"It's a volunteer contract."
Unconsciously taking one step closer, I stretched out my hand to bend the paper slightly so both of us could see the contents. Then, tucking the rest of the papers in my pocket, I used my free hand to point and read out the contract for Arthur and his crew of resilient children.
"The title of the project is 'Research into the Effectiveness of the Defense Theory on Vulnerable Children.' Basically, it's the MDVA research team's project to develop a drug to help cure the 'violent actions' of MDVA."
"...MDVA research team."
Arthur mumbled in awe as he temporarily froze in shock, letting down his guard. Similarly, behind him, several children were staring at each other with wide eyes, disbelief apparent on their faces.
"The MDVA research team was real?"
"What drug did he just say?"
"He mentioned a cure, right? A cure!"
The whispers in the background grew louder and louder, the buzz reaching a noise level that jarred Arthur sober.
"Quiet!"
With one command, the previous voices of cheer and happiness immediately turned into a hushed silence. However, even silence couldn't cover up the excitement hanging like a lightning cloud in the air.
Turning to me, Arthur leaned closer and pointed to the line I had just read out.
"Are you certain that this is from the MDVA research team? And that they have a cure for MDVA?"
Despite his serious voice, Arthur's jewel-like eyes sparkled as he gazed at that one line like it was the coordinates to treasure. Or a lifeline when he was floating out at sea.
I tilted my head to face Arthur and replied, my eyes gazing into his.
"Yes."
In a split second, the previous thin line spread up in a smile as Arthur's face could no longer conceal his happiness and hope. Mouth opening into a smile, he clutched onto the paper and brought it closer to himself.
"However, 'cure' isn't really the right word for it."
Feeling a little guilty for pouring water on their parade, I quickly interjected before the children got their hopes too high and watched as that smile vanished faster than the blink of an eye as Arthur gave me a weary glance.
"What do you mean by that?"
Behind him, the previously cheering children had all gone completely silent. The smile had been wiped off their faces, and I could even see dread start to form in their eyes.
"It's nothing too negative. It's just that MDVA has been ...reformed."
Chewing the last word in my mouth, I bunched up my face as I tried to find the best word to describe the crazy events that had happened in the past week.
"Re...formed?"
Arthur made a face, showing that even the word reform was outside of his vocabulary. However, even if he didn't understand the word, he could immediately sense that whatever I was about to say next would be long and involve a lot of explaining. So, before I could talk, he tilted his body and gestured for me to follow him.
The two of us walked over to the group of children sitting on the large, bland rug. As we approached them, Arthur seemed to signal to them, and they parted a small space in the middle, just big enough for the two of us to sit.
Sitting down, surrounded by children with eyes filled with darkness and scars littered all over their bodies, I dug up the contracts I had stuffed into my pocket and distributed them to those children I had spotted with obvious signs of MDVA. And watching my movements with eyes filled with suspicion, Arthur looked on in silence as the children hugged their contracts close to their chests.
"Anyway. Continue."
Once all the contracts had been handed out to the children, Arthur waited for a while for them to calm down before drawing our attention back to the main topic.
"Right. Well, there is not exactly a 'cure' for MDVA."
Taking half of Arthur's contract, I bent it towards me and pointed to the word 'Defense Theory'. Then, I slowly started to explain what it was.
Listening to me with rapt attention, the expression of each child turned thoughtful the moment they heard the 'real' reasoning behind the Defense Theory.
"So, you're saying that MDVA is a 'defense response'?"
Repeating the words I had said, Arthur furrowed his eyes as he stared at his contract.
"Basically."
Nodding my head, I prepared to move on to discussing the other contents of the contract when a familiar voice rang out from behind me.
"That's only what the Theory is based on. It hasn't been proved yet."
I turned my head around as Oliver closed the door behind him and approached the large group of children.
"In fact, the word 'Theory' is technically only tagged on to attract people's attention. It hasn't been properly qualified as a Theory yet."
Stopping in front of the group of children, I shifted a little to make space for Oliver to sit beside me.
"Theory shmeory. All these fancy words are things only you 'educated' people of High Street care about. What we, the people of these 'lesser' streets, care about is whether or not this MDVA thing is true or not."
Sneering at Oliver, Arthur rolled his eyes. Following him, several of the children pulled back their lips to give us half-growls, and the previously excited atmosphere suddenly turned hostile. And in the middle of this circle of malice, Oliver sat with his back straight. Despite not even technically belonging to High Street, he didn't refute the children, nor did he sigh or show any emotions. Instead, he reached into his pockets and pulled out another stack of papers.
Everyone's attention was then drawn to those papers, and the hostile atmosphere dissipated.
"...Don't tell me. These papers were also from you?'
Suddenly making an uncomfortable face, Arthur distanced himself slightly from the contract. However, his hands still held onto it tightly, and there was no doubt in my mind that even though the 'giver' of the contract wasn't someone he particularly liked, the contents of the contract were more important than who gave it.
"That's right. If I were the one who gave these papers, I'm sure none of you would even try to listen to my words."
"..."
None of the children said anything. After all, based on their current expressions, what Oliver said seemed to be the truth. Arthur, being the leader of the group, was the first one to sigh and admit that what Oliver said was correct.
"Yeah, we wouldn't. Because people from High street can never be trusted."
His face warped as he spits out the word 'High street'. Then he paused.
"Well, maybe, except for some people."
Admitting reluctantly and indirectly that they were wrong, Oliver gave Arthur and the children a relieved smile. He then handed out the papers in his hand to all of them.
"These are the cover contracts."
I sneaked a peek over at the papers and noticed that they were mostly similar. The only difference I could immediately spot would be the title, which changed from 'Volunteer contract' to 'Part Time'.
"Cover contracts?"
Raising an eyebrow, Arthur took the contract directly from Oliver and compared the two.
"Because the actual study you will volunteer in officially doesn't exist. So the rightful payment for it has to be given using another method."
Listening to his words, I leaned towards Oliver and whispered into his ear.
"This sounds quite..."
"Illegal? It is."
In response to my quiet inquiry, Oliver answered in a not-so-soft voice.
"But there's nothing much the researchers can do about this. If the study was truly set up according to the rules, it would probably never pass the approval stage."
Oliver looked down at the contract in his hands, a complicated sigh escaping his lips.
"It would also expose some very essential researchers as protesters."
He shook his head. Arthur and the children, who were watching us, looked at each other and communicated through their gazes. Then they nodded to each other and kept the contracts in their pockets.
"We'll accept the contracts. Both of them."
The two of us turned to the children, and I saw Oliver give a satisfied smile.
"Great. Actually, the reason I came over was to inform you of something else."
Oliver's smile changed from satisfied to part happy, part pride, as he spoke the next couple of words.
"The orphanage will be moving to Middle Street. The orphanage director has already agreed."
Several pairs of wide eyes suddenly intensified on Oliver as Arthur leaned forward with eyes filled with skepticism as well as hope.
"What do you mean by this?"
Watching the children's expressions, the smile on Oliver's face grew wider as he explained.
"It's exactly as I said. Other than the two contracts, the sponsors behind the MDVA project will definitely have enough money to spare to shift this orphanage out of Bottom Street. But they're from High Street."
The first half of Oliver's sentence made the children's eyes sparkle. They widened, even more than they already were, and wide smiles graced those scar-riddled faces. However, the moment that High Street was mentioned, those expressions turned torn, and several of them furrowed their brows and glanced at each other.
As the leader of the group, Arthur showed the most conflicted expression. He had just insulted people from High Street, and yet not even a couple minutes later, he was told that he had to rely on those from High Street in order to live a better life. However, with a quick glance around the room and a slightly longer glance towards the door, probably at the woman beyond those doors, Arthur just sighed.
The conflict disappeared from his eyes, and they looked straight at us. They were clear, determination shining through them as he reached out a hand to Oliver.
"We'll accept it. All of it."
Looking at Arthur's extended hand, Oliver took it, and the two children shook them as a sign of future cooperation.
"Arthur, you can't just decide on things for the orphanage."
The moment after they shook hands, the door to the room opened as the handsome woman's voice rang out throughout the room.
"Nan!'
Sprinting to his feet, Arthur and several children rushed to the woman's side and immediately clung to her pants.
"But we're moving, right?"
The woman bent down a little to cup Arthur's face, her fingers lovingly bruising his cheek as she reprimanded him.
"Yes, we are, but that still doesn't mean you can promise anyone anything, alright?"
"Yes, Nan."
The children crowded around the woman named Nan, and she couldn't help but smile at them. With the bunch of children following her, Nan slowly made her way towards the two of us.
"Thank you, Oliver and Dan."
When she reached us, those three words were the first thing that came out of her mouth. Unlike at the beginning, where her smile was obviously fake, the smile she gave us now was heartfelt and genuine, showing off her caring personality that would put so much effort into improving the children's lives. Just like the meaningful and intentionally placed rugs and furniture in this room.
"You don't have to say thanks."
With another smile, Oliver dug out another contract from his pocket and, together with the cover contract, passed the set towards Nan. Surrounding her, the children showed slightly surprised expressions. Their gazes gravitated toward her, and some of them tightened their hold on her pants.
Accepting the contracts, Nan's smile changed a little as she read the title. Then, looking at Oliver, she seemed to give a little sigh of acceptance and pocketed the papers.
"Now that our work here is done, we'll take our leave."
Getting up from our position, Oliver bowed to Nan, and we exited the room with the feeling of many eyes boring into our backs. Outside the room, Jack was waiting for us in silence.
The moment he spotted us, he pushed himself off the wall and opened the front door of the orphanage. Then, stepping out of the old and crumbling building, Jack inserted his hands into ours, and we made our way back to Middle Street.