Author's note: This chapter would make more sense from Deandra's point of view if you listen to "Bet on It" from High School Musical 2 or "Reflection" from Mulan first. Or, if you're more of an angsty song type of reader, listen to "Perfect" by Simple Plan, it has the same theme of what one wants vs what one's parent has planned for. Either way, just know that Deandra is conflicted. 

 Also, what Nardho told Moira in the boys' room was a paraphrase from a scene in my favorite video game when a sickly alien told his lover "time for me is short, but what little I have is yours to take." Lastly, an izakaya is an informal bar, like a café but tinier and can only seat limited number of guests. It might be easier to understand it as an upbeat  yet humble eatery. 

In the darkness of the boys' room, Moira could hear Nardho by her side turning and tossing before he finally gave up trying to sleep and decided to just lie there very quietly. Moira put her head on his chest, listening to his heart beating and feeling the warmth of his body.

"On nights like this, when the world stands still and it's just you with your mind, what are you thinking about?" Moira asked in a low voice, careful not to wake Tony and Rain.

"I'm thinking about my mom back home. I've always been ever since I left for Red Sycamore, but now that she knows the truth about my disease, I wonder if she has to work harder because of me. It's already difficult being a single parent with three children, you know. I mean, Johan helps by having a secure job and Kenta's already like her second son and my second brother, but honestly I wonder if it'd have been easier if dad was still around, no matter how homophobic he was to Johan. I mean, he was toxic but at least he knew how to do us good financially."

"Aw, sorry, honey. I don't think your mom thinks your medical bill is a burden. You are loved, Nardho, and in return you love those who love you. That should be enough."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Hey Moira, do you think my siblings and I can save up to buy me artificial lung? You know, that bionic lung that is basically an extracorporeal machine meant to oxygenate one's blood by acting like branching air sacks? If not, my other option is to get lung transplant but then the medical team would have to make sure the organ donor matches my blood type and that my body's not gonna reject the transplant, it's gotta be full of complications, it's scary." Nardho found Moira's hand and squeezed it the tightest he ever did.

"If that's what you want, then I believe there'd be a way. Or you can get an emotional support animal, like a dog, so the dog can alert people if you're having an episode."

"You mean a service animal? That could be useful but I don't have time to keep a pet to feed and train."

The two fell silent and Moira thought about what she would do if one day she found out she did not have a boyfriend anymore. She shook her head, not wanting to make it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. He's strong, he's gonna make it to our graduation day, and then we'll have good careers, and then he'd not have to worry about burdening his mom or relying on people.

"Moira, you don't believe in miracle, do you? Johan does. I used to, but now I'm having a crisis of faith. If it's a sin, then be it. But I want to know what your take is." Nardho called softly.

"Well, there are things that science has yet to explain but in general I think miracle is just our willpower plus the right timing. Now, time is a difficult thing to work with here."

"My time might have been cut shorter than yours, honey, but whatever I have left is yours to spend. So, let's make good memories. I'm still your Nardho, so treat me as if I'm healthy."

The next morning, Lee had gone with Ardiansyah to see the farmland while Ayumi was off to a Sunday market to see the embroideries and potteries on sale while Deandra seemed to be locking herself in her room. With no adults around, the young students had ample free time to deliberate on the e-mail they were going to send Ardiansyah. They met again in the backyard.

"So, let's make sure everyone's on the same page. What should be the opening sentence?" Tony asked the group, a voice recorder on his hand so that he could reference everyone's thoughts as he typed up a message on everyone's behalf. "What about something polite yet firm?"

"Yes, we need to let him know to take action without making it sound too forceful or pushy. Hm, maybe something like mention we don't mean to intrude but we care about the welfare and longevity of his homeland and so we're hoping he might be able to persuade Ms. Milton?" Moira gave her two cents and Rain nodded, adding through their text-to-speech device that the tone of the opening sentence should be friendly and yet clear on the impending doom.

"Okay, that sounds about right. Now, what about the body paragraph? We have to explain everything thoroughly, right? But we have to do it in a way that blame neither Ayumi nor Ms. Milton, I believe. Then we can cut to the chase and do the closing sentence." Vannie said.

"I agree. Let's not play the blame game and stay neutral, we are outsiders after all and our opinion might not be taken too kindly or worse, interpreted wrongly. So, we must tread carefully. We're merely the devil's advocates but let's not be provocateurs. We don't know both sides of the story yet. As for the closing, make it short yet pleasant." Nardhia suggested.

"I think it's actually fine to take side." Nardho said suddenly. "Hear me out. Ayumi is Ardiansyah's daughter so of course he'd be more supportive of her and get on a personal level why Ayumi is furious, let's play this to our advantage, we do want the father to be enraged enough to actually call for everyone to do something. But make it subtle so as not to be too tacky." He warned. The group nodded understandingly and Tony re-worded the e-mail.

In the end, this was what the freshmen ended up with after two hours of editing:

Dear Mr. Ardiansyah,

We are sorry for bringing this up in such a fine day, but we believe this is a matter of utmost urgency and it concerns the future and safety of your hometown. A few of us happened to overheard a private conversation between Ayumi and Ms. Deandra Milton, from which we could deduce that Ms. Milton's family might have planned to bring the mining headquarter to Golden Valley. Now, we don't have all the facts yet, but we strongly suspect that the company is after Pronas and Quenax under the forested area and if our suspicion is true then this is a serious threat to the local ecosystem: the birdwing butterflies, the Gaburs, and of course the humans.

Mr. Ardiansyah, we hope we are not overstepping any boundaries, but as xenobiology and biochemistry majors, we feel that we may be able to help you convince Ms. Milton not to go through with her family's plan. That is, of course, if you are on board with our idea to confront her. We know how Ayumi is all consumed with anger and honestly so are we. Golden Valley is not the Milton family's to rule, it has always belonged to Little Trees such as yourself.

Please let us know how best to proceed. We leave this in your capable hands.

Respectfully yours,

The Blue Orchid freshmen

After Tony hit the send button, everyone breathed sighs of relief and yet were obviously on edge. Nardhia could be heard praying to Mother Mary with a reluctant Nardho to grant Ardiansyah the clarity with which to read the content of their message, while Rain could be seen twisting the end of their head scarf and Vannie was reciting something in Hebrew. Moira was not sure if she should pray too, she had no one and nothing to pray to and Tony was staring off into the distance with a blank expression. After a while, Vannie rose and ask if the group wanted to see a sanctuary for reptiles and amphibians. With no other fun plan, the group decided to give it a go.

The sanctuary was actually a museum and a monument rolled into one. On one side of the building, the students could see rows upon rows of dried specimens on high shelves while on the other side there were tables and ornaments arranged artfully to resemble a temple. The group found the temple-like structure intriguing so they went that way first.

The inscription on the structure was written in a foreign tongue but Moira had brought with her a dictionary of the Golden Valley dialect and was able to translate the engraving.

These candelabras on the offrendas are meant as remembrance to the fallen heroes who died protesting the deforestation of our sacred land. May they rest in power and be legendary.

"Wow, I wonder what it would've felt like to live in the middle of a political awakening! I applaud these rebellious souls." Vannie remarked and bowed her head to respect the late heroes while Nardho and Rain lighted a candle and Moira left a note on the open page of the guest book left on the ornate altar: May their sacrifice be remembered as evidence of human atrocity.

"Vannie, you forget that we are in the middle of our own rebellion. We have ignited the flame by inviting Ardiansyah to call out Ms. Milton, so I think we're following the example set by these honorable heroes. But we shouldn't count our chicks before the eggs hatch, so let's continue to hope for the best and prepare for the worst." Tony reminded and the group murmured their agreement. Next, they went to a dimly-lit room full of terrariums and aquariums.

"Hey, Nardho, look, I can see some turtles! Eeee, they're the cutest!" Moira squealed.

"Those are tortoises because they are land-bound. Turtles live in or near water." Nardho corrected. "Plus, theirs shells are shaped differently. The tortoises have more rounded domes."

"Is that so? I thought the difference was that tortoises live in freshwater and turtles live in saltwater and marine areas? Aren't there some exceptions and overlap?" Moira wondered. Nardho revised his explanation to say that turtles generally spent most of their lives in the ocean or other aquatic habitat while tortoises are mostly terrestrial or live on lands. He also acknowledged that not all turtles are sea turtles, the box turtle and gopher turtle for example.

Moira was still confused, so Nardho simplified his explanation to say that turtles generally have webbed feet, almost like flippers, while the feet of tortoises are stumpy and padded like that of mammalians. Additionally, turtles are omnivores but tortoises have not evolved to eat flesh.

"It still baffled me that you choose to major in biochemistry and not xenobiology, you sure do know a lot about animal anatomies! Okay, let's see snakes and toads now!" Moira zoomed past the group of friends and everyone just laughed at her childishness. They arrived in the room reserved for frogs, which Moira had mistakenly called toads. Next to the frog exhibition, the groups could see hellbender salamanders, alligators, baby crocodiles, geckos, and chameleons.

"Ooh, I need one for my dorm room but I guess it's against the rules." Tony gawked at an iguana. Nardhia said that it was a very pretty iguana but it probably wouldn't be happy in a cramped space. Tony's head hung low and he muttered something about smuggling one.

Before they knew it, they had spent almost an hour and half in the sanctuary and had started to get a bit hungry. Moira opened her interactive map and saw that there was a small izakaya a few meters away from the sanctuary that served grilled mackerel, baked eggplants, and sodas.

The group made their way to the izakaya and was ready to order before two men walked in. They were Ardiansyah and Lee! The startled group said hello and Ardiansyah asked the server to seat everyone together by pushing the tables to a corner to form one big dining table.

"Fancy seeing you kids here, in the mood for some mackerels, huh? Your professor and I were just talking about treating you guys to the local cuisine but you guys beat us to it!" Ardiansyah laughed and Lee laughed along with him then said thank you as the server brought their orders.

Ardiansyah's phone vibrated and he read the message that popped up. It was the e-mail that the freshmen had composed. The elderly man's eyes turned wide and he gave his phone to Lee, whose face turned pale and then the two turned their attention to the anxious students.

"If you guys' allegation is true, and I assume you guys have no ill intention in your accusation, then this is not something to ignore. But how is talking to Deandra going to help? Even if we stop her from being a CEO, it's not like her father can't just appoint another CEO." Ardiansyah said with a light skepticism in his voice. Lee nodded and asked a similar question.

"We believe that Ms. Milton might be more influential than what we give her credits for and at this point we're just trying to see if she's more into the idea of being a CEO or the idea of opposing his dad's wishes. We only know that she's torn." Nardhia explained patiently.

"Yeah, what she said. We just want to separate truth from speculations." Nardho added.

Ardiansyah sighed and he spoke on the phone to call Ayumi, Kahoko, and Deandra for an urgent meeting at the izakaya. The women arrived and they seemingly only thought of lunch. The elderly man wasted no time briefing them on the situation and Deandra looked at the floor.

"Dea-chan, we understand that you respect your father because he's your parent after all, but don't you think what he asked of you is not wise? Sure, you've been groomed to be the crown princess of the mining company and it's always assumed that you'll claim the throne, but do you really want to reign like that if it means oppressing people who are already historically oppressed?" Kahoko spoke up and tried to moderate the discussion by probing the heiress.

"You're not your father, Dea, you deserve to carve your own way and think independently. Do you want to let him dictate your whole life? I know that your heart is in the fashion and handbag designing industry, not in the mining industry! I know that the real reason you took a second major in Business Management was just because your dad threatened not to pay for college anymore if you didn't study how to manage a business." Ayumi went straight to arguments.

Deandra just bit her lips and continued staring at the ground, before speaking very quietly.

"I just...I just don't know how to defy him. I'm never one for defiance. I was always taught to conceal my emotions and be an obedient child or I run the risk of invoking his wrath. Not even my mother dare to disregard what my father says. Everybody is always compliant of his wishes."

"Then it's time to break your chains and soar, Dea! Listen to your own heart talking! Your dad's been controlling your head for so long but now we count on you to be your own person. Please. It's okay if you've ever wanted to get off a ride after you get on." Ayumi begged.

"Dea-chan, listen. I don't know much about yours and Ayumi's dating history but I can tell that she's always held you close to her heart. You wouldn't want to push her away and lose someone who has always held you close, do you?" Kahoko interfered in hope of knocking some sense into Deandra. The young woman's lips quivered and she replied to Kahoko chokingly.

"I-I don't want to...lose Ayumi once again, but.... How do I know if I'm taking a path worth taking once I voice my disagreement to my father? What if I get disowned? Is this the right move?" Deandra buried her face in her hands and sobbed, her whole body shaking violently.

Moira approached her and kneeled to be on her eye level. "Ms. Milton, I have grappled with a question like yours too. The friends I have here, they also once had to learn to cope with difficult questions. For me, it's about whether I'm fit for the academia. For them, it's about their sexualities and the nature of their disabilities. For you, it's about your moral compass. But you see the common thread here? At some point each of us has to make a decision that turns our lives around. So, if a bunch of teenagers make it out alive, then you too will be okay. You don't have to play the part of a perfect daughter anymore. Just be true to yourself. Look inside."

Deandra exhaled andseemed to take Moira's speech to heart, before finally nodding slowly andresponded with a newfound conviction. "I think I'd have to break my father'sheart to find where I belong. But I don't want to be living a lie. No more. I'llcall for a meeting of stakeholders."