What would you do if you lived in a world where everyone thought you were the most beautiful person, and everyone had to look like you? For Annie this is reality, all I York, Nebraska. Her vibrant blue eyes, luminous curly brown hair, and her eyes lashes long and full. Her face heart face shaped, and everyone had all of these features. She was the only one without a different face.

The early fall sky was a brilliant orange. The clouds danced across the sky as a cold wistful breeze moved into Nebraska. The sun rose silently and slowly into the sky as if to welcome fall. Annie finished watching the sunrise and rushed out the door.

The trees had a faint color of red, yellow, and orange. The buildings, all thirty stories tall, and the cars hovering miles and miles above the ground filled the sky with colors of blue, red, and green. As she stood on the moving sidewalk, she noticed people stop and stare. They would even gasp, but Annie did not know if it was at her or something else. As the sidewalk moved along, she wondered “Why are people staring at me? I see beautiful people every day and I don’t stop dead in my tracks to stare, so would they? What were they looking at?”

The moon was rising in the sky, big and bright; the stars slowly appeared on the dark sky as Annie finally laid her head down on a fluffy pillow and drifted into a dream. It started with her being on the moving sidewalk and the man staring; he was holding a black brief case and wearing a gray suit. He had dark brown hair that was slicked back. As the sidewalk kept moving, she saw three women eating lunch at Chicago Pizza. She thought it was funny that they all had the same color hair that was curled in the same way. Annie noticed their hair was exactly like hers. When the three women looked at her, it was like looking in a three way mirror. They all looked EXACTLY like her. Annie’s heart began to race, and she woke up almost hyperventilating. Each breaths coming in quick and short gasps each.

When her heart slowed Annie looked out the window and realized that the sun was already in the sky, and had welcomed another-day. The morning went by fast; Annie decided to go out into town and shop today. As soon as she walked onto the moving sidewalk, she saw the man staring at her, just like in her dream. He was dressed a gray suit, hair slicked back, and a black brief case in his hand. Annie immediately turned her head to the Chicago Pizza. Sure enough there they were, the three women sitting outside in the warm breeze, they all three turned their heads and Annie saw her face!

“Who am I? Who are they? What are they? Why do they look like me?” So many questions and no one to give her any answers…just then Annie thought this a TV flashed on and Annie heard a familiar name.

“Today on channel nine news we are talking to James Mangles, the scientist who is creating a law, a law that ALL people MUST follow. This law states that anyone twenty years or older will be completely “destroyed” and put back together in the image of Annie Thornback.”

“NO!” Annie gasped in disbelief, “Why me? Why? Why? Why?”
She knew right away that she had to talk to this Dr. James Mangles. She ran up the stairs to the sky roads, and right into the street.

“Get out of your car! This is an EMERGENCY!”

“What?”

“Please get out of your car! I need to use it!”

“Um… fine, just don’t freak out and crash. Ok?”

“Got it! Thank You!”

As soon as Annie got into this mysterious person’s blue, flying car, she immediately had to dodge other cars hovering. As she peered down at the speedometer, she was already going two-hundred-and-ninety-nine miles per hour, and this car could go up to five-hundred! She pushed harder and harder on the pedal.

She drove and drove until she saw the bright red sign that read 9 NEWS. Slamming down on the break, the hover car through Annie forward causing her to hit her nose on the glass. Behind her, she heard cars honking at each other and at her. Annie had no idea how she was going to get in, but she was! She walked up to the door practically running; she reached for the door knob and turned it carelessly… the door spread wide open!

“Yesssss!” She whispered in a Napoleon Dynamite-like imitation. No one noticed her until she began to walk onto set and they all froze, dead in their tracks. “Wow, would stop staring?” She thought. No one even tried to stop her; she walked right up to the gray haired, skinny, small boned twig in a white robe. He had to be what’s his name.

“He-hem.” Everyone turned to her and a few gasps even escaped.

“Hello Annie! How are you?” The doctor said obviously delighted to see her.

“Well, I was great until I found out this “plan” of yours.”

“Oh.”

“’Oh’ that’s all you can say ‘oh’. I do not even know you! Do I?”

“Yes, you do actually.”

“I am James Mangles. I’m your cousin, when you were three I met you. You probably don’t remember.”

“What? My…cousin?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How come I have never seen you, except for when I was three?”

“I guess I just never came around.”

“Ok. Then why are you using me?”

“Using you?”

“Yeah, to change people. Your ‘plan’ remember?”

“Oh. Um…well it’s because you’re beautiful and everyone needs to be.”

“But everyone is beautiful!! On the inside and out!”

“NO!”

“I’m done talking to you! You don’t even see people for who they are! You only see their looks! UGH!” Annie shouted. “Goodbye cousin!”

“What a jerk,” she thought, “How can he do this to family?” She got back into the hover car and hoped she was dreaming. She knew she had to talk to her mother, Marnie. Marnie would be the only one who would truly know if Annie ever met her cousin. “Would she even remember? I think he would have come around more if he knew me. How come he never did?”

Traffic in the sky was horrible; there was a car wreck right in the middle of the road with a bird! You would think that they could just pick it up, but no! They had to pick up the bird and all of its feathers! “Why?” Annie asked herself, “On a day when I’m in a hurry to get somewhere a bird has to fly into a car.”


After waiting an hour, for a bird to get picked up, Annie was moving again! Only thirty more minutes until I can talk to mom!





LATER THAT DAY

Sure enough her mom knew him and said he was the best! “Well then, she won’t help me because ‘he’s the best!’ Hmmm… I wonder if he has any family that I could talk to. What would they say? Where are they? How would I get to them?”

That night Annie was unable to sleep. Her imagination kept running like a clock. By morning, she was red eyed and tired. “Why did he have to choose me? Why do I have to be ‘cloned’?”

Annie was too afraid to go outside and see how many people would look like her today. Twenty? Thirty? More?

Another night came and Annie’s imagination was running again, but this time she had an idea. She could reset the computer or whatever to change people back. Only one problem though, she didn’t know how to do that. She had to find a way. By morning, she had a full plan written out and a checklist of things to do. She was worried though. “Would this work? What if I can’t get enough people to help?” She thought numerous times.

Today she had to go out. She had to see how many people were changed. She walked out the door into what seemed like a completely different world made of mirrors, like a circus. As she looked around everyone looked like her. Annie couldn’t walk any farther, she ran back into her room. It was bright yellow with a bright pink and purple comforter with yellow specks of color.

When she went through the door, her room was filled with “clones”. She saw Mrs. Parks, the old librarian. She was always so wise and never said the words like or thing. When she walked over to me those words were practically ninety percent of everything and anything she said!

“Does she know what she is saying? Or does she not know who she is?”

Another week of sleepless nights passed. Annie could not find anyone who would help her. So far, everyone had forgotten who they were. They would follow her around like lost dogs. They are all so dependent on her. They are not the independent people they were before.

Later when she went outside, everyone’s hair was the original color, not her luscious brown. This made Annie begin to think, “What if the surgery fades off? Would my cousin be that dumb? I like to think so, but I really don’t know.”

After Annie got home, a woman was waiting for her. She had brown, shoulder length hair. She was very skinny and tall. Annie couldn’t see her face at all though.

“Hello!” The women said in a strong voice from behind her computer.

“Ummmmm… Hi. Who are you?”

“I am Angie.”

“Oh, well what are you doing here?”

“I came to help you.”

“Here to help me? But.” Before Annie could ask any questions, Angie quickly cut her off.

“That’s right, here to help you. I’m the reason they are all changing back.”

“So you changed the computer setting?” Annie asked.

“That’s right!” Angie responded.

“Who told you though?”

“Well after you have tried to get help from everyone, word gets around.”

“Oh, so what exactly did you do to the computer?”

“I reset it; everyone will turn back to normal in a few days, except for me.”

“Why won’t you turn back? Don’t you want to?”

“Well, it is impossible for me to change.”

“What? I don’t get what you are saying.”

“Annie.” The women was now moving the computer and standing up, “I’m your twin.”

“What?”

“I’m your twin sister.”
After days, and days of talking Annie and Angie found out everything and sure enough everyone turned back to normal, and the only girl without a different face was unique after all, with one exception!