Chapter 114 – Side Project

"Yes!" I cheer, not even trying to keep my voice down.

I hear doors slam open in quick succession, followed by footsteps thundering toward my room.

Within seconds, I'm surrounded by my entire family: Mom in her comfortable loungewear, Selene in her pink pajamas with her hair slightly mussed, and Bianca in her oversized band tee looking annoyed at being disturbed.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Mom asks, slightly breathless.

"Did someone die?" Bianca adds flatly.

"No, no! Everything's great!" I spin in my chair to face them, unable to contain my grin. "I finished it! My side project! It's finally done!"

"Oh my god, really?!" Selene bounces. "That's amazing!"

"Look!" I gesture enthusiastically at my monitor.

They crowd around behind my chair. And I eagerly start pointing out details, pulling up my test results.

"Okay, so," I start. "This is my stock market trading bot. See these graphs? This is it trading with historical data. And look at these returns!"

I point at the screen manically. "It's averaging thirty percent yearly returns! That's insane! Most professional investors are happy with ten to fifteen percent."

I'm dimly aware that I'm talking too fast, but I can't stop. This is a year of work paying off, and I need them to understand how cool this is.

"And it even survives market crashes!" I pull up another window. "See this? The 2008 crash. Most trading algorithms completely fall apart when volatility spikes, but mine actually recognizes when the market's unstable and starts trading more conservatively. The algorithm adjusts its entire strategy on the fly."

I tab over to another screen. "Plus, it handles different amounts of money differently. Small amounts get invested more aggressively in growth stocks. Larger amounts get diversified. It's completely autonomous, I could literally just let it run and never touch it."

I'm fully in the zone now, barely pausing for breath.

"But here's the coolest part." I pull up the decision logs. "My bot thinks out loud. See these logs? It actually explains why it's buying certain stocks, how risky it thinks trades are, what factors influenced its decisions."

I finally stop my word vomit, turning around in my chair to gauge their reactions.

...Yeah, I definitely lost them.

Mom has that expression she gets when she's trying very hard to be supportive but has absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. Selene looks like a golden retriever who just heard her favorite word, so she’s excited but unclear why. And Bianca's teal eyes have that fond exasperation that usually precedes her calling me a dork.

"Well, that all sounds very impressive, sweetie," Mom says warmly, reaching out to squeeze my shoulder. "I'm so proud of you."

Selene just wraps her arms around me from the side, giggling. "I don't really get it, but you seem super happy, so I'm happy!"

"I have no idea what the hell any of that meant." Bianca states bluntly. Then her expression softens slightly, and she reaches over to ruffle my hair. "But knowing you, it's probably actually impressive. So good job, dork."

Coming from Bianca, that's basically a declaration of undying love.

"Wait, hold on." Mom tilts her head thoughtfully. "You said thirty percent returns? That does sound very high."

"It is!" I perk up again. "Index funds average like ten percent! Thirty percent is insane!"

"Ooh!" Selene bounces excitedly. "Should we give you all our money then? You can make us rich!"

I pause, considering. I'm confident the bot will work: It's passed every test I could throw at it. But, I think there's a better path here.

"Actually, I was thinking I'd show Luna's dad tomorrow," I say. "See if he wants to invest. Or maybe buy it."

Mom wraps her arms around me from behind, pulling me into a hug.

"Mom?"

"I'm just so proud of you," she whispers. "You're becoming such an incredible young man."

My face heats up. It's one thing to have a supportive family. It's another thing entirely to hear real pride in your mom's voice.

Bianca ruffles my hair again. "Just don't forget about us when you're some rich tech bro."

"How could I forget?" I roll my eyes at her. "You'd never let me."

"Damn right I wouldn't." She smiles. She runs her hand through my hair one more time, gentler this time.

Damn. I might actually tear up. It sucks that all the technical stuff went completely over their heads. But honestly? They don't need to understand the algorithms or the financial implications. They just need to be here, and they are.

"Thanks," I tell them, meaning every word. "Really. Thanks for being so supportive."

Selene squeezes me tighter. "Always!"

"Yeah, yeah." Bianca's hand is still in my hair. "Whatever, dork."

Mom kisses the top of my head. "We love you, sweetie."

At some point, they all return to their rooms, Selene and Bianca back to studying, Mom back to whatever romance novel she's currently devouring. I pull out my phone and open my messages with Luna.

Adam: LUNA

Adam: I FINISHED MY PROJECT

Adam: THE BOT WORKS

I stare at the screen, grinning. And a few moments later, my phone buzzes.

Luna: Wow, really?

Luna: Adam, that's amazing!!!

Luna: I'm so happy for you!!

Adam: thanks!! can I show you tomorrow in comp sci class?

Luna: Yes!!

Luna: I can't wait to see it...

Luna: This is so exciting!!

I set my phone down, still grinning, and head to bed.

We're sitting together in computer science class, and Luna has moved her chair so close to mine that our arms are almost touching. Her beautiful violet eyes are glued to my screen.

I'm walking her through the interface, showing off features, explaining the logic behind certain decisions. She follows along, making little interested sounds that are honestly adorable.

"Look, it even explains its decision-making process," I say, pulling up the decision logs.

"Wow..." Luna breathes, leaning even closer. "Adam... this is... incredible..." Her eyes are practically sparkling. "It gives... confidence values... for each prediction..."

"Right? And look—" I pull up another window. "It adjusts the confidence threshold based on market volatility. So during unstable periods, it only makes trades it's really sure about."

"That's... that's so smart..." She turns to look at me, her eyes bright. "How did you... implement the volatility detection?"

And just like that, we're deep in a technical conversation that would bore literally anyone else to tears.

After we've thoroughly dissected the architecture, I shift in my seat, suddenly feeling awkward.

"So, uh..." I start. "Do you think... I mean, would it be weird if I..."

"If you...?" Luna tilts her head, waiting patiently.

"Would it be okay to show your dad?" I finally get out. "Like, to ask what he thinks? Maybe see if he'd want to invest or something?"

It feels shameless even saying it out loud. Like I'm using our friendship to get access to her rich father.

But Luna's face immediately lights up. "Of course!" She says it with so much enthusiasm that her voice actually rises above its usual quiet register. "That's... a great idea…"

The way she says it, so openly and without hesitation, makes me realize I was being ridiculous for feeling embarrassed. Luna genuinely wants to help. She wants me to succeed.

"Thanks, Luna." I smile at her. "Really."

Her cheeks turn slightly pink. "It's nothing... you worked so hard... you deserve... to have… good things happen…"

"Well, now that this project's done, I finally have time to help with yours. What were you stuck on?"

Her eyes light up. "Oh… There's this bug... it only happens... sometimes... and I can't figure out... why..."

She pulls up her code and we spend the rest of class hunting down her elusive bug.

The rest of my day passes peacefully.

But now I'm sitting in Luna's apartment, in front of Mr. Inoue, trying to control my breathing.

Mr. Inoue is sitting on one of those expensive leather couches placed in front of the massive TV. Daichi's standing beside him in his usual suit, looking relaxed but alert. Eva's next to Daichi, her expression as unreadable as always, though to be fair, that's just Eva.

Luna and I are on a sofa perpendicular to Mr. Inoue's.

When I told Mr. Inoue my project was finished and I wanted his opinion, the entire atmosphere shifted.

The calm, comfortable vibe I've come to associate with Luna's home vanished. Mr. Inoue's expression went from grandfatherly to pure business, face neutral, eyes sharp and assessing.

Daichi straightened up beside him, his usual easy-going demeanor replaced with professional focus.

Eva... well, Eva looks exactly the same as always. Which is comforting.

I clear my throat and start my presentation.

I walk them through everything, the interface, the testing results, the survival simulations through historical crashes. The autonomous trading capabilities, the risk assessment, the decision logs. I explain the architecture and the machine learning components.

My voice stays steady, which surprises me. But I know this code inside and out. I've tested it obsessively. I believe in it.

Luna's beside me on the sofa, and at one point, she gently pats my leg.

And it helps more than she knows.

When I finish, after Daichi whispers my final words in Japanese, the room goes quiet.

I resist every urge to fidget. To ramble. To over-explain. Mr. Vale's lessons about body language echo in my head.

But man, this silence is killing me.

"So..." I finally break. "What do you think?"

Mr. Inoue stays quiet even after Daichi translates. I wait, heart hammering, trying to read his face.

Then he speaks. Daichi translates immediately.

"This is impressive work for someone of your age." He gives a small nod. "Very impressive."

I wait for him to continue.

“Would you be willing to sell the project to me outright? I’m prepared to offer one hundred thousand dollars."