"And now onto the latest update on the MDVA prevention act. Late last night, the police had arrested Andrew Amor in his house for the desecration of his late adopted daughter, Alex Amor, who had passed away on a bus heading towards the James cooking contest. And although it has not been confirmed, the police are currently searching for any dirty methods that might pertain to his daughter's death. It has been widely accepted that Alex's tragic death on the bus was the work of Andrew ..."
The sound of the news channel broadcast reverberated in my room. Grabbing the remote, I turned it off with a sneer.
On the now black screen was my reflection, a mere child throwing a tantrum at what he could not do. Turning away from it, I dug my fingers into the woven strands which made up the straps of my school backpack tightly. Digging into my pocket, I took out my keys, stuck it in the keyhole, and turned the doorknob of my house.
"All the best at school!"
Hearing a familiar shout from the kitchen, I turned around and shouted back.
"I will Mom! Goodbye!"
I then closed the door and locked it.
Turning around, instead of heading to the right and down the stairs of my apartment building, I headed left towards the Justice household.
"Camellia! Are you home?"
Knocking on the wooden door right next to ours, I shouted for her before pressing my ear to the door.
A full second after my call, I finally caught the slow and uneven thuds approaching the door. Then, as soon as they were right in front of the door, I leaned back to give some space, and prepared my brightest smile for her.
"You're early as always, Dan."
As the door swung wide open, it revealed a woman who was a ghost of a beauty. Her skin was pale, her figure too thin, but it was obvious that she used to be someone who made heads turn. But those times had long passed, and those permanently sad eyes were all you needed to see to know that she had been through some tough times. Looking at her still graceful but slightly depressed figure, I grinned cheekily at her.
"How could I keep such a beautiful woman like you waiting!"
Camellia listened to my words and gave a slightly crooked smile.
"You and your sweet mouth. I know you're here just for the latest news."
Shaking her head, Camellia took the small book that was under her arm and passed it onto me.
"Here you go. Say hello to your parents for me when you go home."
Receiving the book from her, I nodded my head and helped her slowly close the door.
"Thank you Camellia! Help me say hi to Daniel as well! See you!"
I waited until the door had closed on her soft smile before opening the book and heading towards the staircase.
"Let's see. Yesterday's news was on page 58, so today's one should be on page 59..."
Muttering, I let my feet carry me to school as I flipped through the pages stapled with newspapers and scribbles. Flipping to page 59, I looked at the headline that almost mirrored the news from the morning broadcast.
'Andrew Amor, one of the head figures leading the Anti-MDVA prevention act movement, arrested for 'desecrating' his daughter's body for autopsy'
Looking next to the title, I saw Camellia's neat but shaky handwriting underlining the word 'autopsy' and explaining in simple terms what it meant. And with her help in understanding the article, it took me no longer than the time to walk from my house to my classroom to finish reading all the news articles stapled into the book.
"Dan! Did you bring the book?"
Hearing a voice, I quickly absorbed the last sentence of the final article before looking up at the overly energetic boy in waving at me from his seat.
"Frank! You ask that everyday! When have I ever forgotten it!"
I rolled my eyes at him as I made my way to my own seat, which was right behind his. In response to my eye roll, Frank rolled his eyes as well.
"Well you better never forget it! You know how my parents don't want me to know all this. If I can't get the day's news from you, I would have to head to the Bottom street to get it!"
Frank glanced at me with slight desperation. Both of us knew that entering Bottom street alone was dangerous. And we did not want to go there.
Pulling my chair back with a squeak, I placed the book on my table facing Frank and allowed him to read it as I put down my bag. Then, I took out the needed materials for today and stuffed them under my table.
Looking up at him, I saw his eyes narrow in concentration as he read everything he could see. On his youthful face you could see a small scar on his temple, so faint that it was barely visible.
"So they finally managed to arrest him."
With a frown, Frank shook his head.
"I knew that they would find some phony charge to get Andrew with. I didn't think they would be able to catch him this fast though. It's only been 2 weeks since Alex died."
I stuck my thumb underneath a wrinkled page and flipped over to it. There, bookmarked with all its creases, was the article announcing the biggest turning point in the history of the Anti-MDVA act faction. Alex's death. With no casualties aside from herself.
This news was so significant due to the fact that MDVA patients usually never committed suicide alone. They always had to drag the people around them in. And Alex was in a decently crowded bus at that time. It was incredibly suspicious that no one got hurt.
"Do you really believe that Andrew poisoned her?"
With skepticism, I frowned as I skimmed through the article once more. Every article in this book was cut out from reputable newspaper sources, their names stated on the corner in Camellia's writing. And they were mostly secret or 'illegal' newspapers distributed among those who cared enough to search for them. Unfortunately, since they were so secretive, it was incredibly hard for children like us to get a hold of them.
Fortunately for Frank and I, although my parents refused to allow me to read them, I had Camellia and Daniel as my neighbors. On that day, when our whole family was lit ablaze with arguments regarding allowing me to read them Camellia and Daniel had stepped up. They had offered to curate the newspapers they themselve bought and college them into a small booklet I could read and understand.
If it weren't for the two of them, Frank and I may have been forced to enter Bottom street by ourselves in order to find them.
"I don't know. But I don't think he did. After all, what sort of poison would be able to kill her at such perfect timing? The police didn't manage to find any poison in Alex either. Although they couldn't do this autopsy thing to check. If Andrew did manage to poison Alex, I don't think he would risk jail in order to autopsy her."
Straightening the newspaper clippings with my fingers, the two of us looked down at Alex's photo shown in the article. With a small smile and mellow eyes, she certainly would at least be considered mildly pretty for her age. However, maybe it was because of the experiences she had, the skin on her face was not very smooth or glowy. In fact, it could even be seen as a little rough. The lines on her forehead were evidence of the tough life she led.
Frank lifted a hand and traced the lines of Alex's face on the newspaper. In silence, the two of us stared at her picture for a while.
"If Alex wasn't poisoned, then how in the world did she die alone on that bus? In all the history of MDVA, she's the only case! Surely it isn't because she's 'special' or some nonsense like that!"
Flipping the book to the next page, Frank scrunched his face up as he tried his best to come up with some sort of logical explanation for this one incident that challenged what everyone thought they knew about MDVA.
"Maybe,"
I started, gazing down at the picture of Alex's little brother, Oliver's, neutral face. It was in an article about how much of a genius he was, tragic his sister's death was, how...special he was.
"Maybe Alex is only the first known recorded case. Maybe there have been others, but since they aren't reported on, no one knows they exist."
Tearing my eyes away from those flat black dots, I closed the book and kept it under my desk. In front of me, I saw Frank narrow hsi eyes in thought. Then once he digested my words, those familiar eyes widened in shock.
"You don't mean..."
Suddenly, as if the world was halting Frank's next words, the first lesson's teacher entered the classroom with a stern face. He immediately swerved his head over to Frank and called him out to face forward and sit properly.
Clicking his tongue as his thoughts got interrupted, Frank untangled himself from his position where he wrapped his arms around the back of the chair and rode it, and changed to sitting properly like everyone else.
Facing forward, I silently rubbed my fingers over the leather binding of the news book and continued from the sentence I just said in my thoughts.
If no one knew they existed, then the whole reasoning behind the MDVA prevention act was all bullshit! And if so, then why would the MDVA act even exist? What were the upper echelon of society planning in their rich and cushy homes?
Feeling many questions rise up, I forcefully squashed them down to pay attention to class. Although studying was currently the least of my worries, my parents had worked incredibly hard in order to afford my seat in school. If I didn't pay attention and pass the end of year examination, I would have to drop out of school without taking the national exams. And I wasn't about to waste all their efforts and money.
I took out the second hand textbook from under my desk and flipped over to the page we stopped at last lesson. Glancing over the whole class, once everyone had done the same thing, or paired up with someone who had the textbook, the teacher nodded his head and smiled at us.
"We will now begin math class!"