Chapter 16 — Summer On The Terrace

Bao Long confessed in Ms. Huong's room, in front of Vy, Quan, My and Ha, that he had sent the preliminary budget to Ms. Nhan since the first week. He thought the company needed to know how much money the group could operate with. In return, Ms. Nhan promised to introduce a funding fund.

“I didn't know they used it to calculate rent,” Long said.

Quan asked: "Do you believe your verbal promise?"

“I wanted to believe.”

Long gave the email. In it, Ms. Nhan suggested that the company sponsor if the group allowed the name. There is no official signature.

Vy did not scold. She asked: "What haven't you said yet?"

Long silence. My put down the recorder but did not turn it on.

“I once sent a list of users,” Long said. "I thought it was just to prove the operation. Some names were used in the advertising guest list."

Ha clasped hands. “Have you asked them?”

"Not yet."

“Then ask.”

Long sent a letter asking for a recall, attaching a specific list. Some people asked for it to be deleted immediately, some agreed to keep it for legal records. Long had to call each person individually, without asking Vy to speak for them.

After listening, Ms. Huong said: "You can't fix what happened by pushing yourself out of the group. You have to stay and do the hardest part: disclosing the source and being examined."

Long nodded. He asked the student union for permission to audit the data, including his access rights.

Quan presented other evidence: an old advertising frame design, which was rejected because of wind load. He looked in the school's digital archive, but the file was missing the approval page. Ms. Huong recognized the code mark on the file and said the full version could be in the admin room.

The group sends the request. The Board of Directors responded that the documents are being reviewed and cannot be provided before the meeting. Vy asked why. They said the document contained contractor information.

“They used contractor secrecy to cover structural risks,” Quan said.

“We are not allowed to announce ourselves,” Hanh reminded. “But the council can be asked to see it in closed session.”

Ms. Nhan sent a private message to Long: "If you give the new budget first, I can protect you from the audit association." Long passed the news to everyone.

“What will you answer?” Vy asked.

“I won't give it.”

“There's no need to answer alone.”

Long sent a response with Hanh on the list, saying all communication must be in writing and known to the group.

Quan looked at Long. “That was the first time you didn't handle it yourself.”

“I'm tired of being the know-it-all.”

My said: "No one needs you to know everything. Just don't hide it."

The day before the meeting, the group practiced presenting. Vy will talk about design and usage rights. Quan said load, water and escape route. Ha said the kitchen. My says data process. Long said budget and funding errors. Each person can only say their part.

They tried it once, then stopped because it was too long. Ms. Huong asked to remove the touching sentence and keep the data. Vy regretted the part about summer, but deleted it.

“If you don't include summer, people don't understand why they keep it,” she said.

“Thermal data, vegetables and usage time have already been mentioned.”

Quan looked at her. “The story is not lost just because the adjectives are removed.”

In the evening, Vy and Quan edited the final drawing. He adds an escape route, she adds a break for the user. The two layers do not overlap each other.

“Are you afraid of the session?” Vy asked.

"Have."

“Are you telling the truth?”

"I'm not afraid of fate. I'm afraid that people will choose the option they know is dangerous."

Vy said she was afraid her project would fail and be considered someone who only knows how to beautify herself. Quan did not console him, just said: "Then present the part you corrected."

Tomorrow starts with an email from the admin: they will publish the downloadable map session, but no photocopying is allowed.

Long read it, then said: "Someone signed first."

On the attached map, in the lower corner is the signature of a former head of administration, who is currently working as a consultant for New Sun Company.

Long creates a table “sent — recalled — pending” for each data. A student requested to have his name removed, Long sent confirmation. Another allowed the interview to be kept on file, but not distributed. Long clearly stated.

Vy asked him if he felt like he was losing his position. Long said: "Yes. But position is not character."

Hanh instructed Long to submit Ms. Nhan's email to the council. Ms. Nhan did not object, just said it was a negotiation proposal. The group doesn't call it bribery; They record the content and let competent people evaluate it.

The administration department provided the old budget, in which library repair costs were tied to advertising contracts. If the contract is canceled, the school must find another source. That explains why management wants to move quickly, but without making structural risks smaller.

Vy said: "We have to talk about school pressure."

Quan replied: "Speak so that the listener understands, not to absolve you of responsibility."

Ms. Huong agreed to include this part in the file. She said students often only look at the final decision maker, not the budget behind it. Good planning requires looking at money.

Quan returned home for one more day because his father needed a doctor. Before leaving, he handed over the data to his seniors and clearly stated that no one was allowed to edit it. Vy didn't ask him if he'd be back on time; she just updated the calendar.

During that time, the company submitted a new wind load appraisal. The new version moved the frame to the front, but still placed the sign to cover the driveway. Quan noted that he did not call the company intentionally.

Mrs. Nhan corrected it again. This time the driveway is wide enough, but the sign shines into the reading room. The library requires a brightness limit.

My adds reader permissions to the profile. “It's not just people on the roof who are affected.”

Long said the school foundation can support blackout curtains, but it needs planning. Vy draws.

The user council voted, choosing the facade sign option with low brightness and fixed shutdown time. The company agreed because customers wanted to save electricity.

Vy received an email from Ms. Nhan: "Thank you for not turning me into a villain."

Vy replied: "We also don't want to make ourselves right all the time."

Before the session, the group rehearsed one last time. Long said the error, My said the right, Ha said the kitchen, Quan said the load, Vy said the design. No one for more than two minutes.

At the end of the presentation, they put a blank page labeled “unanswered questions.” Ms. Huong said to keep it. “A good board is not afraid of a blank page.”

The front page of tomorrow's session has the name of the former head of administration, who is now a company consultant. Long put his hand on the file and said: "I will tell you what I know. Nothing more."

The session began with a question from a lecturer: can the group prove that the garden is worth keeping for the school. Vy was about to use the word "worth", then stopped. She said the garden is not an item to be kept only when it makes a profit. It is a system in use, with costs, benefits and risks; The decision should be based on all of those parts.

Quan presents roof loading. He pointed to the red area, clearly stating that three trays had been shipped and a waterproofing point was awaiting acceptance. A council member asked what if it rains heavily. The military replied that they did not have enough data for extreme rain, so the plan must have a stopping threshold, a person on duty, and drainage line. You didn't say "absolutely safe".

Ha talked about the kitchen. She showed the cost of buying outside if the garden was cleared, then pointed out that the garden did not have enough vegetables to feed the whole school. It only provides a small portion, but that portion helps the kitchen reduce deliveries on certain days and creates a place to learn the trade for students. She emphasized that if the school keeps it, it must accept the loss of crops and not turn the garden into a green billboard.

My read data rights rules. She told how a sentence was cut, but did not read the name of the person who was affected. One board member asked if too much publicity would cause the company to withdraw. There are limits to public disclosure, but the limits must be agreed upon by the owner of the information, not due to fear of losing sponsorship.

When it came to Long's part, the meeting room became quieter. He said he once sent user data to the company because he thought it was a quick way to get support. He doesn't blame pressure or others. He showed the access log, admitted the error and proposed that all future sponsorship must go through the user council. Ms. Huong did not see him as a student who made a mistake; she looked at him as someone who was learning to be responsible.

Ms. Nhan was invited to speak. She said the company needed to advertise, but admitted the original plan used poorly sourced data and placed the frame in an untested location. She proposed removing roof signs, switching to low-brightness facade panels, and sponsoring independent testing without requiring personal data. One member asked why they should believe it. She replied that it can only start with a contract that has a clause allowing public violations.

The council has not yet voted. They requested two more documents: independent load report and operating regulations. Vy looked at the blank page in the presentation. It's no longer scary; it is a place for the unknown to be given its correct name.

Vy folded the presentation without adding a single concluding sentence. People in the meeting room need to have the right to ask questions before being led to a conclusion.