It was the first week of our second year. The faint sound of birds chirping outside the school mixed with the gentle hum of the air conditioner. The occasional shuffle of a chair or the soft flip of a page added to the quiet atmosphere of the classroom. Ms. Linda, our physics teacher, was just explaining Newton's laws of motion. I'd already studied this topic ages ago—being the science nerd I was—so naturally, I was bored.
"Any questions?" Ms. Linda asked, her eyes sweeping across the class.
I raised my hand, more out of a desire to break the boredom than anything else.
"Yes, ███?" Ms. Linda nodded at me with a smile that encouraged curiosity.
"Does Newton's law apply to every object? What if the object moves nearly at the speed of light?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
The classroom fell silent for a moment. Even my classmates who were usually half-asleep seemed to perk up at the question. Ms. Linda's eyes lit up with the kind of excitement teachers get when a student asks something that goes beyond the curriculum.
“That’s a great question, ████,” Ms. Linda said, her voice brightening. “Before I answer, does anyone else want to take a shot?”
Silence. For a moment, you could almost hear the birds outside as clearly as if we were there with them.
Then, a girl sitting two rows from the front raised her hand.
“Yes, Luna?” Ms. Linda asked, her tone even more excited now.
That was the first time I really noticed her. I didn't even know her name until that moment.
“Well,”Luna began, her voice confident but thoughtful, “for most things, like tennis balls, cars, or planets, Newton's laws work fine. But when you’re talking about objects moving close to the speed of light, that’s when Einstein's theory of relativity comes into play.”
Her short, dark golden hair swayed as she spoke, and she occasionally glanced upward, as if searching for the right words.
“Interesting,” Ms. Linda encouraged “Go on.”
“In Einstein’s special relativity, when things move close to the speed of light, time and space behave differently. In Newton’s world, time is constant for everyone. But in Einstein’s theory, time can slow down for objects moving really fast—like near-light speed. It’s called time dilation. So, Newton’s second law, F = ma, doesn't exactly work anymore, because mass increases at those speeds.”
Luna finished her explanation with a smile, her dark eyes turning to meet mine.
“That was an excellent explanation, Luna,” Ms. Linda said, clearly impressed.“Does that answer your question, ███?”
“Yeah, that pretty much covers it, thank you,” I replied. But my thoughts were elsewhere—on Luna. Most students wouldn't know about advanced physics like that. She was probably a science nerd like me.
Ms. Linda clapped her hands softly to bring the class back together. “Okay, I know this might seem complicated, but don't worry—we won't be studying Einstein’s theories just yet. For now, we'll focus on Newton's laws, which will be on your assessments.”
A small wave of relief swept through the class as students resumed taking notes.
That was my first real encounter with Luna—the moment I realized there was something about her I hadn't noticed before.