Iqball saw Micah drape a thick towel over a shower door. The older student entered the shower booth next to him.

"So you ran back to your room as soon as the fish were taken care of, yet held on this long to the stink?" Iqball chided.

Micah laughed.

"At least I don't stink as bad as Mrs Jogh!" he responded with hot water dripping all over his locks.

"She doesn't smell bad at all, as far as I could tell," Iqball said.

"It's all the fish she's been eating. It's always fried fish for her every time we sat for a meal," Micah joked as he lather soap all over his body.

A sense of dread pricked Iqball's brain.

"I know for a fact that she did ate roo meat. She enjoyed them at the dance," Iqball replied, not wanting Micah to know he's been noticing the same thing.

Micah looked at him with a smile. He quickly shampooed.

"You should observe her sometimes. I swear she doesn't eat much of anything else but fish," Micah said as he finished his shower.

The third year student left Iqball still holding on to his soap bottle.

***

"Which one is she?" asked Ballqis the next day, right outside room 6E.

"The one with the ponytail," said Iqball as he picked up their pace.

The girl with the ponytail seemed bent on leaving the building as soon as she could, judging from the brisk walk she was maintaining.

"Look, she's queueing behind that guy at the vending machine. Quick, talk to her, Iqball!" cried Ballqis.

It was the girl's turn to put in a dollar into the coffee machine. The note went into the slot successfully.

"Hi Mirna, I'm Iqball, we just got out of the same class?" Iqball ventured as he stood next to the coffee machine.

Mirna had just pressed a finger on the Regular Black button. She had no choice but to wait.

"I know who you are," she replied. Her eyes darted a little as she spoke.

Up close, Ballqis noticed how pretty she was. Her green eyes and red hair were indication that she was an international student too.

"We, that is my friend Ballqis and I would like to talk to you about the fish lab project you were involved in last semester. Micah said you were his duty partner," said Iqball quickly.

Mirna turned to walk away from the machine. Iqball tailed her. Ballqis grabbed the wasted freshly brewed coffee, put on the lid and quickly followed Iqball.

"We were just wondering if you know how the lab disposed the earlier generations of the fish," said Iqball as he chased after Mirna.

Mirna looked thoroughly spooked.

"Leave me alone," she pleaded.

"Wait, your coffee," Ballqis tried to stop her.

But Mirna simply took the cup from Ballqis' hand and continued walking. In her haste she took a turn and the three of them ended up at an alley between two faculty buildings.

It was a route that led to a parking lot for the lecturers. Mirna stopped walking.

"Mirna, please, we just wanted to know a bit more about the tilapias," Iqball tried again, sensing the unease the red head was radiating.

"We need to help the fish," Ballqis chimed in.

Ballqis' words seemed to trigger a strange effect. As if drained of all fear, Mirna looked at her with fascination.

"Tell me, why do you feel the need to do that?" Mirna asked Ballqis as she step closer and closer towards the boho styled girl.

"We heard the fish will be incinerated within the next few months," Ballqis replied cautiously.

"We think it is such a waste that the creatures are not even eaten," Iqball added as Mirna cornered Ballqis to the wall of the building.

"Who said they weren't?" Mirna asked.

"Well Micah ..." Iqball tried telling her that Micah was the one who said the fish were never eaten.

"Don't trust whatever he said," warned Mirna.

Then she ran as fast as she could, spilling coffee in her trail, leaving the two friends gawking.

"That went well," quipped Iqball.

"What if she goes to Mrs Jogh to tell on us?" Ballqis asked worriedly.

"I doubt it. She seemed afraid of something. Something must have happened while she was still a student researcher there," he mused.

For a few seconds the two friends were simply walking, organizing their thoughts. Mirna may have refused to divulge, and that itself told a lot.

"I wonder what could have happened to her. Her face totally drained colour at the mention of the fish ..." Iqball broke the silence.

"Or Micah. I can't really pin it but my gut says she didn't like the sound of his name. Maybe something happened between them," Ballqis said, unwilling to rule out any possibilities.

"Maybe the lab itself scared her," Iqball threw in a fresh theory.

"But she said 'don't trust Micah', what's that all about?" asked Ballqis who had stopped walking.

They were near the gum tree that they had just climbed last night. 

"You know last night Micah seemed like he was trying to get me to diss Mrs Jogh, not in so many words, but my instinct told me to not go along," Iqball disclosed with a quiet voice.  

At that moment he realized that Ballqis is the only person on campus that he could trust.

"But isn't Micah a favourite of Mrs Jogh? Otherwise how would he end up being the only senior among the student researcher? I did thought it was because the lab could only afford one senior student researcher, but last weekend we were paid the same amount as Micah. So money is definitely not an issue," Ballqis argued without raising her voice.

The young man next to her sat down under the gum tree.

"Here," he said, throwing her an apple.

She caught it just in time.

"Do you always carry sour apples?" Ballqis asked, surprised. She sat on a massive tree root opposite the spot where Iqball was already munching on his apple.

"No, I started carrying some after I saw how much you liked them," he noted.

Her heart fluttered at the sound of that.

"They're delicious, cheap and filling," Ballqis quickly pointed out, rambling as she steadied her heart.

"We have to get Mirna to talk," Iqball suddenly brought up the pretty girl's name.

And Ballqis' heart deflated faster than a balloon being popped.

"Would you like to try on your own? She may talk easily since she said she knew who you are. I don't share any class with her, maybe that's why she refused to talk," Ballqis offered.

With his mouth full of apple, Iqball shook his head.

"No, we have to go together. Who else would back me in case she accused me of trying anything crazy?" he reasoned.

It was a lame excuse, but Iqball wanted Ballqis to want to spend more time with him. 

Ballqis ate her apple.

"Ok, when should we approach her next?"

"How about next Monday? Mrs Jogh is due to present again the following Saturday," he proposed.

Ballqis, who to Iqball looked really cool in her black oversized top and torn denim jeans nodded. Iqball heaved the breath he was holding and flashed his teeth.

"Thanks for the apple, I'll see you next Monday," Ballqis rose, ready to leave.

"Hey, don't forget lab duty!" Iqball reminded.

"Oh yes, of course. I'll see you then," she agreed.

As she walk away, Iqball felt he should visit T7 and thank him for throwing them a mystery to solve.