Chapter 16 — Throwing the Ball Through the Rain

The first qualifying match came with a light rain. Phu Van had a high squad, but they started quickly because the bus arrived late. Nhien sat out; her knee was examined by the school doctor. She is not allowed to run, but can only be tactical. An held the temporary captain's armband, feeling the cloth tighten around her wrist.

In the first half, Phu Van led by eight points. An was double-marked, Mai Chi had no space to throw, Vy fouled twice. The buzzer from the technical desk reported that the scoreboard was working normally but the whistle was muffled. Ms. Hanh asked to keep the match, Phong asked for permission to adjust the strings in the middle of time. No one turned technical errors into a reason to blame.

During break time, Nhien drew three arrows on the board. She did not ask An to score points; She asked An to pull the defender to the left, allowing Mai Chi to cut in. An asked what if the opponent could read it. Nhien said there will be another plan. She no longer wanted everything to depend on one throw.

In the second half, the team changed rhythm. An passed more, Vy used her body to block, Mai Chi threw three consecutive balls. Bap still remembered watching the game. Phu Van started to get impatient, a player argued with the referee. Ms. Hanh reminded the team not to respond, just focus on the ball. Nhien called the signal with two fingers, An understood and changed direction.

At the last minute, the team was only one point behind. An received the ball in Bap and heard the audience calling her to throw. She remembers the game in the city, remembers looking at the basketball rim for too long. This time, she saw Vy emptying under the basket. An passed. Vy scored. Phu Van had eight seconds left, but Phong announced that the court clock was half a second late, and the referee had prepared his watch. The opponent missed the throw. The winning team got one point.

No one ran into the field too fast because Nhien reminded them to check their knees and walkways. Mai Chi hugs Vy, Bap screams because Miss Hanh is looking at her. An stood in the middle of the yard, not knowing whether to be happy or scared. Nhien gave the captain's armband back to her, saying that this victory was not because of An's throwing. An smiled: "I know. That's why I'm happy."

After the match, a school reporter asked to interview An about the final pass. An offered to interview both Vy and Nhien. She did not tell the story of the slip in the city, because that story does not belong to this article. Bap filmed a behind-the-scenes segment with everyone's consent. In the book, An wrote: women's team 48, Phu Van 47, the field is still open.

After the audience left, Ms. Hanh asked the team to check the field as before the match. There was a water stain near the touchline and a plastic bottle under the seat. Vy picked up the bottle, Bap recorded the incident, Phong checked the drain. An feels that winning does not give them the right to ignore small things. Nhien sat outside and used the phone to tell the doctor about the slight increase in pain. She didn't hide it, because the new rule started with the people on the team.

The reporter sent a transcript of the interview. There was a sentence in which An said "we won because we passed the ball", but the article was titled "An saved the team with the decisive ball". An message asking for correction. The reporter explains that the headline needs to be attractive. An engaging reply does not mean deleting the other four. Ms. Hanh supported and sent a list of people who needed to be mentioned. The article was changed to "The women's team won thanks to a well-timed pass".

Bap learned how to cut behind the scenes without using scenes of Nhien wincing in pain. He asked Nhien if he wanted to keep the moment she called the signal. Nhien agreed, but didn't want viewers to think she was competing. Bap added a line describing that she was in the technical area. Looking at it, seeing a clear sentence can avoid even misunderstandings.

Mai Chi suggested organizing a post-match exchange session for newcomers. The team didn't want to turn opening day into a victory celebration, so they placed the ball in the middle and invited everyone to try hand signals. A friend asked if he didn't know basketball, could he participate? An said yes, as long as she didn't run into a dangerous area. You ask if you are afraid of the ball. Vy gave the soft ball and said she could start by pushing it.

That night, An added in the book: victories need to be counted correctly, the yard needs to be cleaned, and the sick need to be questioned. She found that those three things were more related than she thought.

The team held a meeting to learn from the experience the next morning, before the feeling of winning the match turned into a too smooth story. The scoreboard showed that An passed five times in the final half, but also lost the ball three times before that. Vy scored the decisive point, but twice before she was in the wrong position. Mai Chi missed four shots, but pulled the defender to create space. Each number has its bright and unpleasant parts, so they see it all.

Nhien did not enter the field but asked each person if they wanted to keep the recording and call the signal. An audience member entered the frame, Bap suggested cutting it. She sent a deletion request. He handled it immediately, then updated the copyright board. An asked if he was tired. Bap said he was tired, but being tired is better than someone seeing him in a video without knowing.

Phong discovered that the court clock was half a second late in the final round. It didn't affect the result because the referee used a watch, but he made a record. Mr. Vinh asked if it needed to be mentioned in the monthly report. An said it was necessary, because if they only record errors when they lose the match, they will forever run after the incident. Phong recommends checking before each match and saving an image of the watch status.

Mai Chi asked An about the selection message. An said, not hiding that she wanted to try. Nhien said the whole team could be happy for her, although it would still be sad if An was absent. An asked if a person could go far and keep his word to the yard. Ms. Hanh can answer if the promise has a limit and someone else knows how to replace it.

The team opens another practice session for newcomers. An did not stand in the middle, she stood in Bap to observe. Lam called the beat, Vy guided, Bap took notes. A kid misses a shot and then laughs, people don't turn the moment into content. An looked at that scene and realized she was learning how to leave the center without disappearing.

Before the end, Ms. Hanh asked the winning team if it made them want to keep the field more. An said yes, but it's not because anger proves they're good; because the yard gives them the opportunity to fix many things together. Ms. Hanh nodded and said that was the reason the report needed more than a medal.

The team records audience feedback after the match. One person said they liked having wide aisles, one person wanted a bigger scoreboard, one person asked why there were no commentators. Bap wanted to answer right away, but Tran reminded him to write down the question first. They distributed paper forms with the option to remain anonymous. Some people leave the name blank, some people write clearly that they just want to comment on the sound.

An discovered that a student in the panoramic photo could still be recognized by his class shirt. Bap cuts the frame, even though that part has good laughs. She sent a thank-you message, saying that in the past her friends had posted pictures of her without permission. An did not ask more. She just added one line to the checklist: check shirts, name tags and handwriting, not just faces.

Phong replaced the watch battery and posted the inspection schedule on the back of the board. He invited a technician to guide the two juniors. They learn to look for loose wires, noises and water marks, and not touch the electrical parts themselves. Lam wrote down each step, asking when to call an adult. Phong replied that if you're not sure, stop.

Mai Chi sent greetings from the gym, saying she had seen the team scoreboard. She asked who wrote the small letters at the end of the round. He confessed and boasted that he had written correctly. Mai Chi said his handwriting is still bad but easier to read than before. An feels the team can joke about progress without making anyone a laughing stock.

That evening, Nhien texted Ms. Hanh that her knee hurts at level four after sitting for a long time. Ms. Hanh made an appointment for an inspection and did not ask Nhien to prove it. An read general news, did not ask for details. She just changed the schedule so that Nhien could have a better seat in the next match. A team leader may not run, but the team still has to run in a way that doesn't cause her more pain.

The next morning, An brought a folding chair to the yard and placed it in a position that wouldn't block the path. Nhien saw it and asked who asked for permission. An said Ms. Hanh agreed, and the position was chosen by Nhien. Try sitting, then change to a corner where you can see both the scoreboard and the exit door. No one sees it as pandering. It's just an adjustment like lowering the basketball hoop for juniors: same court, but not everyone needs the same height.

While waiting, Nhien instructed Huyen how to count the rest time. Huyen made a mistake twice, Nhien did not snatch the watch but told her to fix it herself. An stood far away, realizing that leadership could be transmitted through patience. When the test whistle sounded, Huyen read correctly, Nhien nodded. Her knee still hurt, but her eyes were less worried.

An writes the break time on the common board, and Nhien chooses her own sitting position.

During the break, Lam asked permission to close the curtain so that the light wouldn't reflect on the floor. He asked each person before changing chair positions. A parent standing nearby said no one had ever paid attention to the light. Nhien said there are things that only appear when people have the right to say them. An added the "ask the user" section to the inspection plan, in addition to electricity, sewer and wire mesh. The team doesn't just fix what it sees; they learn to ask to see more.