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Back The Copycat
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

Digger grunted. “We wouldn’t have a choice. Uncle Andrew will inherit the house, and since this is his childhood home, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to move in.”

“But I don’t want to leave! Where will we go?”

“We’ll be fine, Ali-Cat. We always are.”

In her perfect Digger voice, she repeated his hollow words back to him. “We’ll be fine, Ali-Cat. We always are.”

That was the lie they always told her.

ALI’S RULES FOR HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE SO YOU DON’T BECOME A SCREWUP

  1. Get a job.
  2. Don’t be a Copycat.
  3. Pay the rent on time.
  4. Don’t bring junk into the house.
  5. Don’t spend money on lottery tickets—you’ll never win!
  6. Get an education.
  7. Stay in one place.

Ali’s mother cleared her throat. “Let’s change the subject, please. I’m like Ali; I don’t want to think about leaving. This is the best place we’ve ever lived. Any good stories from school today?”

Ali had gone to ten schools, but lived in three times that many homes. In the last year alone they had been evicted from two apartments because her parents couldn’t pay the rent on time. Ali’s mother worked hard, but her job didn’t pay enough to support a family of three. Digger rarely worked, and no one was interested in his abstract art. When Gigi had phoned and asked them to move in so she could continue to live at home, Ali’s mom had said yes, even though she knew Digger didn’t want to live in Saint John again. There had been a huge argument. Digger didn’t give in until Ali’s mom threatened to move with or without him. And since Ali knew her parents didn’t like to dwell on the bad stuff, there was no point asking any more questions.

“You wouldn’t believe the ugly shirt Alfie wore today. He said it was his dad’s.”

Digger closed his eyes. “Was it covered in flowers and parrots?”

“Yeah! How’d you know?”

“I was with Teddy when he bought it at the Salvation Army.” Digger’s voice was so quiet Ali had to strain to hear him. “We were in high school. He wore that shirt all the time. The girls loved it. But then, everybody loved Teddy.”

Ali’s mother rolled her eyes. “Everybody loved you too, Digger. Teddy once told me you were quite a hit with the opposite sex.”

Digger blushed and ducked his head. “That was a long time ago.”

“Lucky for me.”

Ali hadn’t meant to turn the conversation so gooey. “You guys are grossing me out.”