The Pressure Mounts

Germon sat with his head in his hands, the clock ticking down mercilessly. He had only six chances remaining to crack the code in Reina's game, "Revenge Through Morse," and he had just two hours left to do it. His frustration was mounting with each passing moment. Suddenly, a sound played, and an image appeared on the fourth circle. Two strings, resembling lightning, flickered across the screen. Germon scrutinized the image, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Current, isn't it?" he asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

"Correct!" Reina exclaimed, sounding impressed.

A Morse code appeared on the screen, and Germon's mind raced as he deciphered it. "Ampere," he declared triumphantly.

Three options appeared before him, and he studied them carefully before choosing the correct one. With only five answers left, Germon began to feel the pressure. His hands trembled, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.

Suddenly, a sixth sound played, and an image appeared on the first and third circles. Germon leaned in closer, trying to discern what was on the screen, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. He knew that he had missed his chance, and the anxiety was almost too much to bear.

"Do you know the answer?" Reina asked, sounding impatient.

Germon shook his head, "No, I missed it."

He needed a break, just a few minutes to collect his thoughts. "Can I have a ten-minute break?" he asked, his voice wavering slightly.

Reina raised an eyebrow, "Sure, but that time will be deducted from your game time."

Germon nodded, grateful for the chance to catch his breath. He sat down, his mind racing with thoughts. Jon and Ashya, two other players in the game, watched as Germon trembled slightly.

"What happened to him?" Ashya asked Jon, concerned.

"I don't know," Jon replied, shaking his head. "But he looks like he's about to crack under the pressure."

The clock continued to tick down, and Germon knew that time was running out. He needed to find the remaining answers, and fast, or he would lose the game.

Jon looks at Ashya and Kyora, gauging their interest. He clears his throat before speaking. "It's the same as that time. It's again happening with him," he says, his voice low and serious.

Ashya senses that Jon is trying to trouble her again, so she challenges him. "What are you talking about?" she asks, eyebrows raised in skepticism.

"Do you remember in our last year of junior high school, Germon started acting weird after the first semester? The same thing is happening again today," Jon explains, trying to get his point across.

Ashya still doesn't understand, so she demands a more detailed explanation. "I can't remember what you're talking about. Can you tell the story again?" she says, growing impatient.

Kyora also shows interest, stuttering, "I want to listen too."

Jon hesitates, not wanting to retell the long story. "No! I don't want to tell, it's too long," he says, hoping they will drop the subject.

Ashya, however, is not so easily dissuaded. "If you don't start telling the story, I will shut your mouth forever," she threatens, making her point clear.

Even Kyora insists, "Please, Jon. We want to know what happened with Germon."

With no choice left, Jon begins the story, "It's about our last year of junior high school. When the first semester was over, only when summer vacation began, Germon was in a normal mood and was hanging out with us daily."

Jon pauses to gather his thoughts before continuing, "But when we got the result of the first-semester examination, that day he left for home without informing us."

Ashya looks at Jon in confusion, "And?"

Jon sighs, "And then I came to know from the teacher that he has got a call from his father asking him to come home immediately."

Kyora gasps in surprise, "Why?"

Jon shrugs, "I don't know. But when Germon came back after the vacation, he was a changed person."

Ashya leans in, intrigued, "What do you mean by changed?"

Jon takes a deep breath, "He was distant, aloof, and didn't hang out with us anymore. He was always lost in his thoughts."

Ashya frowns, "That's strange. What happened to him?"

Going Back to the past time…

At the dinner table, Rongi and Germon both have their evening meal. Germon asked, 'Dad, why did you call me?'

Rongi finished his meal and said, 'I didn't allow you to talk. But leave it now, I heard about your first-semester exam result from your class teacher. Tell me how it was?'"

Germon replied, 'This time was also as good as ever. I guess you didn't call me for it.' And then he started eating his leftover food from his plate."

Rongi leaned forward, his hands clasped together on the table. "Yeah! You're right. The reason I called you here is - At the upcoming school festivals, I want you to participate in the soccer team and win that game by using the boots made by my company."

Germon nodded, his mouth full of food. "Hmm! Got it."

Rongi gave him a stern look. "It's good if you understand. But one thing to remember is that I'm not using you."

Germon swallowed his food and looked up at his father. "No need to say that. You are my father and it is my duty to help you. But my only question is that I don't know how to play soccer and I don't want to be a problem for the team."

Rongi leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Be confident! To be strong and focus on that particular point. You have to give up a lot of things for a while. Like, stop hanging out with your friend after school instead of practicing every day after school. I will even hire a private coach for that." He urged him with a tight voice. "I will also be there as a special guest, so don't disappoint me."

Germon nodded, his determination growing. "I understand. I'll do my best."

The next day, Germon met the members of the soccer team. They welcomed him warmly, and he started practicing with them every day after school. He also began training with the coach hired by his father, ignoring his friends Ashya and Jon as instructed.

Ashya tried to call Germon, but he refused to answer. Finally, Jon caught up with Germon after school and asked, "What's going on? Why are you ignoring us?"

Germon sighed. "I'm sorry, Jon. My father wants me to focus on soccer, so I don't have time for anything else right now."

Jon looked at him, concern etched on his face. "But what about our friendship? Don't you care about that anymore?"

Germon looked away, feeling guilty. "Of course I do. But I have to do this for my father. He's counting on me."

As the school festival approached, Germon eagerly prepared to play soccer as the second striker. His father, a special guest, stood on the sidelines with a proud look on his face.

As the game began, Germon initially struggled to make an impact on the field. However, as the second half started with a score of 2-1, he looked like he was in good form and ready to make a difference.

"We need to score, Germon! We can do this!" shouted his teammate from the field.

Germon nodded and focused on the ball. He saw an opening and made a run for it, but just as he was about to score, Tokiwa, the midfielder of the opposing team, suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Tokiwa, what are you doing? Move!" Germon yelled, trying to get past him.

Tokiwa didn't budge, and Germon knew that he wasn't going to be able to make the shot.

But it was too late. Tokiwa blocked Germon's goal, and the team lost with a score of 2-3. Germon knew that it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help feeling disappointed.

As he walked off the field, he saw his father was not there and already left from there. As he got some meeting calls. Gemon felt worse.

He was crying somewhere over the failure and disappointment, he gave to Rongi, his father. Suddenly, a girl appeared beside him, "Hey, are you okay?"

Germon sat on the bench, still crying over his team's defeat. Suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts, "So why are you crying, Germon?"

He looked up to see Yua, a girl who was his senior, sitting beside him. He wiped his tears with his hand and tried to compose himself, "Oh! Yua."

She smiled at him and said, "Yosh! Yosh! I won't go home until you speak to me."

Germon let out a small laugh, "Thanks, Yua. It's just that I knew I was never going to play soccer well, but I still participated because my Dad believed in me. And I couldn't do anything in the end. The team which used to win the school festival every year lost this time because of my fault. I was trembling from the start, still, I didn't stop myself from playing."

Yua listened patiently as Germon shared his frustrations and struggles. He started sobbing again, feeling like he had let everyone down.

Yua put her hand on his shoulder, "That's all?"

Germon looked at her incredulously, "I knew you wouldn't understand me. That's why I wasn't sharing."

Yua shook her head, "That was mean, Germon. I understand what you're going through. But the way you dealt with it was wrong."

Germon looked at her, wondering what he should do next. "So what should I do?"

"Germon, you should eat a lot of food," Yua replied.

Germon was taken aback, "You're kidding, aren't you?"

Yua shook her head, "No! My mother used to say that when you feel a heaviness in your heart and don't want to do anything but cry, you should go and eat a lot of food. Fill your stomach so that it may weigh on your heart. If you cry, it's not because of heart sorrow, but because of eating some hot chilies."

Germon couldn't help but burst into laughter, and his mirth was infectious. He doubled over, slapping his knee and struggling to regain control. Finally, he managed to wheeze out, "You're starting to sound like Jon!" Yua giggled, delighted to have caused such a reaction.

"So how do you feel now?" she asked, still grinning.

Germon straightened up, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'm feeling great! You're a miracle worker, Yua."

With a twinkle in her eye, Yua took the opportunity to share a valuable lesson with Germon. "This is how we should approach life, Germon. We often strive to succeed or avoid failure, but we neglect our own happiness. It's important to strengthen our spirit and pursue happiness with the same fervor."

Germon was moved by Yua's words and expressed his gratitude. "You're truly something special, Yua. I understand now, and I won't let myself cry anymore."

Yua stood up, brushing off her pants. "Then let's go on a senior-junior date."

Germon's face turned bright red. "What are you talking about? I'm not interested in that sort of thing."

Yua chuckled. "You sure look good in that red face. The date isn't just for romance, Germon. It's about spending time together and having fun. If I guess, we're both here just for that. Come on, I'm offering you a treat."

With a shy smile, Germon relented. "Okay, let's do it."

Together, Yua and Germon set off, their laughter ringing through the air.

In the present moment, Ashya was amazed by something she had just learned. "Wow! I never knew that," she exclaimed. Jon, however, gave her a knowing look. "I had told you, idiot. I know you were pretending not to remember," he chided.

Feeling ashamed, Ashya apologized. Just then, Germon's voice rang out, shouting her name urgently. "What happened, Germon?" she asked.

"Send me a rice ball. Fast!" he bellowed, clearly in need of sustenance.

Kyora was puzzled by this sudden outburst. "Why was he shivering now? That means he did well in the previous stage. So there should be no reason for trembling," she stammered.

"Only Germon can answer that. But for now, it looks like he's back to normal," Jon replied.

Without hesitation, Ashya threw a rice ball to Germon, who caught it and eagerly devoured it. "Okay, now let's continue the game," he said, turning to Reina.

And with that, the group settled back into their game, their earlier moment of confusion and concern already forgotten.

Reina spoke up, her tone serious. "You all are seriously going to regret later for wasting this ten minute," she warned. With that, she played the sound for the seventh time and an image appeared on the seventh circle. It depicted an object in equilibrium, and Germon's sharp eyes quickly recognized it. "Mass, isn't it?" he said confidently.

"Correct," Reina confirmed, and the circle transformed into a Morse code - dash dot dash dot dot dot dash dot dot dash dash dash dash dash dot dot dash dot dot dash dash dash.

Germon concentrated for a moment before announcing his answer. "Kilogram," he said, picking the first option wisely. The circle then transformed into a diagram of mass, with 'kilogram' written down.

The next sound played and the image appeared once more, this time in two circles - the first and third. Germon scrutinized it more carefully, but the only one he recognized was the first circle, depicting an hourglass. Based on the previous answer, he took a guess and answered, "Time."

A Morse code then appeared in the circle - dot dot dot dot dash dot dash dot dash dash dash dash dot dash dot dot. Germon took his time before answering again, "Second." The circle then transformed into a time diagram, with 'second' written below.

The next option that appeared was Nothing, causing a moment of confusion among the group.

"Why didn't it show any option?" Germon asked Reina with a puzzled expression.

"I told you already, dot and dash are limited, so you will get some or not," Reina replied, sounding slightly exasperated.

Undeterred, Germon requested Reina to play the ninth sound. As she played, an image materialized on the sixth circle, depicting a flickering candle casting a warm glow on the wall. Germon leaned in closer to examine it, his eyes fixated on the image.

Minutes passed by as Germon tried to decipher the image. Reina grew impatient and prodded him, "What's the answer?"

"I don't know," Germon admitted, frustration creeping into his voice. "It's difficult to understand."

With only three circles remaining to answer and just one chance left within an hour, Germon felt the pressure mounting. He knew he had to clear it, but the challenge seemed daunting.