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  “Well . . . it all started with midterms. I had two huge exams and an article, and I stayed up late a bunch of nights in a row, and it was like my body got adjusted to this new time clock and then I couldn’t reset it.”

  “Huh,” said Hailey with a shrug. “I never have any sleep problems. I pass out at night and pop up at the same time every morning. I don’t know why. Sleep has never been an issue for me.”

  “Well, you’re lucky,” I grouched.

  “Who’s lucky?” asked a husky voice over my shoulder.

  My ears tingled. My heart raced. It was Michael Lawrence, the one true love of my life.

  “Hey,” I said coolly, revealing nothing of the drama going on inside my heart.

  “Ready to go to the meeting?” he asked.

  “Duty calls,” I said in a resigned voice, standing up and gathering my things.

  A voice came from the other direction. “Hey, Hails. Mind if I join you?”

  I looked up. It was Molly Grant, a seventh grader I know a little. I felt immediately better. At least now I wouldn’t be leaving Hailey at the table all alone.

  But Hailey jumped up. “Uh, sorry . . . ,” she muttered. “We were just leaving.”

  As Hailey fell into step next to me on our way to deposit our lunch trays, I said quietly, “What was that all about? Where do you need to be?”

  “Molly copies me constantly! I wear red high-tops; she shows up the next day in brand-new red high-tops. I cut the sleeves off a T-shirt and layer it, and she does the same the next week. It’s driving me insane!”

  I glanced at Michael, who was waiting in the cafeteria doorway. He was chatting with Kate Bigley, whom I always worry he secretly likes.

  “More on this later. Gotta go. Sorry,” I said.

  “Okay, bye.” Hailey sighed. “Good luck.”

  I smiled and raced off.

  RACHEL WISE loves to give advice. When she’s not editing or writing children’s books, which she does full time at a publisher in New York, she’s reading advice columns in newspapers, magazines, and blogs, and is always sure her advice would be better! Her dream is to someday have her own talk show, where she could share her wisdom with millions of people at once; but for now she’s happy to dole out advice in small portions in Dear Know-It-All books.

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  Authors.simonandschuster.com/James-Bernardin

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  SIMON SPOTLIGHT

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

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  Copyright © 2013 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  SIMON SPOTLIGHT and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Text by Sheila Sweeny Higginson

  Jacket illustrated by James Bernardin

  Jacket illustrations by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  ISBN 978-1-4424-8964-6 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-4424-8965-3 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-4424-8966-0 (eBook)

  Library of Congress Control Number

  2013946535