Chapter 6 — Theater at the End of the Hallway

The "Uncut Final Scene" project began with a meeting that Quan called a "press conference without a newspaper". Bao Tran placed four chairs in a circle and placed a whiteboard in the middle of the table. Nhat Vy brought a speaker, Huy brought a toolbox, and Lam brought a bag of bread because she knew every plan longer than ten minutes needed food.

"Target?" Tran asked.

“Keep the theater,” Quan replied.

"Specifically."

“Keep the theater and still get to eat the cake.”

Tran drew a line under the word "eat". Lam had to regain her pen to write three things: complete a short film about the theater, collect student testimonies, and ask the council to consider the cultural value of the theater.

Huy said they need to know how well the projector works. He removed the light emitting part, replaced the wire, and made a handwritten instruction sheet. Lam suggested filming the editing process for inclusion in the film. Huy immediately said not to turn his face.

“You can turn around,” Lam said.

“Hands are also identification.”

Quan looked at Huy's oily hands. “Do you have tattoos on your hands?”

"Are not."

“So just don't turn around with your index finger picking your nose.”

Huy threw a screw at him. Tran wrote on the board: **Huy: in charge of engineering, not facing away.**

Lam wants the film to be more than just a call to save theaters. She thought of Nhi and the sight of the open door without a face. She proposed filming the people who often pass by area B: the cleaning lady, the security guard, the student on duty, the soy milk seller outside the gate. Each person answers one question: “What do you remember about this place?”

Mr. Quang allows filming during recess, but requires written consent. Compose the application form, using simple sentences. For the first time, she understood that creating content is not just about clicking and filming; It's also about letting others know where they are.

The first person to agree was security guard Sau. He said he once pushed the projector into the theater during a storm, because he was afraid the water would damage the film reel. The second person is an American cleaning lady. She remembers that folding chairs always have one leg missing. The third person, a gym teacher, said the backyard used to be where students learned to dance for movies.

Huy stood behind the machine, recording only sounds. The sounds of cart wheels, brooms, and gym whistles were recorded by Vy into layers of sound.

One afternoon, Lam gave the camera to Huy. He stepped back.

“I just want you to try it once.”

“I'm not an actor.”

"No need to act. Just fix the machine."

Huy held the camera, turned the lens, then stopped at his shadow on the tile floor. He said: "If we spin the ball, people will still know there is someone there."

“That's a good idea.”

They recorded Huy fixing the machine with balls, hands and the sound of a screwdriver. When looking back, Lam found the image to be better than the straight-faced shot. Huy did not disappear; he just chose to appear.

News about the orchid project in class. Some people want to join, but there are also people who say the group is taking advantage of old stories to become famous. Lam heard it on the stairs and was about to turn around and argue. Tran held her shoulder.

"Don't turn every objection into the enemy. Ask them what they're afraid of."

“Are they afraid the theater will be kept?”

“Maybe they're afraid the school will have another project they start and leave unfinished.”

Lam thought about his livestream. She once promised to post a video to correct the mistake, but after filming the opening part, she abandoned it because of the lack of views. This project cannot rely solely on initial excitement.

That night, Lam's mother brought a paper box. In the box is Hoai An's old filming notebook. Mom said she didn't want Lam to find out for himself the parts he wasn't ready to tell, but also didn't want her silence to make him repeat himself. old error.

“Mom, can I join?” Lam asked.

"I don't know. But I can answer your question."

Lam put the phone down and did not dial. She asked: "What do you want viewers to remember about the movie that year?"

Hoai An looked at the notebook. "Remember that Nhi agreed to tell, but did not agree to be turned into a secret."

That night, Lam wrote the answer into the script. Before going to sleep, she received a message from a strange account: **If you want to keep the theater, don't use Nhi's story. It's been used enough.**

Lam looked at the screen for a while, then passed the message to Tran and teacher Quang. She did not delete it, nor did she reply immediately. The project has just had its first viewer, but it's not yet certain that that person wants them to continue.

Lam did not answer immediately. She gave the phone to Tran, then wrote a short message just asking if the sender wanted to be heard. They agreed that if the account responded, they would invite them to talk to the teacher first, not find their identity themselves.

That night, the account sent back: **I'm not Nhi. I've only ever sat in a room where people argued about her.**

The sender did not want to meet, but said the last scene was not lost; it was withheld because someone was afraid that if it was shown, the whole school would know that they had failed to protect a student. Lam recorded the information anonymously, without further speculation. Mr. Quang reads and says sometimes a warning is also a way to participate.

The next morning, Huy brought a new box of tape. He found it behind the projector panel, along with a note saying "third viewer". The only sound in the box is the sound of a chair being pulled out and someone asking: "If we stay quiet, who will tell that the girl was ever here?"

Vy asked for permission to use this question in the film, but Tran said she had to keep the writer's rights. They only used the sound of chairs, and the questions were rewritten by Lam in the group's words.

The next day's meeting lasted longer than expected because each person had their own way of understanding "keeping the theater". Quan wants to fix all the chairs and open the door immediately. Tran wanted to document it before touching anything. Vy wants to record space when there are no people. Huy wants to check the electrical panel. Lam wants to film everything.

Teacher Quang let them debate for ten minutes, then asked who could explain their goal in one sentence. Quan said he wanted everyone to have a seat. Tran said she wanted no one to get caught up in things without consent. Vy said she wanted normal sounds to be heard. Huy said he wanted the machine to operate safely. Lam said he wants the theater to be seen with the truth, not with rumors.

The teacher asked the group to combine the sentences into a plan. “Create a safe screening, with clear consent, letting the community decide what theater means,” Lam wrote. The sentence is long, but no one objects.

They went to each class to ask for opinions. One class said the theater was too old, one class never knew the theater existed, one class wanted to use it for a farewell ceremony. One friend asked if the theater was kept, would students be able to watch movies for free? Tran wrote that question into the operations section.

Lam interviewed Mrs. My a second time, this time not asking about her memories but asking what she wanted viewers to do after watching. She said: "Don't draw your name on the chair. If you want to leave something behind, fix a chair leg and return it."

Huy finished listening and looked for a loose chair leg. He taught Duc Minh how to measure, cut pieces of wood and tighten screws. Duc Minh deflected, Huy did not scold; he showed that the misalignment would cause the person to sit sideways. Lam turned the two people's hands around and asked permission first.

At the end of the session, a student sent an anonymous text message saying The theater had been used to hide the club's personal belongings, and someone had taken a roll of film. The group did not conclude. Mr. Quang said every message must be checked by a second source.

Lam realizes that investigation is not about chasing the fastest clues. It's about waiting for an answer that's strong enough to not hurt the other person.

To avoid the message sender being exposed, Tran created a mailbox address that only receives mail, does not track location. Teacher Quang holds access rights, Lam is in charge of responding according to the agreed form. Quan asked if he was working for an intelligence agency; Tran says they're just not turning curiosity into hunting.

A student sent a story about the time he was secretly filmed at the soccer field. You don't want the name, you don't want the accent, you just want the group to know it happened. Thank you, write it down in your impact report and do not use it. She saw a story that could help decide how to make a film without appearing in the film.

Teacher Quang asked that student to choose how the group recorded. You agree to keep the story in the internal report, not in the movie. Lam signs the box "do not use images, sounds, names" and locks the file. The small action makes you text back that you feel safer when you speak.

After the meeting, Lam stood next to the notice board and read each old petition. There was an application to borrow the theater for a play, there was an application to open the club when it rained, there was even a note hastily written in purple ink: "Let us sit quietly for fifteen minutes." The papers don't make for a thrilling mystery, but they do prove that the room was once a haven for all kinds of bad days.

Lam asked Mr. Quang to let the group set up a separate storage compartment, distinguishing the version that can be made public and the version that is only for the council. The teacher asked her if she was afraid of wasting time. Lam replied yes, but if we don't do it, people will lose control of their stories. Quan eavesdropped from the door and said that Lam spoke like an adult today. Lam threw the eraser at him. Huy quietly labeled two paper boxes, and Tran placed a red pen in the middle so that whoever opened them would remember to read the rules first.