Ben distributed the food and the family started eating. Tom and Simon started arguing over who had more, until Ben shouted at them that if they kept going they could both go to bed without dinner, and they stopped.
"Hey hey hey!" Ben intervened. He took the bread and handed it back to Elijah. Someone had to look out for him, because he didn't seem to do so himself. "That's yours. They have their own."
Ben laughed and shook his head. "Yer not lookin' at hunger, son, but at greed." He looked at Tom and Simon. "Stop it. Final warning." The boys looked down.
Elijah looked from Ben to the other two boys then down. "O.. okay' He said quietly and nibbled the bread though he was less hungry than he had been when he started.
Tom started talking about what he had learned in school, irritated by Simon, who kept interrupting to talk about how he was also learning things, although he didn't go to school yet.
Elijah watched them talk. He was in school too, but he hated it there. He kept himself quiet as he ate. Finally he spoke again. "What.. is your.. favorite thing to learn?"