Chapter 27 — Music Sent After School

After the meeting ended, it suddenly started to rain. The remaining people pulled their chairs close to the wall and heard the sound of water tapping on the corrugated iron roof like a steady drum beat. Nhien opened the voting record, named the file according to convention and then backed it up to the club's hard drive. She doesn't want an important decision to exist only on her personal computer.

Duy picked up two cups of hot tea from the canteen. "One glass without sugar, one glass with little sugar. I guess."

“You guessed right.” Nhien received the glass of sugar and looked at him in surprise. “How do you know?”

"Last time you mistakenly drank Lam's cup but still tried to drink it all. People can drink bitter coffee but don't like being chosen by others."

Nhien intended to tease back, but that sentence hit exactly what she had been avoiding. Her mother chose the school, chose how to appear, even chose the name she should use in interviews. She thought it was a security guard. Now she understands that protecting does not mean depriving a person of their right to self-determination.

Quynh Lam pulled the whiteboard back and wrote four words "who owns the voice?". Khang looked at the words and said that the question sounded like a philosophy exam that made him want to go home. Lam did not delete. She divided the group into three parts: the receiver, the editor, and the person mentioned by name in the story. Each section requires a separate consent box. Duy suggested adding a box allowing the recording to be withdrawn within seven days, in case the sender changes his mind.

The debate lasted more than one class period. Sometimes people talked on top of each other, other times the room was completely silent. Ms. Mai did not solve the problem for her. She just notes the points of disagreement and reminds that a good rule is one that the least powerful person can understand.

Towards the end, Nhien suggested trying the process with her own records. She talked about the first time she stepped into the broadcasting room, about the uniform she borrowed from her friend and the lie that she already knew how to use a mixing desk. Lam re-read the summary, Khang checked her personal information, Duy asked which paragraph she wanted to keep. Nhien manually pressed the agree button.

Outside the window, the rain gradually lightened. A new message appeared on the phone: “Thank you for giving me the right to change my mind.” Nhien looked at Duy. The two of them didn't say anything, but they both understood that the open sound store didn't just preserve the voice. It holds the right to silence, the right to correct, and the right to start again.

The council votes by double-fold paper. People who do not want to give a reason can still vote. Lam counted in front of everyone, Khang recorded the results, Nhien saved the minutes after the whole group agreed.

One abstention was maintained. Ms. Mai said blank votes are also information: some people do not believe enough to choose. Open Frequency did not try to pull them towards the majority, just opened another question and answer session.

Open sound warehouse

After the public listening session, the club votes on how to save and share the project. Nhien presented three options: keep it completely private, let it be listened to internally, or partially open it under a clear license. Duy recommends an open audio repository: students' recordings are not for sale, are shared for education, always recorded and allowed to withdraw.

Lam asked: “What if the sender changes his mind after a year?”

“Withdrawal.”

“What if someone else edits it and reposts it?”

“Must acknowledge the source and respect the conditions.”

Khang added a report violation button on the repository page. New members design easy-to-read forms. Ms. Mai requested the school board's approval so that the warehouse does not depend on an individual.

Voting took place in room 3C. Each person has a paper ballot, there is no voting by turns prefer. Results 19 out of 22 agree. The remaining three votes want to keep it more secret. The project was approved with a limit: only open recordings with consensus, not tape 03.

Nhien named the warehouse **Open Frequency**. Duy sent from the studio a train sound clip, with a license for educational use. Lam said he was starting to understand how to speak at length.

“I have a good part,” Duy said over the call. “The train stopped, the door opened, someone said ‘sorry’ for being late.”

“Don't tell everything, let the listener hear for themselves.”

“I'm practicing.”

Khang built a repository page on the school's server. The principal asked not to collect excessive listener data. However, the configuration does not store long-term IP, does not use advertising, and does not display the name if the sender chooses to hide it.

“You're turning the radio room into a library,” Lam said.

“The library has books.”

“This warehouse has the sound of chickens.”

“Chickens are also history.”

On the day of launch, Vu Tan's account posted a post saying that an open sound store is a way to "circumvent ownership rights". The school's attorney responded with a written permit, not arguing. Some people understand, some don't.

Minh Quang announced that Ha Audio will transfer all After School Frequency records to Huy's school and family, and at the same time establish a community sound preservation fund. He did not put his name on the fund.

Duy heard the news and just said: "He is doing the right thing."

Nhien asked: "Have you forgiven?"

“No. But I don't need to keep the same answer forever.”

At the studio, Duy was assigned to record a short film. He called after school, telling me about the sound of the projector, the sound of chairs, and an actor forgetting his words. Nhien heard and saw that the distance between the two cities was no longer just a railway line.

“Do you miss me?” Duy asked.

“I remember the sound of you turning the gain.”

“That's a roundabout way of saying it.”

“You learn quickly.”

Duy laughed. “I miss you.”

Nhien was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Me too."

Lam shouted from the next room: "Finally!"

The call was immediately turned off because Khang plugged in the wrong speaker. The whole room laughed.

During that week, Ms. Lan sent a certified copy of the last page. Duy decided to put the original in a closed warehouse, and the copy of the terms and conditions was posted on the transparency page. The Letter Without Envelope is recorded, not commercially distributed.

Vu Tan withdrew the lawsuit after the lawyer confirmed the terms. Dat agreed to be a witness, in exchange for protection from coercion. Ngoc became a security consultant for Open Frequency, not accepting the SoundSeed logo.

Each person fixes a part of the old error, but no one calls it a clean slate.

Room 3C was repainted. Lam chose a green color that was too bright, Khang wanted a technical gray, Nhien suggested a text sound wall. In the end they painted three patches, none of which were exactly alike.

There is a new sign on the door: **Broadcast ROOM — AFTER SCHOOL.**

A small line below: **Please ask permission before turning on the microphone.**

Duy sent a message: **I'll come back tomorrow to try the final version.**

Nhien replied: **Don't come empty-handed.**

**I know the name of the train.**

**That's enough.**

That night, file 27 appeared from the old account. There was no threat, just the sound of a lock being placed on the table. Ms. Mai listened and realized it was the key to the radio room in 2014.

The male voice said: “I've been holding it in for too long.”

No one knows who the speaker is. But for the first time, that sentence didn't make them run to find it. They record, save the file and wait for the person to speak for themselves.

The Open Frequency Council met for the first time with enough representatives of students, teachers and community. Each person has a vote, but the sound creator has the right to veto his or her recording. This rule is long and difficult to remember, so Lam made it into a comic book.

Khanh presents the backup system. Course of withdrawal policy. Maintain attribution. Ms. Mai asked what to do if a person loses contact. They agreed that the recording would be kept private and not automatically opened.

Aunt Huong said: "Leaving it alone is also a decision."

Minh Quang does not have a special vote. He is only authorized to speak as a support person. Nhien finds that more important than any promise.

The open audio store receives recordings from another elementary school. A girl recorded the sound of shoe laces, asking to remain anonymous. The group sent back an illustrated consent form. She chose to allow listening at school but not downloading.

“She knows her rights,” Lam said.

“Because she was asked in easy-to-understand language,” Nhien replied.

Duy sent the train sound, but had to wait for the studio's confirmation because the receiver belonged to his workplace. He did not circumvent the process, even though the file was not commercially important.

At the end of the month, “After Listening” is played in media class. Students listen and then record the class's voice. There was the sound of tables being pulled, the sound of fans, and laughter. The teacher asks which part belongs to whom. Not everyone answered correctly, but everyone started asking.

Nhien received news that Duy was invited to work on a long-term project. You will go more. She wasn't entirely happy, but didn't see his opportunity as a betrayal of room 3C.

“I go to study and then bring it back,” he said.

“Bring sound, not bad terms.”

"Okay."

The Open Frequency Council approved the new operating schedule. One open listening session per month, one short program per week, and one permission and security check per quarter. No one can change the terms without informing the council.

Create easy-to-read forms on paper and phone. Duy sent recording instructions from the studio, Lam turned it into a humorous example, Khang checked that no excess data was recorded.

An elementary school sends out the sound of students' sandals. They forgot to put the creator's name, so the repository kept the copy on standby. The whole class sent back the consent form, then it was opened. That small story became an example in the training session.

Minh Quang asked if he could attend a listening session. Nhien said he needed to register like everyone else. He filled out the form, sat in the last row and did not bring an assistant.

Duy called after school. The sound of the train was farther away, but his voice was close. Nhien asked him if he had eaten yet. He said he had eaten, Lam checked the message and confirmed.

“Is the whole club monitoring me?”

“It's a community right,” Lam replied.

The group laughed. File 27 is saved with the note: "Many people keep it together, one person does not have to bear it alone."

“Is the whole club monitoring me?”

“It's a community right,” Lam replied.

The group laughed. File 27 is saved with the note: "Many people keep it together, one person does not have to bear it alone."