[Lavrenty snorts quietly at the question, but considering the actual answer... well, he can't tease Sabo too much about it, can he?]

My umbrella, actually. It was the only thing I could think of in a hurry.

[Because touching it with his hands had seemed incredibly inadvisable.]

I'm not sure what to think about the fact that I had roughly the same thoughts. Possibly just that black rubber is suffering from some unfortunate stereotypes. [He purses his lips slightly.] I met two other people who seemed to acknowledge that it was strange. Like you said, anyone else I've asked so far doesn't notice a thing.