"What, five ninety-nine for the latte, one ninety-nine for the biscuit?" asked Haiden.
"Yeah. My Spotify should be on the second or third page on my home screen."
He made the playlist and started adding songs. "I'm just gonna add from your liked songs, if that's alright." He was quiet for a second before looking back at Xeno. "Do you ever listen to.." He chose his next words carefully, clearly trying to avoid the word "normal". Finally, he landed on "happy music?"
"It's just my taste." He chuckled. "Besides, what would you have me listen to, anyway?" Xeno asked.
"I'm glad you asked." Haiden said, connecting the phone to the Bluetooth speaker. First to bat was some pop song from the nineties. "The power of love- Celine Dion." He read off of the car screen.
"My mum loves this one." Haiden smiled.
For the rest of the car ride, the songs were emotional whiplash. An intense My Chemical Romance back to back with an upbeat Oasis song. When they got there, he went to the front desk to buy tickets.
The first exhibit was full of touch-tanks. Neither Haiden nor Xeno wanted to touch the fish, but they both enjoyed looking at the starfish. The interior of the aquarium was beautifully decorated, though Xeno didn't know how he felt about carpeted floors in an aquarium. Still, perhaps they were a special kind that dried quickly or something.
The exhibits of the aquarium were connected by glass tunnels, each one an exhibit in and of itself. Haiden gasped audibly at a manta ray swimming past the glass, which was so clear it looked like he could just reach out and touch it. Suddenly, he remembered why they were there. They still needed to discuss the whole detective thing, after all.
"So what's next on our agenda? Who do we have left to question? I'm still not entirely sold on Mr. Crossley being innocent, you know."
"No, he sent me his security camera footage. He's clear."
"That means.." Xeno began. Though he had never had a particular fondness for the woman, and she had been acting even more mysteriously of late, he could never have imagined that she'd be so petty. "It has to be Dr. Carmazan?"
"Looks like it; she's the only one who didn't have an alibi." He paused. "And besides, you heard what Mr. Crossley was saying yesterday, how he bet it was her the first time."
He thought about it for a second. Why would she do that? He couldn't think of why at first, but then the pieces came together.
"Maybe she wanted to get back at people for stuff that happened fifteen years ago? You heard what Mr. Crossley said- that prank war affected almost everyone. She must be retiring soon; maybe that's why." Haiden suggested.
"I mean, that makes sense. She told me that she was gonna retire soon, but I wouldn't have thought she would've destroyed Steve, right? What would her motive even be?" He was grasping at straws a little, but he just wanted to exhaust every possibility before getting too complacent. Still, it seemed entirely likely that she was to blame.
"We won't know until we ask her. But Xeno, don't you know what this means?" Haiden turned to face him, excitement in his blue eyes. "We solved it! We narrowed it down through a process of elimination, and we know who did it! We can stop the prank war now, we can confront her about it and-"
"Hold on," said Xeno, slightly suspicious. "We've got to give her the right to a fair trial before we start telling anyone."
Haiden frowned. "I guess you're right. We could try to question her next week at work?"
"Good idea." he replied,, though his stomach turned at the prospect of questioning his boss. Even though Mrs. Pepper owned the museum, Dr. Carmazan ran astronomy like a tight ship. She was a good head of department, and would leave big shoes for whoever would fill her role in her absence. A flame of ambition flickered in Xeno. If it truly was her, he was definitely next in line to inherit her throne, especially if it was he who proved it.
"Come on, let's get our minds off it; we deserve to celebrate!" Haiden exclaimed, holding Xeno's hand and leading him through to the next exhibit.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE:
It was clear the aquarium was supported by the marine biologists at the institute. On each blank wall, if there wasn't a fish tank, there was a wall of flyers for good marine biology universities. Not only that, but the whole place was beautiful and sleek. Each tank had flourishing plant life, as well as a silver border around the glass that separated it from the surrounding walls.
Between that and the next exhibit, there was a small gift shop. It was beach-themed, complete with seashells on each shelf. They sold ocean trinkets like sand dollars, as well as little Aquapet kits. Xeno had had one of those when he was younger; he didn't see the point of them. Maybe he'd understand what was so interesting if he were a marine biologist, but after half an hour of watching the swim around aimlessly around their tank, young Xeno had gotten bored.
He felt a strange sense of pride at seeing it, given that it was a little smaller and not as well-decorated as the one in the astronomy department at the museum. They had Dr. Aruda to thank for that; she was always finding new, interesting things to sell there.
He was about to walk through when he noticed Haiden looking at some yarn. Apparently, it was made of recycled ocean plastic. They were beautiful shades of green, and only a couple of pounds per ball. He bought five, putting them in the complimentary "Marine Biology Institute of Kent" bag.
"You've got a problem, you know." Xeno joked. "How are you gonna use all that, anyway?"
"You'd be surprised how much I go through, honestly." Haiden told him as they went into the next exhibit. This one was about deep-sea life, and the lights were low. The bioluminescence of the creatures and plants was the dominant light source in the room. Algae and jellyfish alike danced in the darkness, each one radiant and glowing with beautiful green, blue and even golden hues.
When Xeno turned to Haiden, he realised he could barely see him. His wide-eyed, handsome face was only lit up slightly from one side by an ocean-hued green. He noticed him staring and smiled at him. He quickly looked away, embarrassed, but he carried it off as though it had only been a quick glance. He thought so, at least.
"I think.." Haiden began, catching him off guard. Despite Haiden's whispering, the room was almost silent other than them, as if everyone else was enchanted. "If I couldn't go into palaeontology, I'd want to do marine biology. I love the sea. My family took me to Cornwall a couple of times when I was younger. That's why I did the marine dinosaur section of the museum. Have you seen it?"
