Chapter 3 Great Minds Think Alike

Riding on a motor yacht, Carlos, Hana, and Ericka traveled for thirty minutes to reach the La Marina base in the middle of the ocean. The tower of steel stood out gallantly in the middle of the ocean. It had two parts- one was above the water where marine biologists conduct research studies to help fishes grow fast and healthy, and the other was underwater. The underwater facility was filled with underwater tanks where different species of fish were contained. Inside a tank, corals were nurtured to facilitate the growth of fishes. The tanks were wide and were made to hold the fish in one place, to prevent predators from eating them. "You know when I first heard of her plans, I genuinely thought she was a goner. I told her to see a psychologist who used to be my classmate back in high school. Imagine her talking about culturing saltwater fish right in the middle of the ocean. Sure, I've heard of saltwater fish farms but most of them are along the coastal areas, not like this one. But, I have to thank her for this idea though. It's bringing so much money that my wife hardly nags ever since I became a manager at this place." The three of them were climbing up a flight of stairs when Carlos revealed his thoughts on her baby project. "Really? I did it, though. I made an appointment with a psychiatrist and tricked her into going there," Ericka also shared. Carlos' jaw dropped but when he recovered, he raised his palm to high-five Ericka. "Great minds think alike." "Both of you treat me like I'm crazy.” The two stopped walking before her and looked back with weird expressions on their faces. "And you think you're not?" Ericka asked her before she continued walking forward with Carlos. Hana just shrugged her shoulders. The three reached the receiving area in no time. La Marina may have been a research lab slash fish farming facility, but it was also the first of its kind in their area that clients consider their visit like field trips, thus, the need for a receiving area. The receptionist greeted the three upon their arrival. Carlos just casually waved his hand while Hana and Ericka nodded their heads. "As you can see, business has been good so far, research has also been going well. What I- I mean, my wife, wanted to know is when you two will settle down, especially you, Hana." "What are you talking about?" "You're almost thirty now. Do you have a plan on settling down?" "What's that? A type of pizza?" Hana asked indifferently. "If you know any romantic handsome guys who earn seven digits monthly, please introduce me to them," Ericka also added. "You two are a lost cause." Carlos even shook his head. Did they even have experience being in a relationship? The three went back to discussing business. Carlos took her to visit the researchers and see their progress. She also went diving to see the fish. She was satisfied to see everyone's progress in the facility. She let everyone leave their stations an hour earlier that day and announced to give five percent bonuses to their salaries this month as a reward for their hard work. The staff whistled and hollered in joy. She just smiled at them. "Let's rest early, too. You," she pointed at Carlos. "…video call your wife or something, and you," she referred to Ericka. "Go visit some dating sites. Go to Omegle if you're desperate." The two looked at her with wide eyes. "Why the hell would I settle for Omegle and why are you doing this? Do you have any hidden agendas in shooing us away?" Ericka was suspicious. Hana always comes up with the weirdest ideas right after she feels like being generous. It's a weird pattern Ericka noticed a long time ago. "No, but I'm thinking of something." "What crazy ideas do you have in mind again?" Ericka looked at her warily. She needed to find out Hana's crazy idea to prepare herself for the worst. "Relax, I was just thinking, would people like to sleep underwater? What if we build tanks like the ones below us? Put enough oxygen in it, and turn it into a room. People will see sharks swimming around them as they sleep. It will be a great experience, don't you think?" "Hana, the only ones who will buy a room like that were people who won't go crazy thinking that the glass tanks could end up breaking and drown them in their sleep. Paying for a room that will give you paranoia, will drown you in your sleep, or will cut off your oxygen is a crazy idea. It's like asking people for money so you could kill them in different ways, effortlessly." "You think so? I thought it was a good idea. I was even planning to make a business proposal immediately." "Oh my god, don't." Carlos immediately butted in. He gently grabbed her shoulders to get her attention and "Since it's rest time for everybody, why don't we also sleep early? Maybe you need sleep, Hana. I think you need it. Badly. Don't try to think of anything else. Just sleep." "Also, please don't think of a new business idea anytime soon. We are just starting to recover the money we invested.“ "Really? Okay, I'll just sleep early then. Eat well and good night in advance to you two. I won't be going out of my room at all.” Maybe I should write a little before going to sleep. Dinner time came and the three separated ways. Hana and Ericka ate inside the rooms provided for them, while Carlos ate at the cafeteria where the staff left food for him. The base had its cafeteria that provided meals for the staff but Hana did not want the cooks to hover around her just to ask for her opinion about the food they cooked. People tend to ask for her opinion because she eats a lot. Thankfully, she's aware that she was the worst food critic ever. If people ask her how the food tasted, she'll just say it tasted like it was supposed to, with no further elaboration. She once ate at a three-star restaurant with Veronica, Carlos' wife. The chef recognized her as a patron because she frequented that restaurant due to her clients' requests. He even thought it was because she liked their food so he went out of his way to ask for her opinion. "Ma'am, I noticed that you always visit our restaurant. I am the head chef and I would like to ask for your reviews. What made you come back here so many times? Which one do you like the most? How did you like the soup you ordered? I boiled it for two nights. Please do tell me if there are things we need to improve. You are one of our patrons, your judgment matters to us." The chef was so excited to hear her opinion that his voice was high-pitched and his words were uttered fast. Hana just looked at him blankly and said, "It tastes just like soup. It's liquid and it filled my stomach. I'm full now because of it. Thank you for making such a filling dish." When the chef heard that, he was crestfallen. For him, her words meant that his cooking did not stand out, that was why she said 'It tastes just like soup'. Veronica was quick to notice the chef's mood so she asked Hana, "How was that ice cream you ate at that five-star restaurant in Lyvia? Did it taste good?" "It's sweet. It tasted like ice cream. Why? You want me to treat you there?" "No, I just asked. It suddenly entered my mind so I blurted that out of nowhere." The chef's face lighted up when the realization dawned on him. Oh, this woman's just a bad critic. She treated food just as something that would fill her up! Upon realizing this, he thanked the two women, excused himself, and then returned to the kitchen. When the chef left, Veronica berated Hana for being so blasé about her opinion. She then told her not to express her opinion about food to anyone for it was better for her to shut up about it than hurt the feelings of hard-working people. Hana thought about her actions and maybe she was a bad critic so she never attempted to comment on food ever again. That night, in her room, Hana wrote a few pages for her online novel while munching on her pizza. She was on her fourth box when she decided to stop writing and watch a movie instead. She decided to watch The Meg again. Watching it while she's staying at La Marina provided a really good atmosphere. She ate another box of pizza with gusto. The following day, Hana and Ericka left to go visit another farm. "Do I have to visit every business I have? This is too tiring… and boring." She mumbled the last part but Ericka still heard it. "Stop complaining. I know you're planning something again. You left a lot of days vacant in your schedule. You're going somewhere again, aren't you?" She tried diverting Ericka's attention elsewhere. "You're just being paranoid. Maybe Carlos was right. You should get married, that way, you would stop overthinking things.” "Stop changing the topic. Argh… I swear my job is to be a secretary but I feel like I'm babysitting instead." She just laughed when Ericka acted like she wanted to strangle her. For months, the two went all over Princil to visit Hana's businesses to check on their progress and make some changes. Hana was dead tired as she sloppily plopped on her seat. The routine tasks bored her to death but she has no choice because that’s how she’s earning money. The only benefit she got was her going to different places. Despite this, all she ever sees are offices and paper works. She wants a different scenery to look at. One evening, Hana bolted toward Ericka’s hotel room. The latter was doing her skincare routine in front of the vanity. "We are going to take a break tomorrow. That's final. No work for me. Don't call me. You won't be seeing me." Hana surprised Ericka with her sudden declaration. "What? You can't just decide that out of nowhere. You have to follow your schedule. It was already set!" "Honey, I'm dead tired. If you want me to act like a zombie in all of those meetings and break the beautiful image I worked so hard to build, I'll kill you in your sleep. You want that instead?" Ericka allowed her a few days' rest. She knew that when her boss' vocabulary revealed the word 'kill', she couldn't convince her to work anymore. Hana was, first and foremost, an artist. Her mood will always affect her work. Ericka forgot that for a moment. She had no choice but to relent.