These three have been friends for quite a while by the time Bowman of Wellwood takes place. Even still, the events of the story tested their friendship at points, to be sure!
Chase and Jacob met each other first. When they were about 9, Jacob had barely put a year between himself and the death of his father. He became a much quieter kid around then, keeping to himself a lot more. This enabled him to notice another kid doing the same thing, though for very different reasons.
Qi Shi Lisong, nicknamed “Chase” by his dad to give him a more Americanized name, didn’t speak a lot of English when he and his family first moved to Jacob’s hometown of Carlisle, Iowa. Things had been rushed to get them moved, so he and his little sister didn’t have a lot of time to learn much before the move. He was incredibly shy and also dealing with his recent asthma diagnosis.
Jacob approached this shy kid and the rest, as they say, is history. Jacob helped Chase learn English faster (a side effect of this being that they sometimes talk similarly) and they played together at each other’s houses. They’re very close, and a part of that is probably because they took comfort in the friendship that came about right when they needed it the most.
A few years later, Bobby Loran moved to Carlisle from Texas, a definite contrast to the other two more laid back kids. The three of them ended up hanging out more and more often as a coincidence at first, and eventually he was in the fold as well. The three are known among their classmates as inseparable most of the time, a matched set.
Bobby thinks he’s the leader of their group. Chase doesn’t care. Jacob shrugs and lets him think that. They give each other endless shit regardless, and they really are close.
(Artwork by the wonderful @creatorofuniverses )
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