No. Pearl stays though.

"I don't want her to head out yet," you say, looking to Yu for assistance as Pearl walks toward the door.

Yu's help is already yours, so she doesn't think twice about it. "Just claim something to keep her here," she advises, her tone more professional than you're used to. "You can always give it back later. I think...?"

"No, it's a good idea," you reassure her. "Hold this for me." You push Pearl's hoodie into Yu's hands, then you hurry to catch up with your friend at the door. "Wait!"

Peal pauses, the door already open. "Can I have my attitude back?" she asks hopefully.

"Not yet, but I don't want you to leave," you say. "I'm going to claim where you go, for now."

"Where I go?" asks Pearl, confused.

"Yeah," you say. "You were going to go home, but for now it's up to me, right? I'll let you go home later, but I want you to stay put at this party. I still need to wrap my head around this claiming stuff and I might need you on hand for that."

You expect Pearl to roll her eyes or scoff, but neither are on the table right now since you still have her sassy attitude. She looks disappointed, but instead of balking, she meekly nods.

"If I'm not leaving the party, I assume I can still use the bathroom, right?" she asks, throwing the door shut in front of her. She's not going anywhere till you say so.

"It's part of the party, and you're here," you reason. "The street's off-limits but you're free to go wherever you want in or out of the house so long as you stay on the property."

Her mood soured, Pearl mumbles that she understands and shuffles off to the stairs for the second-floor bathroom.

Yu's at your side again, watching Pearl go. "That was pretty smart, claiming the problem outright," she says, her tone approving. "Just... try not to be too rough on Pearl, okay? I know Pearl's sassy attitude and her choice of where she goes belong to you now, but she's the type who really values being in control. You don't want to stress her out too much."

You give Yu a look, curious. "Is this your official 'help' advice, or you worrying about Pearl?"

"I mean I am worried about Pearl," says Yu, taking a dissatisfied breath, "but if she needs my help and you need my help, and I can only pick one, I'm going to help you. Just like you said. It's your help after all."

You're glad you got Yu on your side before this came up. You don't want there to be a conflict of interest between you.

"So what next?" asks Yu. "We're still figuring out how claiming works, right?"

You consider your options. Pearl's now well in hand, you can always come back to her later to try things out, if you want to give her a break. Yu's totally signed on to seeing this through, too. That could make her an ideal test subject, but she's been helpful so far...

Sullivan and Indigo are in the kitchen now getting drinks, and it's Jane who's in the press of graduates on the dance floor, hanging with some of her other friends. Maybe it's better to leave them to their fun?