"Ugh." It was entirely sympathetic. "I can hardly stand being around the assholes in my school when I actually have to be there. Think I'd lose my mind if I had to just...be there forever." Even if the current dickbags graduated, he was sure there would be others to replace them. Sure, the Aglionby grounds were pretty enough in places, a lush lawn and towering shade trees, but there'd only be so much of that he'd be able to take before the itch of wanting to race or party or actually interact with his friends drove him up a wall.

It took a lot of effort not to comment that whiskey was good though--when you were twelve and it was your first taste of alcohol, it was probably awful. "That's fair. Sometimes-" he hesitated, then shook his head. He actually didn't want to bring up his own mother, as it turned out. Instead, he said, "You know, that's why I make sure to have options when I throw parties. I don't actually give a shit if someone's there to drink or if they aren't- they should just be able to have fun." Fuck peer pressure, basically. Of course, he still threw parties that had specific themes or requirements, but those were always clearly communicated so people knew ahead of time if they were interested in attending or not.