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Home page -> jewish books -> Copycat
Copycat
Tzipora Stein was always the class neb.
Now, she has the chance to change that — for good.
She just has to pay a small price…
Ever since she could remember, smart and studious Tzipora had been…lonely. Honestly, who wants to be friends with the class genius?
Ricki Polter is pretty, talented, and popular. All through fifth grade, Ricki made Tzipora’s life miserable. Now, she’s offering her the chance of a lifetime. Tzipora’s dream of getting invited to one of Ricki’s famous get-togethers and being one of her friends might just come true.
But there’s a price.
For a while, Tzipora is willing to pay. But when the price gets too high, Tzipora has to make one of the toughest decisions of her life.
Can she do it?
A fabulous story of friends, fights, teachers, and tests, that's about every Jewish girl today.
Book Excerpt from Copycat
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Copycat
Jewish kids will love this latest TargumKids release: a fabulous Jewish kids book packed with colorful characters, friends, fights, teachers & tests and a dramatic story of a Jewish girl's struggle with cheating.
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Chapter 2
“Shorty pie! Hey there, shorty pie!”
Ricki Polter’s constant taunting had made fifth grade a living nightmare for Tzipora.
“Hi, greeny! Greeny beany greeny beany!”
She called Tzipora “greeny” because Tzipora wore a green coat to school.
“Freckle face from outer space, would you please get out of this place!”
Once, while waiting in the dentist’s office, Tzipora had flipped through the pages of a magazine and found a picture of a teenage girl with a bunch of freckles, and an article describing what was good and what was bad about freckles. Tzipora’s freckles had never bothered her before, but in fifth grade freckles became bad. The article suggested ways to remove them. Each night for two weeks Tzipora rubbed lemon juice over her face and lay with a warm washrag for fifteen minutes. Her freckles did not go away, and the lemon juice made her face smell.
Tzipora spent many evenings looking in the mirror. She looked and looked, waiting to discover what made her different from everybody else. Why was she the one who Ricki picked on and not anybody else? Tzipora was not the only one with freckles. Maybe it was her wavy, chocolate brown hair that never stayed straight. Or maybe it was because Tzipora was so smart. There were plenty of other smart girls in the class, but Tzipora was the only one who could spell psychiatrist. No, it must have been something else, something that Tzipora, with all her knowledge and all her effort, could not figure out.
But none of that mattered now. Tzipora did not need to understand why Ricki had been mean last year. All she had to do was forget about it. And to keep her end of the “deal.”
“Tzipora,” Ima called from downstairs, “the cookies are ready.”
Tzipora took one more look at the invitation and headed down to the kitchen. Ima placed a big mug full of hot cocoa in front of Tzipora and kissed her on the forehead. “How was your day, honey?”
“Mmm…do I smell chocolate?” It was Rafoel.
“Hey,” said Tzipora, “what are you doing home already?”
“Oh, just helping Ima around the house,”
Rafoel said casually. “Babysitting the kids. Folding laundry — you know.”
“Very funny,” Tzipora said. “Are you sick? You don’t look sick.”
“Any hot cocoa for me, Ima?” Rafoel said as he grabbed a cookie from the plate on the table.
Ima was at the kitchen sink, taking apart the mixer and washing its parts under the faucet. “On the stove,” she said dryly. “You can pour for yourself.”
“Ima,” said Tzipora, “why is Rafoel home? Did…something happen?”
Ima took a deep breath.
“It’s no big deal,” Rafoel said.
“No big deal?” Ima banged the mixing spoon hard onto the counter. “Getting suspended? No big deal?”
Rafoel shrugged his shoulders as he sat down at the kitchen table. He reached for another cookie and popped it into his mouth. A little piece fell — he tried to catch it.
“Suspended?” said Tzipora. “Again?”
Ima shook her head back and forth as she shut off the faucet.
“At first Rabbi Marcus wanted me expelled,” Rafoel explained. “But I wrote a really nice apology letter so now I’m only suspended.”
“Oh,” Tzipora said. “Just suspended. Well, that’s a relief, huh?”
“There’s nothing funny here,” said Ima.
“I mean, come on, banana peels? Banana peels?”
“What? What about banana peels?” Tzipora asked. Rafoel tried to suppress a little smile. “Keep smiling, young man,” Ima said. “Abba’s on his way home because of you, so just keep smiling.”
Rafoel slumped a little in his seat.
“I got an invitation,” Tzipora announced loudly. It was a decent way to change the subject.
“Ricki Polter — she invited me. She’s having a get-together. Tonight.”
“A get-together? Is it her bas mitzvah?” Ima asked.
“No,” Tzipora said. “Just a get-together. It’s called for seven.”
“Well, isn’t that wonderful? Tzipora, I’m so proud of you. Social and studious. You see, Rafoel? Social and studious.”
Rafoel looked at Tzipora. Tzipora just stared into her mug as she sipped the last of her cocoa.
Soon they heard the four-wheel-drive Blazer creep into the garage and the engine turn off. The car door opened, then slammed. Abba was home.
Ima asked Tzipora to leave the kitchen, which was fine with her; she could hear just as well from the top of the stairs.
But when she headed up she found her three younger siblings already planted at the top.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” she whispered. The three just looked at her and shook their heads. Tzipora rolled her eyes. She stepped over them and continued down the hall toward her room. She was going to Ricki’s that night. She was invited and it did not matter why. There would be a lot of girls there; she had to choose an outfit.