Chapter 12 — The owner of the car shop behind the school gate

The parts box disappeared on Monday morning.

It's a blue plastic box, inside there are twelve internal valves, a set of hexagons, three brake lines and a reflective coil. Quynh Chi was the last person to write in the book at four fifteen on Friday afternoon. By the beginning of recess, the box was no longer on the shelf.

Huy immediately asked who had the key. Khoa silently checked each drawer. Vy felt eyes starting to turn towards him. On Saturday, Khoa opened the garage to repair a car for a junior student. He has a spare key provided by Ms. Van.

“I won't take it,” Khoa said, his voice low but clear.

“No one has come to any conclusions,” Vy replied, even though she had just thought of it herself.

Khoa looked at her. “If you're thinking, just ask directly.”

Vy felt her face heat up. “I was asking.”

“No. You are choosing to speak so as not to be seen as someone who doubts me.”

Quynh Chi interrupted before the argument got bigger. She opened the book and asked everyone to step back and not arbitrarily rummage through things. Huy suggested checking the hallway camera, but the camera could only record the front door and could not see the spare parts shelf.

Khoa took out his phone and opened the photo of the box taken on Friday. "I sent a photo of the inventory to Ms. Van. In the photo there is a coil of yellow wire outside the box."

Vy remembered the coil. It is used to tie gift bags during project introduction events. She and Huy checked the media room. On the floor there is a carton printed with the Van Hung logo, inside are unused posters. No spare parts box.

When he returned, Khoa opened the last drawer of the cabinet. One of his cloth bags lay there. Huy pointed to his pocket, then immediately withdrew his hand.

“If you want to watch, just watch with me,” Khoa said.

In the bag were two tubes of glue, a small set of wrenches, vocational training registration papers and old invoices. There are no club fittings. Khoa looked at Vy, not as angry as she thought, just tired.

“You think I took it because my family needed it?”

"I do not know."

"Yes. You don't know, but you still stand there and let others look at me like that."

Vy wanted to explain that she was afraid of making a fuss, but the explanation sounded like a way to avoid it. She bent down to record all the times and people entering and exiting the garage. Quynh Chi asked Huy about the poster box. Huy admitted that he borrowed the key on Friday to get the power cord for the presentation, but returned it ten minutes later.

“Do you see the blue box?”

"Yes. I put it aside to get the connector. There was a grade 12 guy standing nearby."

They looked for a 12th grader named Dung, a member of the cycling team. Dung said he took the box out because he thought it was a team item. He left it in the gym storage, but when he opened it, he found only old tools, no new brake lines.

The fitness warehouse is located next to the medical room. Ms. Van and the whole group went to check. The box was under a tarp, but the lid was open and four internal valves were missing. Dung was confused. He said after leaving the warehouse, a sixth grader in the sports club used the valve to repair the exercise ball.

Ten minutes later, the valves were found in the team's bags. No one intentionally stole it, but the box went through three places without a note.

Khoa held the box and said: "I'm sorry for getting angry."

Vy replied: "I'm sorry for being silent when I should have asked directly."

Huy added to the process: every item moved out of the garage must have a color tag, recording the borrower, purpose and return time. Quynh Chi suggested that the card be designed simply, ai I understand, no need to ask for signatures through many rooms.

That afternoon, Khoa gave Vy the vocational training registration form. “Truc Street Garage agreed to let me come try it out on the weekend.”

“That's good.”

"I'm still not sure. They make electric machines, but I'm only familiar with bicycles."

Vy smiled: "You just found a box of spare parts through three rooms. I think you can learn something else."

Khoa also laughed, but then became serious. "Vy, if you really want to be here, don't stand between me and the rumors. Stand with the truth. Even if the truth makes you lose points with your family."

Vy nodded. On the board, she wrote a new line: "There are no objects that disappear on their own. It's just that the process isn't clear enough." Below that line, Khoa added in oil pen: “And don't make one person the easiest explanation.”

The spare parts box incident caused the whole school to discuss for two more days. Some people think the club is too strict, others say the group should publicly apologize to Khoa. Department does not require it. He said an apology has value when it comes with change, not when it is read in front of a crowd.

Vy still feels heavy hearted. She found Khoa at Ba Man's shop and helped him make a new label. Each compartment has the name, minimum quantity and person in charge. Khoa said this way is more difficult, because if someone forgets to write it down, it will be revealed immediately. Vy replied that's why it's useful.

Mrs. Man gave them an old cake box to hold the valve. She didn't want to throw away the box because the lid was tight. Huy suggested printing beautiful labels, but Mrs. said clear text was enough. Vy wrote by hand, then asked a classmate to draw the outline.

On the first day of inventory, they discovered two wrenches had moved to the gym. No one knows who carries it. Instead of asking “who took it”, Quynh Chi asked “what was the last time it was used for”. The basketball team said it was used to tighten basketball frames. They returned it, but the group decided to buy a separate set for the gym so they wouldn't have to borrow car repair equipment.

Khoa met Dung, who had picked up the wrong box. Dung apologized, saying he didn't think a small box would take everyone so much time. Khoa said if you need a tool, just write down your name, but don't take it without asking. Dung offered to help paint color cards for the warehouse.

Vy realizes responsibility is not a stamp stuck on a person. It can be divided into specific tasks so that everyone can fix their part.

Quynh Chi organized a talk about doubt. She asked what to do if she sees you taking things. Some said to tell the teacher immediately, some said to ask first. Khoa said to start by protecting your belongings, then ask privately if it's safe. No one should turn unknown behavior into a permanent label.

Huy suggested installing a camera in the garage. Ms. Man objected because she did not want people to be recorded while repairing the car. The group agreed that the camera would only point at the door and cabinet, not the repair table. Huy looks for a type that has a covered area and writes the information clearly on the board.

One parent said cameras can still be abused. Quynh Chi added who has viewing rights, storage period and deletion process. Vy finds that a safe solution often requires accepting the inability to observe everything.

At the end of the week, Khoa prepares to go to the garage for a trial. Vy asked him if he was still sad because he was suspected. He said he still remembered, but didn't want that nostalgia to make him suspicious of everyone.

Vy looked at the board and saw the sentence "don't make a person the easiest explanation" between the numbers. She knows the group's mistakes are not over yet. But from now on, they have a way to make an error visible without having to find a person to sacrifice on behalf of the system.

Day Khoa then suggested trying the process with someone outside the group. Uncle Tu pretended to borrow a box of spare parts, while Huy recorded the time. You intentionally paid late and left a valve missing. Vy discovered that during the inventory step, it was not because she remembered the borrower's face. They modified the form to have a “paid in full” box with a confirmer.

A junior asked why there had to be two people checking when it was just a small valve. Khoa held up the valve, saying that if one was missing on a rainy day, a friend might have to walk through a dangerous road. The smallness of the object does not determine the consequences.

Vy asked Khoa if he still wanted to join the club after the suspicion. He said yes, because if he left, everyone would think the rumors were true. She told him he didn't need to prove his innocence every day. Khoa replied that he stayed because he wanted to teach, not because of rumors.

They cleared the “common mistakes” corner, placed the open box and the instruction sheet. Quynh Chi clearly stated that no one is allowed to take things there for use. Huy drew an arrow, while Vy wrote the sentence: "What's broken can be fixed; hiding it makes it bigger."

At the end of the class, a sixth grader stood reading the board for a long time and then asked if he could bring a broken bell. Khoa said yes, as long as I sign up and wait for my turn. She nodded, as if she had just learned that order is not about closed doors, but about how everyone enters together.

I came back with the bell on Wednesday afternoon. The internal parts are rusted, but the shell is still good. Faculty let me choose: replace, repair or use as a sample. I chose to try fixing it. Vy wrote down each step and let me turn the last screw myself. The bell rang softly, not ringing, but I laughed for a long time.

Quynh Chi asked if this incident needed to be recorded on the incident board. Khoa said to write down "things that still have a chance" in the corner. Vy writes the date and conditions of use. A bell doesn't destroy the parts box, but reminds them that the process isn't just about preventing errors; it also makes room for learning.