Chapter 7 — Summer On The Terrace

Ms. Nhan sent the data contract on a hot morning, with an explanation that the company just wanted to measure campaign effectiveness. In the contract, “aggregated data” includes hourly temperature, irrigation history, vegetable load, number of users and any audio content “related to the rooftop experience.”

My reader audio item. “They want my podcast.”

“Maybe just to make videos,” Long said.

“Video is also a use.”

Vy put down the contract. “Don't sign.”

Long asked: "If you don't sign, where will the waterproofing funds come from?"

Ha replied: "The kitchen sells extra portions. It's not enough, but it doesn't take away the right."

Quan looked at the cost table. "We can replace the entire pipe with lighter pipe, reduce the number of trays, and waterproof each area. It takes a smaller amount."

"How much?" Vy asked.

“Five million eight.”

Ha said the kitchen could contribute two million. The Student Association contributed one million. Nearly three million is missing.

My suggested holding a bicycle repair session and selling used items to raise funds. Quan accepts electrical repairs after hours. Vy sells printed illustrations of the garden. Long said he can apply for small sponsorships from clubs, without exclusive rights.

The group started a campaign, but didn't call it saving the garden. They call it “keeping a usable roof”. My interviewed each person and played it back before playing it. Ha cooks low-priced meals, clearly stating the money for the waterproofing layer. Quan created a public cost table.

On the first day, they collected more than a million. On the second day, a post from New Sun company appeared: "Students turn rooftop into brand campaign." The article uses photos of the garden sent by Long.

Long deleted the post on his personal page, but could not delete it from the company server. He received a call from Ms. Nhan and was asked why the group refused the contract but still held a fundraiser.

“Because we don't sell rights,” Long said.

“You are making it difficult for people who want to help.”

“Helping in any way is a choice.”

Ms. Nhan said the company will withdraw its sponsorship invitation. Long turned off the phone and sat on the stairs. Vy came, didn't scold.

“You're still in charge of sponsorship,” she said.

“I think I'll lose it.”

"You sent the data. Please bear with it."

“You want me to resign?”

“I want you to ask the student body and those affected.”

Long nodded. He sent a public email apologizing, attaching a list of sent data and asking the company to delete the unauthorized portion. Some people in the group were upset, but Ha said at least they knew what was going on.

Quan discovered that the heat data posted by the company was lower than the original record. The advertisement said the garden cooled down thirty degrees, when the actual measurement was only fourteen degrees.

“They beautify the numbers,” Quan said.

Vy looked at the board. “We have to correct it.”

My asked: "Post now?"

“Posted with measurement method.”

Quan clearly wrote equipment, time, error, and sunny conditions. Vy draws a colorless brand chart. My recorded the explanation. They post both good numbers and bad numbers.

The correction did not spread as quickly as the advertisement. But an environmental physics lecturer shared, saying transparent data is more valuable than impressive numbers.

In the evening, Quan fixes plumbing under the hallway light. Vy held the flashlight and asked him why he didn't rest.

“It will rain tomorrow.”

“It can rain at any time this season.”

“So we have to prepare.”

“You talk like Uncle Sau.”

Quan laughed. “Uncle Sau is right.”

Vy looked at his hands covered in glue and scratches on his nails. She wanted to ask Quan if he was tired, but was afraid that the question would turn him into someone who needed to be taken care of squirrel.

“I can do the drawing part.”

“I know.”

“So don't do it alone.”

Quan stopped and gave her the pliers. “Hold this part.”

Vy kept. Two people worked until the pipe was no longer leaking.

The next morning, the team received an email from the board of directors: a remediation report must be submitted within five days, with confirmation that it did not affect the structure. The advertising company is allowed to survey the terrace during business hours.

My asked: "Do they have the right to enter?"

“According to the memorandum of understanding, yes,” Long said.

Quan looked at the drawing. “They will measure to place the frame.”

Vy folded the documents. “So we have to have someone there and record every action.”

From the railing, they saw workers erecting survey instructions in the yard. There were still twenty days of summer left, but the rooftop had already begun to be divided into the school's section and the section belonging to a company that didn't yet own it.

The group set up a fundraising booth right in the lobby, but did not use the slogan to save the terrace. On the table there are three columns: waterproofing materials, sensors, maintenance costs. Each amount is updated at the end of the day.

A lecturer bought Vy's printout and asked if the drawing could be used in class. Vy said she only uses the public version, not the raw data. Ms. Huong signed the form to confirm.

Quan repaired an electrical outlet for the bicycle club and received payment on time. You write down the bill, don't take any more. Vy watched him work and asked if he needed help.

“You can give the invoice to Long,” Quan said.

Long made a table and saw that he no longer avoided small amounts. He sent word to Mrs. Nhan that the group did not accept the data contract.

Ms. Nhan responded with a long explanation, saying the company needed data to prove effectiveness to customers. My asked whose performance it was and who had the right to read it. There is no clear answer.

The short podcast episode about the rights process was widely listened to. A student sent comments that My spoke too slowly. My keeps the pace because the listener needs time to understand the terms.

Meanwhile, the company reposted the photo of the garden, this time covering the school's logo and adding the line "model accompanied by New Sun". Vy requested to remove and send documents proving the photos were taken by students. The company removed it after a day, without apologizing.

Quan said: "Unraveling is enough for this step."

Vy asked: "You don't want them to apologize?"

“Sorry for not changing permissions.”

The group asked the administrator to note the violation and not post offensive posts. They want history.

On the third day, the fund had enough money to buy materials but lacked construction workers. Uncle Sau brought two more maintenance staff, in return the group had to help clean the warehouse. Ha assigns tasks to students, does not assign heavy tasks to people who do not know them.

Quan instructed how to carry the tray and keep the escape route. Vy drew a temporary installation diagram. When someone makes a mistake, they stop correcting it and don't scold them.

Long received an email from a club that wanted to sponsor but requested a large nameplate. My said we only accept small signs in the lobby, saying "material donation", not in the garden. The club agrees.

That evening, Mrs. Nhan sent an invitation to meet. Long passed it on to everyone. They agreed to meet in the public room, with Hanh and the minutes.

Quan asked Vy if he wanted him to go. Vy said yes, because the technical issue involved him. He nodded.

Before the meeting, Quan checked the entrance and discovered a new lock on the technical door. The board of directors said the company requested this to avoid strangers entering. Uncle Sau has not received the key yet.

Vy called immediately, asking to add someone from the school to the lock. The company temporarily removed the lock and waited for the process.

A note was stuffed under the door: “The children are lost Time spent on things that cannot be kept.”

Ha folded. “So we have to keep it right.”

The meeting with Ms. Nhan took place in the common room, which has glass doors overlooking the parking lot. She arrived alone, carrying a thin folder and an unopened bottle of water. Hanh placed the recorder in the middle of the table and asked if everyone agreed to record. Ms. Nhan nodded, but asked to read the minutes before the group sent them to the council. Hanh agreed on the condition that the editing only corrects facts and does not change anyone's opinion.

Ms. Nhan did not deny that the company wanted to erect billboards. Their contract requires completion before the enrollment season; if late, the deposit will be forfeited. But she also admitted that the original plan considered the rooftop terrace an empty space with no users and no load data. Vy asked why the company didn't conduct a survey first. She said the old survey was outsourced, the creator retired and the original file is no longer in the current system.

Quan pushed the measuring sheet towards her. “Not having the original file does not mean you can use numbers from unknown sources.”

Mrs. Nhan was silent for a moment then wrote down that sentence. She suggested renting an independent unit, but the cost would be deducted from student aid. Ha asked if the subsidy must be exchanged for the right to place the logo in the garden. Ms. Nhan replied that no one had asked this before.

Long presented a three-party plan: the company pays the inspection fee, the school signs the contract, and the student group only participates in monitoring and publishing data. The company logo is placed on a small board under the stairs, not on a plant pot. Ms. Nhan said she needed to ask her superiors, but did not promise immediately.

Before leaving the room, she asked the group why they still kept the garden even though they could receive a large sum of money to move it. Ha answered not because a few pots of vegetables are worth more than money, but because if you move without knowing what you are cleaning, next time everyone will do it again. Mrs. Nhan did not argue. When the door was closed, Quan discovered that the new lock on the stairs had left a long scratch, as if someone had tried to open it with a hard tool.