Chapter 11 — Summer On The Terrace

Exam season makes the terrace half empty. Those who watered the plants were busy with group lessons, shifts, and extra work. Ha hangs a new calendar, but every day there are two empty boxes. The basil is still alive, but the vegetables are starting to wilt at the edges of the tray.

Vy brought the drawing to study, then found herself looking at the screen without being able to read a single line. Quan sat a few meters away from her, doing structural calculations. The two didn't speak for an hour.

“You can rest,” Quan said.

“You too.”

“I'm taking a break by doing homework.”

Vy burst out laughing. “That's not a break.”

Quan looked at his watch. “What about your cards?”

"The project must be submitted after ten days. If using garden data, Ms. Huong requires separate permission."

“Have you asked for it yet?”

"No. I'm afraid you'll say no."

“If you don't ask, you probably won't have it.”

Vy called Ms. Huong. She is allowed to use aggregated data, but must include the group's name and not submit operational designs as individual products. Vy nodded, even though that meant her project stood out less.

Long brought up the fund board. The money from selling food and used goods has reached three million, two million eight million is still missing. He asked for a small amount of money from the bicycle club, in exchange for them being able to use the rooftop for two bike repair sessions.

“No pictures, no logo?” My asked.

“No. Just write the club name on the thank you sign.”

Quan nodded. "Okay."

The car repair session took place under the luffa trellis. Students bring a broken bike, Quan guides the tire repair, My records the sound of the tool if the participant agrees. Ms. Nhan walked by, saw many people, asked Long if the company could sponsor more.

“We are running it ourselves,” Long said.

“If you operate it yourself, you won't have enough money to repair the waterproofing.”

“But enough decision-making power.”

Mrs. Nhan looked at him without arguing. "In three days we will start dismantling part of the old frame."

Vy asked: "Is there a license?"

“Just measuring.”

Quan turned. “Measuring must not touch the roof protection layer.”

“The technical team knows their job.”

Mrs. Nhan left. Long looked after him, his face tense.

Ha reported that the kitchen was lacking vegetables because the garden had reduced trays. She wants to buy more light land, but the funds are not enough. Vy suggested planting sprouts quickly, Quan calculated the load and amount of water. They tried a small tray, recording the sowing and harvesting dates.

In the evening, Quan received a call from his hometown. His father had back pain and needed time off from construction work. Quan said he would send money, but the scholarship has not been disbursed yet. Vy heard it but didn't ask right away. After the call, she gave him the fund expense list.

“I can lend you money,” she said.

Quan shook his head. "Are not."

“I didn't say I would help unconditionally.”

“I know.”

“So why refuse?”

“Because if I accept, every time we fight, I will think I owe you.”

Vy im. The straightforward answer hurt her, but it also made her understand that Quan did not want to use emotions as a shortcut.

“Then I'll find you a weekend electrical repair job,” she said. “Not on loan.”

Quan thought. “If the job is real and pays right.”

“I will find Ms. Huong.”

"Okay."

They don't talk about feelings. But then Quan gave her the remaining bread, dividing it in half as usual.

The next day, the sensor panel sent higher heat readings than advertised. The company responded that the group's equipment was not calibrated. Quan sent a calibration certificate, but they requested independent testing.

Vy said: "Independent testing is good."

Quan agreed, but wanted the inspector not to be chosen by the company. They recommended the school's lab.

Long said the student body can request the document. He no longer avoids emails by Mrs. Nhan.

At the end of the day, the fund had enough money for waterproofing thanks to an outdoor painting class. Vy instructed students to draw leaves, Ha sold water, My read image rights regulations. No one is allowed to take photos of participants without asking.

Uncle Sau received money, bought materials and scheduled the construction. He said: "I don't know if you can keep the garden or not. But at least you have learned not to wait for others to give you money."

At night, a strong wind caused a tray of trees to fall. Quan ran up, Vy pulled Ha out of the way. The land overflowed but no one was injured. Quan checked the tray's legs and discovered that the screws had been loosened.

There are traces of the company's green paint on the screws.

Vy sets up her class and duty schedules in different colors, but the schedule still has two empty days. She called the freshmen, asking which shifts they could take. One friend said she was only free in the morning, the other said she was only free after work. The new calendar isn't pretty, but someone replaced it.

Quan helped design a lightweight sprout tray using recycled materials. He counted the weight of water after watering, not just when it was dry. Ha tried three types, one grew quickly but fell easily. They dropped that one.

“Abandoning the tree sounds cruel,” Ha said.

“Keeping the wrong tree is also disappointing others,” Quan replied.

During the car repair session, Quan received more work than expected. Vy did not arbitrarily cancel the schedule, just helped him record the time. He sent part of the money back home and kept the rest to buy accessories for the garden.

"Don't use money to fix the group's electricity," Vy reminded.

“I bought it with my own money.”

“So write it down to personal funds, don't count sponsorship.”

Quan looked at her, then wrote. Ms. Huong said that separating money clearly helps avoid arguments later.

Ms. Nhan offered a company technician to check the sensor for free. The team agrees if the school laboratory participates and data is sent to both parties. The technician discovered that the device was placed in the shadow area and admitted that it was the wrong choice of the contractor.

“Can mistakes be intentional?” Vy asked.

"I don't know. I just know that position is not representative."

The group notes, but does not conclude. The company must send back the entire location data, not just the low number.

Ha started harvesting sprouts and sharing them with the kitchen. Small but steady output. Ms. Mai said it can be used as a decoration, not as the main source of vegetables.

Long received feedback from the school foundation, asking for a plan after the group graduated. He asked the student body to include the garden in its list of annual activities, but needed a new club.

Vy said freshmen can form a club, but doesn't want to force them to carry the old group's name. Ha agreed to be the founding team, with the right to change.

Exam season still lasts. A friend quit his shift without reporting, and the plant withered. Quan wanted to temporarily lock down that area, Ha wanted someone else to make up for it. They agreed to set up a warning process, not to fine the first time, but to hand over.

Vy looked at the shift table and realized that good operation was not without errors; is an error that has been recognized and corrected.

At night, Ms. Huong sent an unusual meeting schedule. The group must submit an explanation within four days. Vy opened her personal project and felt lack of time. She intended to remove the terrace from the project, but Quan said there was no need to sacrifice what the group had done.

“Submit the smaller portion,” he said. “Don't let one project eat up your future.”

Vy looked at him and nodded.

Before she went to sleep, she received an email from the company: a new post using low readings from the wrong sensor, saying “the garden has proven effective”.

Quan said: "Tomorrow we will announce the real number."

The number is not really good. The temperature in the area where the tree is located is low than males in the afternoon, but only during certain wind periods. Some vegetable trays produce stable yields, others die from worms or over-watering. Vy wanted the chart to have a smooth trend line so it was easy for the board to read. The military guard kept even the days of fluctuation. If they flatten the data for a nice presentation, they will repeat the mistake of the person who used the wrong sensor.

My created an explanation page with simple examples. She took two glasses of water of the same capacity, placed one in the sun, one in the shade, and clearly noted that this was not a substitute for roof data. She just wants viewers to understand why the same terrace has many numbers. Ha suggested removing the word "success" in the title, replacing it with "what the team has measured".

While printing documents, the printer ran out of color ink. Long counted the costs and realized the group had no money left to buy a new box. He suggested using the black and white version and spending money on waterproofing. Vy initially objected because the loading map was difficult to see, then chose solid and dashed lines instead of color. Quan said that drawing was clearer than the old version. A small limit forces them to think better.

Ms. Huong read the explanation, circling the sentence "the garden is common property". She asked with whom, according to what regulations, who has the right to decide when there is a risk. Hanh added a list of users and voting processes, not just the list of people who participated from the beginning. Vy understands that a common space is not without an owner; it has more people in charge.

The night before the announcement, My received a text message from someone who left the group because they were photographed without permission. She made an appointment, apologized and asked the person if he wanted her name to appear on the donation list. The other person said he wasn't ready. My removed names from the draft, keeping a line “some contributions are anonymous upon request.” She sent the final version to the whole group, this time no one had to find themselves in the story told by someone else.

Vy locked the phone, put the printout in the cover and wrote the date. She knows tomorrow someone will find fault, but at least every mistake has a place to answer.