"You know Kai," Julia said, setting her glass down with a faint clink. "I'm sure your classmates are smart, too. But I still can't believe you weren't valedictorian."
Kai raised an eyebrow, but didn't look up from her plate. "Yeah, well, thanks for the vote of confidence."
"It's not that," her mom said quickly. "I just thought… with your grades, your work ethic… Not even salutatorian?"
[describe restaurant]
"The school doesn't rank based on pure academics anymore," Kai cut in, tone even. "They weigh extracurriculars, 'student visibility,' community impact. You know. Optics."
She picked up her drink—a simple glass of water, half-full, half-empty. "Plus, I think I started checking out this past year, even despite being able to remember most of everything. They call it 'senioritis,' I think."
"Ah, yeah, I've heard of that." Her dad chuckled, sliding a tray of steamed dumplings toward her. "Back in my day, you just had to beat everyone else's GPA. Simple. Ruthless."
"Let me guess," Kai said, finally looking up. "You were valedictorian."
"Top of my class," Samuel said, leaning back with a smug grin. "The Archivist Modus helped. Data Weave's not flashy, but it made remembering everything… pretty easy."
"Of course it did."
"And then," her mom added, "you used it to win trivia night four years in a row, until they politely asked you to stop coming."
Kai let out a short laugh despite herself. For a moment, the edge in her shoulders softened—a contrast from the eventful rush from her graduation ceremony just earlier in the day. The restaurant around them was dim but warm, low lanterns casting golden halos over wood-paneled walls. Soft jazz hummed from speakers above the booths. It smelled like ginger, fermented fruit, and nostalgia.
Then her dad tilted his head.
"You disappeared for a while after the ceremony," he said. "Where'd you sneak off to?"
Kai paused, chopsticks hovering. A quiet hesitation passed between them.
"Just needed a breather," she said. "Too many people. Too many cameras."
"Fair," her mom replied. "But you missed your father's war cry when they said your name."
"I was subtle," he lied.
"Subtle like an airhorn."
They all laughed. The moment lingered—light, honest.
Then her mother leaned in.
"So… have you been thinking at all about college?"
"I… have…" Kai hesitated, fidgeting at her mother's question with her chopsticks.
Her parents looked at one another. "And…?"
Kai exhaled, quietly. "I just think… I've spent so much time learning how to get good at school. I want to take some time to get good at something else. Something real. I've been helping friends with small projects—tech stuff. Hardware. Code. Signal manipulation. Some of it's… more complicated than I expected, but I love it."
"Helping friends," her father repeated slowly.
"Not just helping," Kai corrected, quickly. "I've been designing tools. Making my own patches. Modifying drones. There's a niche for this. I was thinking… maybe I could freelance. You know. Start small. Patch repair, device calibration, maybe even custom rigs for livestreamers or musicians—people who need specialty tech they can't get off-the-shelf."
Her mother tilted her head. "So, like… what? You're starting a startup?"
"Maybe," Kai said with a small smile. "More like… a micro-studio. I'd call it something lowkey. KaiOS. SkaiNet. Something weird and unsearchable."
Her dad grinned. "There's the Samuel in you."
"You've got to get money somehow, though… right?"
"That's the point," Kai nodded. "If I do it right, I'll learn the business and build a portfolio. Then, if I want to apply to an engineering program—or even an R&D internship—I'll have more than just grades."
Her mom still looked uncertain, but her expression softened. "We just want to make sure you're not putting everything off forever."
"It's not forever," Kai said. "It's one year. One chance to build something real before I go back into the classroom."
Her parents looked at each other one last time. Samuel nodded his head slowly as a sign of approval before Julia shook hers with a chuckle and the roll of her eyes. They turned their attention back to her.
"Mm-kay," Julia nodded reassuringly, followed by a shrug. "Sure. I don't see why not."
Kai clasped her hands together and smiled brightly. "I won't let you down."
"Don't stress yourself out too much, kiddo," Samuel raised a finger. "We're still your parents regardless. We'll always be proud of you. Plus, you don't really need a degree anyway. With a Modus like yours, you'll never have a problem finding a job."
Together, the three laughed and continued to eat and catch up, the comfort of the restaurant keeping them from the chilling night.