章 50: Climbing Up

Aki and her parents promptly frowned as soon as I said that. I kept smiling, sitting between my parents.

"Can you elaborate?" Aki's father asked.

"Sure," I replied, taking a moment to formulate my words. "I started a widget repairing business as soon as I turned sixteen."

"You did?" Aki said.

"Obviously, I know nothing about technology. I convinced a classmate to start the business with me, she was a genius. People came to repair stuff like their glasses or antique computers. We quickly became popular in the neighborhood. However, even though she was incredibly fast at repairing stuff, we got to a point where we couldn't keep up with the requests."

I paused to take a deep breath. Dad placed his hand on my shoulder and mildly shook me.