The uncanny valley !

The crew of four started their journey to the NIAS as soon as Krith and Armelle reached their university. The trip would take 3-4 hours as it was located in another city which was a little distant from their university of Marine Science.

Their crew was so much known for their work perfection and dedication. The unit was often referred to as workhorses by its colleagues. Every batch has at least one such team. (Comment down if you have one such group in your batch😉)

It was already late afternoon when they reached the institute located on the west coast.

--

Dr. Han was already notified about their arrival at the university by Dr. Sarah Emanuel's research guide.

Dr. Han arranged for a seafood feast in the nearby restaurant. The restaurant was on the rooftop, provided with a great view of the seashore and the tall trees that stood by the shore. The humidity is less, with the clear sky where the sun stood majestically providing warmth. The cool sea breeze landed smoothly over the skin, making them feel relaxed.

"Prof. Han, I envy your student who can always stick by your side," one of the crew members, Reay, spoke, breaking the silence.

"HaHaHa... You can disturb me anytime!! I'm glad to meet all of you today!"

"It seems you are all drained. Can we start our meeting over dinner? How about it?" he asked, looking at everyone.

Everyone agreed as they all were exhausted due to the long journey on the rough roads.

The management provided rooms in the dormitory for their stay till they were done with their work.

After the filling meals, girls and boys moved to their allotted rooms. Krith and Armelle settled over their beds as soon as they entered. The change in the atmosphere made Armelle better. Finally, she got back to her exciting self. However, it may last only a short while.

The bed was a double-decker. Krith laid down. Meanwhile, Armelle occupied the top tier.

"At last, your dream come true!!" Krith spoke, staring at the top tier.

"Yup! I'm happy to continue the research with guidance from Dr. Han. I'm excited to start the work soon!" Armelle spoke with excitement filling her voice.

However, she didn't hear any reply from krith. Armelle peeped down from her bed; no wonder she had already reached paradise searching for her prince. Soon Armelle dozed off, squeezing the pillow.

Krith got disturbed from her deep slumber when she received the call from Drey.

Drey shouted at his high pitch when the call was picked on the other line, "you girls planned to sleep for the whole night?? Don't you both remember about the dinner meet with Prof. Han??!!!" he yelled.

He almost made calls to both of them alternately for about 10 minutes continuously. Then, finally, Krith picked his 15th call.

"Oh!!... ye-ah… we ha-ve meeeeetingggg rig---ht...?" She murmured in a sleepy tone which ignited much of his anger toward the bonus.

On the other hand, Reay laughed out loud, watching Drey getting angry over those ladies for a known reason. He knew that talking with that sleepy panda was no use, so he hung up.

--

'Do we have a meeting with Prof. Han but I'm in the sea diving with my prince. How come I have accepted to meet that boring man over my prince' she murmured. Recollecting the words that Drey said made her snap back from her dream.

As her brain processed those words, horror stuck in her throat. She stood up hysterically from the bed to wake up Armelle, still in deep slumber.

"Hey wake up!!! You sloth!! We are running late already. We have a meeting with Prof. Han!!!" she shouted frantically.

"Ahem - ahem... Let me sleep. Don't dare to disturb! I'll chop off your head…" the sleeping sloth commanded.

---

Armelle and krith reached the venue 10 minutes late. Prof. Han was not still found in the restaurant cabin, to their goodness.

Drey sat with a dangerous aura, narrowing his eyes and focusing on krith.

"Hehehe… Prof didn't come yet. I think we reached on time, Armelle!!" She spoke aloud, ignoring Drey's deadly glare.

On the other hand, Armelle and Reay had a meaningful glance over the other two.

It was already late by 30 minutes when Prof. Han reached. 'I should ignore him,' krith spoke to herself to keep up her composure and focus on the food. She had a good appetite. However, Drey was still stiff, staring with flaring nostrils at the foodie panda 'Krith.'

'How can she eat so much when we came for an official meet' he murmured, still fixing his gaze over her.

After the dinner, the meeting has begun. The Professor gave some instructions regarding their research. The conversation ended not so later; bidding farewell, Professor excused himself from them to get back home.

Soon the fight has begun; the real battle has already started between the Great Panda and the tamer of the beast. Knowing their friends, Rowan and Reay excused themselves to move out since they did not want to get embarrassed.

Armelle walked along the shore to get some air to relieve the stress she got hooked on the day before. Finally, the wind carried away all the worries chilling her mind and soul.

When she was about to return to the dorm, she ran across a man who was running fierce.

A sort of uncanny feel started lingering around, causing her heartbeat to increase tremendously at the person's sight. But, on the other hand, her heart skipped a beat on seeing him near her.

She noticed a bunch of men following him in the distance. The road wasn't so brightly lighted; when Armelle saw that those men who followed him were nearing them, she grabbed his hands which he rested over his waist, to get some breath from the long run. Then, she ran fiercely, clasping his arms with hers. She entered a narrow street with no street lights not to get their face noticed.

She turned back to check on the men who came behind, resting her back on the wall. While the stranger looked carefully over her concern admiring her braveness'. She noticed the men splitting their ways, a few on the right and some going straight. The head of the bullies seemed to detect the presence of someone in the narrow street soon he entered to take a look.

She predicted that someone might enter the street to check them. Nevertheless, she had a plan up her sleeves. She took off his jacket, covering them over their head as she came close to him with an inch distance in an intimate posture. They froze as the footsteps neared closely, but soon it moved back.

When the situation came under her control, she tried to get back from the awkward posture ignoring the preying eyes which were observing her the whole time in amusement. The stranger moved forward when she tried to move away; holding back her waist, he pulled her closer, slamming her body over his and making her tremble. A shiver ran through her spine due to the deadliest aura he emitted. She could barely see anything as the street had no lights. However, his eyes sparkled under the moonlight, making her gaze strike over his orbs as her lips parted in awe.