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John John Watson
Francy is a member of the Low Cuts, a group at Latimer Middle School comprising four kids whose parents have cancer. The teachers worry about the kids in the group, as they steal pocket change—so they’re thought of as budding criminals and are often scolded for no reason. However, they only do this because their parents’ cancer treatments have made money tight at home—the money usually just buys extra food at lunch. In “The Low Cuts Strike Again,” the kids use their stolen change to buy cheap candies and resell them for enough money to buy Bit’s mom, who has recently relapsed and begun chemo, ice cream. Francy is the best in the group at math. She’s the only girl in the group who is teased for the almost bald hairstyle they all wear, though Bit has knocked boys out for teasing her.
Francy Baskin Quotes in Look Both Ways
The Look Both Ways quotes below are all either spoken by Francy Baskin or refer to Francy Baskin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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2. The Low Cuts Strike Again Quotes
But the Low Cuts don’t take just take to be taking. They don’t steal for fun. Actually, they don’t even like doing it. But they do it because they have to. At least they feel like they have to. Before they named themselves the Low Cuts, they were part of another set that they had no choice but to be down with. The free-lunchers.
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“Do I want to know what y’all up to?” she asked, and they just looked at her like she hadn’t asked it. Like she hadn’t said anything. So she acted like she hadn’t said anything either. “Wait right here.”
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The other Low Cuts watched Bit the hustler, Bit who could turn ninety cents into nine bucks—into ice cream—turn into a son. A son who was scared. A son who loved his mom.
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Francy Baskin Character Timeline in Look Both Ways
The timeline below shows where the character Francy Baskin appears in Look Both Ways. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
2. The Low Cuts Strike Again
The narrator warns readers that if they ever see John John Watson, Francy Baskin, Trista Smith, or Britton “Bit” Burns, who are known as the Low Cuts, the...
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Bit, John John, Francy, and Trista aren’t the only kids at school who get free lunch, but they are...
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...end of day bell rings, it’s like a starter pistol. Bit, Trista, John John, and Francy hurry from their classes to their lockers, and then to their meeting spot out front...
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Bit also knocked out boys for Francy when they teased her about having short hair, but Trista doesn’t need Bit’s help with...
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His foot on the bench, Bit asks Trista, John John, and Francy if they’re ready. Trista is talking to a boy who looks scared, but she turns...
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Francy is anxious, so she’s talking on and on to John John about a classmate named...
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...hours. Bit leads everyone through Ms. CeeCee’s yard and then rings the bell several times. Francy tells Bit to calm down, and soon they hear Ms. CeeCee calling for them to...
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...she’s applying an “attitude tax” of four cents. Anyway, things always cost more over time. Francy notes that this is inflation, and Bit mutters quietly to himself.
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...always makes Bit laugh), Life Savers, and so on. The Low Cuts examine the candy. Francy asks Bit what they should get—he knows best how to “use it.” Ms. CeeCee moans...
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Back at Portal Avenue, John John pulls out a wad of plastic baggies and asks Francy to do the math. She says they bundle the candies in threes and sell them...
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...stop outside of a building with a sign that reads “Placer Pool.” Bit leads Trista, Francy, and John John into the smoky pool hall filled with old men. A man behind...
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Francy holds up the bags and says they have Mary Janes and Life Savers. At the...
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...from its spot on Placer Street, where it waits until 4:02 p.m. She leads Bit, Francy, and John John toward the truck at a run, screaming for it to stop. It...
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...he thought she might be, so he brought her ice cream. Trista, John John, and Francy watch Bit transform from a hustler into a scared son who loves his mom. Ms....
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