Chapter 24 — The owner of the car shop behind the school gate

Khoa received an apprenticeship offer from Truc Street garage right when the group needed him the most.

The garage asked him to come three times a week during summer vacation, learn electric car repair and warehouse management. If you complete it, you can receive a vocational scholarship. Khoa read the message under the table and hid his phone when Vy entered.

Vy discovered it through his expression. “Something good?”

“Don't know yet.”

Khoa told. He wanted to go, but Mrs. Man couldn't manage the shop herself every day. The garage is also at a critical stage, and he is the only one who knows the tool diagram and duty schedule.

Vy asked: "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. Don't tell me to just go because the opportunity only comes once. The people who say that are usually not the ones who stay to clean up the store."

Vy sat down. She did not immediately give advice. They set up two columns: if they go, what will the garage gain, what will the shop lose, what does the garage need to hand over; If she stayed, what would Science gain, what opportunities would she lose, how much more would Mrs. Man have to bear?

Khoa smiled bitterly. “You turned my life into a board.”

"The board doesn't decide. It just helps me see all the angles."

Mrs. Man heard the story and told Khoa to try it. “The shop is a roof that mom built, not a cage that she locked her children in.”

Faculty objected. “Mom needs someone.”

“Mom needs a plan, I don't need you to sacrifice yourself and then one day blame me.”

She suggested hiring Mr. Tu to assist in two sessions, while the club members took turns on duty in the garage. Vy said she could study more to help in the shop, but Mrs. Man didn't want her to consider it an obligation.

"It's okay to come because you want to learn. It's okay to come because you think you have to save us."

Vy nodded. She understands that other people's autonomy needs to be respected as well as their right to speak up.

The team makes a handover list: cabinet diagram, lock code, contact person in case of power outage, garage phone number, how to record inventory, tools that cannot be borrowed, accident handling procedures. Khoa writes in great detail, but is still worried.

Huy said he would help with the spreadsheet. Quynh Chi received training for new members. Vy suggests having two people open the garage each shift, not letting one person keep the key alone.

Faculty's first trial took place on Saturday. Vy did not come along immediately; She was afraid he would feel watched. In the afternoon, Khoa sent a photo of a removed electric vehicle controller, next to a pair of thick gloves.

“The worker here made me read the instructions before touching the wire,” he texted.

Vy replied: "Our garage should also have instructions before touching the electrical outlet."

Khoa sent a smiley face.

On the second day, he returned with scratches on his hand and some bad news: the garage could officially hire him if he missed extra evening classes. The faculty is preparing to take the vocational university scholarship exam, so they have to choose.

Vy asked him what he wanted to become in five years. Khoa was silent for a long time. He said he wanted to open a car repair place with free classes for students, but that dream seemed as distant as a sign on an unknown road.

“So choose things that help you get closer, not just things that keep you in the same place,” Vy said.

Khoa looked at her. “You say it's easy because your family can pay the tuition.”

"Yes. I shouldn't pretend to understand what it's like to have to choose between money and time. But I can help you compile information so you can ask yourself about scholarships, shifts, and time off."

Khoa nodded. He called the garage back, not asking for favors, just asking for clarification on the contract.

A week later, the garage agreed to let him work weekends and two afternoons, keeping the same class schedule. They lend out sets of technical books. Faculty accepted, but asked to take time off when the garage had a safety incident.

Mrs. Man smiled and put a new helmet in his hand. Vy and Quynh Chi made a congratulatory sign, Huy accidentally printed the word "chief engineer" too big. Khoa hung it in the shop, even though he said it was embarrassing.

Before leaving, he gave Vy a silver snail. "Give me the garage. Use it in electric machines."

“Give it to me?”

"For unanswered questionnaires. Remind that there are things that look similar but cannot be arbitrarily replaced."

Vy placed the snail next to the old bell. Two small things, two directions. She sees that Khoa's future is no longer a shadow that causes the garage to lose people. It became proof that a good community must help members leave so that the place can continue.

Khoa started going to the garage on weekends. On the first day, he came home late, his hands were stained with a different kind of oil and his face was both tired and excited. Vy asked him what he learned. Khoa said he learned how to read errors from the audio, but also learned that veteran workers can skip safety steps because they are too familiar.

“Did you say it?”

"Yes. They told me I was right, then said next time don't slow down the whole garage."

Vy asked him how he felt. Khoa said that at his mother's shop, he has more autonomy; At the garage, you have to learn how to speak in a big system. She said that's what the group is also doing with the school.

Mrs. Man hired Uncle Tu for two sessions, but he could only come when there was no construction work. The group schedules replacements: Vy is on Wednesday, Quynh Chi is on Friday, and a former student is on Saturday. No one is allowed to work alone after dark.

Huy designed a shift handover table. He wanted to write down "the person on duty's mood", but Quynh Chi said that was private information. Huy changed it to "things to note about safety".

One time a handover was missing parts numbers, Khoa had to call the garage to ask to borrow them. He was upset over small things. Vy mentioned that this error proves that the board needs a second person to check. Click silent, then add a confirmation box.

Truc Street Garage suggested that Khoa go to extra classes at night. If you agree, you must reduce your time at the shop. Mrs. Man told him to ask clearly about wages, holidays, and study rights. Khoa was surprised because his mother didn't tell him to choose right away.

“I want you to go far, but I don't want you to go in the dark,” she said.

Vy helped him prepare questions for the garage, but Khoa called himself. He asked for a week to try, then decide. The manager agreed.

During the trial week, Khoa repaired a controller and was assigned to instruct a younger student. He realized he liked to teach, not just like to disassemble machines. He wrote in the notebook: "open a shop with classes".

Vy read and asked if she could participate. Khoa said if she would study from the beginning. She replied that she was used to starting from dropping things.

One evening, Khoa sent a photo of a polished silver screw. He said the mechanic said this type of screw can withstand heat well, but if installed incorrectly, it will still be damaged. Vy replied: "So it's not like good things can save bad practices."

Khoa texted back: "You finally understand."

Vy put away her phone and looked at the garage sign. Faculty can go, but the process is withholding knowledge. That is quiet success: one has greater opportunities without turning the old place into an abandoned place.

Khoa sent the garage schedule to the whole group, but did not require anyone to follow him. Vy reassigned shifts, leaving room for new learners. One friend wanted to take on more shifts because he liked repairing cars. Khoa reminded him not to push himself too hard. Ms. Man said that learning a trade also requires learning how to rest.

Gara gave Khoa a set of documents, including: about electrical safety. He brought the paper to the garage and asked to add a charging port warning sign. Huy asked if the sea would make the repair area less beautiful. The answer key is beautiful but dangerous, which is just a type of error.

Vy helped Khoa do his homework to calculate the cost of replacing the controller. He calculated quickly but forgot to wear out his tools. She reminded, then realized she was applying the method she learned from Mrs. Man. Khoa said she could teach small business classes.

One afternoon, Khoa did not arrive on time for his shift because there was a problem in the garage. New members panic, but the handover sheet helps them handle it. Vy did not call and blame him. She texted to ask if the incident was safe, then added a backup contact person.

Khoa apologizes for not reporting sooner. Vy said the system was created so that one person could be absent without causing everything to fall apart. He listened, then suggested including that in the rules of the vocational class.

Mrs. Man received an invitation to become a car repair partner for a large store. They wanted to use the shop's name, but requested that they only accept cars from one company. She refused because she did not want to lose customers who did not use that company. Khoa asked his mother if she was sorry. She said an inappropriate opportunity is not a missed opportunity.

Vy saw that her father also said something similar, but in a different context. She wondered if adults were really different, or if they just needed a place safe enough for them to say what was right.

The department receives a probationary certificate from the garage. The paper only had three lines written on it, but he kept it very carefully. Mrs. Man did not hold a big celebration; She cooked a pot of noodles and called Uncle Tu and the rest of the group. Huy carries a "community resources" sign, Quynh Chi carries a vegetable purchase receipt.

Khoa said he wanted to use his first salary to buy a set of safety locks for the shop. Mrs. Man told him to buy a good pair of shoes first, because he stood all day. Vy nodded, wrote both suggestions in the notebook and then asked Khoa to choose his own. He chose the shoes, and kept the buckles for the general fund.

Vy understands that helping a person develop is not always about buying what they lack; Sometimes it's to remind them to take care of themselves first.