Chapter 2 Wish Me Luck

• The beat of her heart was all she could hear as she was tailing them. The girl he was with lingered her arms on the man’s hand as they walked towards the parking lot. She was cautious about her every move, but her stilettos kept bothering her. She thought her feet were already swollen. ‘Damn this curiosity,’ she thought.
• She wasn’t sure if it was really a fang that came out from the man’s mouth as he licked the girl's neck, but the light inside the room would never lie even with the tiniest thing.
• If her hunch is right, then those supernatural beings she believes in do exist. And no matter how she tries to forget about their existence, she just can't, as she was already addicted to it.
• Ever since she was young, the word vampires and their existence have never left her mind. And as days passed by, she was getting more curious.
• She even dreamed of having a case study about them—trying to find proof and flaunt it to the world that vampires do exist.
• She stopped and hid in the wall when the man seemed to sense that someone was following them. She slowly moved her head and took a peek.
• The man stopped halfway towards the car. The man remained standing and all she could see was his back.
• She gasped when she saw what the woman did--she pulled the man closer to her and kissed him. Damn, why does she need to witness it again? From where she was hiding, it was just meters away from them. Good gracious, her eyes.
• If he's a vampire, she may be dead by now, as a vampire has strong senses. But what if he's trying to hide and continue to act like a human?
• She moved slowly to get closer, and she hid in the black jeep wrangler. She clutched her chest as her heart started to thump fast.
• Again, if she was sure about the man’s identity, she might be dead by now.
• Damn her curiosity! But who would believe her if they were living in a modern world? It’s insane. Maybe she was just hallucinating things as she loved to read vampire-inspired stories. She heaved a deep sigh and calmed herself.
• One more time, she peeked at them. And there the two were about to ride in a black Lamborghini. The man must be rich.
• She waited until they left the place. She went out and walked closely as she memorized the car’s plate number.
• A few moments, her phone vibrated, and Bethany’s name registered.
• “Where the hell are you?” Bethany yelled and she grimaced because of her friend's loud voice.
• “Outside. I just need some fresh air. The smoke inside is suffocating me,” she lied.
• “Geez, wait for me there. We’re going home.”
• Great timing, she badly needed to go home. She looked up at the dark glowing skies as the stars kept on twinkling and the moon was round and golden. Full moon.
• If vampires exist, this was the best night for hunting. ‘Vampires,’ she whispered. Are they real? Why does she have that feeling inside her, telling her that they exist?
• “Why didn’t you tell me that you were going out? I almost searched the area inside, and almost called 911 because you were nowhere to be found.”
• She laughed. “You’re exaggerating things. Let’s go,” she said and walked towards Bethany’s car.
• NEXT MORNING, she woke up early to finish the last page of her thesis while Bethany was still asleep. It’s the weekend anyway. But she can’t let every single day pass. Their graduation day is swiftly approaching.
• While typing, the thought of the man she saw in the bar interrupts her. She stopped mid-air and thought of another way to cure her curiosity.
• She heaved a deep sigh and closed the MS Word. She typed something into her laptop, trying to hack into the system of the Department of Transportation, searching for every car’s plate numbers.
• She has skills at hacking and discovered it when she was just fifteen years old and just started holding computers. It’s her second time testing her hacking skills to find what she needs. As hacking is a crime, she doesn’t use the skill more often.
• First was when she wanted to find the author of the book which her aunt Alice gave her but she failed to find it as it was being erased. And this would be the second time she had tried to find the owner of that car. This curiosity growing in her can put her into harm, but she can’t sleep and be at ease not until she finds out something.
• While encoding many combinations of letters and numbers, she successfully broke into the DOT portal. She then started to type the plate number and, luckily, she found it. She gets a piece of paper and immediately copies the information she needs before a threat blocks her.
• She knew that every government system has the threat of catching hackers, but that will only happen if you stay longer. If you don’t want to be caught, better move swiftly.
• She exited and erased all the traces the system might get and logged off her laptop. She folded the piece of paper and put it inside the pocket of her backpack.
• She stood up and went to the kitchen to brew a coffee. After a while, she gets her cup and pours the coffee into it. The aroma of the freshly brewed coffee takes her to cloud nine. Bethany’s coffee maker is helpful. Being a coffee lover, she might not miss a cup every morning. As she sips her cup, her mind travels to the owner of the car, “Carl Primo Evans.”
• THE NEXT day, she told Bethany about her plan to do an internship at PRIMO International, Inc—a multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging including hotel, residential, and timeshare properties—founded by Carl Primo Evans. She knew it was impossible to get in, but she wanted to try her luck. Who knows?
• “Could you repeat it? You’re going to work… where?” Bethany asked, unbelievably.
• “Primo,” she replied.
• “Gracious, Athena. Isn’t it too late to have your internship? Graduation day is swiftly approaching.”
• “I just realized that I needed it. I still have a balance on my tuition fee, and I need extra income. My salary being a part-time waitress is not enough for it.”
• “I can lend you some money. And there’s no problem with that,” Bethany said.
• She shook her head. “No, I can handle it.”
• Bethany sipped her milk tea. It’s Sunday and they’re having some teatime at the coffee shop near their apartment. She also knew that it was already too late for the internship, but she needed to find out something, and entering PRIMO was the best way.
• “Come on, it’s just for two weeks. And graduation day will be in three weeks. If you want to, let’s try it together,” she said.
• “Athena, PRIMO International, Inc, is a huge company with high standards. Do you think you can get in?”
• She smiled and took a bite of her brioche bread. “If you believe in yourself, you can do it. And I know I can do it.”
• Bethany shook her head in disbelief. “Fine. What else I can do, but support you. And PRIMO salary is at a higher rate than other companies. But I can’t be with you, because I will be helping my family with our business—hey, what if you just worked with us?”
• She shook her head. “My decision is final. I will go with PRIMO,” she replied.
• “You don’t want to be with me anymore?” she asked, dramatically, and pouted her lips.
• She just laughed and finished her bottle of milk tea.
• “You know what, I think you can’t enter there. The school must need to refer you first and if you plan to go all by yourself, then it’s fifty-fifty,” Bethany uttered.
• “Then wish me luck,” she said, and a sly smirk formed on her lips.