Chapter 16 — Theater at the End of the Hallway

The video was mistakenly posted at eleven forty-three at night. Lam discovered when the phone vibrated continuously. Mai uploaded an old edit with an image of Nhi's film frame, with the title: **Girl's secret cut from the 2004 film**.

Views increased very quickly. Commenters guessed the name, guessed the family, some even claimed to be Nhi's old friend. Lam felt her hands were cold. She called Mai, but the line was busy.

Tran messaged in the group: "No one shared more. Take a screenshot of the time and report to Mr. Quang."

Lam reported the video as a violation of privacy, and sent a public apology from the project account. She didn't try to give a long explanation; Just say the video was posted without consent and the team is handling it.

Huy called. “Did you save the original?”

"Have."

"Don't delete. But block access."

Lam followed. Dat sent an email requesting immediate removal, not because of a commercial project but because the video could hurt real people. Hoai An called Lam, her mother's voice trembled.

“You used that scene?”

“It's not the dragon.”

“But I saved it.”

Lam didn't know how to refute. Mom said Nhi was most afraid of someone else telling the story for her. Now the unfinished scene is running all over the internet.

Mai appeared at the theater the next morning. Her face was pale, her hand holding the phone. She said she just wanted to show everyone that the group had a strong story, thinking Lam would approve it later. Lam asked why he didn't ask first.

“I thought you would agree when you saw the views.”

“You're saying the same thing I did before.”

Mai burst into tears. She deleted the video but many people re-uploaded it. Teacher Quang asked Mai to write a report, and Lam had to call each person in the video to apologize.

The group temporarily disbanded. Tran said it is impossible to continue if every decision is turned into a race. Vy took the audio device home. Quan is no longer joking. Huy put away the projector and told the theater to turn it off for a few days.

Lam sat alone in front of the cloth curtain. The words "Don't let the last scene be cut" appear, then disappear. She imagined Nhi seeing the video, realizing her shadow was pulled into the light by someone else without being asked.

Hoai An comes. Mom didn't scold me. Mom gave Lam a list of people to contact. Mother and daughter called Mrs. Nam, Tuan and Mr. Quang. They agreed not to use any of Nhi's frames, even if she could not object.

“Can you make a movie without that scene?” Lam asked.

“You can make a movie about what you did wrong and how to fix it.”

Lam meets each member. Tran agreed to return if the team had an approval process. Vy requires all sounds to have written consent. Quan said he would not make fun of the incident but still wanted to be in charge of the chair. Huy is the last one.

He stood in a dark theater, a removable projector on the table.

“I don't want to appear in the video,” Huy said.

“I know.”

“I also don't want people to think I quit the group.”

“I don't think so.”

Huy looked at her. "In the past, my video was edited. People took a sentence I said in a panic and put it on someone else's face. Since then, I haven't shown my face to the camera."

Lam understands why you say hands are also identification. She apologized for ever guessing.

Huy said he would fix the camera and shoot with shadows, but didn't want to use any parts with his image without seeing the edit. Lam promised.

At the end of the day, the group wrote new rules on the board: ask first, keep the original, give the person who shows up the right to see, don't use pain as a headline. Tran signed first, Lam signed last.

Above group chat, Mai sent a long message apologizing and asking if she could help remove the copies. Tran agreed to let her do it under the teacher's guidance.

The countdown has five days left. Screenings still do not have the finished film. But for the first time, everyone knows what they are doing.

The next morning, Lam had to call the people who appeared in the old video. Some did not answer the phone, some asked to have their names removed, and one teacher said she did not want to be reminded of the interview. Lam writes down each request, sends confirmation and does not argue.

Mai helps find copies online. Someone added sensational music and subtitles to guess Nhi's identity. Mai reports for privacy reasons, without cursing the poster. One account replied that "people are just curious". Mai wrote: “Curiosity is not a license.”

Hoai An called Mrs. Nam and asked Nhi if she was bothered. Ms. Nam said Nhi had turned off notifications, but still wanted to know if the group handled it properly. Lam sent the report to Nhi through Mrs. Nam, not the viral video.

Tran created a content removal tracking table, including links, reporting times and results. Huy reminded me not to save the link to the movie. Their process becomes part of the story, even though it doesn't appear on screen.

Quan lost sleep because he found himself telling rumors. He went to the theater early, wrote an apology on paper and tore it up. Lam asked why he didn't send it. Quan said apologizing does not always require the recipient, but the actions afterward need to change.

Huy gave him a list of tasks: checking chairs, cleaning curtains, posting signs. Quan did everything, didn't tell anyone the story.

In class, some students criticized the group for "coloring". Lam did not react. She invited them to watch the process of removing the video. If anyone wants to comment, please register. Two friends came, one asked to join, the other still didn't believe. The group accepts both.

Mr. Quang said protecting privacy could slow the project down. Lam responded slowly but did not break. The teacher nodded and said that was the most mature answer she had ever given in this room.

In the afternoon, Mai completed the list of removed content. There are still three copies that cannot be contacted. Mr. Quang transferred the documents to the school. Lam doesn't promise they will disappear, just promises the group won't share any more.

At night, the cloth screen shows a line that no one has written: **Not every audience deserves every scene.**

Tran took the photo, Huy checked the transmitter, Lam recorded the time. No one wanted to explain the text. They just understand it exactly with what just happened.

Lam suggested putting the text in the file but not in the film. Teacher Quang agreed, because the content appeared automatically without anyone confirming it. Quan asked who was responsible for it. The teacher replied that system users are responsible for how they react, and the source needs to be checked separately.

The group finds the green wire in the warehouse. The coil was stored with the old tool, with Dat's label dated 2004. Dat said he used blue to mark temporary electrical lines, but couldn't remember who connected it after that. Huy took pictures of labels and locked the warehouse.

Mai completes another list of sites that have removed videos. Some pages request copyright, the group explains that this is student content and some people have not agreed. Respectfully save each platform's answers to use as a guide for the club.

Hoai An asked Lam if he wanted to quit filmmaking. Lam said no, but wanted to do it more slowly. Mom said being slow isn't bad if at every step someone is asked.

That night, group Do not turn on the projector. They just sat and listened to the sound of the theater. The silence was long, but no one had to fill it.

Lam asked if everyone was ready for the screening. Quan said he was ready in the sense that he had not yet run away. Tran said they had a process, Huy had a backup device, Vy had the audio version and Mai had a list of usage rights. Lam said she had an introduction, but still felt like something was missing.

“There is a lack of people who believe they can do it again,” Huy replied.

Lam looked at the group. No one said more, but everyone checked one small thing before leaving.

The small task that day was counting chairs. There were three that were wobbly, two that were missing screws and one that had the backrest stuck. Quan suggested putting up a sign "dangerous sitting, unexpected fun", but Huy forced him to take it down and fix it. Each chair took more than ten minutes, with nothing to post online. Lam still filmed a part of Huy's hand holding the nut, after he agreed, then saved it in the behind-the-scenes folder and did not put it in the trailer.

While repairing, a junior asked why the group didn't hire a professional. Huy said because they are learning how to be responsible for the room, and when the task exceeds their ability, they must call a professional. He pointed to the wire and reminded everyone not to repair it without supervision. Lam wrote that sentence on the safety board. Quan looked at the board and said this film project is becoming more and more like a classroom. Tran replied that good classes can also have comedy scenes. That night, Lam sent a message to Mr. Quang about the three chairs, not waiting until the day of the inspection to report.

The next day, the school's maintenance team came to check the projector. The technician discovered an old connector that needed replacing, and praised the team for clearly labeling the wires. Huy wanted to record the repair himself, but Lam reminded him that this was the employee's job and needed permission from the unit. The technician agrees to turn the hands and tools, not the face. He explains how a small fuse can protect an entire room. Quan asked if there was a fuse that could protect honor. He laughed and said the name of that type is to ask before doing.

The group added a technical explanation to the subtitles, but cut half of it for fear of becoming a lecture. They put the internal document link at the bottom of the report, not on the screen. Lam recognizes that clarity doesn't have to be crammed into a film; The audience needs to be given the option to read more. Mr. Quang signed the temporary acceptance record, with the re-inspection date. Huy saved the scanned copy in the public storage and wrote down the name of the person in charge, avoiding letting everything depend on his memory.