Your Guise Is Slipping, Miss Pearl (Pearl and Richard) novel Chapter 1276

"Okay, Wayne. Don't argue with him." Arguing would only make the situation worse, and Wayne knew it wouldn't affect him.

"Alright, Pea." Wayne sat down but continued to watch Thomas, who was clearly feeling the pressure.

"Give me two days. If I can't find someone to test it out, I'll test it on myself, okay?" Pearl said.

Wayne quickly objected without a second thought. "No. You're leading this project. If something goes wrong and you're sick, what will happen to our lab?"

Wayne's point made sense, and everyone around agreed, except for Thomas.

"Why not? She's in charge, so she should be the one to step up." Thomas casually took a sip of water and added, "If you won't let her do it, why don't you?"

Wayne was furious. "Don't think I won't do anything to you, Thomas."

"Oh, go ahead then."

"That's enough!" Pearl slammed the table, and the room went silent. "We'll go with my plan. Meeting's over."

After the meeting, Wayne approached Pearl, looking worried. "Are you really considering infecting yourself?"

Pearl gently patted his shoulder to reassure him, "Don't worry. We have two days left. Let's see what happens then."

"I've asked everyone I know. Where will you find volunteers?" Wayne was upset with Pearl's tendency to put herself at risk. "You're not a hero, Pearl. You don't need to risk so much. Are you really going to do this just because he challenged you?"

Pearl sighed, knowing Wayne was concerned. "It's not about what he said, Wayne."

"Then why?" Wayne asked.

Pearl looked sad. "I don't want to let Esther down."

Wayne quickly understood what was happening. "So, you're doing this for Esther? Because of her heartless boyfriend?" He almost laughed. "Pearl, Esther might not see things clearly because she's in love, but you do. You know this is serious, and you really shouldn't go through with it."

Pearl nodded. "I know, but the chances of this medicine working are very high, so I'm not too worried."

"But even if it's likely to work, you shouldn't risk your own health like this. Alright, I'll stop here. Just think it over carefully."

Disappointed, Wayne left.

*

Early Saturday morning, Pearl got a call from the hospital.

"Is this Pearl Leighton? We have a new case, and she seems to be your friend."

Pearl immediately felt uneasy. "Who is this, please?"

"I'm a doctor at Central Hospital. Your friend feels unwell and came in for a check-up. We've confirmed she's infected."

"What's her name?"

"Esther Sanders."

Pearl tensed. "Esther Sanders?"

"Yes, she mentioned wanting to call you."

After a moment, Esther's voice came through, sounding rough. "Hey, Pearl."

From her voice, Pearl knew she was sick. "What happened? Weren't you staying home lately? How did you get sick?"

Esther sounded embarrassed. "I'm so sorry. I might have accidentally touched something in the lab..."

Pearl was frustrated. "Didn't I tell you not to touch anything there? And yet you went and did it anyway. You're an adult. You should be able to look after yourself."

Esther felt bad but understood that Pearl was just concerned. She playfully stuck out her tongue. "I know, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad."

Pearl was too upset to stay mad at Esther. "Since you're infected, stay in the hospital and get some rest. I'll make sure someone is there to take care of you."

But Esther didn't plan on staying. "I have a question. Are you looking for a test subject?"

Pearl hesitated before answering, "Yes. How did you know?"

"I overheard your meeting," Esther replied, sounding hopeful. "Now that I'm infected, maybe I could help out as your test subject?"