Chapter 5 — The Whole Class Is Infected Except Me

I know mom is scared. That evening, someone pulled me into a new group chat. The group has no name. I also don't know who created it. The first message sent by Phuong Vien: "Why didn't she pull us back then?" Second message: "Hua Ninh shouted. But she only shouted once." Third message: "Hua Ninh stood upstairs watching us get into the car." Fourth message: “She must have known it would turn out like this.” Fifth message: “She did it on purpose.” Sixth message: “Hua Ninh, you owe us an explanation.” Seventh message: “She will never be at peace in her whole life.” Messages keep popping up. The phone vibrated more than ten times. The screen stays on forever, never turning off. I watched the lines appear one after another. It's like waiting in line. Just like that day, they lined up to get on the car to donate blood. I looked for a long time, then turned off the group's notifications. I placed the phone on the table, screen face down. I lay down, looking at the ceiling. Those words still linger in my head. Owe an explanation. Stand on the floor. Deliberate. I closed my eyes. I know they need to hate someone. I just happened to be standing in that exact position. Last time, To Tu stood in front of the car to donate blood. This time, I was on the side with satisfactory results. 8. On the third day after changing classes, I started to feel like something was wrong. On the way after school, there are always people following me from half a street away. Not near nor far. When I stopped to tie my shoes, they stopped too. When I turn, they turn too. I didn't turn my head to look, but I could judge based on the distance of the footsteps. One person. Sometimes it's two people. They didn't come close, just followed me. On the fourth day, I changed my route and followed the main road. The follower did not appear. Thursday morning, it rained. I returned to the old path. The sky is low and heavy. The rain wasn't heavy, just pattering on the umbrella's surface. When I turned into the alley, I took my phone out of my pocket, turned on recording mode, then called the police. The call screen is on. I put my phone back in my jacket pocket. The headphone cord is pulled out of the collar, one end inserted into the ear. The police voice was very small, as if it came from a very far place. "Location." “The alley next to the east gate of the school, in the middle.” “Are you moving?” “Going.” “Is someone following you?” "I see four people now. They're at the end of the alley." "Hold the call. We'll be there in two minutes." I don't walk faster, nor do I slow down. The umbrella's shadow obscured more than half of his face. The sound of electric current in the headphones is very small. The alley is not deep, only about fifty meters. On both sides are old walls. At the foot of the wall grows a layer of green moss. On a rainy day, they reflect dark blue light. When I reached the middle of the alley, I stopped. There are four people standing at the beginning of the alley. Lam Chieu stood in front. The rainwater made his hair wet and stuck to his forehead. Droplets of water flowed along his chin. Behind him are three people. Phuong Vien, Chu Duong and a male student whose name I don't remember. All of them did not hold umbrellas. The uniform was soaked and stuck to the body. The moment I stopped, water from the edge of the umbrella dripped onto the ground. Click for an hour. “Hua Ninh.” Lam Chieu spoke up. "YES." “Why didn't you pull me back that day?” “I screamed.” “You screamed.” He said: "But after shouting, you stood aside. You stood on the floor, watching us get into the car." Phuong Vien took a step forward. His shoe stepped on a puddle, causing water to splash. "Obviously you knew that car had problems. Why didn't you jump down and hold someone back? Just keeping one person would be good." “If I keep you, will you listen?” "You've never held me back. How do you know I won't listen?" "Because when I shouted the first sentence that morning, you turned your head to look at me once. After that, you kept walking forward." Phuong Vien stood still in place. Rainwater flowed down his chin, dripping down his uniform's collar. His lips moved but he couldn't say anything. Chu Duong stood outside. He remained silent, but his fingers kept curling up. Lam Chieu took another step forward

. The distance between him and me was less than three steps. “Hua Ninh, you owe us an explanation.” "I already explained. Right on the day of blood donation." “You only said it once.” “Once. But no one listened.” He stared at me. Rainwater fell into the space between the two people. His lips moved slightly. The hand was raised. At the beginning of the alley came the sound of an engine. I saw the lights of a police car appear in the rain. Lam Chieu's hand still stopped in mid-air. He hasn't touched me yet. He also did not turn his head to look towards the beginning of the alley. He just stared at me. “Hua Ninh…” He called again. The car door opens. Two people wearing uniforms got out of the car and stepped into the rain. Water splashed under the lights of police cars. They go this way. One person goes ahead, the other follows behind. The sound of footsteps stepping on the flooded road surface echoed one by one.