Chapter 8 — Throwing the Ball Through the Rain

The letter to Thu Ha was sent on Saturday morning. Ms. Hanh did not let the whole team wait by the phone next to the mailbox, so everyone had to practice. That day's practice match was against the eleventh grade boys' team, who were taller and liked to tease Bap because he was only doing media work. Bap placed the camera on a tripod, then declared that he had the right to punish anyone who said "girls play basketball lightly".

An opened with a low pass. The opponent approached, but Mai Chi ran away, dragging two people with her. Vy received the ball in Bap, missed, then grabbed it back herself. Nhien called out from the sidelines, her voice hoarse because he had to talk a lot. The women's team lost continuously, but they began to see positions instead of the height of their opponents.

In the middle of the match, a boy said Nhien should sit still because his frozen knee would only slow the team down. Nhien looked at him and said she sat out because of tactics, not because he allowed her. An saw Mai Chi pause, then pass the ball harder. Ms. Hanh did not scold the boy, only asked him to apologize if he wanted to continue fighting. You're sorry, the game is back.

After practice, Bap showed the recording to the whole team. He cut out the teasing sentence and kept the apology part. Mai Chi asked why she didn't keep it to prove that the team had been looked down upon. Bap said the video is not a repository for everything; Just keep things that help viewers understand the match. An asked who decided. Bap gave the computer to Nhien. Nhien watched, asked Mai Chi and Vy, then agreed.

Phong repaired the scoreboard and replaced the old controller with a temporary circuit. He added a warning label not to pull the cord. An asked if the transcript could be used for other classes. Phong said if there is someone on duty and check before the match. An put the rules into the plan. She realized a technical detail could turn into a community commitment if written clearly.

Late in the afternoon, Ms. Hanh received a reply from Thu Ha. Ha agreed to talk by phone, but did not want her name to appear in any posts. She just wants to know if the current team is really playing for her or is using her story to ask to keep the field. Nhien listened, then replied: "We don't know yet. So we will ask you before telling."

The call was scheduled for Sunday evening. An stood outside the yard looking at the water stains reflecting the basketball rim. She tried throwing a ball, the ball hit the rim and fell. This time there was no jumping scoreboard. She picked up the ball and returned to the warehouse, where the four of her friends were debating which type of bandage to buy. The fear is still there, but it has been broken down into specific things.

Before the call, the team agreed that the questioner was Nhien, the note taker was Tran, and the sound checker was Bap. An was not asked about the last throw in the old match, because that question belongs to another story. Ms. Hanh said that if Ha wants to tell, she will choose the starting point herself. Mai Chi prepares water, Phong puts the phone on a fixed stand so no one has to hold it while talking.

Thu Ha called on time. She asked if the team had read the letter, then said she didn't want to be "secret" in the video. Nhien replied that the team only used the words she allowed and did not save photos. Ha said the final match took place in the rain, making the floor slippery, the scoreboard was faulty and the referee did not explain the technical error. She emphasized that she did not know who did it intentionally, only that she was asked to leave the field before being told anything.

An asked what hurt Ha the most: the loss, the suspension or the story after the match. Ha answered the story after the match. People said she was hot-tempered, said the women's team was not disciplined, and said she "overdid it" when asking to see the minutes. No one asked her what she wanted to write. Ha has been silent for so long that people think she no longer cares.

Bap wanted to ask for the old recording file, but Tran stopped him with her eyes. Ha herself said she still kept the tape, but would only let the team listen to it during a live call if necessary. She doesn't want the file to go through too many hands. Nhien thanked her and asked Ha what she wanted the team to do with the story. Ha said to let it help the team understand their rights, not turn it into a reason to hate the school.

After the call, An wrote down the timeline and the sentences Ha had allowed to use. She sent the summary to Ha for checking. Ha edited two words and left out a detail about the class because she was afraid someone would guess. The team agreed immediately. Nhien said it was the first time she saw a story told in a way where the narrator still held the key.

Late at night, An went out to the yard. She threw the ball into the rim, hearing the sound of water falling behind the roof. The ball bounced out but it didn't make her think about the loss. She thought of one person who asked to be asked first, and a team that was learning how to ask.

Sunday morning, An came to the warehouse with a paper box to hold notes. Tran checked the list of people allowed to watch. Bap put everyone's phones in sealed bags. He wrote the code on the bag, then asked who would keep it. Ms. Hanh keeps it in the teacher's room. For the first time, An felt that old documents were not like a treasure that could be searched; it resembles a room where an absent person is still being guarded.

Thu Ha joined the call before they played the tape. She reminded her that she only agreed to listen, not to have the audio recorded. Phong turned off all personal devices, and he removed the camera battery. A sixth grader accidentally walked into the warehouse, Tran asked her to come out and explain, without embarrassing her. Ms. Hanh said privacy begins from the moment the door is opened.

The recording was shorter than they thought. There was the sound of skates, the sound of rain hitting the roof, a whistle and someone saying “technical error”. Ha wasn't sure who that voice was, so the team didn't guess. An asked Ha how she felt when she heard it again. Ha said it was both near and far, like standing outside the yard watching a match and not being able to step in.

After listening, the team did not speak immediately. Vy wrote a sentence on paper: "Sound does not know who it belongs to." I have another question about the scope of use. Ha agreed to use the description "match with score errors and lack of explanatory minutes" in internal records. She did not agree to use the recording or name the person involved. Nhien read it again to confirm, Ha was right.

Bap asked Ha what he wanted the team to keep the field for. Ha replied that she did not want the yard to become a place to commemorate her. She wants girls in the future to be able to ask the referee, see the minutes and get answers without being called disruptive. An wrote that sentence but did not include it in the video. It belongs to Ha, and the team doesn't need to get everything right.

At the end of the session, they make a listening record, sign it and delete the temporary file if any. Phong checked the voice recorder, and Tran confirmed that the mailbox did not have an attachment. Ha thanked her and turned off the phone. An went out to the yard and saw that the puddle had receded. She threw a ball, the ball bounced out but this time Mai Chi caught it under the basket.

Mai Chi asked An if she was disappointed because the sound couldn't solve the mystery. An said she no longer wanted a quick solution. Mai Chi said it would be difficult for the team to make an attractive video. An replied that they could make it more interesting by showing viewers the process, not by setting up a culprit. Bap listened and said he would try to create a paragraph with three layers of information: what Ha told, what the file recorded, and what the team did not know.

Phong checked the phone records of the current scoreboard and discovered that the clicking sound in the friendly match was similar to the sound in the tape but not clear enough to make a conclusion. He placed the two sounds next to each other, then deleted the composite because he did not have the right to include it. Tran asked why not keep it for research. Phong said it is okay to keep the analysis internally, but must cite the source and not share it.

Nhien walked around the yard with An. She said the old team used to have someone who always sat on the outside because he wasn't registered. An asked who that person was. Nhien said she did not know; the file only showed one letter. She doesn't want to search without clear information. An agrees. They agree on one thing: not every empty space is an invitation to hunt.

It was dark, and a sixth grader returned the signal board. I practiced at home, but drew the wrong circle. Please correct me and explain why the symbols need to be simple. I asked when I could play the real game. An said when she knew how to start and said "stop". I nodded, then tried to say it to myself twice.

Phong cleared the field, Mai Chi put away the ball, An locked the file box. Each person leaves with a specific task, no one leaves a story in the middle of the brick floor.

Nhien checked the key again, then recorded the time in the book. An asked why it was necessary to write down the closing time. Nhien said so that the next person would know that the yard does not close by itself; Someone was responsible. An added a dot today's page.

On the way home, An met a group of students standing outside the gate looking in. One child asked if the yard was open on Saturday. An did not answer from memory. She opened the calendar on her phone and pointed to the approved time frame. The little girl nodded, took out her pen and wrote it down. An realized that clear information was also a type of handing the ball: the recipient did not have to guess whether he could enter or not.