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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

“Me and Emily want to work together.”

Someone snickered. Interstellar girl caught Ali’s eye and shook her head. In spite of how embarrassed she was, Ali grinned. She could tell interstellar girl was thinking the same thing she was: popular kids didn’t think the rules applied to them.

“I’ve assigned you to work with Jason Hunt,” said Mr. Corby. He sounded unimpressed.

“But Mr. Corby—”

“Discussion closed, Taylor. You’ve stated your desire, and I’ve stated my intention.”

“I tried,” Taylor whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“I know,” Emily responded with equal drama.

The rest of the pairs were assigned, and Mr. Corby began to teach. Ali was so engrossed by the topic that she started when the bell rang. As she gathered her things, Emily Arai appeared.

Emily smiled, revealing perfect white teeth. “I hope you didn’t take that personally,”

Ali smiled. “No, I get it.” If you wanted to make friends, you had to get along.

Emily leaned in, her shiny dark hair billowing around her face like she was in some kind of shampoo commercial, and whispered, “Taylor always wants us to be partners, but I don’t mind being yours. Which school are you from?”

“I just moved to Saint John.”

The news seemed to please Emily. “That’s so cool. Have you met many people yet?”

ALI’S RULES FOR TEACHERS

  1. Do not make kids do team projects. It’s cruel.
  2. Don’t let popular kids sit together. It makes them too powerful.
  3. Don’t look sympathetic even if you know the kid is a loser. It only makes them feel worse.

Before Ali could respond, there was a loud rap. Taylor stood in the doorway, her face pinched. When Emily waved, she pointed to her watch.

Emily gave Ali a what-can-you-do? shrug. “I gotta go. Start thinking of ideas.” Ali watched her hurry away and sighed.

Mr. Corby must have heard her. “Sorry about that Emily-Taylor thing. Something tells me they’ll benefit from working with others.”

Ali wasn’t sure that was true, but nodded. “It’s no big deal.”

“You have the right attitude. Are you joining any clubs?”

“Debate team.”

“Impressive. Good luck. And if it’s not for you, remember: we’ve got a fun science club headed by a competent teacher.”

Ali giggled. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

As she hurried to her next class, Alfie popped back into her head. Why couldn’t he have joined something easy, like science club? Then she’d meet him and have fun.

Eight