Chapter 21 — The Stage of the Unsaid

Two days before the regional festival, when the whole club seemed to be able to fully focus on the final practice sessions without having to worry about any further sabotage, another incident suddenly occurred — this time, not from an intentional threat, but from the uncontrolled spread of social networks.

The old post in the entertainment group, recalling the video "stage prodigy forgot his words" that Gia Bach accidentally discovered many weeks ago, was suddenly dug up by another account - completely unrelated to Gia Bach - and shared more widely, along with speculation about the real identity of the character in the video, based on a few coincidental details that observant online users have noticed.

On Friday morning, when Kien arrived at school, he immediately noticed curious eyes and unusual whispers from some students who did not belong to the club. By mid-morning that morning, a kind classmate discreetly texted him to warn him about the viral post, along with a specific link.

Kien stood dumbfounded in the empty hallway at that time, looking at the phone screen, watching the same video that he had been trying to avoid for the past four years, now being commented and shared by hundreds of people, with all kinds of different reactions. A familiar feeling of panic began to rise in his chest, painful memories of the past rushing back fiercely.

Anh Thu, receiving a text message from Ngoc Diep about the incident, hurriedly found Kien and saw him standing against the wall, breathing rapidly and his face pale. "Kien," she called, her voice filled with worry, "are you okay?"

"It's really gone viral," Kien said, his voice shaking, showing her the phone. "Exactly what I feared most."

Anh Thu held his hand tightly, trying to keep his voice calm even though he couldn't help but feel worried. "Let's calmly consider the real situation before panicking," she said, pulling him to sit on a nearby bench, and together they skimmed through the comments below the post.

What surprised both of them was that instead of the malicious ridicule that Kien had been fearing for the past four years, the majority of the comments had a completely different tone — many expressed sympathy for the terrible pressure a fourteen-year-old had to endure while performing live in front of thousands of audiences, a few others shared their own similar experiences of stage fright, and most notably, a few of the most recent comments even mentioned "good play". emotional career" that the "main character in the video" is currently participating in, along with sincere wishes of luck for the upcoming festival.

"Look at this," Anh Thu said, his voice full of surprise, pointing to a specific comment. "Someone already knows you're the lead actor in 'The Light at the End of the Road', and they're cheering for you, not mocking you."

Kien read that comment over and over again, then continued scrolling through dozens of other comments, clearly realizing that a lot of things had changed in four years - not only had he himself become more mature, but also the online community's perspective had become somewhat more mature, more sympathetic to stories about human hurt and healing journeys.

"I... I really didn't expect things to turn out this way," Kien said, his voice still shaking but the initial panic had subsided.

"Perhaps," Anh Thu said, holding his hand tightly, "this is the clearest proof that what you have been afraid of for the past four years, does not completely reflect reality as you imagine. The world has changed, and perhaps, the people around us are more compassionate than you think."

However, not all reactions were positive. There were still some mocking comments, and rumors about the incident also began to spread within the school, causing Kien to still face curious, even somewhat judgmental looks from some unfamiliar students throughout the day. But this time, unlike four years ago, he no longer had to face everything alone — there was Anh Thu, Duy Anh, Ngoc Diep, Ms. Huong, and a whole club team ready to stand by his side, no matter what happened next.

At recess, Ms. Huong summoned the entire club into the hall, realizing the need to resolve the issue openly and transparently before it could cause any further damage to the overall morale of the entire cast right before the important competition day.

"I know, many of you have heard about the incident that is spreading online," she said, her voice calm but heavy, standing in front of all the members. "I want to make it clear, any of us's past, no matter how painful, does not define who they are today. What really matters, is how we choose to face and overcome it."

She turned to look at Kien, her eyes filled with pride. "I want all of you to see a mirror right in front of your eyes - a person who experienced deep trauma, but did not let it determine her future, courageously stood up, faced her own fears, to once again shine on stage."

The entire hall simultaneously applauded loudly, not out of pity, but out of sincere admiration for Kien's energetic journey. He stood there, clearly feeling a warmth spreading throughout his chest, almost completely erasing the remaining worries from the tumultuous morning.

That night, when Kien returned home, he discovered his parents sitting in the living room, with their phone open to the viral post in front of them. He braced himself for another argument, but instead, his mother just smiled, her eyes filled with emotion.

"We've read all the comments," she said, her voice shaking slightly with emotion. "We didn't expect that everyone would react so positively. Perhaps, we were too worried, to the point of underestimating your own maturity, and the kindness of those around you."

"I'm really proud of you, Kien," his father added, his voice rarely sincere. "No matter what happens in the next two days, you have proven your true mettle."

Those sincere words of encouragement, coming from the very people who worried and opposed him the most, gave Kien a rare feeling of completeness and warmth, as if every last piece of the arduous healing journey over the past four years had now found their rightful place, preparing for the final, most important challenge - the official performance at the regional festival, only two days away.

Before going to his room to rest, Kien texted Anh Thu, recounting the entire warm conversation with his parents. "I think, finally, everything in my life is going in the right direction," he wrote, along with a small emoji he rarely uses.

"I'm very happy for you, honestly," Anh Thu texted back immediately. "You deserve all these good things, after everything you've been through."

"With you by my side, every challenge in my life seems to become much easier to overcome," Kien replied, his finger gliding across the phone screen with a gentle smile appearing on his lips.

The conversation continued for a while, the two reviewing the long and eventful journey they had gone through together since their first bumpy meeting at the club — from the initial fear, the tearful practice sessions, the terrifying sabotage plots, to the present moment, when they both stood firm against all the storms together, ready for the final chapter of the story.

That night, when he finally put down his phone to prepare for bed, Kien looked up at the ceiling, filled with a rare sense of peace that he had never experienced so fully in the past four years. He knew that tomorrow there would still be many challenges, curious eyes would continue to follow him in the next few days, but for the first time, he felt that he was truly ready to face whatever was waiting ahead, not with fear, but with the inner strength that he had painstakingly rebuilt from the fragments of the past, little by little, throughout a long journey that he never dared to believe he could reach the end of.