Read Online Uglies 03 - Specials by Scott Westerfeld - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Scott Westerfeld
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heard a ping as Shay listened in through her skintenna.
Zane was talking, and the sound sent a little tremor through Tally. It was so familiar—yet distorted, either by her eavesdropping hardware or the months they'd been apart. She could make out the words, but not what they meant.
"All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away," he was saying. "All new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify …"
"What's he babbling about?" Shay hissed, adjusting her grip.
"I don't know. Sounds like Rusty-talk. Like some old book."
"Don't tell me Zane's… reading to the Crims?"
Tally looked up at Shay in puzzlement. A dramatic reading didn't sound very Crim, actually. Or very anything but random. And yet Zane's voice kept going, droning on about something melting.
"Take a peek, Tally-wa."
Tally nodded, pulling herself up until her eyes cleared the window ledge.
Zane sat in a big, soft-cushioned chair, holding a tattered old paper book in one hand and waving the other around like an orchestra conductor as he declaimed. But where the city interface had placed the other Crims, there was only empty space.
"Oh, Shay," she whispered. "You're going to love this."
"What I'm going to do is fall on your head, Tally-wa, in about ten seconds. What's going on?"
"He's all alone. Those other Crims are just…" She squinted into the gloom outside Zane's reading light. There they were, spread around the room like an attentive audience. "Rings. They're all just interface rings, except for Zane."
Despite Shay's wobbly grip on her perch, she let out a long snicker. "Maybe he's bubblier than we thought."
Tally nodded, grinning to herself. "Should I knock?"
"Please."
"Might startle him."
"Startled is good, Tally-wa. We want him bubbly. Now hurry up, I'm starting to slip."
Tally pulled herself higher, getting one knee onto the narrow ledge outside the window. She took a deep breath, then rapped twice, trying to smile without showing the razor sharpness of her teeth.
Zane looked up at the sound, startled for a moment, then his eyes widened. He made a gesture, and the window slid open.
A grin spread across his face.
"Tally-wa," he said. "You've changed."
ZANE-LA
Zane was still beautiful.
His cheekbones were sharp, his stare hungry and intense, like he was still using calorie purgers to keep himself alert. His lips were as full as any bubblehead's, and as Zane stared at Tally, he pursed them in childlike concentration. His hair hadn't changed at all; she remembered how he'd dyed it with calligraphy ink, turning it a bluish black that was way beyond the Pretty Committee's standards of good taste.
But there was something different about his face. Tally's mind spun, trying to figure out what it was.
"You brought Shay-la with you?" he said as the squeak of grippy shoes came from the window behind Tally. "How happy-making."
Tally nodded slowly, hearing in his voice that he wished she'd come alone. Of course. They had so much to talk about, hardly any of which she wanted to say in front of Shay.
It suddenly seemed like years since she'd seen Zane. Tally felt all the differences in her body—the ultralight bones and flash tattoos, the cutting scars along her arms— as reminders of how she'd changed in the time they'd been apart. Of how different they were now.
Shay grinned at the interface rings. "Aren't your friends finding that musty old book a little boring?"
"I've got more friends than you think, Shay-la." His eyes swept across the four walls of the room.
Shay shook her head, pulling a small black device from her belt. Tally's sharp ears caught its barely audible hum, a sizzling like wet leaves thrown onto a fire. "Relax, Zane-la. The city can't hear us."
His eyes widened. "You're allowed to do that?"
"Haven't you heard?" Shay smiled. "We're special."
"Oh. Well, as long as it's just us three…" He dropped the book onto the empty chair beside him,
Zane was talking, and the sound sent a little tremor through Tally. It was so familiar—yet distorted, either by her eavesdropping hardware or the months they'd been apart. She could make out the words, but not what they meant.
"All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away," he was saying. "All new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify …"
"What's he babbling about?" Shay hissed, adjusting her grip.
"I don't know. Sounds like Rusty-talk. Like some old book."
"Don't tell me Zane's… reading to the Crims?"
Tally looked up at Shay in puzzlement. A dramatic reading didn't sound very Crim, actually. Or very anything but random. And yet Zane's voice kept going, droning on about something melting.
"Take a peek, Tally-wa."
Tally nodded, pulling herself up until her eyes cleared the window ledge.
Zane sat in a big, soft-cushioned chair, holding a tattered old paper book in one hand and waving the other around like an orchestra conductor as he declaimed. But where the city interface had placed the other Crims, there was only empty space.
"Oh, Shay," she whispered. "You're going to love this."
"What I'm going to do is fall on your head, Tally-wa, in about ten seconds. What's going on?"
"He's all alone. Those other Crims are just…" She squinted into the gloom outside Zane's reading light. There they were, spread around the room like an attentive audience. "Rings. They're all just interface rings, except for Zane."
Despite Shay's wobbly grip on her perch, she let out a long snicker. "Maybe he's bubblier than we thought."
Tally nodded, grinning to herself. "Should I knock?"
"Please."
"Might startle him."
"Startled is good, Tally-wa. We want him bubbly. Now hurry up, I'm starting to slip."
Tally pulled herself higher, getting one knee onto the narrow ledge outside the window. She took a deep breath, then rapped twice, trying to smile without showing the razor sharpness of her teeth.
Zane looked up at the sound, startled for a moment, then his eyes widened. He made a gesture, and the window slid open.
A grin spread across his face.
"Tally-wa," he said. "You've changed."
ZANE-LA
Zane was still beautiful.
His cheekbones were sharp, his stare hungry and intense, like he was still using calorie purgers to keep himself alert. His lips were as full as any bubblehead's, and as Zane stared at Tally, he pursed them in childlike concentration. His hair hadn't changed at all; she remembered how he'd dyed it with calligraphy ink, turning it a bluish black that was way beyond the Pretty Committee's standards of good taste.
But there was something different about his face. Tally's mind spun, trying to figure out what it was.
"You brought Shay-la with you?" he said as the squeak of grippy shoes came from the window behind Tally. "How happy-making."
Tally nodded slowly, hearing in his voice that he wished she'd come alone. Of course. They had so much to talk about, hardly any of which she wanted to say in front of Shay.
It suddenly seemed like years since she'd seen Zane. Tally felt all the differences in her body—the ultralight bones and flash tattoos, the cutting scars along her arms— as reminders of how she'd changed in the time they'd been apart. Of how different they were now.
Shay grinned at the interface rings. "Aren't your friends finding that musty old book a little boring?"
"I've got more friends than you think, Shay-la." His eyes swept across the four walls of the room.
Shay shook her head, pulling a small black device from her belt. Tally's sharp ears caught its barely audible hum, a sizzling like wet leaves thrown onto a fire. "Relax, Zane-la. The city can't hear us."
His eyes widened. "You're allowed to do that?"
"Haven't you heard?" Shay smiled. "We're special."
"Oh. Well, as long as it's just us three…" He dropped the book onto the empty chair beside him,
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