PRACTICE

Minerva's arm muscles were quivering. Only five more reps…

Finally, the coach blew his whistle, and Minerva collapsed facedown in the grass, getting dirt in her mouth, which didn't even bother her. The scent of crushed grass filled her aching lungs. Pushups were Minerva's least favorite exercise, but as long as she was at soccer, she was happy.

"That last set was too much for you, Freckles?" Min flinched when she heard her ugly nickname, but she turned her head to the left to see Max, panting just as hard, but with a huge grin on her face.

"Feaster!" growled the coach, who never seemed able to say their first names. "Rest time doesn't mean chat time!" Max made a face at him, but Min knew she didn't mean it. As practice drew to a close, the team's patience was waning, but tomorrow they all would be back, eager to please the coach like they completely forgot how tiresome he was.

The soccer field was where Minerva belonged. When she was a new ugly, she had blown the coaches away at tryouts, and was soon elected team captain, even though she was only now a senior. Still, no one questioned her leadership. She was aggressive, the top scorer, yet also soft-spoken and respectful. When she turned pretty in a few months, she would most likely try out for the big teams, playing before the whole city of Columbia. Other uglies traveled from all the other dorms, just to see what Minerva did on the field, even if it meant their own team would lose. A sports addict, she played basketball in the winter, and moved on the court like nobody's business. Soccer was still Minerva's game, though.

To top it all off, Max did end up in the same dorm as Min, and they spent long hours together as friends and teammates. Some people thought Uglyville sucked, but especially now that she was a fifteen-year-old senior, Minerva loved being an ugly.

After practice, Min took a hot shower and put on a clean dorm uniform. Her dorm's colors happened to be blue and gray, which made the uniform less repulsive to her. A knee length kilt in a plaid composed of those colors, a tee-shirt with blue and gray stripes on it, and a gray microfiber blazer with gold buttons were the standard for girls. Minerva wondered how a simple pattern of lines intersecting at right angles could be so atrocious. When December came around, she could kiss it all goodbye.

Wearing this insult to fashion, Min took the short walk down the hall to Max's dorm. It was filled with other tricky uglies that they knew, most of them on the soccer team as well. The girls were lounging on the bed and anywhere else they could find, discussing the usual topic: boys. Finally, one of them asked the dreaded question.

"So Freckles, who do you like?" Why did the girl's smile seem so hostile? Stammering, Min answered, "I told you: We're all uglies. What's the point? I don't think any of the guys are cute for that exact reason." And that was the entire truth.

"You're not...well, you know...?" and they all collapsed giggling again.

Minerva snorted at them. Even if she was, what did it matter? Everyone knew that homosexuality was just kid stuff, one of those things that the operation fixed. That operation that she would be getting before most of them. They were probably just jealous.

Suddenly, she couldn't stand it anymore. It was all just so frivolous. Those feelings of superiority were coming again, just as they always did in school when she was the only one who knew an answer. She was better, smarter than this. Her time as an ugly was drawing to a close. This was how she was spending it? She had a better idea, one that had been bugging her for some time.

Suddenly, Minerva stood up, her voice a little louder and stronger than usual. "Guys, when school starts, we'll be seniors. Some of you will even be turning before me. You know how we all love tricks. And pretties never do stuff like that. Never! So why are you all just talking about guys who will never notice you anyway? I have an idea for something we could do tonight. Tell everyone who you think will be up for it, trick the minders as usual, and meet me at the dam with your boards and some overnight gear. It's time to celebrate our last nights together as uglies."

Silence followed. Minerva was usually quite taciturn, and big groups especially made her nervous. That little speech was probably the most she had ever said in front of this particular group, and it had come out a little meaner-sounding that she would have liked.

Max came to her rescue as usual. "Min's right, everyone. I'm in! Are you?"

One of the girls who looked rather skeptical said, "But where are we going? The ruins, as usual?"

A rare grin slowly spread across Minerva's face. "Nope," she said. "Farther."