Saying that Jace was "rusty" at socializing would imply he was any good at it to begin with. When your friend group is 75% the coworkers who have to play nice to earn income, well, it says something. After a week of passing people by and failed attempts to start conversations Jace turned to the Chronivac for some assistance.
Initially he boosted his charisma, ability to carry a conversation, and sociability but this conjured the image of the person who couldn't take a hint and imposed himself on others without realizing. Jace immediately backpedaled and rethought his approach. He eventually settled on triggering the next time he has an exchange with someone outside of a greeting. When that happens both parties will feel trust and interest in each other, genuinely want good for the other, and perceive each other as equals. This way, Jace's financial status wouldn't be as much of a game changer and he could get through the awkward beginning of a friendship without so much difficulty.
The next few days were much the same but for different reasons. He could bother the guy working in his garage, or engage the woman with the yappy dog, but he was wrought with concerns about imposing on their existing relationships/family life. The choice was ultimately taken from him when he was returning home from a walk one day and sneezed. The neighbor kid, Kevin, having just gotten off the school bus, jumped at the sound.
Jace specified greetings, not bland social conventions. So the teen offered a "bless you," and Jace gave an embarrassed chuckle and apologized for startling him and the trigger occurred. Jace wouldn't have considered befriending an adolescent or child but within a few minutes Jace had set the robots to prepare an after school snack for his new friend, and was showcasing his house and all it's amazing features. Jace called out the AI system and pointed out that it acts like a home assistant, using the internet to find answers. Of all the house's cool features, the autonomous laundry seemed to be the biggest hit, Kevin had recently gotten the chore of doing his own laundry and was practically drooling over the machine.
Jace offered that Kevin could bring his laundry over and do it here while working on homework and having a snack. By the time the tour was done fresh mozzarella sticks were waiting and Jace was having a hard time holding back from telling Kevin about his underground pool/jacuzzi rainforest setup, and the specially bred animals/plants and all the things they could do. The pair played with the AI, the video projection/sound system in the basement, and Jace even went so far as to showing off the arsenal of grass cutting robots nestled in the garage. Just as Jace was about to cave in and show the secret elevator, it was 5:30 and Kevin needed to get home and start homework.
Unsurprisingly, Kevin showed up and took advantage of the robotic chef's, AI homework helper, and system to sort, clean, and fold laundry. It took exceptional mental gymnastics but the Chronivac did as it was told and tried to make them see each other as equals, though far from how Jace intended the statement to be interpreted. Jace's perception of Kevin was that he was an adult in his maturity, and also in a body that betrayed his true age... Kevin saw Jace as living out every kids' dream, all responsibilities automated away and no authority figures telling him what to do every minute of every day, he was just a kid, a big kid but a kid.