Chapter 2 — Late Table Lady

An discovered that his lunch box had disappeared at the exact moment the end-of-class drum sounded. She clearly remembered that she had placed the blue stainless steel box next to her briefcase, but there was only a small folded piece of paper left on the table. The handwriting on it trembled: "Sorry, I thought your box was mine."

An turned to Truc Mai. “Does anyone in class use the blue box?”

Mai chewed a cookie and pointed down to the yard. "Half the class. The blue box is a miniature society."

Khang returned from the table above. “You lost your rice?”

“Switched.”

Huy immediately stood up like a newscaster receiving breaking news. "Please inform, the green lunch box case has occurred. The victim is a new student. The suspect could be a hungry person, a colorblind person, or a force that wants to divide 11A4."

“Sit down,” Khang said.

“I'm protecting the scene.”

“You're blocking the fan.”

Huy actually sat down, but still used his pen to tap the beat like background music. An looked at the paper. The smell of fried onions still lingered on her hands since canning them this morning. Mom made her own ginger-braised chicken and told her to eat it all because "the new school will have many things that will make you hungry." An didn't want to make a big deal out of a lunch box, but she also didn't want to rely on someone else to eat on the second day.

Khang asked: "Do you remember who sat near the bag?"

“I remember a yellow jacket.”

“The yellow jacket is Quynh Nhu.” Mai said. “But she bought lunch from the cafeteria, but didn't bring a box.”

Quynh Nhu heard her name and turned down. "What is up?"

An explained. Like looking at the paper, then looking at class 10B2 in the opposite hallway. "In the last hour, I saw a friend over there holding the same blue box. Maybe they were holding the wrong one."

Huy stood up again. “So we need a joint investigation team.”

“We need to have lunch,” Khang corrected. "An, go down to the cafeteria and buy some. I'll go ask class 10B2."

“No need.”

"If you don't eat, the Math class will fall asleep. Teacher Bang can see if someone is sleeping even if that person has one eye closed."

An holds a cloth wallet. She counted money in front of everyone, trying to remember the price of a meal. The price list says rib rice thirty-five thousand, soup another five thousand, water ten thousand. She suddenly realized that three hundred thousand was no longer a generous amount of money. If she ate two meals a day, she could only live four and a half days.

“Are you okay?” Mai asked.

"It's okay. I was just calculating... the profit of the rice dish."

Khang heard it and the corners of his lips curled up. "If you want to make a profit, don't buy bottled water. Bring a bottle from home."

“I forgot.”

"Remember tomorrow. The cafeteria doesn't sell free advice."

An bought a meal, chose the cheapest soup and sat at the last table. After she had eaten a few bites, Khang returned, in his hand was a blue stainless steel box shaped like a cat.

"Found it in class 10B2. The other student also thought it was my box."

An opened the lid. The chicken braised with ginger is still intact, but one corner has been taken away. Inside there was an extra boiled egg, probably the wrong person held it to make up for it.

“She apologized,” Khang said. "He just transferred schools, his house is staying near the market. Their boxes are the same."

An silently looked at the egg. She may have been angry because the lunch box was opened, but the handwriting on the paper did not appear deceitful. Perhaps someone who was as nervous as her had mistakenly picked it up.

“I'm okay,” An said. “This egg is considered an investigation fee.”

Huy leaned over. “I propose to establish a peace egg fund.”

Mai pushed the bowl of soup towards An. “Eat. Your face looks like someone who just got counted against the budget.”

An almost choked. Khang looked at her, his eyes calm but as if he had realized something. She quickly drank water.

In the afternoon, Mr. Hoang gave the class a group assignment: design a project to renovate the corner of the yard behind the library to participate in the Creativity Day. Each group has one million VND from the school fund and must find a way to turn a yard full of broken bricks into a free reading or living space.

“Each group of six people,” the teacher said. “Don't just make pretty drawings. I want to know how you will keep the project alive after the festival.”

Khang was immediately chosen to be the leader of the final group because he had the highest score. Mai received the design part, Huy was in charge of communications, and An was assigned the budget. Like standing in the other group, arms crossed, listening to the teacher's assignment.

“Do you know how to do a budget?” Khang asked An.

“I know.”

"Good. But here we cannot buy with an unlimited budget.”

An looked at him. “I know.”

“I just warn you so you don't suggest building a new library.”

“I never suggested it.”

“The look you just suggested.”

During group work time, An listed the costs of wooden pallets, paint, solar lights and bookshelves. She calculated very quickly, so fast that Khang had to remind her to slow down so everyone could keep up. Mai suggested using plastic bottles as plant pots. Huy wants to set up a mailbox for students to send jokes. Khang suggested borrowing old books from the neighborhood.

“If done well, the corner of the yard can become a place where everyone can sit,” he said. “No need to buy tickets, no need to order, no one asks for scores.”

An looked at the sketch. She never thought a small place could feel so spacious.

At the end of the session, Khang gave each person a duty schedule. An took the job of sweeping the yard at six forty in the morning.

“Six forty?” she asked.

“Yes. The school opens at six thirty.”

“But I take the bus.”

“Then get on the flight earlier.”

An thought he was joking. Khang did not laugh. She looked at the calendar, then looked at the oil stains on his wrist. This person was clearly used to the day starting before sunrise.

That night, An returned to the small rented room his father had prepared. The room only has a bed, a desk and a fan that sounds like a tractor. She called her father and told her about the lunch box.

“I bought one back,” she said.

“Good. What did you learn?

“A blue box doesn't mean it's yours.”

Her father was silent, then laughed. An also laughed, but after hanging up, she opened the lunch box, took the remaining egg and put it on a plate. She thought about her classmate in class 10B2 and the apology note. A day at public school turns out it doesn't take major events to make people change. All it takes is a mishandled lunch box, an extra egg, and a friend saying that the cafeteria doesn't sell free advice.

After the call, An decided to cook dinner herself. She opened the refrigerator and saw three eggs, a bunch of vegetables and half a carrot. She searched online for how to boil soft-boiled eggs, but the internet was unstable and the video kept stopping at the part where the instructor said "very simple". An put the eggs in the pot, forgot to turn down the heat, and then heard the sound of the shell cracking.

When I opened the lid, an egg burst. She cleaned the stove, cracked the second fruit, and dropped half the shell into the bowl. The third ripe fruit is as hard as a marble. An looked at the three results, took a photo and sent it to Mai.

Mai replied: “At least you have created three levels of experience.”

An ate eggs with boiled vegetables and found it not bad. She wrote in her notebook: “Boiling eggs: need a timer.” Below, she added: "Do not take Huy's advice about cooking."

The next morning, class 10B2 came to class 11A4. He brought with him a washed lunch box and a small bag of cakes. He bowed his head and apologized to An, saying that his mother had told him that if he took the wrong thing, he had to pay back the entire portion he had taken.

“Your mother taught you right,” An said. “But you don't need to make up for it.”

“I want.”

An accepted a cake, then gave the whole bag back to him. "We split it in half. That way no one owes anyone else."

Khang stood at the classroom door and heard. He didn't comment, but gave the boy a piece of paper with the name of the class and the later opening time for Ticketless Backyard. The boy said he would bring comics.

During Math class, Mr. Bang gave out a short test. An did it quickly, but forgot to change the unit in the last sentence. Khang looked at the article and did not mention it. When the teacher paid, An lost two points. She was upset because of a small mistake, and Huy said those two points could be used to buy four candies.

“Do you always turn everything into a price?” An asked.

“I'm helping you see that grades aren't the end of the world.”

An looked at point eight, then looked at the lunch box and cake bag. Day two taught her that mistakes can be fixed with an apology, an egg, or a redo. It's not always necessary to have a big meeting.

In the afternoon, the group writes a list of materials. An suggested using old newspaper to line the shelves, Mai mentioned the paper would be damp, Khang suggested covering it with beeswax. Huy asked if beeswax could be eaten. The whole group unanimously told him not to try. Laughter echoed in the yard, and An saw for the first time that he was no longer a newcomer.

Before leaving, Mr. Hoang reminded each group to write down one thing they did not know. An wrote: "I don't know a person who can apologize without making himself feel smaller." Khang read it and told her to keep that sentence for when she needed it.

When the bus left the school gate, An opened the budget book and recalculated the price of a meal. She added another line: "Ask first doesn't make you inferior." Then she closed the book and looked at the washed lunch box in her backpack. Day two ended with a hard egg, a Math error, and a lesson that wasn't on the schedule.