Rebecca and her brother lived in a very sheltered, home-schooled life with their parents and with very little exposure to the outside world. They were both seen as intelligent but lacking in social skills, and until the spelling bee had not seen the outside town or interacted with other children their age. While Mark wanted to go to a public school after meeting the other children, Rebecca had no interest in the outside world and chosen to stay at home. She was noticeably twitchy and anxious.