Conversation over breakfast “I am sorry. What Were You Saying?”

This morning at the breakfast table, my high school sophomore was not watching his phone or listening to his music. His phone was not even on the table, nor his headphones were on his ears.  I tried to start a conversation with him, by saying something to the fact that  “…many students with high ACT scores were deferred from University Of Michigan….”, plus some other rubbish.   There was not response from him.  I followed up with “do you know what deferred means?”.  He turned his head and said “I am sorry. What were you saying?  I did not hear what you said.”   I kept my cool, and repeated what I just said.  He followed up with his own question such as ”what is Early Action? What is Early Decision, and What are advantages of applying early?”  I threw something in there, though not sure if he was paying attention to it.