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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

Cassie’s jiggly right leg and frantic arm-waving brought Ali back to the meeting. “Are we going to talk about rebuttals and refutations?”

“Someone’s been reading ahead,” said Murray, which made everyone laugh.

Ms. Ryder smiled. “We’ll get to that next time, when we practice debating. If any of you are as enthusiastic as Cassie, you can read about them on the sheet I gave you.” She pushed another button, and a video filled the screen. For the next ten minutes, they watched eight kids from Boston debate the pros and cons of exams. Ali watched the teams go back and forth and knew she would never have the courage to debate anyone.

Her fear must have been visible, because Murray leaned over and whispered, “Scary, huh? But I bet you’ll be great.” Murray was nice, but he was wrong. She would not be great.

When the meeting ended, Ali dawdled until Alfie left the classroom. Heart thumping, she followed him out the door, ignoring Cassie’s attempt to chat with her. It was time to really meet her cousin.

Nine

Alfie didn’t seem surprised when Ali caught up to him at the end of the school driveway.

“Can I walk with you?” she asked. Could he hear the quiver in her voice?

Alfie nodded. “Uh-huh.”

They walked in silence for the first block. The moment was so significant to Ali that she half expected a brass band to step out of the fog and lead them down the street. The late afternoon sky was a hazy gold. It seemed brighter today, as if the sun wanted to banish the fog and celebrate the fact that Ali and Alfie had finally met.

Ali knew that she needed to use different tactics to get to know Alfie than what she used in Ali’s Rules for Making Friends. She had to be herself, act natural. But it was hard; she’d never done that before. She knew she shouldn’t dive right in about their family troubles, so she decided to start with the favorite conversation of all Saint Johners: the weather.

ALI’S RULES FOR MAKING FRIENDS*

  1. Be friendly.
  2. Do what the other person wants you to do.
  3. Agree with them.
  4. Don’t a) talk too much; b) be a know-it-all; or c) give up.

*note: Alfie Sloane is different. Try to be yourself.

“Lots of fog, huh?”

“Yup. We get a lot of fog in London, too, but nothing like this.”

They continued on, quiet once more.

Ali tried another topic. “I was nervous about the debate team.”

Alfie glanced over. “How come?”

It was time to tell the truth. “I don’t really like public speaking. I joined the debate team to meet you.” She held her breath, fearful of his reaction.

“Huh,” said Alfie. It sounded like a surprised “huh,” which Ali took as a hopeful sign, though the fact that he wasn’t swinging his knapsack was a worry.