They stopped at a beach side cafe after two hours of drive. Iqball fed all the fish as he was on feed duty, Micah recorded their activities on their respective charts while Ballqis cleaned up the back of the van and fetched the solar chargers for the spare batteries.

The five of them sat at a small table as Ballqis lined up the solar panels to charge the batteries on a vacant bench next to them.

Mrs Jogh was eating fish again. This time, it was grilled and served with a slice of lemon, tartar sauce and salad on the side.

Iqball tried his best to not make eye contact with Ballqis nor observe the researcher, worried he might end up being noticed noticing Mrs Jogh's sudden perpetual craving for fish.

Ballqis tried hard to ignore the fish on Mrs Jogh's plate too so when Micah suddenly announced that the red-spectacle girl had already replied his message, she pretended to be interested.

"Where is the venue of your next talk, Mrs Jogh?" Mr Evans decided to fish some details.

"Oh, you mean the one after next?" Mrs Jogh checked.

"So you have two talks lined up?" Mr Evans was surprised.

Mrs Jogh clucked.

"Goodness, Mr Evans, you seemed to have forgotten about the one I told you right before we left for this trip. There will be one next week at our sponsor's institute of agriculture research, did that slipped your mind? Anyway, the next one will be held just a day after Anzac, I hope none of you are planning anything special?" Mrs Jogh asked for the benefit of the rest at the table.

"Not me, Mrs Jogh, I'm in," said Micah. 

He rubbed his hands excitedly. He could already count how much more money he'd be bagging after the short Anzac Day break ends.

"Me too," Ballqis agreed, as she too needed the money.

"Same here!" Iqball quickly added.

Mrs Jogh pumped her hands up. 

"I knew I could count on all of you. That leaves you, Evans. If you can't make it then make sure your assistant would be able to answer all questions pertaining numbers," Mrs Jogh demanded.

Mr Evans considered this for a moment before agreeing.

"I'll come, but please allow me to let an assistant come for the one at the sponsor's institute next week. The person needs to be able to replace me in case I am not able to make it to the one on Anzac weekend," he requested.

Mrs Jogh screamed a 'Yes' like a teenager. The hippie chomped on her grilled fish ferociously.

At that, both Iqball and Ballqis could not ignore each other anymore.

Their eyes met for a couple of seconds. And just as quickly, Ballqis grabbed her bottle of mineral water and drank. Iqball waved to a waiter and pretended to fuss for a napkin.

The small entourage agreed to spend some time to take photos at the beach. It was a calming walk, they took in the refreshing cold breeze and enjoyed the view of the magnificent ocean in silence.

"I wonder if T7 would talk to me again," Iqball wondered out of the blue.

For a moment he had forgotten that just before lunch he had been so preoccupied with thoughts of Ballqis.

I might as well heed what the animal said. It won't do me any good if I keep thinking about Iqball. I should forget about last night and treat him like any other guy. I am the new and improved Ballqis. I am no longer Ball-kiss. I hate that girl, she was so weak, Ballqis reasoned internally.

Micah and the confirmed bachelor Mr Evans were nudging each other as several pretty women passed by. Mrs Jogh was still happily taking photos.

"What did it say when it was addressing you?" Ballqis closed in on Iqball before whispering her question.

She had been dying to know throughout her pasta meal.

Iqball was caught off-guard. He thought she wasn't close enough to be listening.

"It ... just a caution to pay attention to the present," he uttered the half-truth.

Ballqis almost stilled.

"Was it sensing danger?"

Well it was sensing my thoughts of you so that's pretty dangerous, Iqball's brain decided to go smart alec on him. I should start treating her like a buddy. A pal. A guy even!  Iqball decided as much in order to not get caught by the fish again.

"I'm not sure. It didn't send me anything else after that," he replied.

"We should keep listening for its cues," she suggested.

"Let's share and compare if you hear anything while you're in lab," he nodded as he spoke.

They boarded the van to continue their journey back to campus. Iqball and Ballqis once again pretended to be engrossed with the view outside and the weather.

Their ears however, were trained towards the fish, like antennas seeking for a signal. They might as well have been searching for aliens with a SETI radar as the fish refused to send anything.

As they reached campus ground, Mrs Jogh offered to buy them an early dinner, but they all declined. She dropped Mr Evans at his home before turning into the southern area of the campus where the lab building was located.

Micah, Ballqis and Iqball quickly worked to set the all the fish back into its home tanks. Mrs Jogh locked the lab immediately after they concluded all the tasks.

"See you all next week," Mrs Jogh waved them away.

Micah grabbed his backpack and left with a small wave. Iqball and Ballqis hastily left as well. Once they exited the lab building, Ballqis waved Iqball good bye and was about to make a move towards her abode when a strange light flashed from the room where the fish were kept.

Startled, Ballqis inadvertantly grabbed Iqball's arm.

"I'm going to check that out," he quickly told her.

Yet Ballqis was even faster. She ran up the few steps leading to the main entrance of the building and raced towards the lab. Iqball only managed to catch up as his long legs allowed it.

 They retraced the steps they just took minutes ago and ended up at the room with the fish tanks. The door was locked.

"Mrs Jogh?" Iqball called out from outside.

"Mrs Jogh!" Ballqis called too as she frantically peered through the lab's windows.

Iqball knocked yet again and Ballqis reached out for the phone to call Mrs Jogh.

Suddenly there was a click at the door.