"It's okay," Matt reassured him. He had really probably been the rude one, just reaching over without asking to be excused. He'd offered the joke instead, but it hadn't landed. "Yes, it was a joke. A pun, actually. A play on the word appealing and the word peel."
Puns were definitely less funny when he had to explain them, but it hadn't been funny the first time around, so - oh well. "It was a bad joke. I only tell bad jokes."
He grinned slightly, but his eyes watched the way this boy moved, eyes darting around nervously, hands wringing. "Nice to meet you, Shaun. I'm Matt Holt. ... Did you need help figuring stuff out?"