Chapters (68)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Chapter One
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Chapter Two
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Chapter Three
- Ten
- Eleven
- Chapter Four
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Chapter Five
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Chapter Six
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Chapter Seven
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Chapter Eight
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Chapter Nine
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Chapter Ten
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Chapter Eleven
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Chapter Twelve
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Chapter Thirteen
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Chapter Fourteen
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Chapter Fifteen
- The Following Summer
- About the Author
- About the Publisher
Twenty minutes later, when she was reading about how important it was not to panic when switching back and forth between lungs and gills, she remembered that Teddy had written one word on the original page: practice. It hadn’t made sense when she thought the chapter was about fog technology. Had he and Digger practiced being fish? She shivered. It made her sad to think of eleven-year-old Teddy telling himself to practice breathing underwater and then drowning years later.
Digger stuck his head in the door. “Good news. Alfie is back, and he’s fine. I was right; he was so shocked when Topsy attacked him that he couldn’t calm down enough to change back. He’s still pretty shook up.”
Ali started to rise. “Can I see him?”
“Sorry, Ali-Cat. He just left with his mom and Uncle Andrew. I’m sure they have a lot to talk about, and Alfie needs to rest.”
Ali slumped back against her pillow. “I’m glad he’s okay.”
Digger leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You were very brave, saving him like that. I’m proud of you.”
“I don’t feel brave. I’m pretty sure he tried to tell me the other day.”
“Well, he tried to talk to me and I ran away. We’ve both made mistakes.”
“I’m sorry I was rude to Andrew Sloane.”
Digger chuckled. “You shouldn’t have said those things, but maybe you gave him something to think about. We’ve all made choices. And some of them were mistakes. But I hope we can learn from them.”
He pointed to the book in Ali’s hands. “I see you’re reading Uncle Percy’s magnum opus.”
“I can’t believe all the stuff in here!”
“Pretty amazing, huh? Teddy used to pore over that book when we were kids. I’m sure you saw that we wrote in it here and there. Teddy wanted to write a sequel. Chapter One was going to be ‘How to Recognize Copycats on the Internet.’”
Ali smiled, but it quickly dissolved into a frown. “I suppose we have to cancel Gigi’s party.”
“Absolutely not! In fact, your mother’s helping her change right now. A party is exactly what we need after what just happened, so get dressed; we’re putting you in charge of greeting the guests. And wait until you see Gigi’s cake. It’s covered in flowers and butterflies and hummingbirds!”