Jacob was finally starting to relax into this conversation. Both of these girls were nice and not scary after all. Phew. Except he could already tell his brain was going to replay his awkward creep-walk over here a few times before he fell asleep tonight, though. He could almost feel his cheeks redden at the thought... But he hoped that they weren't really doing that. Blushing was 1) embarrassing, 2) not very manly, and 3) uncontrollable, which was not fair since it happened to him all the time, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

"I miss some things about America," Jacob answered Etta's question. "Mostly food things. Like ranch dressing... It's hard to come by around here. And it's delicious." Why the UK wanted to deprive itself of the world's best condiment, he would never know. "And I do miss my friends back home. It's also a little weird not to see a bunch of Pukwudgies wandering around the school. Not that they were very friendly... Bunch of complainers, really. Maybe I don't miss them so much, actually." He smiled.

"Thanks," he smiled again at Etta and Olivia's encouragement that he would be fine. "It helps a bit that I was around for the end of last year. And over the summer," he added, shrugging, "but I didn't really see anyone then, so it doesn't really count, I guess. At any rate, I didn't make any friends last year. Coming in with only a month left isn't easy." He grinned, hoping they'd realize he wasn't having a pity party, just making an observation. He didn't feel all that bad about it, actually.

"Interesting," he said, tapping his chin with his finger as Olivia explained her Sorting Hat theory. [b]"I can see what you mean. The Sorting Hat is kind of unpredictable, it seems. It does things that are very unexpected sometimes. You get to choose at Ilvermorny," he added. "Or at least you do if more than one house wants you." Just one more reason Ilvermorny was the greatest school. Although he did remember reading about a few cases of the Sorting Hat allowing students to sway its decision... Still, Ilvermorny was better.

"Oh, so sorry, the Queen's Proper English!" Jacob mimicked Olivia's fancy accent jokingly. "I'm just going to continue to refuse to spell things the silly... I mean, British way. Eventually these countries will come to their senses and realize that extra letters just mean extra work, right?" He grinned again, and he was surprised to find himself feeling comfortable enough with the two girls to joke around. This was an interesting development. Maybe he didn't need a library book after all.

"Wait," he said, a sudden thought occurring to him. He looked at Etta quizzically. "Is Etta short for something? It seems like that's usually a nickname, if I'm remembering right. And," he added, shifting his gaze to the Gryffindor, "Most people I've met named Olivia usually go by something shorter. Do you, too?" A random question, maybe, but he couldn't help it when curiosity struck him.