[ For as far back as Naomi Sokolov can remember, the Beckets have lived across from the street from her house. They're an odd bunch, by small town standards, because for the most part, they keep to themselves. It's a product of the fact that their parents have kept them homeschooled, that the house has sat there empty for years at a time when Mr. Becket's job takes them overseas ( and then they get shunted into International Schools ), and that they're just naturally insular given the cards dealt them. Their youngest child -- Jazmine -- is her age, and their eldest, the charming Yancy, is a year older than her own sister, Kara. But it's Raleigh that Naomi becomes fast friends with, who she wheedles into picking up a Tumblr account because it's what the hip kids do, who puts a smile on her face the day he adds her back on Facebook when her Dad finally caves and lets her sister help her set up an account.
Raleigh Becket is the closest thing Naomi's ever had to a childhood best friend, even if he's been to places she can only dream of visiting, even if they barely see each other outside of AIM chat. Her sister laughs at her when she and Raleigh trade post cards and letters because pen pals is an ancient art that people have forgotten since e-mail is so much quicker and easier. But there's joy in the stamps she receives, in the photos he sends ( he tells her later on that photography is Yancy's hobby, his brother just has an eye for things. )
They build a bond through the distance, and it's always a great thing to see him when they come home.
But then Mrs. Becket gets sick. Naomi is the first to know outside of family because there is sadly no one else to tell and Raleigh's a misfit in how he's actually such an introvert, which is a surprising contrast to his sunny and bouncy labrador-ish disposition. She's in her computer class sneaking in time on her dashboard when he drops a message in her Ask box ( Mimi, are you there? Can you Skype? I really need to talk to someone right now but Yancy's gone to bed and Jazmine's up but we fight like cats and dogs. )
She replies with a yes, excuses herself from study period begging off that's a family emergency. She shoots Kara a text, pleads for her big sister to back her up and because this is such a break in character for her, she gets the cover she needs.
When she hides out in the far end of the library, her earbuds plugged in her ears, she cries in tandem to the boy so many miles away.
Cancer, he tells her. My Mom has cancer how is this shitty situation fair. When he rattles off in French because he sounds so utterly stressed, she doesn't remind him that she has no idea what he's telling her. She just listens. Because that's what best friends do.
They come home a few months later and Christmas is an agonizing exercise in faking cheer. She lets her parents in on the news after gaining Raleigh's permission to do so and it's a strange sort of blessing to realize that her parents pull out all the stops: her mother makes an effort to find something in common with Dominique, her Dad and Richard discuss world news and politics and Kara and Yancy hit it off because they're both such fans of hockey.
When things start to go downhill, Raleigh's parents' marriage crashing so suddenly ( not really, her Mom had glimpsed the cracks on the walls ) the Sokolovs surprise their daughter by not wavering an inch, because the Beckets ( not Richard, the lame ass sorry loser, her mother's words, while her Dad spoke to friends who would later discreetly offer Yancy a summer job, because that boy is proud and stubborn and that's something Jonathan sokolov can relate to ) are friends, and Dominique can hardly be left to fight off cancer and raise three kids.
Financially, they're cushioned all the way until all three kids graduate high school -- but only if they enroll in public school, which turns out to be the single most trying period for everyone involved. Jazmine craves acceptance and molds herself accordingly to fit in, a difficult thing to do since she and her brothers are third culture kids. Yancy takes to senior year like a fish to water, but it's because he's got the looks, the easy charm, and a maturity that wins him friends from various circles which he navigates with an ease only someone adept in social situations knows. Raleigh is the outlier -- quick to defend misfits like himself, almost final in judgements that he doesn't have the finesse to articulate and brash as hell when the impulse strikes. He gets himself into scrapes and people give him enough room to maneuver because his brother will no doubt crash down on all the bullies' heads, but Naomi counts down the days to when she can set foot in high school, so that their schedules almost align and they can go back into their bubble.
But then Trespasser rises off the coast of San Francisco. The rest of how that story goes, you more or less know.
---
He's graduating soon. Or he should, if he can focus on passing his calculus class. ]
You know, Yancy's never going to let you join the ranger academy if you don't bring home your diploma first.
[ She'll never get over how quiet the Becket household is now. Dominique Becket passed about three months before, and the pall from the funeral hasn't quite let any of them go.
Yancy works full-time now at the family restaurant in town, and their Uncle Charles has been in touch because Social Services has been after getting the final word on Jazmine, who will need a guardian for at least another year before she turns eighteen.
They're in Raleigh's room, their textbooks scattered around, but someone is distracted and looking up articles on the Gage Twins online.
( let's start at the very beginning / a very good place to start )
[ For as far back as Naomi Sokolov can remember, the Beckets have lived across from the street from her house. They're an odd bunch, by small town standards, because for the most part, they keep to themselves. It's a product of the fact that their parents have kept them homeschooled, that the house has sat there empty for years at a time when Mr. Becket's job takes them overseas ( and then they get shunted into International Schools ), and that they're just naturally insular given the cards dealt them. Their youngest child -- Jazmine -- is her age, and their eldest, the charming Yancy, is a year older than her own sister, Kara. But it's Raleigh that Naomi becomes fast friends with, who she wheedles into picking up a Tumblr account because it's what the hip kids do, who puts a smile on her face the day he adds her back on Facebook when her Dad finally caves and lets her sister help her set up an account.
Raleigh Becket is the closest thing Naomi's ever had to a childhood best friend, even if he's been to places she can only dream of visiting, even if they barely see each other outside of AIM chat. Her sister laughs at her when she and Raleigh trade post cards and letters because pen pals is an ancient art that people have forgotten since e-mail is so much quicker and easier. But there's joy in the stamps she receives, in the photos he sends ( he tells her later on that photography is Yancy's hobby, his brother just has an eye for things. )
They build a bond through the distance, and it's always a great thing to see him when they come home.
But then Mrs. Becket gets sick. Naomi is the first to know outside of family because there is sadly no one else to tell and Raleigh's a misfit in how he's actually such an introvert, which is a surprising contrast to his sunny and bouncy labrador-ish disposition. She's in her computer class sneaking in time on her dashboard when he drops a message in her Ask box ( Mimi, are you there? Can you Skype? I really need to talk to someone right now but Yancy's gone to bed and Jazmine's up but we fight like cats and dogs. )
She replies with a yes, excuses herself from study period begging off that's a family emergency. She shoots Kara a text, pleads for her big sister to back her up and because this is such a break in character for her, she gets the cover she needs.
When she hides out in the far end of the library, her earbuds plugged in her ears, she cries in tandem to the boy so many miles away.
Cancer, he tells her. My Mom has cancer how is this shitty situation fair. When he rattles off in French because he sounds so utterly stressed, she doesn't remind him that she has no idea what he's telling her. She just listens. Because that's what best friends do.
They come home a few months later and Christmas is an agonizing exercise in faking cheer. She lets her parents in on the news after gaining Raleigh's permission to do so and it's a strange sort of blessing to realize that her parents pull out all the stops: her mother makes an effort to find something in common with Dominique, her Dad and Richard discuss world news and politics and Kara and Yancy hit it off because they're both such fans of hockey.
When things start to go downhill, Raleigh's parents' marriage crashing so suddenly ( not really, her Mom had glimpsed the cracks on the walls ) the Sokolovs surprise their daughter by not wavering an inch, because the Beckets ( not Richard, the lame ass sorry loser, her mother's words, while her Dad spoke to friends who would later discreetly offer Yancy a summer job, because that boy is proud and stubborn and that's something Jonathan sokolov can relate to ) are friends, and Dominique can hardly be left to fight off cancer and raise three kids.
Financially, they're cushioned all the way until all three kids graduate high school -- but only if they enroll in public school, which turns out to be the single most trying period for everyone involved. Jazmine craves acceptance and molds herself accordingly to fit in, a difficult thing to do since she and her brothers are third culture kids. Yancy takes to senior year like a fish to water, but it's because he's got the looks, the easy charm, and a maturity that wins him friends from various circles which he navigates with an ease only someone adept in social situations knows. Raleigh is the outlier -- quick to defend misfits like himself, almost final in judgements that he doesn't have the finesse to articulate and brash as hell when the impulse strikes. He gets himself into scrapes and people give him enough room to maneuver because his brother will no doubt crash down on all the bullies' heads, but Naomi counts down the days to when she can set foot in high school, so that their schedules almost align and they can go back into their bubble.
But then Trespasser rises off the coast of San Francisco. The rest of how that story goes, you more or less know.
---
He's graduating soon. Or he should, if he can focus on passing his calculus class. ]
You know, Yancy's never going to let you join the ranger academy if you don't bring home your diploma first.
[ She'll never get over how quiet the Becket household is now. Dominique Becket passed about three months before, and the pall from the funeral hasn't quite let any of them go.
Yancy works full-time now at the family restaurant in town, and their Uncle Charles has been in touch because Social Services has been after getting the final word on Jazmine, who will need a guardian for at least another year before she turns eighteen.
They're in Raleigh's room, their textbooks scattered around, but someone is distracted and looking up articles on the Gage Twins online.
Naomi sighs and kicks at his calf. ] Rals.