Chapter 18 — The Path of Remembrance

The friend sitting next to me turned to look at me, his mouth opened wide. Lam Tieu Ha behind me gently kicked my chair. I'm not going back. But I know she's smiling. After reading all the scores, Ms. Phuong put down the scoreboard. "My friend To Niem Niem transferred schools in less than three months, from failing in all subjects to being in the top ten of the entire grade. This level of progress is the greatest in her fifteen years of teaching." She looked at me. "I made a lot of wrong judgments about you before. Here, I want to tell you one thing: my previous attitude was not good enough, please don't take it to heart." Ms. Phuong apologized to me in front of the whole class. All thirty-six people looked at me. Trieu Giai Giai's face turned pale. Luc Uyen Dinh sat in the middle of the second row. Her back is straight. But from my perspective, her knuckles that were holding the pen were white. After class, someone gathered around. “To Niem Niem, you are so fierce!” "Ninth place overall! How did you do it?" "Math ninety-seven! Did you turn on cheat mode in the game?" I was surrounded by seats, a bit unfamiliar. Suddenly someone said something. "Why is Uyen Dinh only ranked third this time? Hasn't he always ranked first before?" The class immediately became quiet for a bit. Everyone looked towards Luc Uyen Dinh. She calmly raised her head and smiled. "This time there are two people who tested better than me, I have to learn from them." Speak discreetly without any loopholes. But the expression of Trieu Giai Giai next to him was completely unbearable. After school, Luc's father came to pick us up. Luc Uyen Dinh got in the car first. I'm one step slow. Before getting in the car, I heard Luc Uyen Dinh talking to Luc's father inside. “Dad, this time I ranked third in the whole grade.” “Third place is also very good.” “Nien Niem ranked ninth overall.” The car was silent for two seconds. After that, Luc's father's voice had unexpected joy that could not be suppressed. "Ninth place? Really?" Seeing me get in the car, he immediately turned around. "Nien Niem! Ninth place overall! Very good!" His voice was several levels louder than when Luc Uyen Dinh won first place in the entire grade. I sat down in the back seat. Luc Uyen Dinh looked out the window next to him. Her face was reflected in the glass. No more smiling. Not even a little bit. That evening, Luc's father called to tell his grandmother the good news. “Mom, Niem Niem ranked ninth in the entire grade in the midterm exam, math ninety-seven.” The other end of the line was silent for a moment. “What about Uyen Dinh?” “Ranked third overall.” "Third place is quite good. Niem Niem's ninth place exam is also considered trying hard. Continue to work hard, soon catch up with Uyen Dinh." Catch up with Uyen Dinh. Grandma's standard will always be Luc Uyen Dinh. But she didn't know that chasing was no longer my goal. I don't need to chase anymore. Because I know the next direction I want to go is not on her track. The second day after the midterm exam, the atmosphere in the house was not right. Luc Uyen Dinh began to change. Not becoming evil, but becoming cold. Before, every morning she would chat with Luc's mother at the dinner table, telling a few stories about school. Now, at breakfast she doesn't talk much anymore. Before coming home, she would play the piano for a while in the living room. Now she goes straight upstairs, closes the door, not knowing what to do inside. Luc's mother asked her what was wrong. “It's okay, just tired studying.” Luc's mother believed. But I don't believe it. Because I pay attention to something else. Trieu Giai Giai's attitude towards me suddenly changed. Not getting better, but changing to a different way. She started actively talking to me during recess. “To Niem Niem, your math is really good, can you teach me this lesson?” “To Niem Niem, your junior art class is really cool, I also want to learn to draw.” “To Niem Niem, your previous life in the countryside sounds really interesting.” This change is too sudden. It was so sudden that it didn't feel right. Lam Tieu Ha also felt it was wrong. “Since when is Trieu Giai Giai so enthusiastic?” "I don't know. But I always feel like she's acting." "Of course she's acting. The problem is who told her to act." I looked at Luc Uyen Dinh sitting in the second row. She is reading a book, her expression calm. But intuition told me that Trieu

Giai Giai's sudden friendliness was not spontaneous. Someone said something to her. Say what? It could be "if you don't fight back then join". It is possible that "your enemy's friend can also become your friend". It could also be something more complicated. The answer was revealed on Friday. That afternoon, in the cafeteria, Trieu Giai Giai "accidentally" recounted the conversation between me and Lam Tieu Ha to another table. That's what Lam Tieu Ha and I talked about privately, about Luc Uyen Dinh tutoring me just to be a good person and win titles. When recounting, Trieu Giai Giai added more. “To Niem Niem said Uyen Dinh tutored her to take advantage of her.” "She also said that Uyen Dinh treats her well on the surface, but behind her back she is a hindrance." After this word spread, public opinion in the class immediately changed. The people who were already starting to lean towards me became hesitant.