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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

Murray peered into his pocket and smiled. “Don’t change back,” he mouthed.

“Did you say something, Murray?” Ms. Ryder asked.

Then: the thwack, thwack, thwack of the teacher’s shoes coming their way, and the boom-boom-boom of Murray’s racing heart. The footsteps stopped.

“What do you have in your shirt pocket, Murray?”

Nineteen

At that moment, cowered in the corner of Murray’s pocket, Ali made up a new animal rule: Don’t turn into an animal that someone can stomp on. Now she understood why Digger changed into a big dog. What if Ms. Ryder pulled her out and threw her against the wall? Lots of people—herself included—hated mice. Wait, she didn’t hate mice anymore; the last ten minutes had changed her perspective.

ALI’S ANIMAL RULES (AMENDED)

  1. It would be nice if the dog in your house wasn’t your father.
  2. Wild animals belong OUTDOORS!!!
  3. Don’t turn into an animal that someone can stomp on.

Murray made a slurping sound, which Ali realized was him sucking in his breath.

“Well?”

When Murray didn’t respond, Ms. Ryder leaned over and peered into the pocket. Her eyes widened, as did Ali’s, and she jumped back.

“Why do you have a mouse in your pocket?” she squawked.

The class exploded into three kinds of responses: kids squealing in fear, kids laughing, and kids begging to see the mouse.

Ms. Ryder regained her composure and shouted over the racket. “Why do you have a mouse in your pocket, Murray?”

“I . . . I found it on the way to class,” Murray stammered.

“And you decided to bring it here?”

“Uh . . .” Murray was at a loss for words.

Cassie saved the day. “It was my fault. I told him it would be fun to keep the mouse until after lunch and show it to the other kids in science class. We’re studying the classification of species.”

Ms. Ryder cleared her throat. “Do you think it was kind to trap a poor defenseless mouse in your pocket for hours? I’m sure it’s scared to death.”

Ali, enjoying Murray being chewed out by the teacher, nodded.

“You’ll excuse yourself and go put the mouse outside. And I mean, outside the school, not outside the classroom.”

Uh-oh.

Murray stood up.

“Can we see the mouse before he puts it outside?” Emily called.

Ms. Ryder sounded exasperated. “Fine.” The intercom crackled, and Principal Birchwood began the morning announcements as Ali was picked up by the scruff of her neck. Terrified of being dropped, she did her best to stay motionless as Murray paraded her around the classroom. Some of the kids recoiled, Tom Power begged to hold her, and Emily leaned over and ran her index finger over Ali’s fur.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “Isn’t it weird that the mouse’s eyes are gray?”

If Ali weren’t so tiny, she might have kicked herself.