Alana Anderson sat beside her window staring out across the river towards the opposite side of town. She could faintly hear the sound of laughter rippling through the pulsating music that was blaring out of the nearest window. She sighed aloud before adjusting her legs and shifting into a comfier position.
For almost five years Alana had sat on this window sill every night before finally getting into bed. For almost five years she’d longed to turn sixteen and cross the river legally just so she could be at one of the hottest parties in the city. She longed to have her body adjusted so she was perfect; so she was pretty.
Being ugly wasn’t exactly fun, in fact it was quite possibly the worst feeling a person could feel. Living on the ugly side of town wasn’t as fun as when you were first turned into a pretty. If you didn’t look perfect then why should you be able to live a perfect life? This was the side of town where school was compulsory and parties were forbidden. The only thing keeping the rare uglies like Alana entertained, was the tricks they managed to pull off. Tricks that Alana missed almost as much as she wanted to be pretty.
The sound of fireworks glittering into the sky brought Alana out of her thoughts. She stared up into the clear night sky and felt a small smile cross her lips. She briefly remembered the night before her best friend turned sixteen and in that brief moment she decided she needed to get out of her dorm room.
As Alana jumped off of the window sill, she removed the ring that was accustomed to being worn on her middle finger of her left hand. She picked up a bundle of jackets from her floor and shoved them under her duvet, hoping the heat they produced was the same amount that she did whilst sleeping.
The ring that she had just removed wasn’t worn due to routine or fashion. That ring was the equivalent to an ID pass. With it resting on her bedside table no warden or any form of law could tell that she wasn’t going to be sleeping in her bed for a while tonight.
“Goodnight.” Alana said softly, hoping she had masked her excitement.
“Goodnight Alana.” The room replied in it’s robotic voice.
Alana grinned before pulling herself up through her window and out on to the ledge. She dropped to the roof beneath her and stumbled slightly before getting her footing right. Alana smiled to herself, imagining her best friend waiting in front of her. She missed Sinead and the tricks that she’d thought up for the two of them to create.
Shaking the thoughts from her head, Alana jumped up and continued her journey across the rest of the dorm rooms until she reached the lowest point. Counting to three she took a run and jump and felt herself flying through the air. She was far from graceful, but the roof was low enough for her to avoid spraining any of her ankles as she landed.
Letting out the breath she’d been holding whilst scaling the building Alana stood up properly and scanned the area for a sign of hover cars carrying wardens. Seeing that the coast was clear she quickly set off for the river bed.
Ugly town was normally in complete darkness at this time of night, and tonight was the same. If Alana hadn’t spent many nights taking this trip she was sure that she’d have tripped and fell often. But fortunately she arrived at the oldest bridge in the city with not cuts nor any bruises.
Alana had been beneath this bridge tons of times before and she knew through experience that it was the only bridge that wouldn’t tell anyone she had crossed it. The city had only a few buildings and artefacts remaining that they hadn’t built themselves, so the bridge was basically older than the city itself.
Stopping to gaze in the water before her Alana grimaced. Her bedroom only had one mirror and she tried to avoid looking in it as much as she could. Seeing her reflection now made Alana pine for the day she would finally turn sixteen. She hated her flat brown hair and her dissymmetrical face. Her eyes were the closest thing to being pretty as they were so big, but she wouldn’t mind having a shade of violet mixed in with the bright blue.
Pulling her eyes away from the glittering river Alana looked for the rope that was underneath the bridge. She didn’t know how the rope had got there, she only knew it was her only way of getting across the river without being seen.
Getting across the river unseen was the easy part. Normally Alana and her best friend would cross the river together and spy on the pretty people partying on the other side. Tonight, however, Alana was alone and she intended to actually speak to a new pretty. She wanted to find her best friend and be reassured that everything was going to be ok.
