Ngoc Lam had a strange dream once again. In her dream, she saw herself as a 7 or 8-year-old child, surrounded by vast skyscrapers. The people around her were similar to Westerners, but she couldn't understand their language. To make things even more surreal, she was unable to see anyone's face. She felt like a fish out of water, lost in the crowd.
Ngoc Lam was moving along the stream of people, feeling helpless. Out of the blue, a small alley appeared on the road, and it looked like a deep tunnel. She felt a mysterious power urging her to enter, and after hesitating for a moment, she finally did. The walls on both sides of the alley turned into groups of people laughing and talking to each other, but as soon as Ngoc Lam walked past, they all fell silent, and she could feel them staring at her back. The cold feeling from behind made her steps tremble, and the atmosphere was both cold and tense.
When the tension was pushed to the limit, the crowd, which was completely behind Ngoc Lam, burst out laughing. Their razor-blade laughter pierced through Ngoc Lam's eardrums. She panicked more and more, and her steps were gradually faster until she ran like crazy. When she almost made it to the other end of the alley, Ngoc Lam sensed her right foot was stepping on empty space. She lost her footing and fell.
The alarm bell rang loudly.
Ngoc Lam opened her eyes. She could feel every blood vessel pounding in her ears and the rapid heartbeat. The feeling of missing a step in the right leg was so real. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and told herself to calm down. The alarm bell still rang loudly in her ears. After a while, Ngoc Lam reached out to turn it off and got out of bed.
There was no class this morning. Ngoc Lam had breakfast, washed the dishes, and then sat at her desk to study until noon. When her brother knocked on the door and told her to have lunch, she stopped writing.
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It's raining again today. The temperature is getting lower. Clothing stores on both sides of the street display autumn vibes with warm, gentle colours.
Ngoc Lam is sitting in the back of her brother's motorbike, arriving an hour earlier for class. She habitually goes to the napping room to have a rest.
Thuy still likes to stick to Ngoc Lam, like she always does, even when tutoring is no longer required. This morning, her friend texted Ngoc Lam to re-teach the lesson 15 minutes before class, so now she has 45 minutes to take a nap.
Thac also arrives early after practice at the Conservatory. Besides, he has signed up to perform for the performance on November 20, and he needs to practice with the drama group the teacher assigned yesterday. The play is set to be an excerpt from “Romeo and Juliet”. The original play is very long and has to be shortened to 20 minutes, so Thac's work is not too much to handle.
The idea to get Luyen and Thuyen's help was not accepted. For that reason, he has to practice alone, while the drama group is still looking for one or two more classmates to play musical instruments.
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Thac and Ngoc Lam unexpectedly lock eyes in the hallway. Thac greets his friend with a smile and a wave. Ngoc Lam responds with a slight nod and continues walking towards the classroom. The sound of her delicate footsteps blends with the falling rain. Thac watches as Ngoc Lam moves away, feeling as though she is being absorbed by the cold autumn rain. His mood steadily declines.
Thac brings that sad mood into his trumpet sound. Perhaps because of the scene and mood, perhaps because the play is inherently tragic, the poignant sound pulls the listeners into contemplation.
"So sad!"
Thuy sighs deeply and leans her head on the table after the melody comes out from the school's gymnasium. That is the sound of Van Thac's trumpet.
Ngoc Lam maintained her calm, quietly checking each answer in Thuy's exercises. She carefully notes each error on a sticker and sticks it next to her work.
“Please correct your mistakes.”
Lam's words pulled Thuy out of the immense sadness in the rain. Thuy attentively re-read each of her friend's notes. It's raining a lot today, the bell rings in 5 minutes, but only a few students come to class. Thac and the drama group also walk in. The first training session was smoother than they expected. As soon as he enters, Thac's eyes involuntarily look at Ngoc Lam, as Thuy happens to look over.
“You play the trumpet really well, Thac!” Thuy sincerely gives compliments.
"Thank you!" Thac also happily responds.
After that, he looks towards Ngoc Lam. Her expressionless face disappoints him a bit, but he is also aware that yesterday's spontaneous proposal made her unhappy, so he does not dare to come closer. He just goes back to his seat.
Thuy has no idea about the situation. She then remembers Thac's words yesterday, so she asks Ngoc Lam.
“Hey, yesterday Thac said Lam knew how to play the violin, is it true?”
Ngoc Lam is focusing on a book with her head down. She heads up and sees her friend with a curious face.
"Don't know," Lam replies and then bends down to study.
Seeing her deskmate being so cold, Thuy's mind is full of questions, but she can't help but keep them.
In the afternoon, the rain has been falling, and the schoolyard is covered with puddles. The drama group stays in the classroom with the homeroom teacher to continue editing and shortening the play. Students, who play the role of screenwriter and narrator, listen attentively to comments from the teacher and classmates through a self-recorded video at noon.
According to most students, one trumpeter is not enough. They need at least one more piano or violin player.
Van Thac, of course, knows Ngoc Lam can take both of these roles, but he has accidentally annoyed her. He gets no choice but to stay quiet. Luckily, a friend in the group remembers that there is also a student in the class who used to take piano but stopped playing in 9th grade. They text that friend. He doesn't refuse; however, he needs the teacher to ask his parents' permission. The discussion between the homeroom teacher and the parents quickly takes place over the phone afterwards and smoothly achieves a good result.
Van Thac takes responsibility for composing the music to help the pianist. He goes home and focuses on completing all his homework, then quickly brings out the music sheets and concentrates as much as possible to complete them.
Different from Van Thac, Ngoc Lam is sitting in front of her desk, feeling dumbfounded. The sound of trumpets at noon keeps echoing in her head, reminding her of the trumpet concerto she first performed as an artist at the Conservatory when she was only 8 years old. Meanwhile, Van Thac's music is fresh and mature for his age, tinged with a flavour of sadness on a rainy day. However, it's a pity that the sound is still too strong, and he needs another instrument to duet with him to neutralize that strength. Ngoc Lam is impressed with his rearrangement and believes that Thac is capable of working for a professional orchestra. However, she is worried about his trumpet skills and fears that it will be difficult for him to keep up.
Wanting to clear her thoughts, Ngoc Lam quickly shakes her head, stands up, and walks out of the room to pour herself a glass of water in the kitchen. The living room, which is next to the kitchen, is where her parents are fiddling with the old TV. She recalls buying the TV for her family with the money she earned from her performances when she was nine, and until now, the TV is still there. Her mother uses her hand to hit its back, and like magic, the screen lights up again. Watching her parents getting older, Ngoc Lam takes a deep breath and goes back to her room, forcing herself to focus on her studying and putting aside all thoughts related to Van Thac and his music.