Chapter 2 : Whisper of new Question!

Suddenly, I jolted awake. The clock showed 7:30 AM. It's strange; I had just woken up a little while ago and checked my keychain. And even stranger, I had this bizarre dream. I mean, Haruki turned into a monster, and there was maybe a girl too! I was just babbling on in the dream. I don't remember much.

I thought for a while about the nonsense I was saying in the dream, and it made me feel embarrassed.

I reassured myself with this thought: dreams are such things. "When they happen, it feels like I'm living in them". But "when I wake up, it feels like nothing happened."

But two dreams! They are bizarre. Right now, I feel embarrassed.

And the keychain! The keychain is probably in the drawer. I checked there. But it wasn't there! It's strange; I had left it here. Maybe it's somewhere else! Wait, could this also be a dream?

"Kazuki, if you've woken up, come downstairs and help me a bit!"

Maybe I'm thinking too much; mom is calling me too.

"Yes, mom, I'm coming."

I quickly changed my clothes and went to my mom. There was a girl standing next to her.

"Kazuki, do you know her?"

"No, mom, who is she?"

"I should be asking you that! By the way, girl, what's your name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Sayuri Minamoto. Nice to meet you."

I didn't say a word. However, I felt like this girl had come to buy something from the shop. But what does she want from me?

"Oh, nice to meet you too. By the way, were you looking for my son? Was there something you needed?"

Good thing my mom isn't one of those moms who think, "Is she my son's girlfriend?"

"Actually...."

She looked at me.

"Nice to meet you too, Matsumoto-kun!"

"How did you know my name— Forget it!First, tell me, what was the matter?"

"Nothing!"

The girl smiled! And I found it odd!

"I wanted to give you your book. You gave it to me that day."

"I did? When? And which book?"

"This—"

She took a book out of her handbag and handed it to me. It was a physics book titled "Understanding Physics." It contained some comprehensive explanations and examples of physics, which I often find quite difficult to understand. But I try to learn.

"I thought I had lost this. When did I lend this to you?"

"Yesterday!"

"I don't remember much. Anyway, thank you, Minamoto-san."

"No problem."

All this was happening was beyond my comprehension. Who is this girl? Everyone else is getting ready for school in the morning, and this girl came to return my book so early in the morning. Although some things are better left unexplained.

"Thank you so much Sayuri-chan!. Oh, you're not upset, are you? I called you by your first name."

"No, No Auntie. It's okay."

"By the way Sayuri-chan. shouldn't you go to school now? What was the need to come so early?"

Yes, mom, I already asked her that. Good job, mom. So, then, I didn't need to ask.

"Auntie, I'm new to this town! That's why—"

"Sorry for interrupting. But how does this village feel like a city to you?"

"Kazuki..."

"But mom, I already apologized to her."

"Still, you—"

"It's okay, Auntie. I apologize, Kazuki-kun. I spoke a little incorrectly. So, I'm new to this village. I actually came from Tokyo..."

Did this girl come from Tokyo? Does she out of her mind to come from the city to the village? Maybe there's some reason from her parents.

"...You must have met my mom yesterday."

"Oh, right! I remember you're from the Minamoto family. Yes, I remember now. I met Haruki's mom while coming back yesterday. So you are her daughter."

"Yes, my mom told me about you. That's why I thought to return the book and also meet you."

I know, my mom is thinking, "WOW, WHAT A NICE GIRL!"

"You're such a nice girl."

"No, Auntie. Please don't embarrass me."

What did I say? Anyway, I don't want to ask right now. But I don't understand why I would give her such a hard physics book since she just arrived in this village. And when did I meet her?

Good thing mom didn't think too much. Otherwise, she would have asked me, "Did I give her the book?" meaning "Have I met her before?" Then the conversation would have gone off track, and I'd be in trouble. It's better this way.

"Then, thank you, Minamoto-san. If you want to buy something, take a look, and if not, you can go now."

"Kazuki, how do you talk to a girl like that? And she's a customer too."

"You too, mom, I'm getting late for school."

"Oh yes, I completely forgot."

"No, another day. For now, I'll take my leave. And Auntie, you should come to my house too. And you too, Matsumoto-kun.

I didn't respond. The girl left. I quickly changed into my school uniform, preparing to go to school.

And I always go to school alone. It's a straight path. While passing by, I see fields and the sunlight on my forehead. It means I have to go sweating every day.

"Oi... Kazuki-kun, Kazuki-kun!"

I felt like Someone is calling me by my first name from behind! The girl's voice sounded familiar.

"You!? Minamoto-san? What are you doing here on the side of the road?"

"Why didn't you ask me at that time?"

"What?"

"About the lie I told regarding your book."

"Oh, right! Hmm, I didn't ask."

"Actually, I found that book lying on the side of this road. It had your name and address written in it. I was a bit surprised; who writes their address in their book!?"

I thought to myself. Because if someone finds it, they would return it! Still, I didn't say that to her.

"Okay! Then why was there a need to lie?"

"I just wanted to lie once!"

To be honest,First, there's that annoying dream, and now strange things have been happening since morning.

"Alright, congratulations on lying! I'm getting late now, so we'll talk some other time."

"Hmm, I'll be waiting for you on this road."

I was in a hurry, so I didn't ask much or think about it. Because I have a mock test today, and I need to score well.

And I barely managed to avoid being late.

"Kazuki, you're lucky today, as I'm really tired."

"Forgive me, sensei, there was a girl on the road— I mean, there was a bit of a problem on the road— I mean, I got delayed on the way."

I just said it, and sensei is also thinking, 'I don't want to deal with this nonsense.

"Then hurry up and sit down in your seat."

After sitting in my seat, Haruki was staring at me. I signaled him, "I'll explain later," and then I got ready to take the mock test. I picked up the question paper and **Question: A projectile is launched at an initial velocity of 20 m/s at an angle of 30 degrees. Find the maximum height reached by this projectile.** It means new challenges have started coming into my life since this morning. But I'm not too bad at physics. **To find the maximum height, I need to use this formula.

\[ H = \frac{(v_y^2)}{2g} \]

Where:

- \( v_y \) = initial vertical velocity

- \( g \) = acceleration due to gravity (approximately \( 9.81 \, m/s^2 \))

1. First, let's calculate the initial vertical velocity (\( v_y \)):

\[ v_y = v \cdot \sin(\theta) \]

\[ v_y = 20 \cdot \sin(30^\circ) = 20 \cdot 0.5 = 10 \, m/s \]

2. Now, substitute this \( v_y \) into the height formula:

\[ H = \frac{(10^2)}{2 \cdot 9.81} \]

\[ H = \frac{100}{19.62} \]

\[ H \approx 5.1 \, m \]

So, the maximum height reached by the projectile is approximately 5.1 meters.**

First question DONE!

To be continued.