Happy birthday!

(Baonghean) - The couple were lying down watching TV when their daughter Bim burst in:

- Mom, can you give me some money tomorrow to contribute to the fund for buying a birthday cake for the school security guard?

I was so shocked I couldn't speak, but my wife was calmer:

- Another birthday party? Last month, our class raised funds for the English teacher's birthday, the month before that for the PE and Art teachers, and the month before that for the homeroom teacher... next door who even came over to teach a class once... for one period, right?

- Yes, who said the teachers weren't born in the same month? It's like a carpet bombing by B52s, just like Ms. Thu, the history teacher, explained the other day. Oh, and it seems like Ms. Thu's birthday is coming up soon, let me check...

After saying that, the little girl busily flipped through a few pages of the notebook she'd been carrying, studying it with a very serious expression: "Oh no, it's not Ms. Thu, it's in three months. I mistook her for Ms. Quy. Mom, remember, you have to give me the money tomorrow because if the class vice-president submits the money late, it'll be so embarrassing!" Then, the little girl skipped happily back to her room with the notebook, leaving her parents lying there staring at each other in bewilderment.

My wife grumbled:

- This is too much! So many subjects, over a dozen teachers, and they want to throw birthday parties for everyone! And that's not all, there are teachers from last year, the year before, the year after that, and so on! Then there's the cleaning lady, the teacher from the next class, the substitute teacher, the teacher... next year, there are so many teachers! Now they're even throwing birthday parties for the security guard! When we were in school, we never saw any birthday parties like that!

- Oh, but the security guard seems really old, doesn't he? The other day when I went to pick up my child, I saw him yelling at the students so much that they almost lost their dentures. How could they possibly eat birthday cake then? Anyway, it's just that the kids love their teachers so much!

- If you truly love your teachers, why don't you stop talking amongst yourselves, stop eating snacks, stop throwing your sandals at the school's mangoes, and study hard instead? Showing love with cakes and candies only leads to littering the classroom, making noise and disturbing other classes—that only causes teachers to get criticized, not real love! Remembering to wish your teachers happy birthday is already a good thing, and buying gifts is fine too, but it should be done in moderation, not excessively, and not bothering the teachers. Besides, they don't earn their own money, and being so fond of partying and eating like that at such a young age will only spoil them! Like father, like son!

My wife rattled off a string of words, then glared at me so intensely my face felt like it was burning, not letting me say a word. Oh dear, it's a case of "the innocent suffer for the guilty." Bim asked for money to organize a birthday party for the school security guard, not me! I scratched my head, stammering:

- Well, the security guard is useful, even if he doesn't have a job. Several times when I've been late taking Bim to school, I've had to ask him to open the gate, right? Besides, the kids are probably tired of eating birthday cakes from the teachers all the time. This time, I predict they'll want something different...

While I was giving a very eloquent explanation, my colleague, Mr. Hoa, whose name is Than, called: "Hello, tomorrow is the birthday of Huong, the probationary employee. My brother's daughter is marrying the cousin of my younger brother's wife... the boss's sworn brother. We're throwing a party, and you can't be absent!" I cautiously glanced at my wife; she looked like she was about to pounce on me like a dried squid. Oh my god, Huong, Huong! Bim, Bim, happy birthday!

Hai Trieu