Chapter 27 — The owner of the car shop behind the school gate

The meeting decided there were three options and none of them were perfect.

Option one is a glass garage, beautiful and spacious but with high maintenance costs. The second option is to keep the roof, repair the foundation and install lights, which is cheaper but does not fully address accessibility. Option three is the Open Garage: replace the roof in parts, build a slope, keep a repair area, have an operating schedule and maintenance fund.

The council asked each group to present for ten minutes. Representative Van Hung presented first, not avoiding the weaknesses of the glass plan. Ms. Lan said the glass is easy to clean but is hot and needs curtains; Display areas can cause narrow aisles; The cost after three years may not be low.

Huy looked at Vy, surprised. Van Hung has abandoned the way of presenting only advantages.

When it was the group's turn, Vy did not read the speech. She projected a map of experiences: rain, after-school hours, wheelchairs, the smell of oil, power outages, lost spare parts. Faculty present the process in shifts; Quynh Chi read the data protection terms; Huy announced each source of money.

A council member asked who will pay if the maintenance fund is lacking? The Faculty's responsibilities are divided into three parts: the school takes care of the foundation and electricity, the store takes care of the tools within the scope of operation, the sponsor only supports according to the public agreement. If any source stops, the school must notify and decide with the user the next step.

Ms. Hanh said that option three does not have handrails of the right size she needs. Engineer Lam noted and suggested correcting the drawing without waiting for approval.

Ms. Man gave the last condition: during the construction period, the shop must have a temporary place and be supported in moving. One parent asked what if she wanted to close the door. She replied that it was her right, no one could take her story to force her to continue.

The meeting room is silent. Vy finds that sentence more important than any call to save the store.

The council left the room to discuss. Students sat in the hallway, passing bread to each other. Huy wanted to joke, but couldn't think of it. Khoa tapped his knee. Vy looked at the garage card in her hand and suddenly realized she had attached too many emotions to a key.

After forty minutes, the council returned. They chose option three with the condition of revising the slope, adding an interim plan, auditing the fund in six months and evaluating after one year. Van Hung was invited to sponsor the roof and lights if he accepted a non-advertising agreement. The construction part must be bid transparently.

No one clapped immediately. Khoa looked at Mrs. Man first. She nodded. Huy sighed and slammed his hand on the table. Quynh Chi asked when the decision document would be sent.

Vy stood up to thank her, but Ms. Van stopped her. "Don't thank me like you just won. You just got a harder job."

The Council assigned the group to participate in supervision, without the right to sign. They must report when they see errors and do not arbitrarily adjust the design. What Khoa said is correct. Vy feels secure because her powers are limited.

Her father sent a text message: "The company board approved sponsorship on a non-advertising basis." Vy did not answer personally. She forwarded the news to Ms. Van to record.

Huy asked Van Hung if he was sad. Vy said it was possible. But a good business is not always chosen; is a business that can handle being questioned and still do its part.

When the meeting ended, Khoa accompanied Vy down the stairs. He said: "Car shop owner, do you still have the key?"

Vy took out the key. "Still."

"So be careful. From tomorrow we have to close temporarily for repairs."

Vy looked at the keychain scratched. It is no longer a symbol that she was asked by her father to help her. It is a reminder that with every right to open a door comes the responsibility of knowing when to close it, so that others can make it safer.

Khoa recorded the answer in the minutes, then checked the fence lock one more time.

Vy added the name of the person on duty outside the gate. They don't open the door without someone in charge.

I asked if the temporary path is blocked, who should I notify? Vy pointed to the security phone number board. I copied it down, then reminded my friends not to park their cars in front of the fence. Khoa says that's part of the design: users know what to do when there's a problem.

On closing day, they took pictures of the location of each tool. Mrs. Man locked the private compartment, Huy checked the board, Quynh Chi turned off the old link. Vy held the key, but gave it to Ms. Van to keep until construction day. She doesn't want someone who can arbitrarily open the door in the middle of danger.

I asked if I could help during the closure. Khoa said he could remind his friends not to park their cars on the temporary driveway. I received an instruction sheet and asked for an additional sheet for the class. Vy put her name in the volunteer group, but reminded her not to assign dangerous tasks.

The contractor started building the fence. One parent suggested placing a fence so children wouldn't get through. Ms. Hanh said the closed fence makes it difficult for wheelchair users to see directions. They chose a fence with space, added clear signs and someone on duty at school dismissal time.

Vy realized that safety is not about building as many fences as possible. Doing it right is letting the person who needs to pass know how to go and having someone answer when they don't know.

She nodded, as if she understood a story that didn't need to promise a specific date to be trustworthy. Vy found herself starting to understand that too.

After the option is chosen, the team must sign a role handover record. Vy does not have the right to sign the finances, Khoa does not have the right to approve construction, Huy does not have the right to post his own photos. Each person reads carefully, then signs their appropriate part.

One member asked why not let Ms. Van sign everything quickly. Ms. Van said adults can be held legally responsible, but a good project still needs many people to see mistakes. Khoa added that multiple signatures do not make work safer if no one reads them.

The contractor sent a new schedule, in which the construction time was three days shorter than expected. Huy suspects they skipped the background processing step. Engineer Lam confirmed it was correct, then asked to fix it. The contractor complained that the group of students intervened too deeply. Ms. Van reminded them to participate according to the agreed minutes.

Vy is afraid that she is becoming an unpleasant person. Her father said people working on projects often hate questions on the day they want to complete them, but that's when they're needed the most. She asked him if he had ever been tested like that by someone else. He said yes, and thus the company avoided a lawsuit.

Khoa and Vy walked around the garage before closing day. They label things to move, things to throw away, things to take pictures of. Ms. Man kept the welding table, but agreed to replace the table legs if the technician confirmed it was dangerous. No one considers everything old to be untouchable.

Huy set up a project notification channel. Only post one update per day, avoid turning editing into constant content. Quynh Chi checks who receives notifications. Vy asked what about people who don't use phones. They placed a paper sign at the gate and asked the security guard to notify them directly.

During the last session before closing, a sixth grader asked if the garage would reopen. Khoa said yes, but the date is unknown. I asked what if it doesn't open? Vy answered if If the plan is not safe, they will come back to fix it and not be able to open it on time.

I asked who would keep the bell at the instrument panel. Vy said to hand it over to the first person on duty, then write down his name in the minutes. I suggest making a small rainproof box. Khoa agrees, but reminds me to measure before buying.

Once the temporary fence was up, the group tried passing through on bicycles, wheelchairs and shopping carts. A corner that is tighter than the drawing. They notified the contractor immediately, without waiting for the acceptance date. It's better to be late for one session than for many people to be wrong all week.

Vy locked the door and turned back to look at the old corrugated iron roof. She didn't know it would remain intact after construction, but knew all changes had been recorded so the next person wouldn't have to start from scratch.

On the first day of construction, Vy stood outside the fence with Ms. Van. The contractor removed the west sheet, revealing rusted iron bars. Engineer Lam explained that the two bars had to be replaced even though they were not broken, because the load on the new roof was different. Huy asked what would happen if it wasn't changed. Lam said it may not be visible right away, but the next few rainy seasons will be dangerous.

Khoa moved Mrs. Man's tools to the temporary roof. A box of screws was missing a label. He didn't guess who did it, just opened the handover list. Vy called the person on duty first and asked each step. Finally, the box is placed in a moisture-proof material box, placed aside to avoid water. They put a new label on it, no one blames anyone.

Huy posted the first day's update with a photo of a rusty iron bar, not a photo of the construction team smiling. One comment asked why the building looked ugly. Huy replied that this is the stage of dismantling to repair, and the photo helps everyone know why the progress cannot be shortened.

Quynh Chi created a change book. Every time the contractor proposes to change materials, they write down the reason, price difference, and approver. Vy sees that a transparent project doesn't make construction faster, but it keeps changes from becoming secret.

At the end of the day, Khoa gave Vy a spare helmet. He said that even if she stands outside the fence, she still has to wear it. Vy wore it, then adjusted the strings too tight. Khoa showed me how to loosen it and she did it again. A small thing, but it reminds her that safety starts with the person observing, not just the person doing the construction.