Tally returns to her dorm room, which has been emptied of her belongings, and tries to process what has happened. She rereads Shay’s cryptic instructions about how to find her. Tally avoids the other uglies after hearing them laugh as they walk by her door. Tally’s parents, Ellie and Sol, arrive to comfort her. They also talk about why she should help Special Circumstances, but the more they talk, the more Tally recognizes their ignorance.

Tally spends her days hiding and her nights sneaking out of the dorms. Her loneliness grows intense as she flies alone on her hoverboard at night. At dawn on the fourth day, she returns to her room to find Peris waiting for her. She cries and he comforts her before saying his friends are all interested in her “trick” about not turning pretty. He says people are dying to meet her, especially after the bungee jacket incident. When Tally insists she must uphold her promises to Shay, Peris reminds her of the promise she made him about being best friends forever. Tally agrees to tell the Specials what she knows. After Peris leaves, she sends a message to