Inside Out

"I drew a deep breath. I’d spoken more in one burst to this stranger whose room I’d invaded than anyone else in weeks. And with a single word he could alert the Pop Cops and send me to the Chomper. We stared at each other for a few heartbeats. Before I could retreat he said, 'My name’s Riley Narelle Ashon. Any time you need peace, you’re welcome to use my hideaway.'"

"Me? A leader? Okay, I did prove that there's more to Inside than we knew. That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion—between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we're free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again—while still touching base with Riley, of course. He's the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there's outside and then there is Outside...."