"Okay here is option 2" Tally clicked her interface ring and a picture of her face that looked like a cat popped onto the wall screen. It had been a month since they had met David at the ruins.
"You look like a pussy"
"Hey"
"No really you look like a cat."
"Yeah" Tally brought the eyes wider "That's better"
"Can we go hoverboarding now?" Shay asked looking out the window longingly.
"Show me one of yours" Tally said.
"I can't I don't have any"
"Oh c'mon don't tell me you've never done one. They're fun."
"Never. I don't find it fun to make myself feel ugly"
"But we are ugly"
"I don't think you're ugly. I don't think I'm ugly either."
"We won't even have to think about that in a couple of months" Tally said.
"Yeah" Shay said with a hint of disappointment.
"Do you not want to be Pretty?" Tally asked.
"I won't even get a say in how I look I will look however the doctors want me to look. Not how I want to look and maybe, maybe I think I am already pretty."
"Yeah you are pretty for an Ugly" Shay always went all weird whenever they talked about the operation. "Fine let's just go hoverboarding"
"No I don't want to anymore" With that Shay stormed out.
Tally and Shay went three weeks without any pings. Tally hated fighting with Shay but every time she tried to ping her she never knew what to write and gave up. She went out to the ruins and rode the coaster a few times but it wasn't the same without Shay. Tally sat on her bed thinking about what Shay had said a couple of weeks ago about being pretty when she heard someone climb through the window. Everyone in her dorm was asleep since it was pretty late.
"Hey Squint"
"Hey Skinny it's so good to see you" Tally said getting up and hugging Shay.
"I know I can't believe it we haven't talked in so long. I need to talk to you about something" Shay said.
"What is it?"
"I want to run away" Shay said with a smile.
"What?"
"Listen, long ago I had a bunch of friends only some turned pretty. The rest ran away to the Smoke. I was going to go, I had my bag packed and everything, but at the last minute I chickened out. "
"But we were going to be Pretty together" Tally said taking Shay's hands in hers.
"Don't worry we can still be together"
"How?"
"I want you to come with me, to the Smoke"
"Shay I don't know if I could do that"
"Okay how about we make a deal?"
"What kind of deal?" Tally asked skeptical.
"If you listen to what I have to say about running away I'll listen to what you have to say about turning pretty" Shay suggested.
"Deal" They shook hands and Tally sat on her bed ready to listen to Shay.
"Okay Tally being Pretty doesn't seem to be all it's cracked up to be. We both love to pull tricks. That's what we think is fun, not being shallow or going to parties every night. They don't even come back to Uglyville to visit. It's like they don't even care. We are made to feel ugly, we are brainwashed into thinking that anyone normal is ugly. I don't think I am ugly, I don't think you're ugly. In the Smoke we can just be ourselves and make our own choices everyone is ugly there which means no one is." Shay finished. "Okay now I'll listen to you." Shay sat on the bed and Tally stood up in front of her.
"Okay well when we are Pretty we can do anything we want. We go to parties every night, take nice long showers and meet a whole bunch of new people. We will be with all our old friends. We can have boyfriends. Everyone pays attention to you because you have beauty." Tally finished what she had to say. Then she sat beside Shay.
"Okay let's take a day or two to mull things over and we will ping each other when we have made our decisions" Shay said.
"Alright." Tally said. Then Shay went over to the window.
"Bye"
"Bye" Shay slipped out the window and Tally chewed a toothpaste pill and changed into pajamas and went to bed.
The next day Tally thought long and hard about the decision she had to make. But, by bedtime she still hadn't made her decision. Two days passed but she still couldn't make her decision. Finally on the third day just before nightfall Tally made her decision she pinged Shay
Shay, I have made my decision Meet me ASAP in my room.
Now all Tally had to do was wait. 15 minutes later Shay came in through Tally's bedroom window.
"Hi Squint"
"Hey Skinny"
"Okay so what is your decision?" Shay asked.
"Well I've decided I'm not going to come with you to the Smoke " Tally said
"Well I'm going to miss you. Are you sure this is what you really want?"
"Yes" Tally answered.
"Okay well you promise you won't tell anyone where I went?"
"Promise."
"Okay bye" Shay said then they hugged. "I'll come by before I leave"
"Bye" Tally responded. Then Shay climbed back out the window.
Over the next month Tally kept thinking about her decision to not go to the Smoke. She thought about Peris, Shay, and David, going to the smoke and turning pretty. She made mental pros and con lists. She also pulled a few tricks and went over to New Pretty town a few times to study the pretties. Sneaking into places and pulling tricks wasn't as fun without someone else. She also went out to the ruins to feel what it was like out in nature. Finally the night before Tally and Shay were supposed to turn pretty Shay crawled through Tally's window.
"Hi Tally"
"Hey Shay" They hugged. Why haven't you pinged?"
"Never knew what to say."
"Same here."
"Okay you are sure you don't want to come?" Shay asked.
