HEARTTHROB

Around the fire at dinner that night, Tally¹ told the story ofhow she’d hidden in the river when the rangers²’ helicopterfirst appeared. She had everyone wide-eyed again. Apparently,she’d had one of the more exciting journeys to theSmoke.
“Can you imagine? I’m naked and crouching³ down inthe water, and this Rusty⁴ machine is destroying my camp!”
“Why didn’t they land?” Astrix asked. “Didn’t they seeyour stuff?”
“I thought they did.”
“The rangers only pick up uglies in the white flowers,”
David explained. “That’s the rendezvous⁵ spot we tell runawaysto use. They can’t just pick up anyone, or they mightaccidentally bring a spy here.”
“I guess you wouldn’t want that,” Tally said softly.
“Still, they should be more careful with those helicopters,”
Shay said. “Someone’s going to get chopped to piecesone day.”
“Tell me about it. The wind almost took my hoverboardaway,” Tally said. “It lifted my sleeping bag right off theground and up into the blades. It was totally shredded⁷.”
She was pleased by the amazement⁸ on the faces of heraudience.
“So where’d you sleep?” Croy asked.
“It wasn’t that bad. It was only for—” Tally stopped herselfjust in time. She’d spent one night without the sleepingbag, but in her cover story she’d spent four days in theorchids. “It was warm enough.”
“You’d better get a new one before bedtime,” Davidsaid. “It’s a lot colder up here than down in the weeds.”
“I’ll take her over to the trading post,” Shay said. “It’s likea requisition center, Tally. Only when you get something,you have to leave something else behind as payment.”
Tally shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She still hadn’tgotten used to the idea that you had to pay for things here.
“All I’ve got is SpagBol.”
Shay smiled. “That’s perfect to trade with. We can’tmake dehydrated food here, except fruit, and traveling withregular food is a total pain. SpagBol’s good as gold.”
After dinner, Shay took her to a large hut near the center oftown. The shelves were full of things made in the Smoke,along with a few objects that had come from the cities. Thecity-made stuff was mostly shabby and worn, repairedagain and again, but the handmade things fascinated Tally.
She ran her still-raw fingers across the clay pots andwooden tools, amazed at how each had its own texture⁹ andUGLIES 221weight. Everything seemed so heavy and . . . serious.
An older ugly was running the place, but he wasn’t asscary as the Boss. He brought out woolen¹⁰ gear and a few silverysleeping bags. The blankets, scarves, and gloves werebeautiful, in subdued¹¹ colors and simple patterns, but Shayinsisted that Tally get a city-made sleeping bag. “Muchlighter, and it squishes up small. Much better for when wego exploring.”
“Of course,” Tally said, trying to smile. “That’ll be great.”
She wound up trading twelve packets of SpagBol foranother sleeping bag, and six for a handmade sweater,which left her with eight. She couldn’t believe that thesweater, brown with bands of pale red and green highlights,cost half as much as the sleeping bag, which was threadbareand patched.
“You’re just lucky you didn’t lose your water purifier,”
Shay said as they walked home. “Those things are impossibleto trade for.”
Tally’s eyes widened. “What happens if they break?”
“Well, they say you can drink water from the streamswithout purifying it.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. A lot of the older Smokies do,” Shay said. “Evenif they’ve got a purifier, they don’t bother.”
“Yuck.”
Shay giggled¹². “Yeah, no kidding. But hey, you canalways use mine.”
222 Scott WesterfeldTally put a hand on Shay’s shoulder. “Same goes for mine.”
Shay’s pace slowed. “Tally?”
“Yeah?”
“You were going to say something to me, back in thelibrary, before the Boss started yelling at you.”
Tally’s stomach sank. She pulled away, her fingers automaticallygoing to the pendant at her neck.
“Yeah,” Shay said. “About that necklace.”
Tally nodded, but didn’t know how to start. She stillhadn’t activated¹³ the pendant, and since her conversationwith David, she wasn’t sure she could. Maybe if she returnedto the city in a month, starving and empty-handed, Dr.
Cable would take mercy on her.
But what if the woman kept her promise, and Tallynever got the operation? In twenty-something years, shewould be lined and wrinkled, as ugly as the Boss, an outcast.
And if she stayed here in the Smoke, she’d be sleepingin an old sleeping bag and dreading¹⁴ the day her water purifierbroke down.
She was so tired of lying to everyone. “I haven’t toldyou everything,” she started.
“I know. But I think I’ve got it figured out.”
Tally looked at her friend, afraid to speak.
“I mean, it’s pretty obvious, right? You’re all upsetbecause you broke your promise to me. You didn’t keep theSmoke a secret.”
Tally’s mouth fell open.
UGLIES 223Shay smiled, taking her hand. “As you got closer toyour birthday, you decided¹⁵ you wanted to run away. But inthe meantime, you met someone. Someone important. Thesame someone who gave you that heart necklace. So youbroke your promise to me. You told that someone whereyou were going.”
“Um, kind of,” Tally managed.
Shay giggled. “I knew it. That’s why you’ve been allnervous. You want to be here, but you also wish you weresomewhere else. With someone else. And before you ranaway, you left directions, a copy of my note, in case yournew heartthrob wants to join us. Am I right or am I right?”
Tally bit her lip. Shay’s face glowed in the moonlight,obviously thrilled with herself for figuring out Tally’s bigsecret. “Uh, you’re partly right.”
“Oh, Tally.” Shay grabbed both her shoulders. “Don’tyou see that it’s okay? I mean, I did the same thing.”
Tally frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone I was coming here.
David made me promise I wouldn’t even tell you.”
“Why?”
Shay nodded. “He hadn’t met you, and wasn’t sure if hecould trust you. Normally, runaways⁶ only recruit oldfriends, people they’ve tricked with for years. But I’d onlyknown you since the beginning of summer. And I neveronce mentioned the Smoke to you until the day before Ileft. I was never brave enough, in case you said no.”
224 Scott Westerfeld“So you weren’t supposed to tell me?”
“No way. So when you actually showed up, it madeeveryone nervous. They don’t know whether they can trustyou. Even David’s been acting¹⁶ weird¹⁷ around me.”
“Shay, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault!” Shay shook her head vigorously.
“It’s mine. I screwed everything up. But so what? Once theyget to know you, they’ll think you’re really cool.”
“Yeah,” Tally said softly. “Everyone’s been really nice.”
She wished she had activated the pendant the momentshe’d gotten there. In only one day she’d begun to realizethat it wasn’t just Shay’s dream she’d be betraying. Hundredsof people had made a life in the Smoke.
“And I’m sure your someone will be cool too,” Shaysaid. “I can’t wait till we’re all together.”
“I don’t know if . . . that’s going to happen.” There hadto be some other way out of this situation. Maybe if shewent to another city . . . or found the rangers again and toldthem that she wanted to volunteer, they’d make her pretty.
But she hardly knew anything about their city, except thatshe didn’t know anyone there. . . .
Shay shrugged¹⁸. “Maybe not. But I wasn’t sure you’dcome either.” She squeezed Tally’s hand. “I’m really gladyou did, though.”
Tally tried to smile. “Even though I got you into trouble?”
“It’s not such a big deal. I think everyone’s way tooparanoid around here. They spend all this time disguisingUGLIES 225the place so satellites can’t see it, and they mask the handphonetransmissions so they won’t be intercepted¹⁹. And allthe secrecy²⁰ about runaways is way overdone²¹. And dangerous.
Just think—if you hadn’t been smart enough to figureout my directions, you could be halfway²² to Alaska bynow!”
“I don’t know, Shay. Maybe they know what they’redoing. The city authorities can be pretty tough.”
Shay laughed. “Don’t tell me you believe in SpecialCircumstances.”
“I . . .” Tally closed her eyes. “I just think that theSmokies have to be careful.”
“Okay, sure. I’m not saying we should advertise. But ifpeople like you and me want to come out here and live differently,why shouldn’t we? I mean, no one has the right totell us we have to be pretty, right?”
“Maybe they’re just worried because we’re kids. Youknow?”
“That’s the problem with the cities, Tally. Everyone’s akid, pampered²³ and dependent and pretty. Just like they sayin school: Big-eyed means vulnerable. Well, like you oncetold me, you have to grow up sometime.”
Tally nodded. “I know what you mean, how the uglieshere are more grown up. You can see it in their faces.”
Shay pulled Tally to a stop and looked at her closely fora second. “You feel guilty, don’t you?”
Tally looked back into Shay’s eyes, speechless for a226 Scott Westerfeldmoment. She suddenly felt naked in the cold night air, as ifShay could see straight through her lies.
“What?” she managed.
“Guilty. Not just that you told your someone about theSmoke, but that they might actually come. Now that you’veseen the Smoke, you’re not sure if that was such a goodidea.” Shay sighed. “I know it seems weird at first, and it’s alot of hard work. But I think you’ll eventually like it.”
Tally looked down, feeling tears welling into her eyes.
“It’s not that. Well, maybe it is. I just don’t know if Ican . . .” Her throat felt too full to speak. If she said anotherword, she’d have to tell Shay the truth: that she was a spy,a traitor²⁴ sent there to destroy everything around them.
And that Shay was the fool who had led her there.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Shay gathered Tally in her arms, rockingher gently as Tally began to cry. “I’m sorry. I didn’t meanto unload everything on you at once. But I’ve felt kind ofdistant from you since you got here. It feels like you’re notsure you want to look at me.”
“I should tell you everything.”
“Shhh.” Tally felt Shay’s fingers stroking her hair. “I’mjust glad you’re here.”
Tally let herself cry, burying her face in the scratchywool sleeve of her new sweater, feeling Shay’s warmthagainst her, and feeling awful about every gesture of kindnessfrom her friend.
With half her mind, Tally was actually glad she’d comeUGLIES 227and seen all this. She could have lived her whole life in thecity and never seen this much of the world. With the otherhalf, Tally still wished she had activated the pendant themoment she’d arrived in the Smoke. It would have been somuch easier that way.
But there was no way back in time now. She had todecide whether to betray the Smoke or not, completelyunderstanding what it would do to Shay, to David, to everyonehere.
“It’s okay, Tally,” Shay murmured. “You’ll be okay.”

1 tally   

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 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

3 crouching   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
• A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

4 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

5 rendezvous   

n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇

参考例句：

• She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
• I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。

6 runaways   

（轻而易举的）胜利( runaway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They failed to find any trace of the runaways. 他们未能找到逃跑者的任何踪迹。
• Unmanageable complexity can result in massive foul-ups or spectacular budget "runaways. " 这种失控的复杂性会造成大量的故障或惊人的预算“失控”。

7 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

9 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

10 woolen   

adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的

参考例句：

• She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜欢穿羊毛袜。
• There is one bar of woolen blanket on that bed.那张床上有一条毛毯。

11 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

12 giggled   

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》

13 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

14 dreading   

v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was dreading having to broach the subject of money to her father. 她正在为不得不向父亲提出钱的事犯愁。
• This was the moment he had been dreading. 这是他一直最担心的时刻。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

17 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

18 shrugged   

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》

19 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

20 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

21 overdone   

v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度

参考例句：

• The lust of men must not be overdone. 人们的欲望不该过分。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The joke is overdone. 玩笑开得过火。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

22 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

23 pampered   

adj.饮食过量的，饮食奢侈的v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The lazy scum deserve worse. What if they ain't fed up and pampered? 他们吃不饱，他们的要求满足不了，这又有什么关系？ 来自飘（部分）
• She petted and pampered him and would let no one discipline him but she, herself. 她爱他，娇养他，而且除了她自己以外，她不允许任何人管教他。 来自辞典例句

24 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。