The Model
- The Smoke is smoky because they burn wood. In fact, Tally is totally surprised that the Smokies live by cutting down trees, which seems so… so Rusty.
- (But they also plant trees. And they also plant metal so their hoverboards can move around the town. They're big into putting things in the ground in the Smoke.)
- Shay takes Tally to the library, which every runaway community needs. They go to see the Boss, who isn't really in charge of the town but is very old. He's, like, 40. (This is where your teachers will roll your eyes and grind their teeth at the joke.)
- Since the boss is busy, Shay shows Tally a bunch of old magazines. Tally thinks the people in the magazines are freaks, even the models (who are too thin because they have eating disorders—at least, that's what they learn at school).
- But Shay says that you can get used to what these people look like pretty (ha, ha) easily. Also, Shay explains how models are the professional pretties of their time. (Unfortunately, she does not explain why the boys in Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs are always playing some sort of contact sport.)
- Shay also notices Tally's new pendant (oh, gossip). Tally vaguely explains that someone gave her this pendant.
- In fact, Tally is about to confess everything to Shay when the Boss comes to yell at her for touching the old magazine with her dirty fingers. (And all fingers are dirty when it comes to 300-year-old magazines.)