“They took it away.”
“Of course they did, Squint. All my skin’s new.”
Tally blinked. She hadn’t thought of that.
He shook his head. “You’re such a kid still.”
“Elevator requested,” said the elevator. “Up or down?”
Tally jumped at the machine voice.
“Hold, please,” Peris said calmly.
Tally swallowed and closed her hand into a fist. “But they didn’t change your blood. We shared that, no matter what.”
Peris finally looked directly at her face, not flinching as she had feared he would. He smiled beautifully. “No, they didn’t. New skin, big deal. And in three months we can laugh about this. Unless…”
“Unless what?” She looked up into his big brown eyes, so full of concern.
“Just promise me that you won’t do any more stupid tricks,” Peris said. “Like coming here. Something that’ll get you into trouble. I want to see you pretty.”
“Of course.”
“So promise me.”
Peris was only three months older than Tally, but, dropping her eyes to the floor, she felt like a littlie again. “All right, I promise. Nothing stupid. And they won’t catch me tonight, either.”
“Okay, get your mask and…” His voice trailed off.
She turned her gaze to where it had fallen. Discarded, the plastic mask had recycled itself, turning into pink dust, which the carpet in the elevator was already filtering away.
The two stared at each other in silence.
“Elevator requested,” the machine insisted. “Up or down?”
“Peris, I promise they won’t catch me. No pretty can run as fast as me. Just take me down to the—”
Peris shook his head. “Up, please. Roof.”
The elevator moved.
“Up? Peris, how am I going to—”
“Straight out the door, in a big rack—bungee jackets. There’s a whole bunch in case of a fire.”
“You mean jump?” Tally swallowed. Her stomach did a backflip as the elevator came to a halt.
Peris shrugged. “I do it all the time, Squint.” He winked. “You’ll love it.”
His expression made his pretty face glow even more, and Tally leaped forward to wrap her arms around him. He still felt the same, at least, maybe a bit taller and thinner. But he was warm and solid, and still Peris.
“Tally!”
She stumbled back as the doors opened. She’d left mud all over his white vest. “Oh, no! I’m—”
“Just go!”
His distress just made Tally want to hug him again. She wanted to stay and clean Peris up, make sure he looked perfect for the party. She reached out a hand. “I—”
“Go!”
“But we’re best friends, right?”
He sighed, dabbing at a brown stain. “Sure, forever. In three months.”
She turned and ran, the doors closing behind her.
At first no one noticed her on the roof. They were all looking down. It was dark except for the occasional flare of a safety sparkler.
Tally found the rack of bungee jackets and pulled at one. It was clipped to the rack. Her fingers fumbled, looking for a clasp. She wished she had her interface ring to give her instructions.
Then she saw the button: PRESS IN CASE OF FIRE.
“Oh, crap,” she said.
Her shadow jumped and jittered. Two pretties were coming toward her, carrying sparklers.
“Who’s that? What’s she wearing?”
“Hey, you! This party is white tie!”
“Look at her face….”
“Oh, crap,” Tally repeated.
And pressed the button.
An ear-shattering siren split the air, and the bungee jacket seemed to jump from the rack into her hand. She slid into the harness, turning to face the two pretties. They leaped back as if she’d transformed into a werewolf. One dropped the sparkler, and it extinguished itself instantly.
“Fire drill,” Tally said, and ran toward the edge of the roof.
Once she had the jacket around her shoulders, the strap and zippers seemed to wind around her like snakes until the plastic was snug around her waist and thighs. A green light flashed on the collar, right where she couldn’t help but see it.
“Good jacket,” she said.
It wasn’t smart enough to answer, apparently.
The pretties playing on the roof had all gone silent and were milling around, wondering if there really was a fire. They pointed at her, and Tally heard the word “ugly” on their lips.
What was worse in New Pretty Town, she wondered? Your mansion burning down, or an ugly crashing your party?
Tally reached the edge of the roof, vaulted up onto the rail, and teetered for a moment. Below her, pretties were starting to spill out of Garbo Mansion onto the lawn and down the hill. They were looking back up, searching for smoke or flames. All they saw was her.
It was a long way down, and Tally’s stomach already seemed to be in free fall. But she was thrilled, too. The shrieking siren, the crowd gazing up at her, the lights of New Pretty Town all spread out below like a million candles.
Tally took a deep breath and bent her knees, readying herself to jump.
For a split second, she wondered if the jacket would work since she wasn’t wearing an interface ring. Would it hover-bounce for a nobody? Or would she just splat?
But she had promised Peris she wouldn’t get caught. And the jacket was for emergencies, and there was a green light on….
“Heads up!” Tally shouted.
And jumped.
Shay
The siren faded behind her. It seemed like forever—or only seconds—that Tally fell, the gaping faces below becoming larger and larger.
The ground hurtled toward her, a space opening in the panicking crowd where she was going to hit. For a few moments it was just like a flying dream, silent and wonderful.
Then reality jerked at her shoulders and thighs, the webbing of the jacket cutting viciously into her. She was taller than pretty standard, she knew; the jacket probably wasn’t expecting this much weight.
Tally somersaulted in the air, turning headfirst for a few terrifying moments, her face passing low enough to spot a discarded bottle cap in the grass. Then she found herself shooting upward again, completing the circle, so that the sky wheeled above her, then over and downward again, more crowd parting in front.