Eating lunch alone wasn’t horrible, thanks to a rule she’d created in fourth grade at Lawrence Station School: Always carry a book. You were never alone when you had a book. She pulled The Golden Compass out of her knapsack. She and Gigi had started a book club two years ago because Gigi thought it would give them something to talk about during their weekly phone calls. So far, they’d read the Anne of Green Gables books and the first two Harry Potters. The book club kept going after Ali moved in, and the latest book was The Golden Compass. Ali was anxious to read whenever she got the chance. Gigi was the faster reader and had a tendency to share spoilers. Lyra’s adventures didn’t erase Ali’s cafeteria loneliness, but they did make it bearable.
“Emily Arai!” someone squealed.
Ali glanced up and saw a bunch of girls chasing a boy with a basketball. She didn’t need to know who they were to know they were popular. She recognized the girl named Emily from homeroom, because when Ms. Ryder had read her name, Ali had thought it was pretty. Plus, like every popular kid Ali had ever known, Emily had a hidden spotlight that shone on her at all times, so you couldn’t help but notice her.
The five of them did another loop around the cafeteria, only this time the boy skidded to a stop next to interstellar boy and girl. The girls smashed into him, and uproarious laughter ensued.
Basketball boy pointed at interstellar boy. “We could use you on the team this year.”
The girls disentangled themselves and nodded to interstellar boy. Ali knew she shouldn’t stare at popular kids, so she began to read again, allowing herself a quick grin when interstellar girl muttered, “As if.”
Interstellar boy laughed. “You know I hate sports, Tom. Now if you want to play Dungeons and Dragons . . .”
“But you’re like the tallest guy in grade seven,” Tom whined. “We could use you.”
“Sorry.” Interstellar boy did sound apologetic.
Tom didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer. “It’s not because you don’t want to leave your girlfriend, is it?”
The girls exploded into shocked giggles. Ali glanced up in time to see interstellar boy glare at them and at Tom, which Tom took as his cue to leave. “Whatever. You know where we are.” He ran off, the girls in hot pursuit. Ali returned to her book, happy she wasn’t part of the drama.
“Man, I hate that.” But interstellar boy didn’t sound mad. He sounded tired.
Ali understood his weary tone. One of the most important new school rules was: Always act like the popular kids. Whatever the popular kids did, Ali did. It was important not to make yourself a target, and if Ali knew anything after attending nine other schools, popular kids were never a target. Did interstellar boy not realize how much easier school would be if he just went along with what the popular kids wanted?
“They’re just being stupid,” said interstellar girl.
Interstellar boy was ready to change the topic. “Hey—I saw Alfie Sloane this morning.”
A stunned Ali let the book slip from her fingers. Was it true? Was Alfie Sloane here, in this building? Because if he was, everything was about to change.
Chapter One
How Fog Is Formed
There are many myths about the origins of fog. I prefer one of the Inuit myths myself. A man being chased by a bear swims across the river. When the bear arrives, he demands to know how the man has forged the river.
“I drank the river,” the man replies.
Anxious to catch his quarry, the bear drinks and drinks until he bursts and a fine mist of water fills the air, creating fog.
—PERCIVAL T. SLOANE,
A History of Fog in the Bay of Fundy (1932)
This is not true.
—Edward Andrew Sloane
(Teddy), age eleven, adventurer
Bears are not this dumb.
—Digger, age eleven, pirate
Your real name is NOT Digger.
You need to use your real name!
Avast, you son of an urchin-pocked coxswain!
Whatever, Richard.
Three
Ali had been positive she didn’t know anyone at Princess Elizabeth School, but now she knew that wasn’t true. Alfie was here. But how? Her mind swirled with questions: did Gigi know? Where did he live? It occurred to her that he might be living with his grandfather, who lived only a few blocks from Gigi. Not that she’d ever met Gigi’s son, Andrew Sloane. Or any other Sloanes, for that matter. All because of the Sloane Family Feud.
“Alfie Sloane?” asked interstellar girl.
“You know, the kid I told you about, the one I met in science camp last week. He’s the best. We like all the same stuff.”
“Oh. Right” was the glum response.
Interstellar boy didn’t seem to notice how unenthusiastic his friend was. “Guess what?”
“What?”
“He said he’d join debate club. We need at least four kids to have a team. Ms. Ryder told me this morning that so far, I’m the only one who’s signed up.”
“I might join.”
“I thought you weren’t interested.”
“A person can change their mind. You always say how great it is, and my mom just joined Toastmasters International to become a better public speaker, so I thought I’d give it a try.” Ali could hear the defensiveness in the girl’s voice.
“Okay. You’ll like Alfie; he’s a riot. He’s in eighth grade and has lived in London for like his whole life. Cool, huh?”
“My mom and dad went to London once.”
Interstellar boy ignored the comment and stood up. “I think we should go look for him, make sure he’s not off by himself somewhere.” The thoughtfulness of the comment made Ali wistful; she wished someone cared enough to check on her, too.
The girl didn’t respond but must have agreed, because paper crinkled, lunch bags zipped closed, and chair legs scraped. Then they were gone. And even though she didn’t know them, their absence tugged at her.
Alfie Sloane was somewhere in this school right now. Thrilled, Ali let that fact sink in. She’d wanted to meet Alfie her whole life. What was he like? She’d only seen one picture of him, taken in front of the London Eye when he was five years old. He’d looked like her, but she knew a lot could change between the time a person was five and twelve. Interstellar boy had described him as funny. Like Digger on the front porch this morning, wagging his tail to make her and her mom laugh. She was surprised Alfie was a grade ahead of her; they were born in the autumn of the same year. Maybe he was super smart and had skipped a grade.
The biggest question was this: was Alfie a Copycat? Ali wasn’t sure if she wanted him to be one or not. In some ways, it would be nice if he was a boring old Constant like her. But if he was a Copycat, he’d be able to change into anything, just like Digger, which would be kind of cool. No, that wasn’t the biggest question. The biggest question was: would Alfie want to meet her? Did the Sloane Family Feud extend down to their generation? And if it did, why?
She pulled out her notebook and drafted a new category: Ali’s Rules for the Sloane Family Feud. She jotted down three points. A quick review told her they were a to-do list, not rules, so she drew a line through the heading and gave it a new title: Ali’s Plan to End the Sloane Family Feud. Satisfied, she closed the notebook, packed up her things, and headed for the exit. She’d follow interstellar boy and girl and find Alfie.