Ali was putting her cereal bowl in the dishwasher when a triumphant Digger returned, this time as himself. “Your mother’s right about swim team.”
“I know, but I want to be Alfie’s friend. Debate team is something we can do together.” She pointed to a black smudge on Digger’s bottom lip. “You didn’t eat that mosquito, did you? Because that would be gross.”
ALI’S ANIMAL RULES (AMENDED)
It would be nice if the dog in your house wasn’t your father.
Wild animals belong OUTDOORS.
Eating insects is GROSS DON’T DO IT!
Digger grinned.
“You are impossible!”
“Impossible or amazing?”
“Both.”
The whole way to school, Ali practiced what she’d say to Alfie when she met him. There was the cool approach: “Oh, hey, Alfie, it’s me, Ali, your long-lost cousin.” The enthusiastic approach: “I’m your cousin Ali and I’ve waited my whole life to meet you!” Neither sounded quite right.
It wasn’t just the introduction that worried her. There was the sticky problem of how to raise the subject of the Sloane Family Feud and her plan to somehow reunite the family.
She needn’t have worried. There was no sign of Alfie or interstellar boy and girl in the cafeteria at lunch, and no opportunity to ask them about debate team during class. It was the same thing the next day. Ali was sure they were eating lunch with Alfie in some wonderful secret place while she was stuck eating her peanut-butter sandwich by herself in the crowded cafeteria. Even worse, she didn’t know when debate team started. What if she’d missed it? She vowed to ask interstellar boy and girl before science class that afternoon.
It was awkward to position herself outside the classroom door like she was standing guard, but Ali pretended not to care when her classmates gawked at her on their way inside.
“Two minutes, Ali,” said Mr. Corby, the science teacher, as he entered the classroom.
Another minute passed, and still they didn’t come. Had something happened to them? She was about to give up and go inside when they came around the corner, deep in conversation. They’d almost passed her before she got up the courage to speak.
“Excuse me,” she whispered. Her voice was so low it was a surprise when interstellar girl stopped. She was almost as tall as interstellar boy, which meant she towered over Ali, though her freckled pink skin was a stark contrast to her friend’s dark skin.
“Yeah?”
“Do you know when the first debate team meeting is?”
She was rewarded with a smile. “Are you going to join?”
Ali nodded. Interstellar boy and girl traded delighted grins.
“The first meeting is Monday after school in Ms. Ryder’s classroom,” said interstellar boy.
“Thanks,” she managed as she followed them inside.
Four more days until she met Alfie. Ninety-six hours until she could put her plan in action. Five thousand, seven hundred and sixty minutes until the beginning of the end of the Sloane Family Feud.
Chapter Two
The Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. Twice a day, the tides roar up the bay, bringing with them billions of cubic feet of water. In some places, the high tide is fifty-three feet higher than low tide. Those who ignore the coming of the tide do so at their own peril, for there are many sad tales of individuals from away who discover that the massive boulder upon which they stood to watch the tide is soon under water.
—PERCIVAL T. SLOANE,
A History of Fog in the Bay of Fundy (1932)
Seven
All thoughts about Alfie evaporated as soon as science class started. Mr. Corby clapped his hands to bring the class to order. Once everyone was quiet, he unfurled a small banner that read TEAM ANIMALIA. He held it above his head for several seconds, then shouted: “My kingdom for a classification!”
A startled Ali thumped back against her chair. From the sound of the nervous laughter behind her, she wasn’t the only one taken aback by Mr. Corby’s outburst.
“Just wanted to see if everyone was awake,” joked the teacher. “I like to start new topics off with a bang and a little Shakespeare.”
Someone giggled.
“The first thing we’ll study this term is the classification system for organisms.” He pointed to the back of the class. “Your ability to giggle, Miss Arai, is thanks to being classified Animalia, or as it’s more commonly called, Animal.”
“I knew it!” a boy shouted.
Mr. Corby held up a hand. “Careful, Mr. Power—you’re Team Animalia too. In fact, as far as I know, everyone here is Team Animalia.” He leaned over and pressed a button on his laptop, and a list, titled “The Five Kingdoms of Organisms,” filled the SMART Board. Ali wrote them down in her notebook: monera, protists, fungi, plants, and animals. “And I’ve got fantastic news: your first project of the year is going to be a team project.”
Everyone, including Ali, groaned. Team projects were the worst. And if you were the new kid, they were worse than the worst; they were torture. How many times had she been the last person picked? Enough that her stomach was now tied up in knots.
“Don’t worry—I’m choosing your partners.” Mr. Corby seemed delighted by the students’ obvious dismay. “In a couple of days, you and your partner will have time to brainstorm an idea for a small project about the classification of organisms. If you have trouble, I can help.”
He began to read pairs of names. Ali slunk down in her chair and waited.
“Ali Sloane and Emily Arai.”
“No!” a girl Ali recognized as a friend of Emily’s gasped. “Nothing personal,” the girl added.
Ali wasn’t surprised. Popular kids always preferred to work with other popular kids. Still, it smarted to be singled out.
“Mr. Corby!” the same girl called out again.
“Yes, Taylor?”
“Me and Emily want to work together.”
Someone snickered. Interstellar girl caught Ali’s eye and shook her head. In spite of how embarrassed she was, Ali grinned. She could tell interstellar girl was thinking the same thing she was: popular kids didn’t think the rules applied to them.
“I’ve assigned you to work with Jason Hunt,” said Mr. Corby. He sounded unimpressed.
“But Mr. Corby—”
“Discussion closed, Taylor. You’ve stated your desire, and I’ve stated my intention.”
“I tried,” Taylor whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“I know,” Emily responded with equal drama.
The rest of the pairs were assigned, and Mr. Corby began to teach. Ali was so engrossed by the topic that she started when the bell rang. As she gathered her things, Emily Arai appeared.
Emily smiled, revealing perfect white teeth. “I hope you didn’t take that personally,”
Ali smiled. “No, I get it.” If you wanted to make friends, you had to get along.
Emily leaned in, her shiny dark hair billowing around her face like she was in some kind of shampoo commercial, and whispered, “Taylor always wants us to be partners, but I don’t mind being yours. Which school are you from?”