Chapter 7 — The Path of Remembrance

“Nien Niem, have you been secretly studying hard lately?” "What's up?" "Nothing. It's just that after you didn't come to me for tutoring, your score went up again. I'm afraid that Ms. Phuong feels like my previous teaching method wasn't correct." When she said this, she was smiling, but that smile was too light. So light that it felt like I was probing. I answered her. “You teach very well, it's because I understand it myself.” “It's good to be clear.” She went upstairs and closed the door. That night, the Luc family's grandmother came again. At the dinner table, Luc's father reminded him that Niem Niem's achievements had improved. Grandma said yes. “How much progress?” “Math eighty-three.” “What about Uyen Dinh?” "One hundred." Grandma looked at me. “The gap is still large.” Then looked at Luc Uyen Dinh again. “This child Uyen Dinh, no matter where he grows up, he is still smart in his bones.” Luc's mother smiled and interrupted: "Mom, Niem Niem is also smart, it's just that the previous conditions were not good." Grandma said nothing, picked up a chopstick of food and put it in Luc Uyen Dinh's bowl. "Uyen Dinh, eat more. I heard you have a speech contest next week?" “Yes, English speech competition, school selection round.” “Prepare well, when that time comes I will go see you.” From start to finish, no one asked what I had scheduled for next week. Next Wednesday, I have the preliminary round of the art competition. But no one knows. No one asked. After dinner, I went back to my room to call my mother. “Mom, I got eighty-three points on the math test.” "Really? Your daughter is so good?" “Literature is also seventy-nine.” “What about English?” “Fifty-two.” “Is there any progress?” “Increased by three points.” “That's progress, better than last time.” Mother's voice is always as relaxing as the wind in the mountains. “That's right, Niem Niem, your Gray Gray family did a big thing today.” “What is it?” "It ate all the cabbage your father just bought. There was an entire bed, not a single plant left. Your father chased it around three hills but still couldn't catch it." I lay face down on the bed and laughed for a long time. After laughing, I realized my eyes were wet. Not because it's funny. But because I miss home. But I didn't tell my mother. After hanging up the phone, I opened the English book and continued to chew on each letter and phonetic symbol one by one. The light outside the window is very bright. This city never seems dark. But on my mountain, the sky is completely dark, the sky is full of stars. On the day of the preliminary round of the art competition, something happened. When I got to school in the morning, I discovered that the contest entry in my desk drawer had disappeared. I spent two whole weeks drawing that picture. In the painting, Gray Gray stands on the mountainside. In the distance is my yard, mother sitting by the window drawing, father chopping firewood in the yard, eighteen white geese lined up walking down the small road. I searched all my school bags, desk drawers and the ground around my seat. None. Lam Tieu Ha saw my appearance and walked over to ask what was going on. "My painting is gone. Yesterday after school it was still in the desk drawer." “Are you sure it was still there after school yesterday?” "Sure. I took it out yesterday and looked at it before putting it back." Lam Tieu Ha's face changed. “Wait a minute.” She quickly walked out of the classroom. Two minutes later, she returned, her face even more unsightly. "I asked the person on duty. Yesterday after class, someone came back to class." "Who?" “Trieu Giai Giai.” I stood up and walked in front of Trieu Giai Giai. She is talking to the person next to her. Seeing me coming, she raised her eyebrows. "Doing what?" "My painting is gone. Yesterday you came back to class after class." "What do you mean? Is it illegal for me to go back to class to get things?" “Did you take my painting?” "On what basis do you say I took your paintings? Do you have proof?" She stood up, half a head taller than me. "To Niem Niem, don't bite people indiscriminately. Why should I take a torn painting of yours?" I stared at her. “So where do my paintings go?” "How do I know? Who can you blame if you don't take care yourself?" At this time, Luc Uyen Dinh stepped forward. "What's up?" Trieu Giai Giai immediately changed his face. "Uyen Dinh, To Niem Niem's painting was lost, she insisted on letting me take it. You decide." Luc Uyen Dinh looked at me and then looked at Tri

eu Giai Giai. "Nien Niem, don't rush to lose something. Just look carefully first, maybe I put it somewhere else. Don't misunderstand your classmates." Her voice was gentle and soft. But it was that gentleness that suddenly made me unusually alert. “Uyen Dinh, did you know that I participated in the preliminary round of the art competition today?” Her expression froze. "I don't really understand..." "You don't understand? Last week the notice of the art club was posted on the bulletin board, I pass by there every day." “Maybe you weren't paying attention.” “So did you know that Trieu Giai Giai came back to class yesterday after class?” Luc Uyen Dinh did not speak. Trieu Giai Giai was in a hurry first. "I said I'll come back to get my things! It has nothing to do with your torn painting!" The other students in the class all looked over. Ms. Phuong pushed the door and walked in. “What's the noise?” Trieu Giai Giai said first: "Miss Phuong, To Niem Niem's painting is lost, he falsely accused me of taking it!"