Chapter 25 — Elections and Hearts

Three months have passed since the inauguration of the Creative Space, bringing with it many positive changes for the whole school. The Companion Scholarship Fund awarded scholarships to a total of thirty-five students. The self-funding model from selling handmade products remained stable, even exceeding initial expectations thanks to the continuous creativity of participating students.

But amid those successes, an unexpected challenge arose when the second semester exam was near, bringing heavy academic pressure on Ngoc's shoulders - who had to balance her role as Student Council President and maintain excellent academic performance to prepare her university admission application.

"You look so tired," Khang commented when he saw Ngoc sitting with her head on the table in the Student Council office, surrounded by a tall stack of documents related to the scholarship fund's semester final report.

"I'm fine," Ngoc replied, her voice somewhat tired, unable to hide the tension that had accumulated over the past several weeks. "It's just a bit overloaded these days. I have to complete a report for Mr. Trong, I have to review for semester exams, and I have to prepare university documents."

Khang sat down next to her, his eyes full of worry. "Do you think you're taking on too many things at once?"

"Maybe," Ngoc admitted, gently rubbing her aching temple. "But I don't want to let any responsibility fall by the wayside. The scholarship fund, Makerspace, my own education — all are equally important."

“I understand that feeling,” Khang nodded, “but you need to take care of yourself, too. If you burn out, everything you're trying to build will suffer, and that's something I don't want to see happen to you.”

At that moment, Ms. Ha walked into the room and immediately noticed the obvious fatigue on Ngoc's face. "Ngoc, I think it's time for you to learn how to divide your work more reasonably. You don't need to take on all the responsibilities yourself."

"I'm afraid that if I delegate less work, everything won't be done exactly as I want," Ngoc confessed, her voice a bit guilty.

"That is one of the most important lessons of a true leader, Ngoc," Ms. Ha said, sitting down across from her. "Knowing how to trust and empower others is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of maturity in leadership thinking."

"Have you ever encountered a similar situation before?" Ngoc asked, curious about that profound understanding.

"A lot," Ms. Ha smiled, her eyes distant as she remembered. "She has seen many students who are talented and enthusiastic, but because they insist on taking on everything themselves, they become exhausted and even lose their original passion. A good leader is not the one who can do the most work, but the one who knows how to build a team strong enough to achieve a common goal together."

That sharing was deeply engraved in Ngoc's mind, becoming one of the most valuable lessons that she carried with her for the rest of her life, not only in her role as a school leader, but also in any position she would take on in the future.

That advice made Ngoc thoughtful. She looked back over the past few months and realized that she had unintentionally taken on too much work that could have been shared with the people around her — Khang, Huy, Trang, Phuc, and the fund's board of directors. is becoming more and more stable with each passing day.

"You're right," Ngoc nodded, her eyes gradually brightening with a new decision. "I think it's time for me to trust everyone with less responsibility, so I can have time to focus on studying and maintaining my health."

The following week, Ngoc officially reorganized the operating structure of both projects, clearly assigning specific responsibilities to each member. Huy was assigned to be in charge of the financial and periodic reporting aspects of the scholarship fund, taking advantage of his strengths in data analysis that he has demonstrated excellently over the past time. Trang continues to be in charge of communications, while Khang is in charge of supervising the operation of the Creative Space.

"Thank you for trusting me with this responsibility," Huy said as he accepted his new assignment, his voice filled with seriousness. "I won't disappoint you."

"I believe you, Huy," Ngoc replied, smiling sincerely. "You have proven your ability and trustworthiness many times."

Trang is equally excited to take on new responsibilities. "I will create a detailed posting schedule for the entire next semester, ensuring all activities of the fund and Creative Space are fully communicated, no events are missed."

"I trust you completely," Ngoc smiled, putting her arm around her best friend's shoulder. "If you take care of this part, I can rest assured."

Phuc also attended the assignment meeting, proposing that Truong Newspaper Club would undertake monitoring and periodically reporting on the progress of both projects, helping to reduce the reporting burden on the main executive board.

"We will issue a monthly newsletter, summarizing all activities and specific numbers," Phuc proposed. "While ensuring transparency, it also reduces your work load."

"Great idea," Khang nodded in agreement. "Thank you to the whole team for always being willing to shoulder the burden with us."

That reasonable assignment helps Ngoc have more time to focus on exam preparation, while also creating opportunities for each team member to maximize their own strengths.

In the following weeks, Ngoc spent most of her free time studying, only participating in the most important meetings of the Student Council, trusting the rest to the clearly assigned team. At first, she still had the habit of checking every small detail, but gradually, when she saw Huy handle financial reports as accurately and meticulously as she did, when she saw Trang professionally manage the media, she began to learn how to let go of control and trust completely in her teammates.

"You see," Khang said one evening the two of them studied together in the library, "everything still runs smoothly even though you don't do everything yourself."

"Yes, I realized," Ngoc smiled, closing the book she was reading. "Perhaps this is the biggest lesson I've learned throughout this school year — knowing that trusting others is just as important as knowing how to try yourself, a lesson that I will definitely need many more times in the future."

The second semester exam went smoothly, Ngoc achieved excellent results as expected, qualified to confidently apply to the top universities that she had long cherished.

The evening after receiving the exam results, Ngoc sat with Khang on her balcony, looking at the starry night sky, filled with relief and gratitude.

"Thank you for that always by my side, reminding me to take better care of myself," Ngoc said, leaning her head on Khang's shoulder.

"That's what I always wanted to do for you," Khang replied, wrapping his arms around her gently, "because I know, sometimes the strongest people are the ones who have the hardest time realizing when they need care the most."

Ngoc smiled, clearly feeling the warmth and absolute safety next to the person she trusted completely, not only as a lover, but also as the most reliable companion in all of life's challenges - a relationship that had been forged through many ups and downs, and has now become more solid than ever, ready to move forward together into new, promising chapters of life.

"Have you thought about which school you will apply to?" Ngoc asked, breaking the comfortable silence between the two.

"I'm considering the Architecture department of a few schools," Khang replied, his eyes shining with a rare excitement when talking about the future. "Finally, I dared to pursue my true passion, not the path my father once planned."

"I'm glad you found that," Ngoc said, squeezing his hand gently. "As for me, I still maintain my plan to major in Sociology, so that I can continue to research more deeply into equitable education support models, and maybe in the future I can expand the Companion Scholarship Fund to an even larger scale."

"I believe you can do it," Khang smiled, his eyes filled with absolute confidence. "And even if the road ahead leads us to different universities, I believe, what we have built together will always be a strong connection, nothing can separate it."

Ngoc nodded, leaned closer to Khang's shoulder, looked at the sparkling stars in the night sky, filled with faith in a bright future waiting for them both, even though the road ahead still had many unknowns.