Chapter 9 — Second Floor Library Girl

After the rain, Phuc's bread stall began to have more customers, students coming to the library.

Not everyone buys cakes. Some children just stood next to the cart and asked Ngoc how to register for the card, then conveniently ordered a loaf of bread without vegetables. Bao discovered that and immediately announced that the library had become a marketing strategy.

“Are you selling cakes or books?” Lam asked.

“I sell the connection between the two.”

“What is the connection?”

“Hungry readers.”

Phuc gave him a bunch of wrapping paper. “Pack the goods.”

Ngoc didn't plan to work the counter today. She only stopped by to return a notebook and ask Phuc about the duty schedule. But his grandmother was resting on the chair, and Phuc had to grill meat and check customer messages. Ngoc tied her hair with a rubber band she brought along.

"What do you do?" Phuc asked.

“I'll help.”

“Do you know how to do it?”

“I learned it once.”

“Once is not enough.”

“Then teach me a second time.”

Phuc taught her how to use tongs, how to fold paper, and how to know if a customer wants it spicy. Ngoc slows down, but does not drop vegetables. A 10th grade boy received the cake, looked at her and smiled.

“Are you the bakery lady?”

Ngoc paused. Phuc immediately looked at the boy.

"She's the new cake wrapper. Eat it."

“I heard you're rich.”

“I heard you have to pay to get the cake.”

The boy shut up and received the bag. Ngoc didn't know whether to thank Phuc or remind him not to cover up. She continued to wrap the cake, but her hands were stiffer.

At noon, there were no customers. Phuc gave her a cup of kumquat tea.

“You don't need to speak for yourself.”

"I won't speak for you. I stopped the boy from asking unrelated questions."

“What if I want to answer it myself?”

"Next time you answer. I won't interrupt then."

Ngoc nodded. “You learned.”

“I learn quickly when prompted.”

“Do I mention it a lot?”

“You have the list.”

In the afternoon, Ms. Hanh announced that the library would be chosen as one of three locations to host the "Ten Minutes with a Book" contest. Each class nominates a team, which can present, recite or reenact scenes from the book. The second floor reading room must demonstrate adequate space and safety procedures.

Minh Chau makes a schedule. Lam wants to choose a book of Vietnamese literature. Bao wants to read the instructions for using the rice cooker because "no one knows the ending". Phuc suggests letting students make their own suggestions, the library only supports them.

Ngoc designed the registration form. She added the section "do you need a quiet space or want to discuss after reading". Phuc looked and said this item was not in the field form.

“I want to know what they need.”

“They may not know.”

“Then let them choose.”

Some classes register immediately. One class did not register because the class president said they did not have time. Ngoc went down to ask and discovered that her friends were afraid of being graded according to their reading voice. Lam suggested allowing poster presentations or audio recordings. Ms. Hanh agreed to add the form.

Phuc heard the news and asked why she always found more ways.

“Because if there was only one way, many people would be eliminated before they even started.”

“You talk like someone who has been eliminated.”

Ngoc shut up. She was accepted everywhere before applying, because her father knew her. She has never been eliminated in that sense. But she was used to being looked at like a last name, no one asked her what she wanted.

“I was chosen for things that didn't belong to me,” she said. “It's also annoying.”

Phuc did not ask further. He just said: "Then let's make the ballot clearer."

On the day of the test, the second floor was packed. The group must line up outside the door and take turns entering. Bao was wearing a "tour guide" sign, but the directions were wrong time. Lam pasted the new arrow. Phuc checks the electrical outlet, Ngoc keeps the list.

A 12th grader trembled while reading. He forgot a part, someone below laughed. Ngoc intended to remind him to keep quiet, but he stopped himself, took a breath, and continued reading in a slower voice. When it ended, Phuc was the first to clap.

“He reads well,” Phuc told the room. “Forgetting one line doesn't ruin the whole story.”

Ngoc looked at him, seeing that he was probably saying something about himself.

After the tryout, a new post appeared: "The second floor library turns into a stage, who gets priority?" The poster did not say his name, but implied that Ngoc's group only chose close friends.

Minh Chau was upset. Lam wants to make the list public. Ngoc checked the ballot and saw that all teams were ranked according to registration time, with no priority.

Phuc said: "Give data, don't argue with the poster."

Ngoc posted a calendar with hidden personal information, including how to register a complaint. She did not respond to offensive comments. Bao wrote a line below the article: "If you want to argue, please line up according to number." Ms. Hanh deleted that line.

“I'm helping,” Bao said.

“You are doing the post with extra work,” Minh Chau replied.

The official contest takes place one week later. The Ngoc group did not participate to avoid being said to be biased. Bao was disappointed, but Phuc said the library didn't need someone to take the stage.

“Can I read the owner's manual?” Bao asked.

“If you can find the book,” Lam replied.

The night before the competition, Ngoc received a text message from an unknown number: "Do you think you're different because you have money?" She deleted it, restored it, deleted it again. Phuc was on duty with her, seeing the look on her face.

“Bad message?”

"A little bit."

“Do you want to tell Ms. Hanh?”

"No. I want to answer for myself."

“Are you sure?”

“No. But I want to practice.”

Phuc sat down at the other table and opened the loan book. You didn't ask about the content of the message. The two worked in silence. A moment later, Ngoc wrote back: "I don't think I'm different from other people. I'm just learning to be responsible for what I have. You don't need to believe me, but don't use my photos without asking."

She sent. A minute later, the strange number replied with a difficult sentence. Ngoc felt her hands were cold. Phuc put down the pen.

“Do you want to delete?”

"No. I will save it to inform Ms. Hanh if needed."

"Okay."

“Didn't you say you had to be tough?”

“No. Being tough doesn't mean keeping things to yourself.”

Ngoc looked at him. “You are learning how to comfort.”

“I'm trying.”

On the day of the exam, she was not on stage. She stood at the door of the reading room, directing traffic and reminding viewers not to block the way. Phuc did the sound, Lam managed the team, Minh Chau recorded the time. They told me to sell drinks but they were not allowed to bring cakes inside.

A 10th grade team reenacted the story of a little girl finding her way home. They used old chairs as a house, no need for expensive backdrops. The audience was silent throughout the finale.

When every team finished, the principal thanked the team for opening the reading room. Ms. Hanh said success is not the number of people clapping, but the number of people who dare to step in for the first time.

Ngoc looked at the door. There was a friend standing outside and didn't go in because he thought he wasn't registered. She shows you the rest, then hands over a thin book.

“Can I borrow it?”

“Yes. Write your name and expected payment date.”

“What if I pay late?”

"Newspaper."

“What if you're shy?”

Phuc said from the librarian's desk: "Just leave a message. The library won't bite."

Bao added: “Only I bite cake."

The other friend smiled and wrote his name. Ngoc looked at the new text in the notebook, seeing that the lost pages were no longer the only center. Each new line is a way the room rewrites its history.

After closing, Phuc showed Ngoc the attendance report. There were eighty-seven students, twelve teams, and twenty-three additional borrowed books. Ngoc wrote down each number, then added a line "the four of you entered the reading room for the first time".

“You wrote this down too?” Phuc asked.

“That's the part I'm most interested in.”

“Can't measure accurately.”

“Then write down the measurement. Next time ask the person who walks in if he's been here before."

Phuc nodded. “Are you going to make everything into tables?”

"Are not. There are things that just need to be remembered.”

“What do you remember?”

Ngoc looked at the chair in the corner of the room, where her 10th grade classmate had just sat reading. “Remember today someone was standing outside and then walked in.”

Phuc locked the door. In his hand was a notebook with a page missing, in Ngoc's pocket was a leaf-shaped clip. The two went down the stairs, no one said the contest was over, because with the library, each person borrowing a new book is another beginning.

At the gate, Phuc checked the guest list and then suddenly asked Ngoc if she was afraid of that text message again today. Ngoc honestly said that it still exists, but the feeling is smaller. She doesn't want fear to decide whether she opens or closes the door.

“You don't need to win against the sender,” Phuc said. “Just keep the right to choose how to answer.”

Ngoc looked at the cake counter, where her grandmother was folding paper and Bao secretly took a vegetable. “Are you always right when you say this?”

"Are not. One day I said something wrong.”

“What day?”

“On the first day, I told you I didn't know the bus stop.”

“You're right.”

“So I still have a high rate.”

Ngoc smiled. She got on the bus with an unread book in her bag, feeling that the exam day was over but the work of listening had just begun. A reading room is opened with a key, while the trust needs to be reopened every day.

The next morning, Ms. Hanh announced a new rule for filming activities: anyone who wants to film must register the area, time and person in charge. Bao asked what if he was secretly filming while eating. Ms. Hanh said you have the right to request removal, but you should also avoid standing in the middle of the aisle.

“You're blaming the victim,” Bao said.

“I'm reminding you to stand in the right place.”

Ngoc laughed, then helped Ms. Hanh prepare a simple registration form. Phuc suggested adding the box "Are there any children or people who do not want to appear?" Lam said this box is long, but symbols can be used with explanations.

A 10th grader wanted to make a book introduction video without turning his face. The group helps me use the angle of my hand to turn the pages, read with my voice, and use the window image. The video didn't have many views, but one person commented that they wanted to come and read it.

Ngoc realized that the media does not need to make users the main characters. Sometimes just let them know when the door opens.

Phuc asked if she wanted to save the video in the library. Ngoc said he had to ask the worker. She agreed, but wanted to write the group's name, not the individual's name. Jade respects.

At the end of the week, the number of subscribers increased. Bao complained because he didn't have enough pens. Ngoc ordered additional pens from the fund, but clearly stated the quantity and where to keep them. Phuc reminded her that someone should check the inventory. She assigned the job to a 10th grader and did not keep it herself.

The second floor became a place where many people practiced saying "I want", "I don't want" and "I need to ask more". Ngoc sees that as the most important result of those chaotic days.