Susan grimaces, running one hand down over her mouth, surprising herself by her own indecision. She doesn't want the ribbon back, she's decided - not over anything so petty as this, and not as a token. 'Ponine's pulled a more powerful card in any case: that word friends. Even in passing, even with knowing that they've barely met - how long since Susan made any kind of friends with a girl her own age? The closest she's come was Maria, and Maria was... different. A friend of sorts, but not a real friend, not while she was working for Susan. Most of the other girls in Hambry have viewed her with suspicion or scorn, if not in the old days, then certainly since her deal with the mayor. It means that earning 'Ponine's regard is a lot more of a temptation than earning some scrap of ribbon.

She sighs. "It ain't that," she says, at last. "I ain't scared, I just..." For a moment, she lapses into silence, worrying at her lip. "Chance ain't played out too well for me lately, is all."