The Children of Meiden

The entrance of the building Folorunsho had just entered was surrounded by several tiny shoes and a handful of larger ones. Feeling obliged, he took off his shoes as well and went in further. Voices became audible, growing louder the further in he went. Suddenly, a child no older than 8 years old came running to where he was. When he saw Folorunsho, his eyes widened and immediately ran back. His departure was followed by a voice whispering to the others there, resulting in a chorus of whispers until they all abruptly stopped.

The young man went on to see what had happened and found himself in a small classroom with a bunch of children gathered in the centre. All of their little eyes were looking at him with a burning curiosity, though they were too shy to act upon it. The first one to do anything was the boy from earlier, who approached Folorunsho.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Folorunsho," Folorunsho smiled. He crouched in order to be level with the boy. "What's yours?"

"Mikael,"

"Oh, that's quite the name you have. Do you know what it means?"

"Mr. Toby said it means 'Who is Like God', but I don't really get it,"

As their conversation continued, the other children slowly gathered around Folorunsho and chimed in. It was their first time meeting with someone from Meiden and were filled with questions to ask him. They asked about the other places in Pedtro, their people and space. Folorunsho entranced them with tales of his past jobs which made their eyes glitter with excitement. He told them of his hunt of a Gigahog, causing them to gasp when it seemed he was about to get killed by the beast, and shout in joy when Sola came through and saved him.

"That's so cool!" One child said after the story. "I want to be a freelancer when I grow up!"

All the other children yell in agreement.

"Well, you might not be able to be freelancers yet, but you can help me with something," Folorunsho explained. He took out Lola's picture. "Have any of you seen this girl anywhere?"

Before any of the children could enter, someone came in from the other side of the room. The man had pale skin blue eyes, and delicate features that made him seem feminine. His hair was very peculiar; it was blonde and buzz cut, but styled in such a way that it had leopard print on it. Once he saw Folorunsho near the kids, he immediately ran at him and tried to kick him. The freelancer managed to see the attack and leap back to avoid the hit. 

"Who are you and what do you want?!" He yelled.

"Relax, I don't mean any harm," Folorunsho replied. "I'm just looking for someone,"

"Well, whoever they are, they aren't here, now get out!"

Revel gathered around the pale man's body as he prepared to attack again. Just as he was about to do something, another man stepped in. He was older than the first, with long black hair that seemed to be dark blue. The man seemed to have a strange air around him, emphasised by the mellow look in his hazel eyes and the soft smile he wore on his face. When he came into the room, the pale man halted and turned to face him.

"What's the problem, Lumiere?" The man asked in a smooth, deep voice.

"Mr. Toby, this man has intruded into the school," The pale man explained. "I was just about to make him leave,"

The dark-haired man turned to face Folorunsho. The two stared at each other for a good moment, only being interrupted by the children. All the children gathered around the man, the smallest ones hugging his legs.

"Mr. Toby, please don't chase Folorunsho away!" Mikael pleaded. The voices of the others chimed in, becoming an unintelligible murmur.

"There doesn't seem to be an issue with this man being here," The dark-haired said to Lumiere. He turned to Folorunsho once more. "Follow me, if you don't mind,"

Toby left into another room with Lumiere following suit. Folorunsho smiled at the children and followed the two. The three made their way up a staircase and into a small office. The walls of the office were covered with amateur drawings of Toby done by the children. The dark-haired man took a seat behind a small wooden desk and gestured for Folorunsho to do the same in a chair in front of it.

"Lumiere, could you get us something to drink?" Toby asked. The blonde man nodded and stepped out of the room. "Now, why don't we make ourselves acquainted with each other, no?"

"If you say so," Folorunsho shrugged. He took out the picture. "I'm a freelancer looking for this girl,"

When Toby looked at the picture, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Lola?"

"You're familiar with her?"

"Yes, I am. She would always come by and teach the children. She's quite the person,"

"What is this to be exact?" Folorunsho asked. "Some sort of school?"

"Something like that," Toby said. "Lumiere and a few others help me teach the children that come here as much as we can but it's actually an orphanage,"

"Why don't they go to a proper school?"

Toby looks out the window instead of answering the question. Folorunsho turns to see what he is looks out and finds a large building in the distance seated on a large hill above the rest of Meiden. Compared to the of the town, this building was alien, with its marbled columns, pristine walls and lush gardens. If he had not been looking at it right now, Folorunsho would not have believed that a building of such quality could be located here.

"Sadly, our mayor does not share that sentiment," Toby said sadly. "He made quite a lot of promises during his campaign a lot of things for Meiden, education included. All of those things have been left behind in his pursuit of self-gratification. I'm glad Lola isn't like her father,"

Folorunsho felt his stomach sink to the bottom of his feet. He could not help but wonder how the Mayor of Meiden was able to bear the weight of so many people's lives and yet still prioritise himself.

"I don't know who has Lola, but I know where she might be," Toby said. "East from here is a group of abandoned buildings where the shadier folk of town conduct their business. If she was kidnapped here in town, that's where she'll be,"

"Thank you, sir," Folorunsho said, getting up to leave.

"One more thing; make sure she manages to get back safely,"

After he left, Lumiere walked in with a tray and two bottles of malt drinks. He sent the tray down and went to the window, watching as the freelancer made his way out of the building.

"Why did you help him?" He asked.

"Why not?" Toby smiled. He opened one of the bottles and took a swig. "There's nothing wrong in helping someone who might help us in return,"