And see, my crew just says that's one of the many annoying qualities about me. That I can't let anything rest. I should have known to get a teacher's perspective sooner.

[He's giving his crooked grin as he says it, and there's a fondness to his raspy tone that says it's all meant in good fun. There's no actual ill-intent from his friends, he knows that. It's still nice to hear though what Stella says. His intellect is one of the areas he's genuinely proud of in regards to himself.]

Wanting to learn from presumably people worth learning from doesn't sound boring. That sounds smart on your part. I've never found you boring. You're... refreshing. [There's a small pause.] I just made you sound like lemonade, didn't I.

[Well, he's given worse compliments.]