1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLY FOR LIFE
They must have forewarned the minders about her return.
All the other uglies were gone, off on some unscheduled
school trip. But they hadn’t found out in time to save her
stuff. When Tally reached her old room, she saw that everything
had been recycled. Clothes, bedding, furniture, the
pictures on the wallscreen—it had all reverted back to
Generic Ugly. It even looked as if somebody else had been
briefly moved in, then out again, leaving a strange drink
can in the fridge.
Tally sat down on the bed, too stunned to cry. She knew
she would start bawling soon, probably losing it at the
worst possible time and place. Now that the encounter with
Dr. Cable was over, her anger and defiance were fading, and
there was nothing left to sustain her. Her stuff was gone, her
future was gone, only the view out the window remained.
She sat and stared, having to remind herself every few
minutes that it had all really happened: the cruel pretties,
the strange buildings on the edge of town, the terrible ultimatum
from Dr. Cable. Tally felt as if some wild trick had