Chapter 10 — Music Sent After School

Sponsor SoundSeed

The meeting took place in the council chamber, where every chair had a straight back and every glass of water was placed at the exact same distance. Ha Audio representative came with a blue folder with the word SoundSeed printed on the cover. Nhien recognized the woman sitting at the head of the table: Ms. Phuong, the company's communications director, used to appear at family parties.

Ms. Phuong did not look at Nhien for too long. "We want to support the school in upgrading the radio room, providing equipment and a content training program. In return, SoundSeed will be featured in the broadcasts."

Duy asked: "Introduction at what level?"

“A thank you at the end of the program.”

“And the right to use the recordings for promotion?”

Ms. Phuong flipped through the documents. “Only recordings made during the grant period, after school approval.”

“What about student consent?”

Miss Mai looked up. “Yes. Each student must agree individually.”

Ms. Phuong smiled, but in her smile there was a hint of calculation. “Of course. We have the form.”

Lam please see sample. Section 4 states: participants allow the use of voice, images and recordings for communication purposes without time limit. Lam read each line slowly, then pushed the paper back.

“How long is no time limit?”

“There is no limit.”

“So if I graduate, my voice will still be in a fifty-year-old commercial?”

“If appropriate campaign.”

Lam folded paper. “I don't think it's appropriate.”

The air in the room is colder. The principal reminded students to maintain a polite attitude. Duy asked about the right to remove content. Ms. Phuong said all requests must be sent through the company. Nhien looked at his father, he sat at the end of the table, not directly participating but present.

“Do you know this clause?” she asked.

Minh Quang replied: "This is a form from the legal department."

“Have you read it yet?”

"Have."

“Are you feeling okay, Dad?”

He looked at her, not answering immediately. “It can be fixed.”

Duy leaned back in his chair. “So why bring the unedited version here?”

Ms. Phuong interjected: "All cooperation is negotiable. The important thing is that the radio room needs equipment."

“The device is not more important than the speaker,” Duy said.

Nhien saw her father look at Duy, then at her. Perhaps he understood that these verses were not just about a classroom.

After the meeting, Minh Quang called Nhien to the hallway. “You want to confront the company in front of the school?”

“I want to know if SoundSeed used Duy's father's song.”

"Are not."

“Are you sure?”

“Dad doesn't allow that version to be used.”

“But dad signed the contract.”

“The contract has not been completed.”

“Where is the torn page?”

Minh Quang is quiet. Nhien realized that he was not unaware. He is choosing the part of the truth that hurts the least.

“I need you to tell the truth.”

“I will tell you when I can.”

“That's the phrase adults use when they want children to wait indefinitely.”

Minh Quang sighed. "Of course, there are people who are using you to beat me. Don't let them win."

“If you stay quiet, will they win or will I win?”

He did not reply.

In room 3C, Lam hung the contract form on the board. Khang used a red pen to circle dangerous phrases. Ms. Mai asks everyone not to sign anything before getting legal advice from the school.

“So the sponsor wants to buy our voices,” Lam said.

“They call it usage rights,” Nhien replied.

“Changing the name doesn't make it any nicer.”

Duy holds a photocopy. “I won't accept the equipment if the terms remain the same.”

“If there is no equipment, no will continue to use the old machine,” Khang said. “It could die at any time.”

“Let's fix it.”

“Where is the money?”

“I work part-time.”

Lam shook his head. “The club can't make one person carry the whole room.”

Nhien opened her purse, intending to say she could buy a device herself. Duy saw it and immediately shook his head.

“No.”

“You haven't said anything.”

“Look at your wallet and you'll know.”

“What if I loan it to the club?”

“It's still your money.”

“So I donate anonymously.”

“Not even more.”

Nhien is upset. “You want to fix your room with faith?”

“Want to fix it by letting everyone take responsibility.”

“Everyone doesn't have the same conditions.”

“So we shouldn't let one buyer make the decision.”

Lam sighed. "Two people arguing is like two songs with different rhythms but still trying to match."

Nhien left the hallway. She didn't want to admit that Duy was partly right. She is used to solving difficulties with available resources, while he is used to finding ways to avoid being indebted to others. Both make sense, but reason does not create money to repair the machine.

At the end of the session, Lam proposed raising funds with a live radio night. Students can send messages in exchange for club crafts. Khang sells keychains made from broken cables. Repairing free radios in a corner of the yard. Nhien designed a sound board, recording each person's contribution.

“We don't buy machines with one person,” Lam declared. “We buy it for the whole school.”

The idea was supported by many classes, but that day, a hidden account posted another photo: Nhien standing in the council room, next to the SoundSeed document. Caption: **She chose the company.**

One comment asked: "So how much did Duy's song sell for?"

Duy read and closed the phone. “Don't answer.”

“Don't answer again?” Nhien asked.

“Rumors don't need truth to live.”

“But I need to tell the truth so I don't lose my friends.”

Duy looked at her. “I never said you were my enemy.”

“You don't say it, but you always stand far away.”

“Because you stand on the other side of a door.”

“You never knocked on the door.”

Lam pulled them both into the room and placed a list of tasks in front of them. “Are you done arguing? Need to record a fundraising introduction.”

They sat next to each other in front of the microphone. Lam counts down. Nhien talked about the radio room. Duy talked about his right to keep his voice. No one mentioned Ha Audio, but listeners still understand this is an option.

At the end of the recording, Duy added a sentence: "If you send a sound, send the story behind it."

Immediately after the program played, the mailbox received a file from the official SoundSeed address.

File name: **Collaboration proposal — Track 03**.

Attached is the new contract, with only one line highlighted in yellow:

**The ultimate beneficiary of the work will be determined once source verification is complete.**

Nhien looked at the text. Duy clenched his fist.

Someone is trying to turn a song from two families into an item that has no owner.

After the meeting, Ms. Mai asked the group to re-read each item in the SoundSeed contract, this time looking not only for bad terms but also for terms that could be fixed. Khang discovered that the device section allowed the company to collect undefined "usage data". Lam suggested recording it as "aggregated number of plays, no identity saved". Course adds a deadline to delete logs after thirty days.

Duy asked if the club had enough management capacity. Nhien said they don't need to do it all themselves; They need to know which questions to ask a professional.

Ha Audio sent an engineer named Bao to explain how to protect the data. He does not advertise products, only teaches how to set passwords and save originals. Bao said a good device cannot save a bad process.

Lam asked: “So can a good club save bad equipment?”

“If patient.”

Khang looked at the cracked speaker. “Did he hear that?”

The speaker made a beeping sound as an answer.

The fundraiser was expanded. Students sell postcards with QR codes leading to the audio store, but Nhien checked that QR does not collect personal data. Aunt Huong donated several small radios; Each one has a story of its previous owner.

Minh Quang offered to buy all the radios to help, but Nhien asked him to only buy at the public price like everyone else. He agreed, without bargaining.

That night, the group recorded a program about “conditional gifts.” Lam read the question, Duy talked about the microphone, Nhien talked about the right to choose. No one mentioned SoundSeed by name. Listeners send gifts that once made them awkward: scholarships, phone calls, promises. At the end of the program, they asked: "Do you want to thank, refuse or negotiate?"

The mailbox is full. Listeners don't just listen to the radio; they started talking about their rights.

Before locking the room, Nhien looked at the new equipment box that was still closed. Duy did not open it, but put a label on the outside: **For use only after the terms and conditions are revised.**

The label makes Lam not see clearly enough. She added the line: **If you don't understand the terms, ask the person in charge.** Khang placed a sample contract next to the box, using a pen to mark the items that needed fixing. No one secretly used the new microphone even though the old one kept making noise.

At the end of the week, Minh Quang invited student representatives to the company, not to persuade, but to listen. Duy asked if the company had ever sold children's records. He replied that there are old projects that use common releases, but from now on, voice rights will be separated. Ms. Mai asked words to turn into processes.

Nhien realized her father could not fix twelve years in one day. But you can stop asking people to believe before seeing the papers.

Room 3C broadcasts weekend numbers using an old microphone. A buzzing sound appeared at the beginning, Lam stopped it and said: "This is the sound of the machine trying." Listeners responded that they preferred the authentic feel to the clean version.

Duy sent a message: "Bad equipment can still tell stories."

Nhien replied: "As long as the narrator has the right to choose."

Khang closed the microphone box, Lam checked the door lock. Ms. Mai stood in the hallway, looked at the room, then said: "In three days, you must show the school board that this is a classroom, not a secret box."

Nhien looked at the planning board. There are broadcast schedules, sound maps, equipment reports and names of people who will be questioned. She didn't know if she could save the room, but for the first time she knew where to start.