Page 85 of You Had Me at Hello World
I shrug. Sure, praise is cute, but praise isn’t going to rent an apartment or pay the bills.
“What are your plans after this? Are you going to return to Chinook Beach?”
I don’t bother correcting him. “I’m not sure.” Alpha Fellows hooked me up with a flight back to Portland, but keeping a thousand-mile radius from Michael is probably the move.
“You won’t be able to cultivate your talent to its full potential if you stay in Oregon,” he says.
I nod, barely listening. Honestly, I’m not that pressed about reaching myfull potential. If my mom and I starve on the streets, there won’t be any potential to reach.
He continues, “I’ve spoken to my board. After some careful deliberation, we have a proposal for you.”
“What proposal?”
“Nexus is starting an incubator program. We want to invite Hello World to be part of our first cohort. You’d spend the next six months working out of our office to make it into something more than a prototype. Our team will mentor you, connect you with people who can help you succeed.”
What’s he on about? “Edvin, I haven’t graduated high schoolyet.” Khoi has told me about accelerators such as Y Combinator. They’re like a professional version of Alpha Fellows. Rich tech bros throw money at not-yet-rich tech bros, praying that someone’s going to pop off and become Snapchat 2.0 or whatever. But those programs are for, like, Harvard dropouts. Not kids like me.
“So?” He lifts a shoulder. “Leave. And we’d give you housing and a living stipend, of course. How does that sound?”
It sounds incredible. It sounds like the solution to all my problems. It sounds too good to be legit.
I blink. “You’re serious?”
He nods. “Char, you’re too smart to waste away in Oregon.” He has this intense look that makes me feel like I could take on the whole world as long as he’s got my back.
And if there’s anything I’ve learned this summer, it’s that having someone who’s got your back is a total game changer.
Maybe the universe isn’t always out to screw me.
Maybe this is real.
Something light and sparkly ripples through my whole being. Hope.
I want to agree immediately, but…
“I need to talk to Khoi,” I say. It’s his app too.
“Sure, talk to him,” Edvin says. “But give me your decision within the next hour. We have a press conference tomorrow announcing this program and I want to show you off as Patient Zero. Let’s get this done fast.”
I find Khoi outside near the river. He’s gazing at the Charles, which shimmers in the late-summer light. The breeze ruffles his dark hair. He reminds me of a painting, something with careful brushstrokes.
When he sees me, he presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’m sorry we didn’t win, Char.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Okay, it was, a little. But I also goofed on the presentation. So I guess it’s on both of us.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter if we’re doing the Nexus incubator program.
“I should’ve been better about taking Keppra. I know you really needed the win. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you and your mother are fine.”
There are shadowy rings beneath his eyes. He’s clearly exhausted. He just had a seizure. Maybe I shouldn’t bring this up right now…
But Edvin said he wanted our response ASAP.
“Listen, Edvin Nilsen came up to me,” I say. “He wants us to join his incubator program. It starts in September. We’d work out of the Nexus office, keep building Hello World.”
I’m expecting him to crack a relieved smile. But nope. He frowns. “What about school?”
“We could drop out. That’s what Edvin suggested.”
