Before she could take a bite of food, Bram, as they were calling him, asked a question that nearly had her choking on her own spittle. Pearl moved a hand to her collar bone and placed it there for a moment, and decided that answering the question might get her into some trouble. She gave a feeble reply, "Um..." But the boy probably didn't mean any harm. She looked anywhere but him in that moment, not sure what to say.