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Back The Copycat Save as PDF
Chapters (68)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Chapter One
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Chapter Two
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Chapter Three
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Chapter Four
  19. Twelve
  20. Thirteen
  21. Fourteen
  22. Chapter Five
  23. Fifteen
  24. Sixteen
  25. Chapter Six
  26. Seventeen
  27. Eighteen
  28. Nineteen
  29. Chapter Seven
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Chapter Eight
  34. Twenty-Three
  35. Twenty-Four
  36. Twenty-Five
  37. Chapter Nine
  38. Twenty-Six
  39. Twenty-Seven
  40. Chapter Ten
  41. Twenty-Eight
  42. Twenty-Nine
  43. Thirty
  44. Thirty-One
  45. Chapter Eleven
  46. Thirty-Two
  47. Thirty-Three
  48. Thirty-Four
  49. Thirty-Five
  50. Chapter Twelve
  51. Thirty-Six
  52. Thirty-Seven
  53. Thirty-Eight
  54. Chapter Thirteen
  55. Thirty-Nine
  56. Forty
  57. Forty-One
  58. Forty-Two
  59. Chapter Fourteen
  60. Forty-Three
  61. Forty-Four
  62. Forty-Five
  63. Forty-Six
  64. Forty-Seven
  65. Chapter Fifteen
  66. The Following Summer
  67. About the Author
  68. About the Publisher

The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. Twice a day, the tides roar up the bay, bringing with them billions of cubic feet of water. In some places, the high tide is fifty-three feet higher than low tide. Those who ignore the coming of the tide do so at their own peril, for there are many sad tales of individuals from away who discover that the massive boulder upon which they stood to watch the tide is soon under water.

—PERCIVAL T. SLOANE,

A History of Fog in the Bay of Fundy (1932)

Seven

All thoughts about Alfie evaporated as soon as science class started. Mr. Corby clapped his hands to bring the class to order. Once everyone was quiet, he unfurled a small banner that read TEAM ANIMALIA. He held it above his head for several seconds, then shouted: “My kingdom for a classification!”

A startled Ali thumped back against her chair. From the sound of the nervous laughter behind her, she wasn’t the only one taken aback by Mr. Corby’s outburst.

“Just wanted to see if everyone was awake,” joked the teacher. “I like to start new topics off with a bang and a little Shakespeare.”

Someone giggled.

“The first thing we’ll study this term is the classification system for organisms.” He pointed to the back of the class. “Your ability to giggle, Miss Arai, is thanks to being classified Animalia, or as it’s more commonly called, Animal.”

“I knew it!” a boy shouted.

Mr. Corby held up a hand. “Careful, Mr. Power—you’re Team Animalia too. In fact, as far as I know, everyone here is Team Animalia.” He leaned over and pressed a button on his laptop, and a list, titled “The Five Kingdoms of Organisms,” filled the SMART Board. Ali wrote them down in her notebook: monera, protists, fungi, plants, and animals. “And I’ve got fantastic news: your first project of the year is going to be a team project.”

Everyone, including Ali, groaned. Team projects were the worst. And if you were the new kid, they were worse than the worst; they were torture. How many times had she been the last person picked? Enough that her stomach was now tied up in knots.

“Don’t worry—I’m choosing your partners.” Mr. Corby seemed delighted by the students’ obvious dismay. “In a couple of days, you and your partner will have time to brainstorm an idea for a small project about the classification of organisms. If you have trouble, I can help.”

He began to read pairs of names. Ali slunk down in her chair and waited.

“Ali Sloane and Emily Arai.”

“No!” a girl Ali recognized as a friend of Emily’s gasped. “Nothing personal,” the girl added.

Ali wasn’t surprised. Popular kids always preferred to work with other popular kids. Still, it smarted to be singled out.

“Mr. Corby!” the same girl called out again.

“Yes, Taylor?”