I would have to say B, due to not getting to hear the audio I am merely assuming.
Answer:
It can be hard for some people because some people have social anxiety or some other type of mental illness. Some people may be scared to stand up for someone and just try to blend in like any other person.
Stern is a serious and unrelenting manner usually in a authoritative way while yearns is an intense feeling of longing for someone lost or that you separated from.
Maybe for a lie story, pretend you almost broke a bone or died. Like, say, you almost fell off a cliff, or almost got hit by a car, e.t.c.
