1269_UgliesFreeBook

PERIS
During the daytime, she hid in her room.
Going anywhere else was pure torture. The uglies in her
own dorm treated her like a walking disease, and anyone
else who recognized her sooner or later asked, “Why aren’t
you pretty yet?”
It was strange. She’d been an ugly for four years, but a
few extra days had brought home to her exactly what the
word really meant. Tally peered into her mirror all day, noting
every flaw, every deformity. Her thin lips pursed with
unhappiness. Her hair grew even frizzier because she kept
running her hands through it in frustration. A trio of zits
exploded across her forehead, as if marking the days since
her sixteenth birthday. Her watery, too-small eyes glared
back at her, full of anger.
Only at night could she escape from the tiny room, the
nervous stares, her own ugly face.
She fooled the minders and climbed out as usual, but
she didn’t feel much like any real tricks. There was no one
to visit, no one to play a prank on, and the idea of crossing