Ever since I've found out Lia was about to work for Pernille Harder - aka the 'genius mind' that has shaken up the whole city of Saint Ives when we were in high school, or even the girl that broke Maria Leòn's heart in senior prom - I wasn't able to close my eyes for more than two seconds.
As if her presence in London wasn't bad enough, the fact that she came into the class we are currently sitting and immediately sees me got things even worse.
"Miss Harder, what do we owe the honour?" my teacher asks, raising his eyebrows.
"Good morning, I need a word with Miss Wälti and Miss... Williamson." Pernille says in her top-notch British accent.
Nodding his head while my whole body starts shaking, our teacher makes us both a sign to gather our things and follow the impressive blonde out of the class - which we eventually do.
As soon as we are outside the room, Pernille declares:
"Ladies, congratulations, you have been selected to work part-time for Harder Biometrics on a secret project. Why don't we sit down to talk about it, uh?"
Nodding our heads in silence, quite impressed (or terrified, on my part), we follow her to one of the private conference rooms of the building, and as the four of us sit down around the table, Pernille Harder sits down as well, quite amused by this whole situation.
Indeed, her tone is both amused and serious when she states:
"You two are the students with the highest grades of your class, therefore Harder Biometriscs has taken a particular interest in bright minds, to which category yours belong. We were looking for researcher to work on a secret project that is about to change the course of the human genome, and, by extension, the world. Are you in?"
"Of course!" Lia immediately says, stars in her eyes.
I, for one, decide to remain completely silent, all eyes are soon on me, making me feel highly uneasy.
Before I can answer, Pernille adds:
"What about you, Leah? Wouldn't it be great to be reunited after all these years, in Mapi's memory ? I mean, it would be a bit... suspicious if you did not take this opportunity, right?"
There it is, I think to myself, mentally linking Pernille to the hidden number that's been writing to me those past few days. I mean, her arrival and the beginning of the texts cannot be a coincidence, right? Not blinking a bit, I stare at her with defiance, as I could see the hatred for me in her eyes.
This woman is evil - but I can't let my friends work for her on their own...
"Right" I let out, nodding my head sassily. As Pernille raises her eyebrow at me, I add: "It would be my pleasure to work for you and your wonderful projects, Miss Harder."
As she nods and tells us we will keep in touch, I just check my phone: no new messages, either being from the hidden number nor the SOS number.
Rolling my eyes, I just listen as Lia shares her excitement: I, on the other hand, know something is definitely going on if Pernille Harder came to London... But now I've got to protect Lia from the evil personalised...
***
Pernille Harder
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