"Scott Westerfeld - Uglies 1 - Uglies" - читать интересную книгу автора (Westerfeld Scott)

Someone stepped quietly into the elevator, looking back at the search party in bemusement. When he saw her, he jumped. УGoodness, you scared me!Ф He blinked his long lashes, regarding her masked face, then looked down at his own tailcoat. УOh, dear. WasnТt this party white tie?Ф

TallyТs breath caught, her mouth went dry. УPeris?Ф she whispered.

He looked at her closely. УDo IЕФ

She started to reach out, but remembered to press back flat against the wall. Her muscles were screaming from standing on tiptoe. УItТs me, Peris.Ф

УHere, piggy, piggy!Ф

He turned toward the voice down the hall, raised his eyebrows, then looked back at her. УClose door. Hold,Ф he said quickly.

The door slid shut, and Tally stumbled forward. She pulled off her mask to see him better. It was Peris: his voice, his brown eyes, the way his forehead crinkled when he was confused.

But he was sopretty now.

At school, they explained how it affected you. It didnТt matter if you knew about evolution or notЧit worked anyway. On everyone.

There was a certain kind of beauty, a prettiness that everyone could see. Big eyes and full lips like a kidТs; smooth, clear skin; symmetrical features; and a thousand other little clues. Somewhere in the backs of their minds, people were always looking for these markers. No one could help seeing them, no matter how they were brought up. A million years of evolution had made it part of the human brain.

The big eyes and lips said: IТm young and vulnerable, I canТt hurt you, and you want to protect me. And the rest said: IТm healthy, I wonТt make you sick. And no matter how you felt about a pretty, there was a part of you that thought:If we had kids, theyТd be healthy too. I wantthis pretty personЕ.

It was biology, they said at school. Like your heart beating, you couldnТt help believing all these things, not when you saw a face like this. A pretty face.

A face like PerisТs.

УItТs me,Ф Tally said.

Peris took a step back, his eyebrows rising. He looked down at her clothes.

Tally realized she was wearing her baggy black expedition outfit, muddy from crawling up ropes and through gardens, from falling among the vines. PerisТs suit was deep black velvet, his shirt, vest, and tie all glowing white.

She pulled away. УOh, sorry. I wonТt get you muddy.Ф

УWhat are youdoing here, Tally?Ф

УI justЧ,Ф she sputtered. Now that she was facing him, she didnТt know what to say. All the imagined conversations had melted away into his big, sweet eyes. УI had to know if we were stillЕФ

Tally held out her right hand, the scarred palm facing up, sweaty dirt tracing the lines on it.

Peris sighed. He wasnТt looking at her hand, or into her eyes. Not into her squinty, narrow-set, indifferently brown eyes. Nobody eyes. УYeah,Ф he said. УBut, I meanЧcouldnТt you have waited, Squint?Ф

Her ugly nickname sounded strange coming from a pretty. Of course, it would be even weirder to call him Nose, as she used to about a hundred times a day. She swallowed. УWhy didnТt you write me?Ф

УI tried. But it just felt bogus. IТm so different now.Ф

УBut weТreЕФ She pointed at her scar.

УTake a look, Tally.Ф He held out his own hand.