"Well, it was a small fish and 'baby' seemed appropriate. He did acknowledge me a couple of times when I called him that," Mirna revealed.

"One time, I had a fight with a boy in class. I was crushing on him for months before that, you know? And the moment he spoke, he turned out to be an ass. I was so disappointed. I told Babyfish about it and he said, 'Relax'. And just like that, I forgot all about that guy," Mirna went on.

Iqball finished his tea.

"Look, Mirna, you've given us a lot to digest. If Babyfish is the one you really want to save tomorrow, we may need help. Someone who is actually on duty on Saturdays, for instance. Right now there's only Micah on the roster," Iqball said. He didn't feel like trusting Mirna with their secret despite everything she had put on the table.

"I thought about it already. If Babyfish is among those that would be transferred out tomorrow, I'd switch him with another fish. But I don't have access to the lab," Mirna said.

"That plan doesn't sound bad at all. At least we didn't have to worry about finding a place to hide and keep the fish," Ballqis mused.

"How do we deal with the security cameras and what's our excuse to be at the lab tomorrow? I know I'm pally enough with Micah to simply show up and distract him while someone else make the switch, but what about you two?" Iqball questioned.

At this moment Ballqis realised that Iqball was simply going along with Mirna, but for some reason, refused to reveal that T7's tank was not marked with the green tag. That, and the fact that they both have heard the fish talk.

"I could come on the pretext of returning the excess in my last pay," Mirna reminded.

"First, how about we both find Micah in the morning at the lab and check if Babyfish's tank is among the ones marked to be moved? If it isn't then Mirna won't have to risk a questionable appearance. Right? Iqball, we can simply show up and say we're trying to find a missing earring I may have dropped in the lab, that should work?" Ballqis suggested.

She didn't have the heart to let Mirna down yet she knew Iqball was still having trouble trusting Mirna.

The guy in front of her nodded.

"Sure. Mirna, we'll call you and tell you the list of tanks that will be moved. You can tell us if the one that talks is among them," he promised.

"But I need to be there to identify Babyfish," Mirna argued.

"Don't you remember Babyfish's tank number?" Ballqis queried.

"They were labeled using alpabets last semester. Babyfish was in Tank B," Mirna said.

We have to tell her that we know about T7, Ballqis eye-balled Iqball.

But Iqball feigned confusion.

"We'll let you know if it is safe to come down to the lab," Iqball promised.

"I'll be nearby. And ready to go under disguise," Mirna promised.

Wow, she really is serious about saving the talking fish!  Iqball thought.

 The trio parted ways a minute later, but Iqball called Ballqis the moment he got into his unit.

***
The next morning the duo came with a cup coffee in each hand.

"Yo, Micah!" Iqball hollared.

Ballqis and Iqball caught the senior as he was opening the lab door.

"Hey you two. What are you doing here? It's not your turn on the roster?" he asked, but he didn't seemed peeved. He let them follow him into the lab.

"We're meeting Agamemnon here today. He's excited about joining us on Anzac trip that he wanted to celebrate! You're coming, so we're going to wait until you're done running the stats software, then we'll head for food," Ballqis announced as she dance around the tank area.

Micah pumped his fist to the air.

"Free lunch, yes!" he cheered. He gratefully took the tall cup of Americano Iqball offered.

"Aga said he's dying to try the new pasta place," Iqball made small talk as he book a seat near the general workstation.

Ballqis picked up the hoops.

"Hey while we wait for Aga, how about you teach me how to make the fish go through the hoops? A little Olympic spirit wouldn't hurt," Ballqis requested, tugging Iqball's sleeve.

"You two play, I work. Great," Micah jested.

"Just hurry with the numbers, will you? Aga's coming soon," Iqball reminded him.

Micah rushed to his seat.

Ballqis got Mirna on video call and discreetly showed the tank area to Mirna. She could hear Mirna's voice via her Bluetooth earpieces.

"Get me a closer view," Mirna said.

Iqball and Ballqis pretended to play hoops with each fish.

"Argh, this one won't play today," Iqball said loud enough so that Micah could hear. And with that, he and Ballqis moved to the next tank with the green label.

"Do you think the fish could recognise you?" Ballqis whispered to Mirna as she held her screen towards the second tank with the green label.

"I sure hope so," Mirna's voice blared into her earpiece.

Somehow they made it to Tank 5 and Mirna breathed easily.

"Could you move to Tank 6 and beyond? I'd like to see if Babyfish  could still recognise me," Mirna requested.

Ballqis, who had been holding her phone in such a way so that Micah thought she was trying to record the fish play, agreed.

She hovered for a minute or so at Tank 6. The fish inside actually loved hoops so Iqball humoured the creature for a while.

As Ballqis approached Tank 7, the fish inside did a fast swirl towards the screen the moment it spied the red head on Ballqis' phone.

Old friend!

Its voice boomed inside Ballqis and Iqball's heads.

The fish did a couple of fast laps around its tank before reverting back to its position opposite Ballqis' phone.

Iqball nodded.

Ballqis could hear Mirna's equally psyched babble.

"Oh goodness you've gotten so big! That's Babyfish! That's him. He's swimming and drawing the shape of the infinity sign. Or number eight. Or two donuts. That's his thing! Are you still a soy-hater you big little fry?"

"Hey everyone's here!" Agamemnon's voice shocked them both.

Micah was the first to greet him.

"I heard someone's trying the new pasta place today, since it looks spiffy, I must say 'count me in'," the senior said as he clapped Aga's back.

Aga nodded, happy that Iqball and Ballqis' prediction last night came true.

"We should take Micah for lunch tomorrow so that by the time we all head for Sydney next weekend, he'd be in a good mood. I heard some of the researchers working on Tank A and B will also come," Iqball slid the idea into Aga's head last night.

"I can take care of the bill but Aga, you can just say it's your treat. That way, you can be Micah sitting partner in case we still have to ride the van. Otherwise he'd just conquer the back seat," Ballqis suggested.

It wasn't what they had planned at all, but Aga suddenly called Iqball and Ballqis before they could ironed out their plans. Aga was worried that he might screw up the gig. Ballqis saw the opportunity and took it.

"I'm going to take at least another 20 minutes. And I still have yet to clean the lab. If you guys are in a hurry to start the pasta fiesta, how about grabbing the mop and pail for me?" Micah hinted.

Aga and Iqball started cleaning.

Satisfied that T7 was indeed Mirna's Babyfish, Ballqis ended the video call and grabbed some wipes.

The three freshmen quickly completed Micah's chores.