I confess, I'm tempted to agree— and you know there's little I love more than a good book. Though I was also quite devoted to my studies, I had the benefit of working alongside my peers.

[Blackstaff Academy was not a typical school in the strictest sense, but he had hardly been the only student, and had been eager to collaborate with his fellow apprentices when opportunities to do so arose.]

While I can't claim to know what your education was like, you've mentioned your teacher, but never any fellow students.

[He can draw a few conclusions from that alone, and what she'd said regarding her teacher's way with words, or lack thereof.]