Chapter 11 — Elections and Hearts

The first public debate in front of the whole school is scheduled for the third Friday, immediately after the official primary ends. The result was not unexpected: Ngoc and Khang led by a long distance from Gia Huy, officially becoming the two candidates entering the public debate round - the decisive round before entering the official election day.

The news of the scholarship scandal, although somewhat alleviated by the response from the School Newspaper Club, still left an echo in the whole school's atmosphere. A small group of students still maintained a skeptical attitude, whispering every time Ngoc passed by.

The large hall was packed on Friday afternoon, the banner "PUBLIC DEBATE — DECISION ROUND" hanging high above the stage. Two wooden podiums were placed just enough apart, each side had its own microphone. Ms. Ha stood in the middle, playing the role of host and referee.

"Today's debate will consist of three parts," Ms. Ha announced to the whole school, her voice echoing clearly through the speaker system. "Part one: present a personal platform in three minutes. Part two: direct response to questions prepared by the organizers. Part three: answer random questions from the audience."

Ngoc stood backstage, taking deep breaths to calm down. Khang stood next to her, noticing the tension in her eyes.

"You'll be okay," Khang whispered, gently holding her hand for a second before they both walked out on stage. "You've been preparing for this moment for a long time."

Ngoc nodded, smiled in thanks, then walked out with Khang into the spotlight amid the bustling applause of the whole school.

The platform presentation went smoothly. Ngoc clearly and coherently reiterated the Companion Scholarship Fund, not avoiding mentioning the recent scandal but frankly viewing it as a testament to the importance of transparency that she always pursues. Khang continued with the Creative Space project, with a confident and enthusiastic voice, completely different from the timid image of the launching ceremony.

When it came to the direct response, the atmosphere became much more tense. Ms. Ha read the first question from the prepared list: "If you could only choose one of two projects to implement due to limited school budget, which project would you prioritize?"

Ngoc and Khang looked at each other for a moment, then Ngoc spoke first. "This question is quite difficult, because both projects are important in different ways. But if forced to choose, I think the Companion Scholarship Fund should come first, because it is directly related to keeping students in school — a more urgent need."

Khang nodded in partial agreement, but added his perspective. "I agree about the urgency, but I also want to emphasize that these two projects do not necessarily have to compete with each other's budgets. We have calculated that, if implemented in stages, the initial cost of Creative Space can be significantly reduced by using recycled materials and liquidated furniture - it is completely feasible to deploy in parallel."

That well-coordinated answer received applause from the audience, clearly demonstrating the chemistry that had been built over many weeks of cooperation between the two.

Ms. Ha's second question pushed the atmosphere to a new level of tension: "Recently, there have been rumors regarding transparency in personal scholarship stories. This Does it affect the students' trust in the candidate, and what do the other candidates think about this issue?"

The entire hall was silent, all eyes focused on the stage. Ngoc clenched her hands, mentally preparing to answer, but Khang spoke first, her voice decisive and without hesitation.

"I would like to state clearly," Khang said, looking straight at the crowd, "that rumor is completely baseless and has been verified and refuted by the Truong Newspaper Club with specific evidence. I stand here, as a direct election opponent of Ngoc, and I affirm: I completely believe in Ngoc's honesty. Whoever spreads that rumor, whether accidentally or intentionally, is damaging the spirit of fairness of this election itself."

The applause exploded more intensely than what happened before. Ngoc looked at Khang, her eyes filled with tears because she was touched by that open, uncalculated defense while in direct competition with her.

"Thank you," Ngoc whispered loud enough for only Khang to hear, before she continued speaking into her microphone, her voice much steadier. "And I would like to add, I welcome anyone with concerns to contact me or the student affairs office directly for a transparent response, rather than spreading unverified information through anonymous channels."

Entering the third part of the debate, Ms. Ha invited students in the audience to ask questions directly. One hand raised from row 10, Ms. Ha nodded inviting the mobile microphone to come closer.

"I want to ask you both," a petite female student stood up, her voice trembling because she was nervous in front of the crowd. "If you two strongly disagree on an important issue after one of you wins the election, how will you resolve it?"

Khang laughed lightly at that unexpected but realistic question. "Very good question. I think disagreement is normal, even necessary to make the best decisions. It is important that we always put the interests of the entire school's students above personal ego."

"I agree," Ngoc continued, "and I think, over the past weeks, Khang and I have proven that, even though we are opponents, we can still sit down, listen to each other, and find the best solution for the collective, instead of insisting on defending our personal views."

Another hand was raised from block 11, this time the question was directed at Gia Huy who was sitting quietly in the audience: "I have a question for candidate Lam Gia Huy, even though he is not on stage today. What do you think about being left behind in the primary?"

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly quieted, many eyes turned towards Huy sitting in the middle of the crowd. Ms. Ha, realizing the sensitivity of the situation, quickly spoke up to coordinate. "Because this is a debate reserved for the two leading candidates, we will not ask Huy directly today, but I believe Huy is still contributing many valuable ideas to the school throughout the past campaign."

Huy forced a smile and nodded slightly to respond to the eyes directed at him, but inside, the feeling of being publicly mentioned as a failure in the crowd made the bitter fire inside him flare up even more intensely.

Below the stands, sitting among the crowd of 12th grade students, Gia Huy was holding Clasping his hands on his thighs, he observed the scene with a mixed emotion that was hard to name — both jealous of the perfect chemistry between the two opponents, and feeling a vague fear rising at the thought of the possibility of being discovered.

"Are you okay?" Duc Anh, sitting next to Huy, asked softly when he saw his friend being unusually silent.

"Fine," Huy replied curtly, his eyes still glued to the stage, where Ngoc and Khang continued to answer the next questions with increasingly obvious confidence and chemistry.

The debate ended with endless applause for both candidates. When students began to leave the hall, Huy lingered alone on the chair, waiting for the crowd to subside before standing up. He passed by the backstage area, where Ngoc and Khang were standing and chatting with a few teachers who came to congratulate them.

"Huy!" Ngoc recognized him and proactively waved back, not intending to stay away even though the doubts were still there in her heart. "How was today's debate? What do you think?"

Huy stopped walking, hesitated for a second before responding, trying to keep his familiar calm expression. "You two presented very well. You deserve to go to the final round."

"Thank you," Khang replied, his voice sincere. "But don't think the race is over for you. Ms. Ha said your anonymous mailbox project can still be implemented independently, regardless of who wins the election."

Huy nodded, the corner of his mouth curled up into an incomplete smile. "Yeah, I know. Thank you both."

He turned and left before the conversation could get any longer, striding quickly through the empty hallway, his fists clenched in his pockets. That unexpected kindness from the two people he was secretly harming only made the guilt in Huy's heart even heavier, mixed with the fear that, if the truth was revealed, he would lose the few remaining relationships around him, along with the last bit of prestige he had tried to build during his three years at this school.