Balls

13

"Iqball, Ballqis? Did you leave anything?"

Mrs Jogh looked fine. She did not look like someone who had just saw an anomaly or heard a fish talking.

She was peering from behind the door, which she did not crack open wide enough to grant a peek into the lab.

"We thought we saw..." Iqball began but was halted by Ballqis.

"We thought we saw through the timers for the fish feeder machines. I thought Iqball had checked on the fish we left over the weekend and he thought I had done it. Turns out we both did not..."

"Ah, yes. Sorry Mrs Jogh. Slipped my mind," Iqball reiterated.

Mrs Jogh frowned.

"So you haven't checked the timers? Don't worry I will check them out," she assured the couple.

"It would be Tank 1 through 6. It is quite a lot. We could do it now and save you the trouble," said Ballqis. Somehow her gut signalled that she should at least check inside.

"Yeah, it is our duty after all," Iqball chimed in, sensing Ballqis' intention to get inside the lab.

"No, no, you all must be tired and tomorrow is a school day. Go ahead, I will check them out. Don't worry," said the researcher kindly.

"Iqball, walk Ballqis to her room, please. It is getting dark soon. Good evening!" she chirped happily as she waved them away.

The two freshmen exchanged looks.

Iqball turned to walk away.

"Let's go," he said.

Though her legs were moving, Ballqis wasn't ready to give up.

"I'm going to stick around for a bit. Maybe I'll see something else," she told him.

The young man she was following stilled.

"That's dangerous. We should just check it out in the morning. Micah's on Monday duty, we could just swing by to say hi," he suggested.

Ballqis nodded. "You do that. I'm just going to observe the lab from a distance..."

She then raced down the stairs and exited the building with Iqball following right behind.

"Here," she said as they reached an old gum tree with a big bark at the park located in front of the building.

"Are you planning a stake out?" Iqball looked around.

But Ballqis had put down her bag and began climbing.

Iqball turned to see her already a few metres up the tree.

"Hey how did you do that?" he asked, putting his bag down.

"See that buttress root next to my bag? Start from that one," she answered without pausing her ascend.

Contemplating only for a few seconds, Iqball stashed his and her bag closer together. He then followed the route up into the crown of the tree.

She was already sitting on a branch by the time he managed to reach the same height.

The lab was visible, and the windows did not have its blinders down.

They could see Mrs Jogh in front of the fish tanks, observing her pets.

"She's checking the timers. We are so screwed," he lamented as he picked a branch to sit on.

"Hold on. Look," said Ballqis suddenly.

Iqball need not crane his neck. Though he was on a lower branch, the view of Mrs Jogh scooping up the fish in Tank 2 was clear as day.

The fish was flailing in her net when she plucked a scale off its shiny body. The tilapia bled a tiny bit but was released into its tank. Mrs Jogh inspected the small piece of scale gripped using a tweezer.

What she did next made the hairs on their neck stand. Mrs Jogh dropped the shiny scale into her mouth!

***

"I don't know what that was all about. I mean, we know she loves fish but just a piece of scale? And what's wrong with cooking it first?" Iqball babbled as he walked Ballqis to her accommodation.

They had scrambled down the tree in shock. They had grabbed their bags in haste. They had ran away from the building like there was a werewolf on their tails.

"Well I would not bother cooking a single scale. It was Tilapia 2's scale, right? You saw her pluck a piece off that poor fish, right?" Ballqis checked as if the branches they sat on were not as near as just a couple of metres from the lab's window. As if the lab lights were off and they had to guess on the dark. As if Mrs Jogh had thought to pull the blinds down.

"Yep. It was a scale. I could even smell it from memory. Ugh. Stinky. Why would she even ... Oh nevermind."

Iqball was quickly reminded that they have another lead to chase tomorrow.

Ballqis was also thinking of the same thing.

"I think we should be asking some questions to Mirna. Let's find her soon," she suggested.

Iqball stopped in front of her accommodation building.

"She is in my Coastal Management class at Marine Science building. Tomorrow's session ends at 3pm. Meet me outside Room 6E?" he suggested.

So he gets to see Mirna every Monday.

Such a loaded thought entered her brain.

"OK," she quickly agreed before she could say anything stupid.

"It's a date!" he sealed it.

Then he promptly turned and headed to the next building where his room was located.

Mirroring him, she too walked into her abode without hesitating.

Why would she jump at the thought of Iqball seeing Mirna every Monday? Ballqis wondered. Then she wondered what Mirna would look like.

She could not wait to talk to the senior tomorrow.

Inside his room Iqball was weighing which part of the evening shocked him more. Mrs Jogh eating poissons crus or Ballqis suggesting they should do something together?

He quickly reminded himself that Mrs Jogh's strange diet may have to do with the trauma of losing her husband.

And that Ballqis was just interested in solving the Tilapia mystery, not him.

"Would I be able to change her mind?" he mused as he went into a shower booth.

"Hey Iqball," boomed Micah who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.