He gives an awkward laugh in return. Malcolm hadn't taken her question in that way, but he's glad for the clarification.

"I guess?" he replies. "There was a lot going on at home before I came here." His face clouds for a moment, his brow furrowing. "I need to get back there at some point, if I can ever find a way." There's a lot of mess that he needs to clean up. Literally.

Until then, he's trying to not be completely miserable while he's here. He moped for a day or two, then realized that he needed to get out and talk to people in order to try and find an way out of here.