"Is this a protest?" Ballqis wondered at the sight of T7 refusing the few corn pellets she had dropped into the tank.

She was up bright and early, being in charge of feeding the fish as well as cleaning the tanks and booth. She had tackled all except make sure T7 eat. The booth was ready to receive visitors in an hour, and Ballqis wanted breakfast too. She only had a cup of hot chocolate from the vending machine at the hostel earlier, and a pack of Arnott's biscuit.

"How about biscuits? Is that what you feel like having?" she asked, half expecting the fish to send her an answer telepathically.

I must be going out of my mind, she berated herself.

The tilapia did not respond nor show interest at the sight of Arnott's biscuits.

"Just eat your corn pellets," Ballqis pleaded.

The fish stopped swimming and tucked itself at a corner, not bothering to acknowledge her.

"T7, are you still mad about that air-fryer command yesterday?" Iqball's voice suddenly boomed from behind her.

Ballqis felt as if she almost had a heart attack.

"Don't sneak up on us like that, please," she hissed.

"I didn't mean to. I just came here to check on the fish. So are they eating well?" he checked, as if he was Mrs Jogh. He was actually trying hard not to laugh. The sight of Ballqis arguing with the fish was too funny.

How bossy, Ballqis complained inwardly. Yet she could not help but noticed how good he looked. It was as if a model was wearing their university's sweater.

"All, except this one," she answered reluctantly.

"And the same happened yesterday?" noted Iqball,  reading the report card attached to the tank.

"Yes, but after I threw in a few wheat pellets it ate them all, even the soy ones. So this morning I started with just a few soy, then wheat. He refused both. The one that is still floating is corn and it looks like it is going to waste too. It's been like this since I started cleaning 30 minutes ago," Ballqis recalled.

"Maybe that air-fryer comment had something to do with this morning's protest," Iqball guessed, mirroring Ballqis' suspicion.

"About that ... did you ask Micah?" Ballqis queried, suddenly remembering Iqball's promised.

"Let's corner him at breakfast later," he said, trying to keep a straight face.

The fish suddenly began swimming. It moved erratically, its tail swishing impatiently, splashing water on the tank's rack.

Ballqis quickly grab a piece of cloth and tackled the spill. Iqball quickly mopped the few drops that had landed on the floor.

"Ok, ok, I asked him last night but he said he can't talk about it!" Iqball admitted.

Truth was Micah appeared immensely uncomfortable talking about it. He even quit texting the girl with the red spectacles and tucked himself to bed in order to avoid further discussion. Iqball had to give up when the senior even pretended to snore, which did not even sound natural! It was unlike the easy-going, always accommodating Micah he knew.

"Look, T7, I'll find out what happened and I will tell you if I have anything worth noting, ok? Now could you please, just eat?" Ballqis growled at both the fish and Iqball.

Why would it be so hard to find out how the generations of fish before this batch were disposed? Ballqis could not help but think this was just the tip of an iceberg.

She was a little miffed, Iqball could tell.

Iqball saw the fish began nibbling at a pellet. It was finally eating.

"It seems to respond better to you than me. Come on, let's get breakfast," Iqball called on.

Ballqis' stomach tightened as the clock chimed seven times. She hastily followed Iqball to the mess hall, which was just next to the exhibition area.

Breakfast was an affair fit for a king. From highly embellished oatmeals to yogurt laden with exotic fruit, the buffet spread was enticing. The pair immediately found Micah already chomping waffles and salad on a corner table.

At the sight of Iqball, Micah forced a grin. The younger guy quickly offered to get all of them some juice so Ballqis took the opportunity to engage the senior in small talk.

"The fish in one of the tanks is being pain again this morning. I wasted some wheat pellets again, Micah. I'm sorry. I hope we have enough supply for the next couple of days," Ballqis apologised.

"No worries, I brought three days worth of extras for all pellet types. What's important is getting them to eat. Whatever you do, remember they can't go on empty stomach," Micah said as he offered Ballqis some cherry tomatoes.

Ballqis took a couple of the tomatoes.

"What happens if they stage a hunger protest, Micah? Will they turn into monsters?" Ballqis joked.

Micah laughed, the sound came out almost natural but Ballqis detected a hint of nervousness.

"And just yesterday I found out that their predecessors had shark strains in their bodies," she further prodded.

It was just a flicker, but Micah seemed a little more anxious than a few seconds ago.

"It's for Mr Evans' stats. We need to be able to tell exactly how much would these fish eat before they reach harvest age and size. It's to help with the cost projection if anyone wants to rear the fish," Micah explained calmly.

"I wonder if a different  recipe would make the fish taste even better. Air-fryer fish and chips sound so clichéd," she noted nonchalantly.

Micah almost choked on the rocket lettuce and carrots he was crunching.

Iqball's timely arrival saved him. Micah chugged on the apple juice that he had just received.

Finally he heaved a sigh of relief.

"We don't eat the fish. Ever," Micah blurted.

The senior then left the table with an apple.

Iqball who had sat next to Ballqis offered her a fist.

Fist bump! He said with his eyes.

She touched his fist with hers slowly.

"Good job, Ballqis. At least we can tell T7 he's not going to end up as someone's dinner," Iqball congratulated her.

"Don't you think Micah's acting strange?" she mused.

"Oh definitely. Let's lay off him for a bit. I think he knows more than what he's telling, or able to tell. I don't know why he's being so secretive though. Maybe it is best to observe than engage at this point," Iqball noted as he place a green apple and a cinnamon roll on Ballqis' plate.

The girl agreed.

"There must be a reason why each year Mrs Jogh retain very few student researchers and pick up freshmen like us. I'd say the secret is bigger than this," she deduced.

Iqball appeared thoughtful for a spell before agreeing.

"I know a student who used to help out, just like us, during her freshman year. She comes to the lab sometimes for a chat but would leave if there are too many people around. Maybe we can casually ask Mirna about it," he suggested.

A female student who frequents the lab. She's chatty with Iqball. Her name was Mirna.

Ballqis wasn't sure why she did not like the sound of that.

"Hurry up and get some food. I'm sure you'd want more than these apples and waffles. I was hoping to see the rest of the campus. Shall we go for a walk around?"

Iqball's casual invitation threw her off-guard.

"Oh, ok."

And she quickly left the table to calm herself next to the salad bar.