Perform an immaterial claiming test on Pearl

"Good idea," you say, nodding in agreement with Yu. You really like the idea of claiming more from Pearl. She's usually so hard to fluster, but now it feels like the sky's the limit. "Pearl, what's something immaterial of yours I can claim?"

Intensely aggravated by the whole exercise, Pearl thrusts her hands at you in refusal. "Nice try. I'm not giving you a list of things you can steal from me. Oops, sorry, I meant 'claim'. This is such BS."

You snap your fingers when the lightbulb goes on. "Hey, sass is something immaterial, isn't it? Let's try that,” you say, excited. “Pearl, your sassy attitude belongs to me now."

"Great," says Pearl, her entire being dripping with sarcasm. "Can I keep using it at least?"

"Not right now," you say, curious to see what impact it'll have on her. "I'll let you know when you can use it again, though."

Pearl's demeanor shifts from annoyed to nervous, and her arms fall to her sides. She frets with the front of her shirt, ducking her head shyly. Her eyes fix to a spot on the floor by your feet. "T-Thank you. I'd really appreciate that," she says quietly, a tinge of desperation in her voice.

Incredible. You never realized how much of Pearl depends on her sass - her fierceness, her combative nature, her confidence. Your heart beats faster. A few words, and it’s like your friend’s turned into a totally different person.

You’ve never felt so… so powerful.

With effort, Pearl manages to meet your eyes again, though the directness of the contact makes her shift restlessly in place. "To be totally honest,” she says apprehensively, “I'm only really comfortable in social situations when I can use wit to fend people off or assert myself. It’s kind of like my coping mechanism for emotional-slash-social situation stuff. I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do around you guys without that…”

Yutong laughs, amazed at Pearl’s total reversal. "Wow, I've never heard Pearl be so open about her feelings before. At least, not outside of private conversations when it’s just us," she says, almost giddy. "It'll take some time to get used to her being open with her feelings. And if she’s not going to have that sassy attitude of hers anymore, I bet she’ll be a lot nicer to hang out with, too."

"Chase said he'd let me use his sassy attitude later," Pearl counters, though without much bite. Her tone, instead, is earnest, like she's really banking on letting you have that part of her personality back.

"Either way," Yu says, flashing you a grin and throwing her arms up. "Immaterial claiming works too, Chase! It's the real deal, you can claim anything!"

This is all real. Anything is yours, then. Really. You ball Pearl's black hoodie up in your hands, feeling the tangibility of your mastery of ownership. So this is what it feels like to have power. Real power.

You have to admit, it doesn’t feel half bad.

You notice Jane, Sullivan, and Indigo have drifted back into the party proper. Sully and Indigo are dancing, while Jane chats with some of her track friends in the kitchen.

Next to you, Yu is excited with the possibilities. In front of you, Pearl waits with uncharacteristic patience for permission to use her attitude again.