Chapter 2 — Pride And Scholarship

On the third day of school, Hoai An rushed to class after finishing his morning tutoring session for a seventh grade student near his home. She held a heavy stack of books in her arms, trying to squeeze through the crowd of students gathering in the hallway to get to class before the bell rang.

Just as she turned the corner of the hallway, she bumped into someone walking in the opposite direction, the stack of books in her hand scattered to the floor, and at the same time there was a "clang" sound of something falling.

“Don't you have eyes?” a cold voice rang out.

Hoai An looked up and immediately recognized that it was Bao Tran - the young lady she had seen getting out of the limousine on the first day of school. At Bao Tran's feet were broken pieces of an exquisitely decorated porcelain cup, perhaps she had just brought it from home to give to someone.

“Sorry, I didn't mean it,” Hoai An quickly bent down to pick up the book, her voice sincere, “Can I make it up to you?”

Bao Tran looked down at the pile of old books, some of which were worn out from being used over many years, then glanced at Hoai An's old shoes, her eyes clearly showing undisguised contempt. "Are you paying for it? That glass is imported from Italy, its value is equal to your entire year's tuition, what are you paying for it?"

That sentence was like an invisible slap straight to Hoai An's self-esteem. Around her, several other students stopped and curiously observed the situation, making her even more embarrassed.

"I'm sorry for breaking your things," Hoai An said, trying to keep his voice calm even though he was seething inside, "but I don't think you need to say that. It was just an unexpected accident."

"Accident or not, it's because of your carelessness," Bao Tran replied, her voice still cold, "scholarship students should know their fate, walk a little more carefully, don't let them bump into things they can't compensate for."

The words "scholarship student" were emphasized by Bao Tran with a clear ironic tone, making Hoai An feel hot blood rush to her face. She intended to respond more harshly, but she held back, remembering her mother's advice to stay calm and not let herself fall into unnecessary arguments right in the first days of school.

"I already apologized," Hoai An said, her voice was firm but still polite, "if you still want me to make amends, I will find a way, even though it may take more time than you expected. But I think, the way you are talking is not very suitable for a model student of the school."

Those words made Bao Tran pause for a second, not expecting the poor girl in front of her to dare to respond so frankly, instead of bowing her head and apologizing profusely like most other students do every time they face her.

“What's your name?” Bao Tran asked, her eyes narrowed, full of scrutiny.

“Nguyen Hoai An,” she replied, standing straight, her eyes not avoiding.

“Okay,” Bao Tran said, her voice cold, “I will remember this name.”

Having finished speaking, she turned and walked away, leaving debris on the floor and a tense atmosphere still hanging in the hallway. A few students around whispered, some looked at Hoai An with shy eyes, others seemed to gloat at the rare sight of someone daring to respond to Bao Tran.

"You're really brave," Lan Phuong ran over, helping Hoai An pick up the remaining books, her voice was both worried and a bit admiring, "few people dare to speak frankly. It's like that with Bao Tran, he's known for taking small matters to heart."

"I just said what needed to be said," Hoai An replied, although inside he couldn't help but worry at his friend's warning, "I don't think I was wrong to protect my own self-esteem."

“I understand,” Lan Phuong nodded, “it's just, you should be a little more careful. Bao Tran has a great influence in school, many people have been troubled by him over small things."

Hoai An nodded, remembering the warning, but still did not regret the way he reacted. She told herself that no matter what difficulties she faced at this new school, she would not lose her self-esteem just because of the gap between rich and poor.

At recess, news of the collision spread throughout grade 10. Even a few upperclassmen stopped by class 10A2 to see for themselves what "the girl who dared to argue with Bao Tran" looked like. Hoai An sat quietly at his desk, trying to ignore the curious eyes that were focused on him, his hands still bent over reviewing this morning's lesson.

“You've become famous so quickly,” a male student sitting at the top table turned down and smiled teasingly, “it's only been three days and you've already become the center of attention of the whole class.”

“I didn't mean to become famous,” Hoai An replied, smiling wryly, “it was just an accident.”

“Yeah, I know,” that male friend — named Gia Huy, who Hoai An later learned was close to Bao Tran's group of friends — said, his voice somewhat probing, “but you should be careful. Bao Tran is not someone who easily ignores anything."

That warning made Hoai An a little nervous, but she tried not to let it affect her mood too much. She focused on her studies, telling herself that as long as she kept up her grades and did nothing wrong, there was nothing to worry about.

In the afternoon, on the way home, Hoai An stopped by Aunt Sau's small grocery store as usual to help sell goods for a few hours to earn extra income. Aunt Sau, a kind middle-aged woman who had known Hoai An's family for a long time, immediately recognized her unusual pensive expression.

“What's wrong with your sad face?” Aunt Sau asked, giving Hoai An a glass of cool sugarcane juice.

Hoai An recounted the entire morning incident, from the collision to Gia Huy's warning. After listening, Aunt Sau patted her shoulder to comfort her.

“Don't worry too much,” she said, her voice warm, “in life, anyone who lives with dignity and self-respect will be respected sooner or later. Just stand your ground, don't let idle threats scare you."

Auntie Sau's sincere encouragement made Hoai An feel somewhat lighter. She continued her job as a sales assistant with a more enthusiastic spirit, silently telling herself that, no matter how challenging the new school was, she would not let herself be overcome by the pressure from the class gap that she was facing every day.

That night, after completing her homework, Hoai An texted and told the whole story to Thao Nhi, her best friend since middle school, now studying at a public school near her home. Thao Nhi, even though she's not in the same school, is always the first friend Hoai An turns to when she has something to share.

"That girl is so arrogant," Thao Nhi texted back, along with a few angry emoticons, "don't be afraid of her, just live with dignity, no one can do anything to you."

"I'm not afraid," Hoai An texted back, "I'm just a little worried, because I heard that girl has a great influence in the school, I'm afraid it will make it difficult for me to study."

"Let it go," Thao Nhi reassured, "you're such a good student, just focus on studying. Besides, I'm here, whenever you need to talk, just call me, I'm ready to listen."

Reading the warm messages from her best friend, Hoai An felt much more relieved. She put down the phone, looked out the small window, the late moonlight shining down on the quiet alley, thinking about the days ahead at the new school that were full of challenges but also contained many opportunities for her to prove herself.

She took out a small notebook and wrote down a short line as a reminder to herself: "Even if their starting points are different, a person's value does not lie in what they own, but in how they treat others and the effort they put in." She closed the notebook, turned off the light and went to bed, preparing herself for a new and challenging day waiting ahead at the prestigious Royal School.

At the same time, in a luxurious villa on the other side of the city, Bao Tran sat alone in a private room, her eyes still lingering with some frustration from the morning's incident. She opened her laptop, typed in the name "Nguyen Hoai An" on the school's student information system, curious to know more about the girl who dared to answer her frankly.

The search results showed Hoai An's admission scoreboard — an almost perfect score, much higher than Bao Tran's score when she took the school entrance exam three years ago. Bao Tran frowned, the uncomfortable feeling in her heart became more obvious.

“Just a scholarship student,” she muttered to herself, closing her laptop, trying to put this unnecessary curiosity aside.

But no matter how hard she tried not to think about it, the image of the girl with steadfast eyes, unafraid of her threat, still lingered in Bao Tran's mind, arousing a strange feeling that she had never experienced before - a mixture of discomfort, curiosity, and somewhere, a bit like reluctant admiration that she absolutely did not want to admit to herself.