First day of school it isn't worth worrying too hard about who's next to you in line. She slots in after an indie-looking boy. "You keep an eye out left, I'll watch the right?"
"Because it's fucking awesome, and personal interest is a resource, too. Gotta pick something you like enough you don't start thinking 'oh, I wish I'd never come, I could be dead by now instead of this'. Otherwise, you will be dead, and whoever could've had your spot will also still be dead."
"I hate most things, it's not personal. Do you ever spend thirty seconds thinking about how you're probably a waste of a spot because you might be so gloomy it's not worth trying to stay alive, case in point, spending thirty entire seconds thinking about being a waste of a Scholomance spot instead of literally anything else?"
...did his parents not at least look into it? She was half prepared for him to have said 'tried that, they were too expensive to use at school'. She looks baffled for a second before her face smooths back to blank neutrality. "They might be like medications, where you need to try a couple before something sticks. But that's more me guessing, I haven't looked into mood spells much."
"I wouldn't really know. About either thing. Never really seemed - connected to reality, to be happier, anyway. But I guess once you're worried about turning down academic tracks for being too depressing maybe you need to take another look at your tradeoffs. Just. You know. ...Maybe this is too complicated a conversation to be having past my bedtime while watching for mals."