[He watches her pick her food up, and his nose wrinkles when he tries to put his hands in the same position as hers. Now she's just making fun of him a little bit, so that empowers him to try a little harder. He tries again, managing to lift it maybe a foot off the plate before it falls again, and he sighs in defeat. Why are chopsticks so hard to use...]

That's probably true, [he admits, though he doesn't think that applies to him, which is what he believes she's suggesting.]

But I wouldn't say that true of every person who's aware of their own looks. Sometimes it's because they have complete confidence in their abilities, or something completely different. You like to read, you know you can't judge a book by its cover. I'd dare say you can't fully judge it even by the first one hundred pages. Some books get pretty interesting by the time you reach it halfway, and all the set up before hand and foreshadowing really pulls you in once the author has decided to reveal more of the plot.

[Time to finish off his soup, pausing to eat a little of it before it gets too cold.]

Anyway, I still implore you to come with me down to that bridge. If nothing happens, I'll consider your suggestions a little more before I decide to go on a wild goose chase.