tHe bOoMeRaNg StAr

In olden times in Australia there used to be a boomerang throw competition. People from all around Australia who considered themselves good at it took part in this sports competition. But there was only one guy that won the competition and that was “Ace”. He had been winning this boomerang throw competition from the past 5 years. He had been winning because of the special type of boomerang he had and not because of the strength he had in arms to throw the boomerang. He practiced a lot with the boomerang but there was also something unique about the boomerang which was a secret and was not known to anybody. This boomerang was made by his grandfather who was a very experienced boomerang maker. This boomerang was given to Ace when his grandfather was on death bed. His grandpa told him that this boomerang was carefully made by him with deep understanding on the behaviour of the air on the aerofoil shape of the boomerang and he had put all his experience to make it just for Ace so he can forever win the boomerang competition, which he always wanted. His grandpa was true and did not lie about the boomerang. His grandpa also told him to keep it safe and not let it fall into anybody’s hand because once somebody takes it will be very difficult to make something like it again.

Because of winning the boomerang throw competition for the past 5 years he was talk of the town wherever he went. It so happened that because of being famous he had many friends but there was one friend that was his best friend and his name was Traf. Traf had become Ace’s friend when he had started winning the boomerang games. Traf although showed that he was very helpful and caring about Ace but he was a deceit. He always had his eye on Ace’s boomerang and wanted to steal it. Traf was always looking for a plan to steal the boomerang and be a star at the boomerang sports. But since Ace who was told by his grandpa to keep the boomerang safe, kept it safe and even his best friend Traf never knew where he kept it. Traf had tried asking many times but Ace never told him.Traf had seen him practice many times with it but after that it was always a hidden object.

Where Ace kept a boomerang was a secret. After practicing, he folded in a plastic bag, made  it waterproof and then dipped in a river behind his house. He then went to the bottom of the flowing river 15 feet away from the bank, dug a 2 foot deep hole and put the boomerang in it. He then covered it back with mud. Then he took a small but sturdy flag made of five leaves glued horizontally in a symmetry and inserted it over the mud of burrowed boomerang and swam back to the bank of the river. This way he kept the boomerang safe and known only to him. But this secret got to be known by Traf when Ace was made to drink too much alcohol forcefully by Traf. Since Ace was a simple guy, Traf just had to ask him and this time since he was too intoxicated he got the answer. Traf was wickedly excited about it so he tried checking it out. When he did swam to the location that Ace told, he found Ace’s boomerang. He took the boomerang and swam back. Just so that Ace doesn’t come to know about it he got a similar boomerang made which was of same same weight and colour and went back in the river and kept it where the previous boomerang was kept by Ace. He then placed it similarly so that Ace does not come to know about it.Traf then painted the boomerang with a different light natural paint so that nobody comes to know that it was Ace’s boomerang.

Now, next day Ace went to practice with boomerang but he felt something different about the boomerang and after throwing it for a while he realized that, that was not his boomerang and he had been deceived by his best friend. Since boomerang’s are not registered under a name nor do they have any barcode he could not claim his boomerang.

This time winning the boomerang competition was not important but to avenge himself was more important. Ace wanted to teach a lesson to Traf but he did not know how. He then thought that if he could make a boomerang that was even a little better than the previous one and then if he could master the art of making boomerang he would never have to worry about his boomerangs getting stolen and then he would always be a winner. He then came upon a plan. He went to his house and checked out his grandfather’s book shelf. In that book shelf his grandfather kept his work books. He started opening all his books and flipping through the pages to find something important that can help him in his quest to build a boomerang. Ace kept on flipping through the pages but he found only found few notes having some formulas written on them and nothing more. He then remembered that his grandfather had told him repeatedly that it would be difficult to make the boomerang again but Ace would not accept defeat. So he checked the notes out. In the notes he found a major combination of formulas that helped him understand how hollow a boomerang should be and where it should be shaved on the hollow area to get the best performance but he could not find any formula to make the outer shape of the  boomerang. So he decided to do it by really throwing the boomerang in the air and then understanding the effect of air on their different aerofoil shapes. The next day he went to his usual practice area and took 50 wooden boomerangs with him. He started by throwing one boomerang in the air. Now to enhance its performance he started to chip it with a knife to make it have a better aerofoil shape and see how it went then. He kept on throwing the boomerangs and kept on modifying the shapes but that day was not a very successful day for him. The next day he did the same thing but still no success. After 6 months of doing it he started seeing some results. Before he used to shave quite thick chunks of boomerang and thus ultimately they got finished off as they got reduced to small pieces due to excessive chipping but after weeks of shaving he started shaving minutely and delicately and starting making high performance boomerangs. He spent another 3 months in practicing the art of making boomerangs and finally made a very high performance boomerang which was faster than his previous boomerang.

Now he was ready to put his mark on the ground.

There was about a month left for the next years competition and Ace felt like talking to Traf and just asking him for once that why he stole the boomerang. He went to Traf and told him that he knows that he has stolen his boomerang and if he wants he can return the boomerang and they can be friends again but Traf did not listen to Ace and told him that he had never stolen his boomerang and he does not know what he was talking about. He also told Ace that this time he will be competing too and he will definitely win and thus Ace will be a disgrace in front of people. Ace quietly listened to him and went away.

Ace never told Traf that he had mastered the art of making boomerangs and thus has a faster boomerang than his previous one. He just practiced with the new boomerang everyday.

The time came. Everybody was excited about the competition. There were 100 boomerang throwers and there were 3 rounds.

First round:

“SPEED TEST”:The fastest boomerang to return wins the round. Everybody tried their best but at the end Ace won the round.

Second round:

“THE RADIUS OF CURVATURE”:The boomerang that made the maximum radius and returned back to the hands of thrower without falling on ground won the round.

Traf thought that even though Ace somehow managed to get speed through a boomerang maybe because of application of more force but this round Ace won’t be able to win. So he tried his best. To his surprise this round was also won by Ace.

Third round: “FASTEST OBSTACLE CLEARING”. In this round the obstacles had to be cleared by boomerang without hitting and without falling on ground and the fastest one won. This time too Ace won

Thus Ace was this year’s winner too. Ace not only avenged himself but his grandfather’s work too by learning how to make boomerangs and winning the challenge.

MORAL: Never lose Hope!