A/N: Alternate reality in which Tally never meets Shay. A work in progress. – Bellz
Chapter 1
Tally Youngblood hated waiting, hated the sterile, yellow smell of hospitals. She kicked at her duffle bag at her feet, her twittering nerves making her want to get up and run off her anxiety. It was as though every eye in the room was on her, and this thought made her begin to perspire, the sweat making her skin crawl. She picked at a scab on her elbow, feeling dirty and ugly.
The boy across from her didn't seem nervous at all. He had somehow gotten his interface ring to play music here in the hospital, but he had it turned down so that only he could hear it. Tally twisted her own interface ring, wishing that Paris would send her a ping to ease the tension in the room, until she remembered that pings weren't allowed in the hospital either. She sighed, sliding down in her seat in a vain attempt to ease the bloated, nervous pain that clenched her belly.
"Ten more minutes," she whispered to herself, prodding her interface ring to tell her the time. She sighed, glancing around the room for what seemed like the millionth time.
The room was small, with only half a dozen occupied chairs along the wall. To her right was a window where a middle pretty nurse with waves of auburn curls sat dictating to the screen in front of her. Tally watched as her words scrolled up the screen, and somehow, the cadence of the pretty's voice seemed to untie the solid knot in Tally's gut. Like all uglies, Tally instinctively trusted middle pretties. Their calm warmth and gentle faces inspired instant trust and friendliness, and if they weren't nervous then there was nothing to be scared off. Tally sighed, letting herself relax for the first time in an hour.
Tally had always dreamed of being pretty. Growing up, she had spent hours staring at herself in the mirror, fussing and sighing over flaws that she could not wait to be rid of come her sixteenth birthday. She would pay rapt attention during science class when the teachers talked about the operation that would transform her from an ugly duckling into a gorgeous, glittering swan, thinking that that fateful day could not come soon enough.
And now, that day had come, but unfortunately, Tally hadn't counted on the pre-operation waiting. Death toll and post-op deformity statistics flashed through her ugly brain and she wished nothing more than to run back to her dorm and tell them that she could wait until next year. The nurse's pretty-effect was wearing off and Tally began to twist her ring with renewed vigor, wondering if she was fast enough to make a break for it.
But just when she had convinced herself that she just might make it out, the pretty nurse stood up and called her name.
"Tally. It's time."