Chapter 8 — Seeds After the Rain

Gia Huy kept his promise. That Saturday, he went to the club meeting in the morning, discussed with the whole group the content presented for the inter-school exchange, then hurriedly cycled to Minh Quan's house in the afternoon, just in time to attend the gathering with his close friends. He felt a bit exhausted having to race between two schedules, but there was a certain satisfaction in his heart because he didn't have to miss anything.

The club meeting that morning went smoothly, the whole group together planned the presentation and divided the work - Quynh Nhu and teacher Binh were in charge of the professional content, Anh Duong took care of the logistics, Thao and the remaining friend prepared the illustrations, and Gia Huy continued to take care of the images and presentation.

"This exchange session has three schools participating, each school presenting for fifteen minutes about a typical environmental project," Quynh Nhu explained, pointing to the plan she had just written. "The jury will choose the most impressive project to introduce to the city's education newspaper as a form of inspiration for other schools."

"So what do I need to highlight to make an impression?" Anh Duong asked.

"I think we should focus on human stories, not just data," Gia Huy commented, after a moment of thinking. "Anyone can list how many vegetable beds and how many trees have been planted, but few clubs have a story like ours - a project starting from a piece of wasteland, nurtured by people who are truly attached to it for very personal reasons."

The group was silent for a moment, seemingly agreeing with that idea. Quynh Nhu looked at him, her eyes a bit surprised at that deep understanding. "You mean tell my story too?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

"If you're comfortable, you can," Gia Huy replied carefully, not wanting to force her to share anything too personal. "There's no need to go into detail, just a short sentence about why you are attached to this garden is enough touch the listener's emotions."

Quynh Nhu nodded, seemingly considering, but did not object. The meeting ended with an excited atmosphere, everyone felt more confident about the upcoming presentation plan.

The afternoon at Minh Quan's house was a different story. The group of friends gathered together, playing games, eating, drinking, laughing as usual, but Gia Huy found himself a bit more absent-minded than usual, occasionally glancing at his phone to see if there were any messages from the club group, even though he knew the meeting had ended since the morning.

"What's wrong with you, you keep looking at your phone?" Dang Khoi asked, sitting down next to him on the sofa.

"Nothing, just checking messages," Gia Huy replied, putting his phone in his pocket.

"Waiting for your lover to text?" Tuan interjected, smiling teasingly.

"Nothing," Gia Huy denied immediately, but felt his face heat up a bit, a reaction that surprised even him.

The following Tuesday morning, when Gia Huy arrived at the garden, a light rain had just ended, and the air was rare and fresh and cool. He saw Quynh Nhu standing under the flower trellis, her hand raised to catch the drops of water remaining on the leaves, her eyes looking up at the sky with a strange contentment.

"What are you doing?" he asked, moving closer.

"I like the smell of earth after the rain," she replied, not turning to look at him, still maintaining her face up to the sky. "There's a special word for this smell, called 'petrichor'. I read in a science book that it's the smell created when rainwater touches dry soil, releasing a special plant oil that accumulates in the soil during sunny days."

Gia Huy stood next to her, took a deep breath, trying to feel the smell she just mentioned. Indeed, there is a unique scent, both wet and fresh, that pervades the garden space. “I never noticed this before,” he said, somewhat surprised at himself.

"Most people don't pay attention," Quynh Nhu replied, turning to look at him, a light smile on her lips. "People are only bothered by the muddy roads and wet clothes, but don't realize that nature is doing something beautiful right before their eyes."

The morning sunlight filtered through the leaves, shining down on Quynh Nhu's face with sparkling streaks of light, a few raindrops still lingering on her hair sparkled like small diamonds. Gia Huy looked at her in that moment, and suddenly felt his heart beat faster, a completely new feeling that he had never experienced with anyone before, even though he was used to being noticed by many girls, and had had a few fleeting relationships at old schools.

"What's up?" Quynh Nhu asked, realizing that his eyes were looking at her with unusual attention.

"Nothing," Gia Huy replied, quickly turning away, feeling his ears burning. "It's just... you look so happy."

"Yes, I'm really happy," Quynh Nhu replied, without any hesitation. "Being here, in the middle of this garden, on a morning after rain like this, I feel like everything is okay."

The two started their morning work - checking the vegetable beds after the rain, reinforcing a few places on the trellis that were shaken by the wind. While working, Gia Huy's hand accidentally touched Quynh Nhu's hand when they both reached for a roll of rope, causing them both to stop for a split second.

"Sorry," they both said at the same time, then laughed at the coincidence.

"You take it first," Gia Huy said, pulling his hand back, feeling his heartbeat still a bit erratic after that unexpected touch.

Quynh Nhu received the coil, her hand also trembled slightly, which perhaps only Gia Huy was observant enough to notice. She quickly turned away and continued working, but Gia Huy noticed that her ears were pink, not sure if it was because of the cold morning after the rain or for some other reason.

Throughout that morning, both of them were more awkward than usual whenever they accidentally stood close to each other, awkward silences alternating between everyday conversations. Anh Duong, arriving a little later, couldn't help but notice the strange atmosphere between the two of them, but she just smiled silently, said nothing, and let those immature emotions naturally develop in their own way.

That afternoon, when the group sat having lunch under the shade of a mango tree before class ended, Thao suddenly jokingly asked, "What's so strange about you two today? You keep looking at each other and then looking away, it's very funny."

"Nothing," Quynh Nhu replied immediately, her face turned slightly red, and she bent down to eat the boxed lunch she brought along. "Because the weather is beautiful after the rain so I'm in a good mood."

"Yes, that's right," Gia Huy added, deliberately avoiding another topic. "Speaking of the weather, there is a small storm forecast next week. I read the news this morning. I wonder if it will have any impact on the garden."

"Probably need to cover the flower trellis with some young vegetable beds," Anh Duong commented, not paying attention to the awkwardness that had just passed between the two of them. "Teacher Binh told me that every time there is a strong wind, we must install more support poles, otherwise it will easily break."

The story gradually turned to preparing for the weather, making the atmosphere less awkward. But sometimes, when Gia Huy and Quynh Nhu's eyes accidentally met in the middle of a conversation, they both quickly looked away, a small awkwardness but enough for both of them to realize that something had changed between them, even though no one dared to name it out loud.

That evening, after returning home and showering, Gia Huy lay on the bed and turned on his phone to review a few photos of the garden that he often saved to use as material for club videos. Among them is a photo Thao secretly took in the morning, capturing the moment Quynh Nhu stood under the flower trellis, her hand raised to catch rainwater, the sunlight shining through each drop of water, creating a light halo around her body. He looked at that photo for a long time, his finger lightly gliding across the screen, then suddenly saved it in a separate folder, different from the usual club document photo folder.

He wondered when he started paying attention to such small details — the way Quynh Nhu smiled when talking about her favorite things, the way she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration when examining each leaf, the way her voice became softer every time she mentioned her father's mango tree. Before, he had never paid such careful attention to anyone, including the girls who actively showed affection for him in his old schools. Maybe, he thought, that was the difference between being liked by others and being truly moved by someone.

He put down the phone, looked up at the ceiling, a small smile unconsciously appeared on his lips without him even realizing it. On the way home that day, Gia Huy couldn't stop thinking about the moment Quynh Nhu stood under the flower trellis, about the unexpected touch, about his own erratic heartbeat. He wondered if this was what everyone called "thrilling", and if it was, he didn't know whether to be happy or worried about this new, sweet and scary feeling.