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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

Given his obvious intensity about the things he loved, Ali decided it was best not to tell Murray she’d read only the first two Harry Potter books. As soon as she finished The Golden Compass, she’d borrow the third Harry Potter from the library. She unpacked today’s lunch—strawberry yogurt, a banana, and three chocolate chip cookies—thrilled that Digger had agreed to let her make her own lunches. Otherwise, she’d be eating last night’s dinner, a couscous salad so full of finely chopped vegetables it was impossible to eat around them. Meals like that were the reason she’d created Ali’s Food Rules. The one problem was that she’d have to grow up before she could live by them.

ALI’S FOOD RULES

  1. Vegetables are not your friends.
  2. Raisins are an unwelcome surprise.
  3. Mushy bananas are GROSS!
  4. Always cut toast on the diagonal.
  5. The cinnamon and sugar should not be mixed in advance when you make cinnamon toast.
  6. If you’ve never eaten it before, do NOT agree to try it.

Cassie leaned across the table to Murray. “Want to watch Doctor Who after school?”

A look—maybe guilt—crossed Murray’s face. “I’m hanging with Alfie after school.”

“Maybe we could all—” Cassie began, but she was cut off by the warning bell. Afternoon classes were about to begin.

Murray and Alfie jumped up and gathered their things.

“See you, Ali!” Alfie called over his shoulder as he followed Murray out of the cafeteria.

“See you!” She turned to Cassie, who hadn’t moved since the bell rang. “You okay?”

Cassie shook herself and smiled. “Sure. Just thinking about school. Hey . . . you don’t want to come over to my house after school and watch Doctor Who, do you?”

Ali, who’d never seen an episode of Doctor Who before, shook her head. “I can’t.” The twinge of guilt at blowing Cassie off made her uncomfortable, but she’d already broken her new school rule about not making friends too soon for Alfie. She couldn’t break it for Cassie too.

Cassie bit her lip and began to pack up her lunch. “No problem. Maybe some other time.”

“For sure,” said Ali, trying to sound enthusiastic.

A sense of unease accompanied her as she followed Cassie out of the cafeteria. Gigi was still sick, so there’d be no after-school visit to talk about books. Digger would be cooking or working on his latest project, a sculpture he was creating out of hub caps he found in ditches around the city. That left homework or reading, neither of which appealed to her all of a sudden. Her rules were supposed to make things better. So why did saying no to Cassie not make her feel better? Why did it just make her feel lonely?

Chapter Four

Fog and Marine Disasters