That night, Iqball and Ballqis met at the cafe where they once had a conversation with Mirna. The trees were looking gorgeous as they walk, golden flowers peppered the air as they arrive at the cafe by the park.

"This place is quite cool, isn't it? I wonder why we don't hang out here with the gang. It's not that this cafe is too far away from our abode," Ballqis said as she went through the menu.

"Maybe because we tend to hang out where the crowd is. This place is too far from the beach and you can't even see the mountains from here. There's only the park, and when it is not flowering the park doesn't have much attraction," Iqball made small talk.

"But the trees does look awesome right now. We should take a photo around the park the next time we eat at this place. Maybe we can go in the afternoon or morning instead," Ballqis suggested, putting a wide smile on Iqball's face.

The student waitress took their order. Iqball ordered a bowl of mushroom noodle and cranberry juice.

"What's with that smile?" she queried after she told the waitress her choice of club sandwich and hot tea.

Iqball laughed.

"I'm just elated you're making plans for our next date," Iqball said.

Blushing, Ballqis tried to play it down.

"We're not from around here. We only have three years here, so we should record our journey," she said.

"I'm glad you're part of it. In fact, ending up here with you and getting into the T7 grill are probably the best things that had ever happened to me," he said.

Ballqis was too happy to talk or smile.

"You almost made me forgot all about how bad it was at school," she admitted.

Her admission startled Iqball.

"You reminded me so much of that horrible place, but now that we're friends, it felt like that part of my life was a reminder of how empty my life would be if you're not talking to me," she rambled.

"You know back then when we first started to share the shift at the fish lab, I kept getting this signal from you which says, 'don't talk to me'. But it just made me want to talk to you even more. It's like I knew we'd be good friends," he mused.

Their food came and they started to eat.

"Thank you for not giving up on a friendship with me. I guess all these while I must have seemed aloof to the rest of the girls at school too. Maybe that's why none of them wanted to be friends with me. Anyway, that's all in the past now. I'm glad I'm no longer that version of me," Ballqis said as she handed Iqball a piece of her sandwich.

"You've always seemed like someone I could be friends with, even back then at school, you know. But I just get tongue-tied each time we're near. I'm so glad I'm braver now than before. I think I like this version of me too," he quipped, and they both laughed.

They finished their food and began to sip on their drinks. It was dark outside but they could still make out the silhouette of people jogging and hanging out.

"Hey is that Mirna? And Micah? I think the guy is Micah," Ballqis suddenly said.

Iqball peered towards the direction of her gaze.

"You're right. And they don't look like they're fighting," Iqball joked.

"I bet Micah is apologizing," Ballqis laughed.

"If that's true then that's good news. That fight at the main campus cafeteria was quite memorable," he recalled.

"We've fought too, thank goodness there weren't any witnesses," Ballqis reminded.

Iqball inched forward across the table and put his hand on hers.

"I really haven't thanked you for that day, Ballqis. It was stupid of me to experiment with freebies like that. Now did you really send the e-ciggy to Perlis?" Iqball asked.

Ballqis laughed.

"I didn't. I almost did because I was sending a parcel filled with halal kangaroo meat and jerky for my dad for his birthday, but I didn't want my dad to know the guy I like is into e-ciggies," she blurted out.

"You ... like me? Like, like me like me?" Iqbal seized the chance.

Ballqis laughed again, this time nervously. Then she nodded anyway.

Iqball laughed along.

***

Mrs Jogh and Mirna were in deep discussion the next day by the time Iqball and Ballqis arrived.

"Thank you for coming, Balls," Mrs Jogh said, making it evident that she was getting fond of that nickname too.

The duo had been called to the lab suddenly. Lunch with Aga and Molly was put on hold.

"Babyfish aka T7 aka Scaly 7 is talking too fast. I need you two to help," Mirna immediately confided.

"What was he talking about?" Ballqis asked.

"We asked him about the light-thrower," Mrs Jogh said as she made them pull a chair near the tank.

"How about we agree on a name for the fish first," Iqball suggested.

"Shortest name is best," Mrs Jogh agreed.

"T7 it is then," Mirna said.

"Or let's ask the guy what he'd like to be called?" Ballqis threw in her idea.

They all turned to T7.

"Hey dude, which name do you like the most? Babyfish, T7 or Scaly 7? Or would you like us to call you something else?" Mirna asked.

The fish swam towards the centre of the tank.

I like T7, he said.

"T7 it is," Mirna announced as Ballqis and Iqball smiled.

"Really? Won't you like to be called John, George, Paul or Ringo?" Mrs Jogh had to make sure.

The fish swam away.

"Not a Beatles fan, I see. I should start making notes on your personality," Mrs Jogh smirked.

"So, the light throw incident, what do you know about it?" Iqball asked the fish.

That human meant to shock us to death. The light was so bright. But from her strange gesture I knew she was up to no good so I made a gesture for everyone to look down. It lessened the impact. My mate made sure the babies hid behind the plants. Everyone was safe but even now they were still scared, some of my babies won't come out from hiding, T7 went on.

"I see what you mean, Mirna," Ballqis said and wrote down everything T7 said as fast as she could on her notebook.

Mrs Jogh read her neat scribbles.

"Perhaps we can move the double tank to the other lab. Maybe a change of scene would release the fish from the trauma," she suggested.

"Is it OK if we take your babies to the other lab, T7? They would forget about the incident and swim freely if we let them live elsewhere," Mirna asked.

The fish swam away from Mirna.

"I don't think he liked the suggestion huh," Mrs Jogh said.

Yes, take them. They won't eat if they keep hiding, T7 suddenly agreed.

Mirna and Ballqis were taken aback, but Iqball smiled.

"You're such a thoughtful father," he commended the fish.

T7 jumped above the water.

In the double tank, T6 responded with a jump of her own. Mrs Jogh's eyes went wide.

"Are you telling your mate about it?" asked Ballqis.

Yes, she needs to be ready. I told her good bye, the fish said.

Ballqis' heart sank as she wrote what he said.

Mrs Jogh paced.

"I know, I know. They're a family. They should not be separated. I shall switch them all into Tank A and put the A fish into the double tank. That would do, right?"

Mirna clapped her hands happily.

"Would we be given access to the other lab to keep observing T7 and T6, then?" Iqball asked.

"That side of the lab is too crammed already. I'll move Tank 7 and Tank 6 out and place the double tank along this row, then Tank A would fit the spot where the double tank is now. We have to make preparations for the family anyway as the fries will get bigger," Mrs Jogh finalised her plans.

"Babyfish, you and your family will be reunited!" Mirna jumped happily.

T7 did a double loop swim inside his tank.

Thank you. I'm happy, he said.

"I'm happy," Mirna, Ballqis and Iqball repeated simultaneously.

Throwing her hands into the air, Mrs Jogh launched into So Happy Together.