Chapter 16 — Seeds After the Rain

Part IV — Peer Pressure

The last days before the event passed in an unprecedented rush. Gia Huy had to complete the end-of-semester exams and devote all his remaining time to preparing for the Open Garden Festival, to the point that he was almost exhausted every time he laid down on his bed at the end of the day.

On the first Monday of the week, when Gia Huy just entered class, Dang Khoi pulled him out into the hallway, his face unusually serious. "I need to know your answer," he said, without beating around the bush. "Are you going to the beach with us this Sunday?"

"I..." Gia Huy hesitated, clearly feeling his friend's probing eyes. "I think I will stay to participate in the club's event. Sorry Khoi, this is the most important occasion, I cannot be absent."

Dang Khoi's face suddenly changed color, a clear disappointment passed before he regained his usual calmness. "Okay," he replied, his voice colder than usual. "It's your choice."

"Khoi, I didn't mean—" Gia Huy wanted to explain more, but Dang Khoi turned and walked away, leaving him standing there with an indescribable feeling of heaviness.

Throughout that day, the atmosphere between Gia Huy and his close friends became noticeably awkward. During lunch, no one took the initiative to talk to him as usual, the familiar jokes were also absent, replaced by an uncomfortable silence covering the entire table. Gia Huy feels as if he is isolated right in the middle of the group of friends that once welcomed him the warmest.

In the afternoon, when he was preparing to leave to go to the garden, Minh Quan, another member of the group with whom Gia Huy was close, stopped him at the school gate. "Hey, I think you should think again," Minh Quan said, his voice a bit friendlier than Dang Khoi's this morning. "This trip is not just a normal outing. We plan to make a group recording and post it on the group's shared channel, kind of summarizing the past school year. Without you, that video wouldn't be complete, and..."

"With what?" Gia Huy asked, feeling like there was something that hadn't been said yet.

Minh Quan hesitated slightly. "Also, you know that Dang Khoi is trying to run for the school union's board of directors this year. Our group is the most well-known faces, that video is partly to create more positive attention before the election. If you, who is always considered the 'soul' of the group, are absent, people will ask questions, and who knows, it might negatively affect Khoi's image."

That explanation made Gia Huy suddenly understand that all the pressure weighing on his shoulders was not simply a normal weekend outing, but was also tied to the calculations and expectations of a whole group of friends, especially Dang Khoi - the person who had always valued image and social position more than anything else, and was now betting partly on Gia Huy's presence.

"I don't know about that," Gia Huy said, his voice low, feeling the burden on his shoulders getting bigger and bigger.

"Khoi didn't want to say it directly because he was afraid he would feel forced," Minh Quan continued. "But honestly, we all wanted you to be there. Not just because of Khoi, but because that's the group of friends who's been with you since the beginning of the school year until now. Think carefully."

Gia Huy nodded, did not respond further, quietly cycled to the garden with a more confused mood than ever. When he arrived, he saw the whole club team busy preparing the final stages - setting up test booths, checking the sound system borrowed from the school, rearranging the seeding experience area for children. Quynh Nhu, when she saw him coming, quickly waved and called.

“Can you take a look at this layout,” she said, handing him a piece of paper with a floor plan of the event. "I'm wondering whether to place the reception area for ward representatives near the entrance gate or near the mango tree display area."

Gia Huy looked at the diagram, trying to concentrate on his comments even though his mind was still lingering on the afternoon conversation. "I think it should be placed near the entrance," he replied, "so they can visit in a natural order, from the project history display area to the hands-on experience area."

"Yes, that's reasonable," Quynh Nhu nodded and took notes. Then she looked at him more attentively. "You don't seem too well. Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," Gia Huy replied, trying to smile reassuringly. "Just a little tired from the final exam."

Quynh Nhu looked at him for a moment, as if she didn't completely believe that explanation, but she didn't ask further, just gently said: "If there's anything you need to share, just tell me. There's only five days left, I don't want you to have to shoulder anything alone."

That sentence, although it came from sincere concern, made Gia Huy feel an even greater torment, because he knew he was hiding something important from her - the real pressure he was facing, and the vague fear that he might disappoint her at the most important moment.

That evening, when he got home, Gia Huy lay down on the bed and turned on his phone to review the chat group of his close friends. Text messages about the beach trip continued to flow in — who would bring the tent, who was in charge of the food, a list of beach games, along with a few funny memes about last year's trip to stir up the excitement. He scrolled through each line of messages, realizing that he was still tagged in, still mentioned in a few jokes, as if the group still secretly hoped he would change his mind at the last minute.

He texted Dang Khoi privately, trying to ease some of the tense atmosphere of the morning. "I'm sorry for not explaining myself more clearly this morning. I really didn't mean to affect you or the group." The message showed up as viewed after a few minutes, but there was no response, making Gia Huy feel even more burdened.

He put down the phone, looked up at the ceiling, trying to organize the chaotic thoughts in his head. A part of him understood clearly how important the Open Garden Festival event was - not only for Quynh Nhu, for the whole club, but also for himself, who had put a lot of effort into preparing for nearly a month. But another part of him, the part that was used to always trying to please everyone, kept whispering about the fear of losing his familiar position in the group of friends, the fear of becoming an outsider in the very group of people who welcomed him most warmly when he first transferred to school.

He remembered Anh Duong's words — "not every choice can please everyone" — and tried to convince himself that he had the right answer. But when he thought about Dang Khoi's cold eyes in the morning, the group's unusual silence during lunch, and Minh Quan's words about the upcoming union board election, he felt an indescribable wavering, as if the decision he thought was certain was now starting to waver.

His mother knocked on the door and entered the room with a plate of fruit. "What's wrong with you, your face looks so gloomy?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"It's nothing, Mom," he replied, forcing a smile. "Just had a little disagreement with my friends."

"What's going on?" Mom asked, her voice concerned.

Gia Huy briefly described his situation, without going intoo much detail, just saying that he had to choose between an important club event and an outing with a group of close friends. His mother listened silently, then gently said: "I can't decide for you, but I think, you should ask yourself, looking back ten years from now, what will you regret more - missing a trip to the beach, or missing the opportunity to stand up for something you truly believe in."

His mother's words made Gia Huy ponder for a long time after she left the room. He knew that his reason had given him a clear answer, but his emotions, the dull fear of losing a familiar place, were still there, persistent and difficult to get rid of, waiting to rise stronger when the decisive moment truly approached.

He sat up, reopened the event planning notebook that Quynh Nhu had sent to the group, re-read each item of work he was assigned, trying to remind himself of the original reason why he was determined to stay. But every time he felt a little more certain, the image of Dang Khoi's cold eyes, and the disappointed sighs of his group of friends at noon, would appear again, pulling him back into the never-ending spiral of uncertainty. He turned off the light and lay down, but sleep that night came later than any other night since he started joining the Environmental Club, leaving him alone to face the most difficult decision ever.