Chapter 6 — The Thirteenth Desk Drawer

September 18 is not on the school's calendar. The administrative office only saved a line "class activities", but the bus ticket Mr. Vinh gave had route number 7 printed, time 4:40 p.m. An Khe asked the old librarian through the phone number she found in the staff list. She remembers that day the school organized a sale of used items to raise funds for scholarships, but the program was not posted on the bulletin board because parents sponsored it privately.

“Why not write it down?” An Khe asked.

“Because the money goes straight through the board of representatives.”

“Did anyone witness it?”

"There are students. One named Mai is in charge of recording the money."

Khoi listens to calls using speakerphone. He asked her if she remembered who drove the money box. The librarian said there was a white car, the driver was from the housing management board. After the car left, Mr. Vinh was called to sign the confirmation. At the end of the day, Mai discovered a box of money missing.

An Khe and Khoi asked for a list of participating students. Teacher Quang showed them the photocopy, but many names were crossed out. Minh Thu found her mother's name on the list of cafeteria workers. Hao recognized the name of the father of a classmate, currently a member of the parents' association. The story is no longer Mai's secret; it can drag many families back to a day they want to forget.

To understand where the money went, they went to the bus station on line 7. The old ticket seller had retired, but the water counter at the station still had Ms. Tu who remembered Hoang Lam school students. She said that afternoon there was a male student who paid for his ticket with change, standing next to a woman wearing a blue jacket. The male student held a small cardboard box with the word "SCHOLARSHIP" written on it.

“When did he get in the car?”

"Didn't get in. He waited and then gave the box to the woman. Then he ran towards the school."

Khoi asked why she remembered. Ms. Tu pointed to a scar on her wrist. That day, the cardboard box fell, and a piece of metal number 13 in it cut her hand. "I thought it was a toy. Later I found out it belonged to the old table."

An Khe felt her heart beat fast. Can table number 13 be disassembled into many parts and used to transport money? Khoi did not agree. He said the metal piece could be an asset marker, not proof that money was on the table. Ms. Tu gave them another piece of bus ticket, with a pen on the back: **Give it to the assistant door keeper.**

Returning to the school, they checked the side gate. The gate has a small security room, with a duty book hanging on the wall. On September 18, the person on duty was a security guard named Loc, now retired. Mr. Quang allowed them to contact him through his son. Uncle Loc didn't want to meet, but when he heard An Khe read the words on the ticket, he made an appointment at a tea shop near the school.

He said that afternoon, he saw a woman in a blue shirt bring a cardboard box into the vice principal's office. Then, a male student brought a small table to the side gate. When he asked, the male student told Mr. Phuc to send it to be repaired. He wore a uniform and a class 11A7 badge. He couldn't see his face clearly, but he only remembered that he had a red ink mark on his left hand.

“Is that Mai?” An Khe asked.

"No. Mai is a girl. That guy is a boy."

Khoi suddenly became quiet. He looked at the table, then asked Uncle Loc if he remembered what the male student said. He shook his head, but remembered one sentence: "If you do it right, she will stay."

On the way home, Khoi did not speak. An Khe also did not force her. At the foot of the stairs, he said: "That boy could be me."

An Khe was surprised. Khoi didn't go to this school twelve years ago, but his father used to work as a furniture repairman here. When he was a child, Khoi heard his grandmother tell him that his father made a table number 13 according to the old model and gave it to the school. His father passed away before Khoi entered high school. Maybe he asked a student to carry the desk to the gate, but why?

Khoi searched his pocket for an old family photo. His father stood in front of the carpentry workshop, on the table was metal piece number 13. In the corner of the photo was the date taken: September 16, two days before the fundraiser. An Khe realized that on the back of the photo were Mrs. Khoi's words: "Don't let the table be burned."

“She knows more than you think,” An Khe said.

Khoi texted her, but she didn't reply. That night, he went home early. An Khe stayed in class and checked the fund list with Thu. They discovered that three scholarship students were dropped after Mai left school. One of the three is Thu's older sister, who dropped out of school in the middle of eleventh grade because she didn't have enough money to pay tuition.

Thu sat down. "My mother never said she lost her scholarship. She just said our family didn't have enough money."

An Khe hugged your shoulder. She realized the numbers in the book weren't just money. Each crossed line could mean a missed school year, a person having to go to work early, a family thinking they've failed but not knowing who took the opportunity.

The homeroom teacher came to class and saw three people around the window. The letter panicked and tried to close it. The teacher stopped. “Let me see.”

She read each name, then placed her hand on the line with Ms. Thu's name. "I thought it was over because the fund wasn't enough. But this signature is not yours."

“Will you say?” An Khe asked.

She looked out the window. “I will say it, but you must understand that saying it can make many people uncomfortable.”

“We were upset from the moment we didn't know anything,” Khoi said.

The teacher did not object. She asked for a copy, signed it clearly and told them not to post it arbitrarily. The four people sat in class until dark, the sunlight fading on table number 13. Before leaving, An Khe opened the drawer. The new piece of paper is under the wood.

**The person holding the money box is not the person taking the money. Find the person who taught him not to look back.**

Khoi read, then looked at the old red ink stain on his father's photo. He said a person's name: "Teacher Phuc."

On the way to the administrative office, Khoi stopped in front of the notice board. There is a piece of paper recording Mr. Phuc's student reception hours, below is the line "Please send any questions in writing". An Khe said that if they sent it in writing, at least the question wouldn't be turned into something that never existed. Khoi took a pen and wrote the appointment date in the notebook.

Mr. Phuc taught civics when Khoi was in middle school. He has a habit of writing comments in red ink, small and even letters. Khoi remembers his father used to fix his desk in the administrative office. In the old photo, the red ink stain is right next to Mai's name, like a dot that doesn't belong on the list.

An Khe asked why Khoi thought Teacher Phuc was someone who "taught how not to look back". Khoi said that when his father passed away, he asked Mr. Phuc for funeral support money that the family did not receive. Mr. Phuc said it was a matter of the finance department, then advised him to focus on studying. No one said outright that the records were lost.

“Have you ever asked again?” An Khe asked.

"Yes. He said I misunderstood."

Khoi did not tell more. An Khe realized that what made him angry was not only the possibility of Mr. Phuc's involvement in Mai's case, but also the way adults turned every question into the questioner's fault.

The two went to the administrative office to ask for Mr. Phuc's work schedule. He is currently in charge of alumni records and is present at the school every Wednesday. Ms. Hanh agreed to let them meet, but she had to witness it. The meeting took place in a small room with glass doors.

Teacher Phuc recognized Khoi. He asked how his father was doing, then corrected himself when he saw the look on his face. An Khe placed a copy of the lock repair slip and receipt on the table. He did not touch them.

“Where did you find it?”

“We want to know the content, we don't want to argue about the source,” Ms. Hanh said.

Master Phuc sighed. He admitted that he was in charge of the fund's records, but said he did not directly keep the money. Hoang Lam is the student coordinator, and he is responsible for signing the confirmation. When short of money, Hoang Lam said he made an advance payment to buy equipment. He believes that amount will be refunded.

“What do you want me to ask you?” An Khe asked.

"She asked why her name was crossed out. I said I would check."

“Did you check then?”

He was silent. The answer lies in that silence. Mr. Phuc said he found another list, but that copy had been taken from the file folder. He did not notify his superiors because he was afraid the incident would affect the school.

Khoi took the photo with red ink stains. “What is this stain?”

Teacher Phuc looked for a long time. “I don't remember.”

“You don't remember or don't want to remember?”

Ms. Hanh reminded Khoi to calm down, but Mr. Phuc did not get angry. He said there are years when people try to remember them in a way that benefits them. He used to believe that as long as he didn't take money, he wouldn't be the one to harm anyone. Now he understood his signature gave someone else permission to do that.

Before finishing, he gave Ms. Hanh an old email address of Hoang Lam and said he would send a report. He did not ask forgiveness. Khoi asked why. Master Phuc replied: "Because I haven't done enough to receive that."

Leaving the room, An Khe felt a little lighter, but not because the story had come to light. She only knew it had one more person willing to stand in the light. That afternoon, she sent her mother the photo and asked directly if her mother had ever known Hoang Lam. Mom replied: "I know him through an old project. I'll tell you tonight."