[gives him a little smile back - as dreary as the situation is, at least most classmates are turning out to be really nice]

Hm, I didn't work in the laboratories... I mostly just talked to some of the research people about which trees have which kind of bark, and which bugs eat which leaves, and which trees can defend themselves a little - by tasting bad to the beetles, you see - and how they pollinate... and the scientists do the crossing. But they gave me some of the saplings!

[smiles more brightly]