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LAST TRICK
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It was strange, but Tally1 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 tempted2 herthrough the window so many times, learning every trickshe could to sneak3 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 squinty4 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 enviously6, 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 ragged7 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, Squint5!”
Tally jumped at the whisper. She peered into the darknessand saw a form scuttling8 toward her across the rooftiles. A smile broke onto her face. “Shay!”
The silhouette9 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 joyful10 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 hesitation11 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 squeaked12, 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 pointed13. “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 awesome14 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 waterproof15 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 giggled16.
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 plume17 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, touching18 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 gasp19. 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 surgical20 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 facets21 of solar cells. She’d also stashed22 aheated jacket and hat under the bridge. Tally guessed thatwinters at the Smoke were cold and miserable23.
She couldn’t believe her friend was really going.
“You can always come back. If it sucks.”
Shay shrugged24. “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 scrawl25 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 sniffing26 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 slanted27 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.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 tally Gg1yq     
n.计数器,记分,一致,测量;vt.计算,记录,使一致;vi.计算,记分,一致
参考例句:
  • Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
  • The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。
2 tempted b0182e969d369add1b9ce2353d3c6ad6     
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚,但还是没开口。
  • I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。
3 sneak vr2yk     
vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝);偷偷摸摸做;n.潜行;adj.暗中进行
参考例句:
  • He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
  • I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。
4 squinty c2feeafb7e5a6a90aae7f0a4c93211de     
斜视眼的,斗鸡眼的
参考例句:
  • He looked with squinty eyes. 他眼睛斜视。
  • Her eyes were squinty andflaring, as though about to dispense tissues through the nose. 她被触怒了,七窍生烟,仿佛真的要从鼻子下分发纸巾一般。
5 squint oUFzz     
v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的
参考例句:
  • A squint can sometimes be corrected by an eyepatch. 斜视有时候可以通过戴眼罩来纠正。
  • The sun was shinning straight in her eyes which made her squint. 太阳直射着她的眼睛,使她眯起了眼睛。
6 enviously ltrzjY     
adv.满怀嫉妒地
参考例句:
  • Yet again, they were looking for their way home blindly, enviously. 然而,它们又一次盲目地、忌妒地寻找着归途。 来自辞典例句
  • Tanya thought enviously, he must go a long way south. 坦妮亚歆羡不置,心里在想,他准是去那遥远的南方的。 来自辞典例句
7 ragged KC0y8     
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的
参考例句:
  • A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
  • Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
8 scuttling 56f5e8b899fd87fbaf9db14c025dd776     
n.船底穿孔,打开通海阀(沉船用)v.使船沉没( scuttle的现在分词 );快跑,急走
参考例句:
  • I could hear an animal scuttling about in the undergrowth. 我可以听到一只动物在矮树丛中跑来跑去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • First of all, scuttling Yu Lung (this yuncheng Hejin) , flood discharge. 大禹首先凿开龙门(今运城河津市),分洪下泄。 来自互联网
9 silhouette SEvz8     
n.黑色半身侧面影,影子,轮廓;v.描绘成侧面影,照出影子来,仅仅显出轮廓
参考例句:
  • I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓。
  • I could see the silhouette of the woman in the pickup.我可以见到小卡车的女人黑色半身侧面影。
10 joyful N3Fx0     
adj.欢乐的,令人欢欣的
参考例句:
  • She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
  • They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。
11 hesitation tdsz5     
n.犹豫,踌躇
参考例句:
  • After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天,他终于直说了。
  • There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
12 squeaked edcf2299d227f1137981c7570482c7f7     
v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 );吱吱叫;告密;充当告密者
参考例句:
  • The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时,鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句
13 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
14 awesome CyCzdV     
adj.令人惊叹的,难得吓人的,很好的
参考例句:
  • The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
  • That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.
15 waterproof Ogvwp     
n.防水材料;adj.防水的;v.使...能防水
参考例句:
  • My mother bought me a waterproof watch.我妈妈给我买了一块防水手表。
  • All the electronics are housed in a waterproof box.所有电子设备都储放在一个防水盒中。
16 giggled 72ecd6e6dbf913b285d28ec3ba1edb12     
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
  • The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 plume H2SzM     
n.羽毛;v.整理羽毛,骚首弄姿,用羽毛装饰
参考例句:
  • Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
  • He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。
18 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
19 gasp UfxzL     
n.喘息,气喘;v.喘息;气吁吁他说
参考例句:
  • She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
  • The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。
20 surgical 0hXzV3     
adj.外科的,外科医生的,手术上的
参考例句:
  • He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
  • All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前,必须消毒。
21 facets f954532ea6a2c241dcb9325762a2a145     
n.(宝石或首饰的)小平面( facet的名词复数 );(事物的)面;方面
参考例句:
  • The question had many facets. 这个问题是多方面的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A fully cut brilliant diamond has 68 facets. 经过充分切刻的光彩夺目的钻石有68个小平面。 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 stashed 07562c5864f6b713d22604f8e1e43dae     
v.贮藏( stash的过去式和过去分词 );隐藏;藏匿;藏起
参考例句:
  • She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她有一大笔钱存在几个不同的银行账户下。
  • She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她在不同的银行账户上秘密储存了一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
23 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
24 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
25 scrawl asRyE     
vt.潦草地书写;n.潦草的笔记,涂写
参考例句:
  • His signature was an illegible scrawl.他的签名潦草难以辨认。
  • Your beautiful handwriting puts my untidy scrawl to shame.你漂亮的字体把我的潦草字迹比得见不得人。
26 sniffing 50b6416c50a7d3793e6172a8514a0576     
n.探查法v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的现在分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了,一个劲地抽鼻子,打喷嚏。
  • They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了,呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
27 slanted 628a904d3b8214f5fc02822d64c58492     
有偏见的; 倾斜的
参考例句:
  • The sun slanted through the window. 太阳斜照进窗户。
  • She had slanted brown eyes. 她有一双棕色的丹凤眼。


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