Short story: See you next school year

As soon as I entered the classroom, the homeroom teacher asked:
- How many days will Trang be absent this week?
The whole class shouted: All week, teacher!
The homeroom teacher frowned, her double-lidded eyes with long tails seemed to be covered with a bit of clouds. She asked again:
- Are you taking the whole week off?
- Yes! The whole class said in unison.

Teacher Loan thanked the whole class and quickly walked out of the classroom to make way for the teacher who had a class to teach.
Trang is a student in the class of her homeroom teacher. She has a difficult situation. Her father is disabled, her mother is a small business owner, Trang is the eldest daughter, she goes to school and works to earn money to help her mother take care of her younger siblings' education. This is her final year of high school, teacher Loan has encouraged Trang to quit her job to focus on her studies, get a diploma and then find a job with a more stable salary. But Trang said:
- There are many things that need money, ma'am! If I quit my job, my family will be in trouble.
Ms. Loan asked again:
- So do you like studying?
- Yes, I like it very much! Trang hesitated then continued:
- But I also like going to work.
- How much do you earn a month?
- Yes, seven million.
Ms. Loan exclaimed, surprised:
- That much. Double your salary. What do you do?
- I sell snacks to people.
Ms. Loan smiled:
- Snacks are sold out by 9pm, you can go home, shower, study and go to school the next morning!
- No! Trang waved her hand and smiled, as if to say she didn't understand. My shop opens at 9pm and ends at 5am.
- Who to sell to at that time?
- There are all kinds of people, mostly long-distance travelers.

Unable to persuade her students, she tried to influence their parents. Ms. Loan went to Trang's house in the late afternoon, when the sunlight was only faintly visible behind the coconut trees and the full moon was flickering in the distance. Because she loved the countryside, she parked her bike on the other side of the bridge and walked along the path along the riverbank. She could smell the fragrant scent of milk flowers, xoan flowers, and tra flowers blooming with each gust of wind. Ms. Loan thought that the air here was clean, so it could tightly absorb the scent of flowers and spread it into the space, unlike where she lived, where the streets were noisy, vehicles were busy, and the air was filled with the strong smell of gasoline, making her lungs feel tight. Her boarding house was hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind: If only I had money, I would buy a piece of land by the river to enjoy the quiet, fresh space. She would build a small house close to the riverbank, behind the house, spread a net to grow lotus flowers, and raise ten more ducks...
- Go around that bend and you will reach Trang's house!

MH: VO VAN

The voice of the class monitor Ly pulled her back to reality, she smiled at her unrealistic dream. Just reaching the end of the road, the river surface appeared faintly in the afternoon mist and purple with the color of water hyacinth. There were so many water hyacinths that it made people feel like it was not a river. The water hyacinths were strange, clinging to each other, wandering around the rivers and lakes, scattered everywhere. If they were separated, they would quickly grow and flourish into inseparable groups. The color of the water hyacinths was also eye-catching, not deep purple but if you looked closely, it was a light pinkish purple. The flowers bloomed together, under the sunset, large patches of flowers on the river were as beautiful as a painting.
- Miss! We're at Trang's house.
Little Ly stopped, folded her arms and greeted the teacher:
- I'm going home now, or my mother will be waiting. Do you like water hyacinths? My mother does too, so she grows them in pots. Let me ask my mother for a pot to give to you!

Loan didn't know what to say, she just smiled shyly and said goodbye to Ly, then walked into Trang's yard when the street lights had just come on. Before she could call out to the owner, she was startled by a small, yellow-haired dog that seemed to be sleeping. Startled by the sight of a person, it rushed out and barked loudly at the sound of footsteps. Because it ran too fast, the dog hit its head on a pillar, causing it to hurt and bark and yelp. The dog's actions made her fear disappear, she laughed and asked:
- Startled? Does it hurt? Where's your boss? I just want to see him for a bit!
The dog retreated to the back of the kitchen and stood there, jumping up and down, barking loudly. A little girl about 7 years old, with a dirty face, ran out of the kitchen and asked:
- Who are you asking?
- She is Trang's homeroom teacher. Is this Trang's house?
- Yes! The little girl glanced at Loan and then called over the fence:
- Grandma! Someone is asking for Trang, grandma.
Appearing in the yard was a middle-aged woman, her skin tanned by the sun and wind. After knowing that Loan was Trang's homeroom teacher, she said:

- The adults aren't home at this hour. Her father has been sick for the past few days and is in the hospital. Her mother is working on mats for people and won't be home until 9pm. This older brother is helping make candy in the factory, Trang is selling at a shop in town. There's only this youngest child in the house. She's cooking pig feed, I'll come over and feed the pigs for her. She'll come over to my house for dinner later. Saying that, she turned back to the house and reminded:
- Ut Lo! Take a bath and come to grandma's house for dinner.
Then she smacked her lips:
- Their family is very poor, Trang will probably have to drop out of school, she can't handle it.
Seeing Loan seemed to want to ask, she continued:
- I'm just a neighbor, his grandfather passed away a long time ago.
Loan heard Trang's situation and felt pity.
She said:
- Please tell Trang's parents: As long as she wants to go to school, I will do my best to help her go to school.

She told Trang’s neighbor, but also said it to herself. To fulfill her words, she reported Trang’s situation to the school board, asked for a reduction in tuition fees, and followed up on charity activities to help Trang receive a scholarship. To repay her teacher’s affection, Trang tried her best to maintain her studies, finishing the first semester with average grades and good behavior.

Before the Lunar New Year holiday, Loan was afraid that Trang would be swayed by an acquaintance who had come from far away. She gave Trang a Tet gift and told her:
- See you after Tet, Trang. Don't leave home to work far away!
Yes, of course!
Yet, after Tet, Trang left for Ho Chi Minh City with the message:
- Teacher! I'm going to work now. The salary here is 10 million, including food and accommodation. I send my monthly salary to my parents. I'll come back next year to be your student again.

***

Several school seasons have passed and Trang still broke her promise. Not a single phone call, not a single inquiry, as if she no longer remembered her homeroom teacher. Loan still persistently contacted her parents, still followed her changes on Facebook. Loan’s messages and calls went unanswered and unanswered. Over time, Loan gave up on the idea of sending Trang back to school.

The normal pace of life had absorbed Loan’s mind, this year she had accepted new students. Flipping through the report cards, Loan noted down the highlights of the students in her class. She was startled, thinking it was Trang’s report card. Yes! This was the handwritten note she had attached to Trang’s report card when she handed it over to the school’s professional department: “She wants to re-enroll next year.” At that moment, the phone on the table rang, Loan picked it up:
- Hello! Excuse me, who is this?
- Hello teacher! Do you recognize me?
As if by instinct, Loan asked:
- Page?
- Yes! Because of my promise to you, I'm coming back this year to study again. Would you be willing to accept me back?
- Yes! I would be happy to!

Then Trang chattered on about her family. Her father had been treated carefully, so his illness had not relapsed for a long time. Her second brother had graduated from university and was working, earning a very high salary. Thanks to her and her brother's efforts, her mother had opened a grocery store, earning a stable income. Now it was time for her to go back to school. Trang said she did not dare to answer the phone or reply to Loan's messages because she had broken her promise to her teacher. At that time, her family's finances were so difficult that she could not continue her studies. Trang apologized to teacher Loan and told her about missing school and her class.
Page says:
- I often dream that I am late for school, see my teacher's sad face, I cry, tears wet my pillow when I wake up.

Hearing the story, Loan felt so sorry for Trang. She was glad that Trang still wanted to go to school. Luckily, money did not make Trang give up on her studies. Luckily, her family escaped poverty and even luckier, she kept her promise to her little student.
- I will have a lot of difficulties if I repeat the course. Please help me catch up with the program!
- Of course!
- Yes! Goodbye and see you on the opening day, my dear homeroom teacher!
- Yes! Bye! See you again!

DUONG THANH HUONG

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