[Her enthusiasm is catching--Americans, they're always so jolly and forthright--and Edward manages a brief smile in her direction.]

Am I pointed in the right direction? I don't feel like I'm upside down, but I want to be sure.

[Then she asks about the war, and it's another surprising question. Edward is starting to get a sinking feeling he can't explain in his chest. There's no reason she shouldn't know these things, unless...]

No? I was twenty years old when the war began. I'm twenty-three now, and there are lads far younger than me on the front.

[It's a disgrace, honestly. The recruiters should be more thorough before allowing literal children to enlist.]

Are you... I know the Americans only joined recently, but surely you'd have heard news about the conflict, wouldn't you?