Mrs Jogh won the Best Presentation Award which put her again in a generous mood. She was whisked to the award winners' table that night, along with trophy owners of Best Research Exhibition, Best New Media Presentator, Best Speaker and the main winners, Best Research and Researcher.

The rest of the team didn't know that the award came with a hefty cash prize and an invitation to collaborate with an Finnish-based agriculture giant. Mr Evans was the one who spilled the beans as the team of four young volunteers and four researchers under Mrs Jogh gathered. Their table was a few tables away from Mrs Jogh's but they got the best view of the estuary.

The mathematician casually congratulate the young crowd.

"There seems to be a return air ticket to Helsinki for each of us in a couple of month's time. It's right after Christmas weekend so get your winter clothes ready," he said.

They all looked at him as if he had grown another head.

"What? You don't want to go? Then Micah can bring his red-spectacled girlfriend from previous exhibition. It would be one heck of a reunion," he jested with an evil sneer.

Micah choked on his drink.

"That one didn't go down well," he spluttered.

"Which one? The drink or the girl? As I saw you and Aga getting acquainted with a couple of blondes last night, I'm going to put my money on the girl," Mr Evans guffawed as he deduced.

The researcher next to Micah tapped his back sympathetically but could not hide his grin.

"Finland, really?" Agamemnon seemed to be the only one who had started to get excited.

"Yes, Mr Aga. Ah, it would be a lot of fun cleaning the fish tanks in Nordic cold temperature," Mr Evans sent out another jibe.

Its true, all Aga did during his inaugural field trip with the lab was cleaning the tanks. Iqball and Ballqis and even some of the researchers helped too, but he was in charge of making sure all the tanks look clean for organiser's inspection.

Aga smiled bashfully but the rest of the team rallied around him.

"You did a good job! We were top 5 on the Best Research Exhibition list. We've never gotten anything like this before," Micah was the first one to speak.

"That's true. Our booth was always pretty simple." A researcher who had been on a few field trips last semester confirmed.

"So no takers for the Finland trip?" Mr Evans brought everyone back on track. He was still twirling his pasta steadily.

"Oh no, I'm in," one female researcher quickly chimed in.

The rest agreed.

Ballqis heart race at the thought of travelling with Iqball to a place she never thought she'd ever get to visit.

"Well I am extending my visit. Who's in?" Mr Evans asked for a show of hands.

Almost all of the raised their hands.

Iqball was surprised that Ballqis didn't, but then he remembered her story.

So she was no longer communicating with her mom. Raised by her father whose earnings were modest, no wonder she always hesitant when it comes to spending.

Iqball's father, a lawyer ensured he didn't have any money worries. Iqball wanted to tell her that he'd help her pay for the trip, but the table of nine wasn't a suitable place to throw that offer.

"Why not, Miss Ballqis? You may never get the chance to be there again. Do you know how close Finland is to Russia? It is just a boat trip away," Mr Evans addressed the young woman, making her feel slightly embarrassed.

"I just need to check if my father might come down from Malaysia during the break," she replied, which was the truth.

Her father tend to spend on her whenever he gets a big project. A few days ago he phoned to tell her he had just wrapped up a project in Kulim, the new upmarket residential area near their hometown.

He sounded so touched when he heard Ballqis had saved up plenty.

And when he spoke about her mom, he didn't sound as sad as before. Ballqis suspected he may have found a new love interest, finally.

"Fair enough, but it is once in a lifetime chance. And it would look really good on your portfolio if you're gunning to go down the research field when you eventually start your career," Mr Evans said.

"I wouldn't really recommend it," a quiet researcher quickly tap in. "I mean, three years in and I'm still cleaning fish poo," she added.

They all laughed heartily.

They all took another stroll after dinner, this time around the fruit farm that the organiser campus had opened for a visit.

Inside the temperature-regulated farm, bunches of Sultana grapes glistened like star constellations under the dim light.

They were allowed to pick the grapes and enjoy them straightaway, as the trees were grown pesticide-free.

Iqball trailed his steps and to his utter delight, Ballqis seemed to hang back as well. They let their team traipse happily around the farm.

When he saw Ballqis stopped at a bunch that seemed big and ripe enough, he offered a paperbag which he took at the entrance of the farm and told Ballqis to cut the main stem.

"They're Sultanas, I suppose it won't get any bigger than this," Iqball commented.

"Just like the fish, I supposed. The first generation has extra large body, the younger ones have bigger brains," she nodded.

Ballqis grabbed a cutter which happened to be hung on a nearby tool stop and cut a couple of the biggest bunch.

"Thanks," Ballqis said.

As she seemed happy to let him play gentleman, Iqball decided to ask her about her father's visit.

"Is your father planning a trip here soon?"

Ballqis shrugged.

"It's likely. They've been divorced for five years, this is the first time he had gotten a major project. He did sound like he's planning to splurge, but I sure hope he won't," Ballqis said.

"Why not?"

Ballqis smiled.

"My dad met a nice lady right after our big high school exam. She had helped him bid for several projects successfully as she is an industrial design consultant. I even work as a temp clark at her firm while waiting for university placement. I like her. And I know she likes my dad a lot... "

She's opening up to me! Iqball was beyond excited.

"I'd rather he save the money for his wedding. He doted on me throughout my teen years. He deserved to have someone dote on him too," she finished.

Iqball nodded.

"That's cool. You can always tell him that," he suggested.

Ballqis smiled.

"He'd just laugh, it's not the first time I told him to find someone," she revealed.

"Then make sure he knows you have someone doting on you already, so he needs to let you go," he teased, hoping she'd get his hint.

She did.

And she blushed but tried hard to control it by cutting another stem of Sultana bunch.

"It's me, who's doting on you, just in case you missed the signal," he said deliberately.

Ballqis popped a grape into her mouth.

"Sweet," she said with a calm smile on her face.

He's adorable. I should be scared. But why does he sound so sincere? She tried to remain as rational as possible.

They continued to walk down the lane.

"By the way, I can always loan you a bit of my stipend collection if you need help for the trip," he noted casually, hoping she would not be offended by his offer.

Ballqis stilled.

"You're too kind it's worrying me!" she whined just a tiny bit, bit her tone was grateful.

Iqball smiled.

"I am after all, your mate, right?" he said.

"That's right," Ballqis affirmed.

For life. The phrase suddenly popped into her head, and it scared her a little bit.

For life, he hoped.

As T7's tank was nearly a kilometre away, they knew that the thought was theirs, not of the talking fish.