Chapter 29 — The owner of the car shop behind the school gate

The garage reopened one afternoon without ceremony.

No ribbon cutting, no models, no backdrops. Miss Van just opened the door, Mrs. Man pushed the silver-green car in, and Khoa checked the slope one last time. A junior student pumped the cake himself, a teacher tested the handrail, and Ms. Hanh walked through the new path and nodded.

Huy placed the financial table next to the door. On it are the actual costs, the budget overrun due to the temporary roof, Van Hung's sponsorship and the audit schedule. The sponsor logo is at the bottom, smaller than the words "opening hours".

Vy saw her father standing outside and did not go in immediately. He wore a shirt and was not accompanied by a media team. She came out to say hello. He asked if he could see the spare parts cabinet.

“You have to register as a user,” Vy said.

He smiled and wrote his name on the board. Khoa gave him a pair of gloves. Mai Duc Thanh took off his watch and bent down to try pumping the tire. He made a mistake by locking the pump head, causing the gas to escape. Khoa pointed back, not smiling.

“I need to study a lot,” he said.

“Everyone needs to learn.”

Mrs. Man brought tea. She did not thank him socially. She said: "Thank you for leaving the sponsorship without advertising panels. But if there are new terms in the future, we will still read them."

He nodded. “I hope you read it.”

Vy stood between the two of them, seeing a calmness that she had never seen in family meetings. No one needs to play the good guy. They just need to know what they have agreed to.

Khoa pulled Vy behind. He gave her the silver snail and asked her where she wanted to put it. Vy mounted it next to the bell, on the general instrument panel.

“Are you afraid everything will break again?” Khoa asked.

“Yes. So the board has an inspection schedule.”

“I asked about something else.”

Vy knew he wasn't talking about the roof. She looked at the row of cars, where a girl was laughing because she had patched the first hole herself. “I'm afraid we'll leave school and this place will go back to the way it was.”

Khoa replied: "Then train new people. Don't turn yourself into an irreplaceable part."

“I'm afraid you'll go to the garage and forget the shop.”

"I will go. But going does not mean forgetting."

Vy wanted to ask more, but Khoa called her to help one child calm down. She bent down and heard her brother tell her that the car was a gift from her sister. She adjusted the saddle lower and told me to test the brakes before running.

At the end of the day, the garage is empty. Huy cleared the board, Quynh Chi checked the feedback link, and Mrs. Man locked her locker. Vy's father stood outside the gate waiting for her. He asked her if she wanted to go home with him.

Vy looked at Khoa. He was putting away his tools, his hair disheveled from bending over all day. She said she would come back later.

Father nodded, did not ask further. “You seem to have a place you want to stay.”

"Not forever. Just today."

He smiled. “Today is important enough.”

When his father left, Khoa came next to Vy. He said the garage had just sent a new schedule, he could study more on Tuesday night. Vy said she will recruit new members for the club. Khoa asked her if she still wanted to be a car shop owner.

“I have never been a real mistress.”

“You have the key.”

“The key only opens the door.”

“So you learned something more important.”

Vy looked at him. “Are you praising me?”

“It depends on the listener.”

This time Vy laughed first. They stood under the new roof, hearing the car bell ring from the gate. No one talked about their feelings, but the silence between them was no longer awkward. It's like a road just wide enough where two people can walk side by side without having to squeeze.

Vy stood far away and watched. She no longer felt the need to introduce her father by title. He can be a user, and that's enough.

Department nodded, cycling slowly to wait for her.

Vy followed, the bell rang gently.

Khoa asked her if she wanted to keep her father's ballot as a souvenir. Vy said no, the ticket belongs to the general file. He said she could keep a copy if he agreed. Dad texted that he wanted the copy in the financial sheet, not in her private compartment.

The inspection ended with a small list: tighten handrails, replace towel hooks, repaint lines, update duty hours. None of them is big enough to be celebrated, but all are real enough to affect tomorrow.

Vy recorded a review date after two weeks. Faculty set reminders. The two stood still for a moment, hearing the sound of the car passing through the gate and Mrs. Man calling someone to come pick up the car.

“Do you think it's worth it?” Khoa asked.

Vy looked at the board full of words. “It's worth it because it's still work.”

Khoa took an old bus ticket from his pocket and told him to give it to him for going to school on time all month. Vy teased that the reward didn't sound like a car mechanic. He said the ticket reminded him that traveling is not just about the car; Sometimes you have to choose another way to get there.

They stick the ticket in the class book, not hang it on the board. A new friend asked them what they were to each other. Vy and Khoa looked at each other, then said "teammate". Quynh Chi from behind said the answer was safe but not necessarily enough.

Vy is in no hurry to name names. She learned that something that takes time should not be forced to be completed just because outsiders want to know.

Outside in the yard, a new friend called Khoa's name. He stood up, and Vy held the board so the wind wouldn't tip it over.

She asked how to register for class. Khoa pointed to the board and Vy wrote down her name and class time. The door is still open, but no one comes in without knowing the rules.

Khoa checked the form again, then gave her a copy of the instructions.

After her father left, Vy checked his ballot. The department clearly recorded the front and rear pressures, along with the gasket error. Huy added the contribution to the table, without recording the full name, just writing "day 3 user". Father Vy sent a message asking why he didn't write his name. Vy said because he did not need to be mentioned by name to prove his contribution.

He replied with a symbol of agreement. She looked at the screen and saw that there was a new language between father and son: terms, tickets, dates and things that could be checked. It is less emotional than promises, but more durable.

Khoa moved the chair next to him and asked Vy if she wanted to sit and rest. She sat down, placing the key between the two of them. Neither one held it in their hands, but they both knew they would need to open the door tomorrow.

After pumping the cake, Vy's father wrote in his ticket that the valve head was slightly leaking. He wanted the next person to know that the car was not perfect. Khoa checked and showed him how to replace the gasket. He asked for spare parts prices, then put the correct amount in the donation box.

Huy joked that the garage just had a famous customer but no one took pictures. Quynh Chi reminded the user who said he did not want to appear, and even jokes should not be used to suggest guesses. Huy apologized and deleted the draft on his phone.

Vy watched her father lead the car to the gate. He did not call her his daughter in public. Just nod like a user who has just been helped. She saw that their relationship was not diminished by the removal of their titles; it's more real.

Khoa asked her if she wanted to go with her father. Vy said later, she still had to check the lock. Khoa stayed, no further questions asked. He understands that personal choices also require space.

At the end of the session, Khoa asked Vy if she was going to tell her father about the group's twelve unresolved requests. Vy said yes, through the general report. He asked her if she found it difficult. She replied with difficulty, But it's not as scary as before.

Khoa said: "You are used to letting others see unfinished parts."

“And you're used to letting other people go on.”

They laughed together. A car drove by, the bell rang gently. Outside the gate, the street is still noisy, but the parking area has its own rhythm, enough for people to fix things and change the way they look at each other.

One week after reopening, Khoa proposed to organize an independent inspection with users. Vy invited Ms. Hanh, Ms. Man, the cleaning lady, the security guard, the football team representative and two new students. They went through each area, not in a performance way.

Ms. Hanh pointed out that the right handrail was shaking slightly. Ms. Man said the anti-humidity cabinet works well but the lower compartment is difficult to open. The cleaning lady asked for more towel hangers. The time the team wants to use the field is clearly stated on the board. No one said “it was perfect”.

Huy recorded the cost of minor repairs. Van Hung asked if it needed to be included in the quarterly report. Father Vy answered yes, including the unsatisfactory part. Vy read that sentence in the email and smiled, but did not answer for him.

Khoa gave her a vocational training schedule. He was officially accepted at the end of the week, but could still assist in classes at the beginning of the month. Vy asked if he was tired. Khoa said it would be tiring, so they needed someone else to study with them.

Quynh Chi recruited three new members, including one who was rejected by the group because he was underage. This time she asked her family, set up appropriate shifts and taught safety first. Vy realized that a mature club is not a club that only accepts good people.

Father Vy arrived on the day of the inspection, standing at the end of the line waiting to pump the car. A student who didn't recognize him gave him the slip. He waited patiently. When it was his turn, he asked Khoa how to inflate old tires. The instructor did not know he was teaching a business owner.

Vy stood far away and watched. She no longer felt the need to introduce her father by title. He can be a user, and that's enough.