Bright's Light (27 page)
Authors: Susan Juby
“When I’m better, and before you go to sleep for the trip, is there any way you could teach me how to do the slip slide with a triple twist?” he asked.
Bright gave him an appraising look. “I think I can do that,” she said. “If you work really hard.”
“Obviously, if you want any help with, like, lats or abs, I’m your guy,” said Slater. “But I don’t drive, in case you were thinking of asking me to handle that part of things.”
Fon’s voice interrupted them. “The House of It is really different than I thought it would be,” she said. “But it’s cool. I think I’m going to like it here.” She went back to admiring Slater’s abs, and he assured her that, in spite of her
skin’s current condition, her underlying fundamentals were sound, gorgeousness-wise.
Grassly smiled, and so did Bright.
Ten minutes later, Bright sat in the pilot’s seat of the
Sankalpa
, and Grassly told her which buttons to hit, in which order. The thousands of survivors from inside the Store stood at the banks of windows and watched as the ship pulled away from the partially detached skin. The high winds caught the membrane and tore it wide open like a vast black curtain. As the ship retreated, the survivors remained silent, watching the wild Earth rip the covering from their last habitation. The buildings stood twinkling for a few moments, then were overtaken by the swirling grey and red storm.
At Grassly’s directive, Bright pressed the code that caused the
Sankalpa
to rise. Soon, the Store was completely obscured by the dust clouds, and shortly after that, the Earth herself was just a brilliant orb in the vast blackness.
SUSAN JUBY
is the author of the critically acclaimed YA novels Getting the Girl and Another Kind of Cowboy, as well as the bestselling Alice series (Alice, I Think; Miss Smithers; Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last) and a novel for adults, The Woefield Poultry Collective. She holds a master’s degree in publishing. Susan lives on Vancouver Island with her husband, James, and their dog, who prefers to remain anonymous. Visit her online at susanjuby.com.
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“Juby endows her endearing characters with quirky, comedic voices and original backgrounds.”
KIRKUS REVIEWS
on Getting the Girl (starred review) “Susan Juby is a marvel. Wise, witty, and full of heart, her writing draws you in and won’t let go. And just when you think it can’t get any better, it does.”
MEG CABOT
, author of the Princess Diaries series, on The Woefield Poultry Collective
Bright’s Light
Copyright © 2012 by Susan Juby
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EPub Edition © JULY 2012 ISBN: 978-1-443-41449-4
Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
FIRST EDITION
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