Chapter 55: Challenge Accepted
Week One – Lock-In
Jake's alarm buzzed at 5:30 a.m. sharp. Five minutes later, he was already at his desk, eyes scanning quantum entanglement patterns before most of Los Angeles had even reached for their coffee.
The mornings were quiet. Still. Just him, a notepad, and equations that would make most grown scientists wince. He liked it that way—before the world woke up and started demanding things from him.
At Caltech, his days were brutal.
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Advanced prep with Dr. Kass and Sheldon.
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: Mock exams across multiple fields.
3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.: Office hours with professors—some helpful, some just tolerating him.
Most of the faculty didn't know what to do with a 13-year-old who could finish their problem sets before they finished their coffee. Some were curious. Others… less so.
"Einstein didn't even have a Ph.D. at thirteen," one professor muttered under his breath as Jake passed.
Jake stopped, turned slightly, and without missing a beat, replied, "Yeah, but Einstein didn't have to compete with me."
He didn't say it to be arrogant. It was just true.
Back home, Callum was holding FaceWorld together. Server traffic. Ad rollouts. SoundStack's beta. Moderation policy updates. The usual chaos. Jake couldn't be everywhere anymore—not with the challenge exams looming—so Callum texted twice a day:
> Callum: FacePhone 1.1 firmware stable. Beta testers happy. Voice search still clunky. AI team's on it.
Jake: Try memory preloading from my last branch. Should clean up the lag.
And when the house was dark, Judith asleep down the hall, Jake would scroll to the only messages that made him feel like a normal kid.
> Haley: You okay?
> Jake: Tired. Hungry. Mentally fried. Still wish I was at your place watching trash TV.
> Haley: You could come study here. I'll teach you how to chill. Physics for popcorn?
> Jake: Not fair. You're too good at relaxing.
---
Week Two – Pressure Points
The first challenge exam was Complex Systems. Jake finished it in half the allotted time and spent the rest fidgeting with a broken pen cap while the proctor watched him like a UFO sighting.
Meanwhile, FaceWorld was showing signs of growing up—and growing pains.
A service hiccup in India trended on tech blogs. Callum fielded an unexpected email from a Yahoo exec offering to quietly acquire SoundStack.
> Callum: We holding or entertaining?
> Jake: Hold. I didn't build SoundStack just to flip it.
Jake knew what was coming. He just had to keep pushing before anyone else caught up.
That Thursday, Alan and Kandi stopped by the Brentwood house. Kandi flipped through a luxury home magazine like it owed her something.
"She wants marble floors in the bathroom," Alan whispered, dazed.
Jake raised an eyebrow. "She doesn't even like bathrooms."
Judith handed Alan a glass of wine and didn't bother hiding her smirk.
Back at Caltech, Jake passed Theoretical Computation. The review board was stiff, silent. As if admitting his score out loud would make it real.
Dr. Kass caught him after.
"Some of them think this is all showmanship," she said. "They're waiting for you to trip."
Jake didn't blink. "Then I won't."
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Week Three – Cracks and Light
Quantum Electrodynamics was the third exam. It nearly broke him.
Jake made it through, barely, and collapsed on the couch the moment he got home. He hadn't eaten all day. Judith brought him a sandwich and sat beside him, gently brushing his hair back from his forehead.
"I remember when your biggest test was spelling," she said softly.
He gave her a tired smile. "I remember when I had recess."
That night, Haley didn't text. She called.
"Hey," she said. Her voice was quiet. Familiar.
"You sound awful."
"I feel great," Jake said flatly.
A pause.
"Do you ever regret this?" she asked. "Like… all of it?"
Jake stared at the ceiling.
"No," he said. "I just regret not having time to breathe sometimes."
There was a long silence. Then:
"You should come over Saturday," she said. "Even if you just fall asleep on the couch."
Jake smiled into the phone. "I'll try."
He didn't.
---
Week Four – The Tipping Point
Jake passed Advanced Algorithms and AI Systems with a perfect score.
The review board murmured. One of the older professors shook his head.
"This is ridiculous," he snapped. "We're legitimizing a child."
Dr. Kass didn't flinch. "No," she said. "We're witnessing a phenomenon."
That evening, Callum sent Jake a video from a live tech conference. FacePhone 1.1 was being demoed on stage—faster, smoother, sleeker. The crowd cheered like it was a rock concert.
Jake watched it from his desk, bags under his eyes, the light from his screen washing out everything else. He didn't smile. But he did feel something.
Pride. Quiet, stubborn pride.
Later that weekend, someone knocked on the door.
Judith opened it and stepped aside with a small smile. "He's in his room," she said.
Haley walked in, dropped her backpack, and hugged Jake before he could even speak.
"No work," she said into his chest. "Not tonight. Just me and you. Got it?"
Jake nodded slowly, arms tightening around her.
"Got it."