes, Tally wished thatthey could do the operation gradually. Get her squinty eyesfixed first, then her lips, and cross the river in stages. Justso she wouldn’t have to look out the window one last timeand know she’d never see this view again.
Without Shay around, things felt incomplete, and she’dspent even more time here, sitting on her bed and staring atNew Pretty Town.
Of course, there wasn’t much else to do these days.
Everyone in the dorm was younger than Tally now, andshe’d already taught all of her best tricks to the next class.
She’d watched every movie her wallscreen knew about tentimes, all the way back to some old black-and-white ones inan English she could barely understand. There was no oneto go to concerts with, and dorm sports were boring towatch now that she didn’t know anyone on the teams. Allthe other uglies looked at her enviously, but no one sawmuch point in making friends. Probably it was better to getthe operation over with all at once. Half the time, she wishedthe doctors would just kidnap her in the middle of the nightand do it. She could imagine a lot worse things than wakingup pretty one morning. They said at school that they couldmake the operation work on fifteen-year-olds now. Waitinguntil sixteen was just a stupid old tradition.
But it was a tradition nobody questioned, except theoccasional ugly. So Tally had a week to go, alone, waiting.
Shay hadn’t talked to her since their big fight. Tally hadtried to write a ping, but working it all out on-screen justmade her angry again. And it didn’t make much sense tosort it out now. Once they were both pretty, there wouldn’tbe anything to fight about anymore. And even if Shay stillhated her, there was always Peris and all their old friends,waiting across the river for her with their big eyes and wonderfulsmiles.
Still, Tally spent a lot of time wondering what Shay wasgoing to look like pretty, her skin-and-bones body all filledout, her already full lips perfected, and the ragged finger-86 Scott Westerfeldnails gone forever. They’d probably make her eyes a moreintense shade of green. Or maybe one of the newer colors—violet, silver, or gold.
“Hey, Squint!”
Tally jumped at the whisper. She peered into the darknessand saw a form scuttling toward her across the rooftiles. A smile broke onto her face. “Shay!”
The silhouette paused for a moment.
Tally didn’t even bother to whisper. “Don’t just standthere. Come in, stupid!”
Shay crawled into the window, laughing, as Tally gatheredher into a hug, warm and joyful and solid. They steppedback, still holding each other’s hands. For a moment, Shay’sugly face looked perfect.
“It’s so great to see you.”
“You too, Tally.”
“I missed you. I wanted to—I’m so sorry about—”
“No,” Shay interrupted. “You were right. You made methink. I was going to write you, but it was all . . .” She sighed.
Tally nodded, squeezing Shay’s hands. “Yeah. Itsucked.”
They stood in silence for a moment, and Tally glancedpast her friend out the window. Suddenly, the view of NewPretty Town didn’t seem so sad. It looked bright and tempting,as if all the hesitation had drained out of her. The openwindow was exciting again. “Shay?”
“Yeah?”
UGLIES 87“Let’s go somewhere tonight. Do some major trick.”
Shay laughed. “I was kind of hoping you’d say that.”
Tally noticed the way Shay was dressed. She was wearingserious trick-wear: all black clothes, hair tied back tight,a knapsack over one shoulder. She grinned. “Already got aplan, I see. Great.”
“Yeah,” Shay said softly. “I’ve got a plan.”
She walked over to Tally’s bed, unslinging the knapsackfrom her shoulder. Her footsteps squeaked, and Tallysmiled when she saw that Shay was wearing grippy shoes.
Tally hadn’t been on a hoverboard in days. Flying alone wasall the hard work and only half the fun.
Shay dumped the contents of the knapsack out ontothe bed, and pointed. “Position-finder. Firestarter. Waterpurifier.” She picked up two shiny wads the size of sandwiches.
“These pull out into sleeping bags. And they’rereally warm inside.”
“Sleeping bags? Water purifier?” Tally exclaimed. “Thismust be some kind of awesome multiday trick. Are wegoing all the way to the sea or something?”
Shay shook her head. “Farther.”
“Uh, cool.” Tally kept her smile on her face. “But we’veonly got six days till the operation.”
“I know what day it is.” Shay opened a waterproof bagand spilled its contents alongside the rest. “Food for twoweeks—dehydrated. You just drop one of these into thepurifier and add water. Any kind of water.” She giggled.
88 Scott Westerfeld“The purifier works so well, you can even pee in it.”
Tally sat down on the bed, reading the labels on thefood packs. “Two weeks?”
“Two weeks for two people,” Shay said carefully. “Fourweeks for one.”
Tally didn’t say anything. Suddenly, she couldn’t look atthe stuff on the bed, or at Shay. She stared out the window,at New Pretty Town, where the fireworks were starting.
“But it won’t take two weeks, Tally. It’s much closer.”
A plume of red soared up in the middle of town,tendrils of fireworks drifting down like the leaves of a giantwillow tree. “What won’t take two weeks?”
“Going to where David lives.”
Tally nodded, and closed her eyes.
“It’s not like here, Tally. They don’t separate everyone,uglies from pretties, new and middle and late. And you canleave whenever you want, go anywhere you want.”
“Like where?”
“Anywhere. Ruins, the forest, the sea. And . . . younever have to get the operation.”
“You what?”
Shay sat next to her, touching Tally’s cheek with onefinger. Tally opened her eyes. “We don’t have to look likeeveryone else, Tally, and act like everyone else. We’ve got achoice. We can grow up any way we want.”
Tally swallowed. She felt like speech was impossible,but knew she had to say something. She forced words fromUGLIES 89her dry throat. “Not be pretty? That’s crazy, Shay. All thetimes you talked that way, I thought you were just beingstupid. Peris always said the same stuff.”
“I was just being stupid. But when you said I was afraidof growing up, you really made me think.”
“I made you think?”
“Made me realize how full of crap I was. Tally, I’ve gotto tell you another secret.”
Tally sighed. “Okay. I guess it can’t get any worse.”
“My older friends, the ones I used to hang out withbefore I met you? Not all of them wound up pretty.”
“What do you mean?”
“Some of them ran away, like I am. Like I want us to.”
Tally looked into Shay’s eyes, searching for some signthat this was all a joke. But the intense look on her face heldfirm. She was dead serious.
“You know someone who actually ran away?”
Shay nodded. “I was supposed to go too. We had it allplanned, about a week before the first of us turned sixteen.
We’d already stolen survival gear, and told David that wewere coming. It was all set up. That was four months ago.”
“But you didn’t . . .”
“Some of us did, but I chickened out.” Shay looked outthe window. “And I wasn’t the only one. A couple of theothers stayed and turned pretty instead. I probably wouldhave too, except I met you.”
“Me?”
90 Scott Westerfeld“All of a sudden I wasn’t alone anymore. I wasn’t afraidto go back out to the ruins, to look for David again.”
“But we never . . .” Tally blinked. “You finally foundhim, didn’t you?”
“Not until two days ago. I’ve been out every night sincewe . . . since our fight. After you said I was afraid to growup, I realized you were right. I’d chickened out once, but Ididn’t have to again.”
Shay grasped Tally’s hand, and waited until their eyeswere locked. “I want you to come, Tally.”
“No,” Tally said without thinking. Then she shook herhead. “Wait. How come you never told me any of this before?”
“I wanted to, except you would have thought I was crazy.”
“You are crazy!”
“Maybe. But not that way. That’s why I wanted you tomeet David. So you’d know that it’s all real.”
“It doesn’t seem real. I mean, what is this place you’retalking about?”
“It’s just called the Smoke. It’s not a city, and nobody’sin charge. And nobody’s pretty.”
“Sounds like a nightmare. And how do you get there,walk?”
Shay laughed. “Are you kidding? Hoverboards, likealways. There are long-distance boards that recharge onsolar, and the route’s all worked out to follow rivers andstuff. David does it all the time, as far as the ruins. He’ll takeus to the Smoke.”
UGLIES 91“But how do people live out there, Shay? Like theRusties? Burning trees for heat and burying their junkeverywhere? It’s wrong to live in nature, unless you want tolive like an animal.”
Shay shook her head and sighed. “That’s just schooltalk,Tally. They’ve still got technology. And they’re not likethe Rusties, burning trees and stuff. But they don’t put awall up between themselves and nature.”
“And everyone’s ugly.”
“Which means no one’s ugly.”
Tally managed to laugh. “Which means no one’s pretty,you mean.”
They sat in silence. Tally watched the fireworks, feelinga thousand times worse than she had before Shay hadappeared at the window.
Finally, Shay said the words Tally had been thinking.
“I’m going to lose you, aren’t I?”
“You’re the one who’s running away.”
Shay brought her fists down onto her knees. “It’s all myfault. I should’ve told you earlier. If you’d had more time toget used to the idea, maybe . . .”
“Shay, I never would have gotten used to the idea. Idon’t want to be ugly all my life. I want those perfect eyesand lips, and for everyone to look at me and gasp. And foreveryone who sees me to think Who’s that? and want to getto know me, and listen to what I say.”
“I’d rather have something to say.”
92 Scott Westerfeld“Like what? ‘I shot a wolf today and ate it’?”
Shay giggled. “People don’t eat wolves, Tally. Rabbits, Ithink, and deer.”
“Oh, gross. Thanks for the image, Shay.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll stick to vegetables and fish. But it’s notabout camping out, Tally. It’s about becoming what I wantto become. Not what some surgical committee thinks Ishould.”
“You’re still yourself on the inside, Shay. But whenyou’re pretty, people pay more attention.”
“Not everyone thinks that way.”
“Are you sure about that? That you can beat evolutionby being smart or interesting? Because if you’re wrong . . .
if you don’t come back by the time you’re twenty, the operationwon’t work as well. You’ll look wrong, forever.”
“I’m not coming back. Forever.”
Tally’s voice caught, but she forced herself to say it:
“And I’m not going.”
They said good-bye under the dam.
Shay’s long-range hoverboard was thicker, and glimmeredwith the facets of solar cells. She’d also stashed aheated jacket and hat under the bridge. Tally guessed thatwinters at the Smoke were cold and miserable.
She couldn’t believe her friend was really going.
“You can always come back. If it sucks.”
Shay shrugged. “None of my friends has.”
UGLIES 93The words gave Tally a creepy feeling. She could thinkof a lot of horrible reasons to explain why no one had comeback. “Be careful, Shay.”
“You too. You’re not going to tell anyone about this,right?”
“Never, Shay.”
“You swear? No matter what?”
Tally raised her scarred palm. “I swear.”
Shay smiled. “I know. I just had to ask again beforeI . . .” She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Tally.
“What’s this?” Tally opened it up and saw a scrawl ofletters. “When did you learn to write by hand?”
“We all learned while we were planning to leave. It’s agood idea if you don’t want minders sniffing your diary.
Anyway, that’s for you. I’m not supposed to leave any recordof where I’m going, so it’s in code, kind of.”
Tally frowned, reading the first line of slanted words.
“‘Take the coaster straight past the gap’?”
“Yeah. Get it? Only you could figure it out, in casesomeone finds it. You know, if you ever want to follow me.”
Tally started to say something, but couldn’t. She managedto nod.
“Just in case,” Shay said.
She jumped onto her board and snapped her fingers,securing her knapsack over both shoulders. “Good-bye,Tally.”
“Bye, Shay. I wish . . .”
94 Scott WesterfeldShay waited, bobbing just a bit in the cool Septemberwind. Tally tried to imagine her growing old, wrinkled,gradually ruined, all without ever having been truly beautiful.
Never learning how to dress properly, or how to act ata formal dance. Never having anyone look into her eyes andbe simply overwhelmed.
“I wish I could have seen what you would look like.
Pretty, I mean.”
“Guess you’ll just have to live with remembering myface this way,” Shay said.
Then she turned and her hoverboard climbed awaytoward the river, and Tally’s next words were lost on theroar of the water.