Chapter 13 — Theater at the End of the Hallway

The school's contest, titled "Dong Thanh in our eyes", is open to all classes to submit videos of up to five minutes in length. Tran registered with the group under the name Final Scene Uncut, and Lam wanted to submit the film before the test screening took place.

“The contest has prizes,” Quan said. “If we win, we have money to buy light bulbs.”

“Don't make movies just to win.”

“But winning can help make better movies.”

Tran divided the shooting plan into three groups. The schoolyard group records daily activities. The lobby group looks for people who used the theater. Vy's sound team records sound outside of class. Huy was assigned to check the equipment and no group was allowed to film him arbitrarily.

Lam went with Duy down to the medical room. The nurse said the theater used to be a first aid place during the flood, because the floor was higher than the yard. A twelfth grade student remembers sitting there memorizing the lesson before taking the exam. Others only remember the vending machines often getting stuck with coins.

Small memories make Lam excited. They are not grandiose, but show that the theater once lived on many ordinary things.

While filming, a friend named Mai asked to see the draft. Mai is a member of the media club and was once cut off from the livestream by Lam for speaking too long. She asked the group if they needed an assistant editor. Lam agreed after reminding everyone that their usage rights must be clearly stated.

Mai helps arrange the images, but she likes fast effects and loud music. Mai's editing makes the theater look like a scary, mysterious place. Vy objected, Tran asked to remove the effects that caused viewers to misunderstand.

“But this version has more views,” Mai said.

Lam found that sentence familiar. She used to use views to justify everything. This time she said: “I need viewers to stay because of the story, not because they are startled.”

Mai left, but did not erase what she had done. Lam apologized for his harsh language. Mai replied that she did not want to return, but sent a cleaner audio file.

Huy discovered that someone had removed a screw from the projector. Not serious, but if it runs for a long time it will vibrate. He asked who went to the theater after school. The hallway camera's recording was lost for twelve minutes right when the red light turned on.

Teacher Quang called the security guard. Uncle Sau said a person wearing a green hat came in, but couldn't see clearly. Quan wanted to put up a sign saying "stranger please introduce yourself", Tran told the monk to lock the door.

Lam thought about the old ticket account. Maybe that person wants to help, maybe they want to test them. She sent a message: **If you want the theater to be kept, please say so directly. We don't play guessing games.**

There was no reply.

In the afternoon, class 11D held a fundraising cake sale. Quan made a price list but mistakenly wrote "secret dumplings". Students lined up, everyone wanted to know what the secret was. When they took a bite, they discovered it was only filled with quail egg meat, but Quan sold it all in twenty minutes.

The money was not enough to buy light bulbs, but enough to buy electrical wires and two fire extinguishers. Huy was happier when he held the receipt than when he saw the video views.

Hoai An came to check the construction. Mom said Nhi's image could not be included without consent. Lam asked if they could show the door opening without revealing their identities.

"That scene is not just an image. The person who filmed it has the right to decide what it returns."

Lam understands they need to find Nhi or at least find someone to represent her. She sent the letter to the old address on file, even though she knew the likelihood of receiving it was very low.

That night, a parcel arrived at the school, without a recipient send. Inside was a yellow movie ticket and a note: **She never hated the movie. She hates it when people speak for her.**

Huy read and said: "Then we have to let her speak."

“But where is she?”

The projector screen lights up. A new map appeared, marking a coastal town three hours away from the city.

On the corner of the map is the letter A.

The map was projected back on the screen, but the group did not take it as an absolute guide. Pass the symbol check and recognize the marking pattern of the old station operations department. A can be platform A, not a person.

Lam asked Ms. Nam via email. She replied that Anh Duong theater is located near a station with four entrances, entrance A leading to the beach. Nhi used to film children there, but did not leave an address.

Tran suggested the trip because they had an invitation, but Mr. Quang said they shouldn't separate the group when the competition was about to end. They chose to send a letter and a summary video, letting Nhi decide remotely.

Hoai An wrote a letter with Lam. Mom didn't tell the whole story, just said the group was making a new movie and wanted to respect Nhi's rights. She apologized for not asking soon enough, then stopped. Lam did not edit any sentences.

A week later, Mrs. Nam replied: Nhi received the letter. She didn't want to send the address, but agreed to see the edit if the old film frames weren't available. Lam made a record and agreed to view it privately.

The group published the empty hallway. View count is low, but one former student posted a long comment about the time he cleaned the projector. They asked for permission to use it; that person agrees to limit screenings to the school.

Quan held a Q&A session about the theater, but Tran reminded him not to call it "ghost hunting". He changed his name to "hearing stories from the old place". The registration desk has three questions and a “do not want to register” box.

Vy records participants, but turns off the device when someone tells a personal story. Not every emotion needs to be a property of the film, she explains.

Huy tested the door shadow with an old camera. The lens is scratched, creating a streak of light in the corner. Instead of fixing it, he used it to differentiate the new scene from the old one. Lam asked Huy if he asked the owner of the phone; Hoai An allowed it because she was the keeper.

A rain caused the roof to leak. They set buckets, moved machines, cleaned screens. Mrs. My reminded the exit must be dry. The whole group worked in the sound of rain, no one thought it was a "beautiful scene" to film; they just try not to let the equipment break.

When the rain stopped, a lower class child gave Lam a piece of paper: "I want to show a movie about Nhi's umbrella." Lam explained that she did not know Nhi, and that the umbrella was just a detail. The child said so and then showed the box without a name.

Ideas are recorded in the shot list. Not to replace Nhi, but to talk about things that others have witnessed passing by.

Lam asked the lower class students how they wanted the umbrella to be rotated. One child wants to turn from the bottom up to see the sky, one child wants to turn the handle, one child just wants to hear the sound of falling water. The group does not choose to replace; They combine three ideas into a short paragraph and clearly state that children have the right to preview it.

While editing, Quan realized his laughter entered someone else's scene. He asked to cut it because he didn't want to distort his feelings. Vy suggests keeping the laughter far away, like the sounds of the hallway, if the person in the scene agrees. They tried two versions and let the narrator choose.

Huy discovered that the coastal map had a marker near the ferry terminal. Dat said that was where Nhi used to teach children to spin light on the water surface. They didn't go looking for more, just sent it to Mrs. Nam for her know the group has received the information.

Mrs. Nam replied that Nhi did not want the group to use that location in the film, but agreed to let Lam tell the story that the stories could continue elsewhere. Lam revised the script, removed the image of the ferry terminal, and kept the idea that a theater can live on through people who have left.

Tran said it was the first time the group abandoned a beautiful scene because someone else requested it. Quan said the beautiful scenery is still in the camera, but the real thing is more beautiful.

Lam saves the ferry terminal scene to the "unused" archive, recording the reason and the decision maker. Huy asked if the sender would change his mind one day. Lam said then they will ask again, not open the warehouse themselves.

Ms. Nam sent a photo of the classroom at Anh Duong theater, only taking the corner of the wall and the door panel. The group used a photo after asking, placing it next to the Dong Thanh corridor scene. The two places are far apart, but there are chairs arranged for others to enter.

Lam called Ms. Nam to check the photo caption. She changed one detail: the class at that time was not a film class but a life skills class, where students practiced public speaking. Lam asked if we needed to keep that detail. She said that if she told it, she would tell it correctly, because people who had sat in the chair would recognize it. Vy updated the caption, stating the date the photo was taken and the supplier. No one uses filters to make old walls look newer.

Quan came up with the idea of connecting the two theaters with a pan. Huy said the path between them does not exist in real life. Quan said movies can be made with sound. They recorded the sound of Mrs. Nam's cart wheels in Dong Thanh, then placed it next to the sound of tool wheels in the school theater. When paired, the two sounds do not match completely but create a strange rhythm. Lam retains that deviation, because it says that distant places do not need to pretend to be identical to be able to dialogue. Ms. Nam watched the trial version, sent a message with a smiley face and the sentence "old chairs can hear each other".