Thankfully you've learned how to talk to Alex without having to speak aloud. It's a social obligation disguised as entertainment. In theory the school holds the party because we'll like it. In practice we come so our bosses will see us as team players.
"So you would say that they are twisting your arm to attend?" Alex discovered American idioms in your brain yesterday and has been using them non-stop since. "How thrilling for you." They're also trying on sarcasm, like an annoying teen who happens to be from another dimension.
You don't respond. Not when you've got a cash bar to hit before you head to dinner.
"Aha," Alex smugly says. "Another idiom."
Shut Up, Alex