"Fuck, fuck, fuck his Excellency." The students chanted continuously.
Already spent from the chanting and the fact that we're yet to get any reaction from the government, I walked into a nearby kiosk.
"Mummy, please give me cold Pepsi and gala."
As I munched away, I noticed a man was taking pictures with his mobile phone.
"Hey, What are you doing?"
I snatched the phone from his hand.
Which news agency are you representing? I asked.
"None." The man replied.
"So you're trying to capture students' faces and attack them later?"
"No,"
"Then what are you trying to do?"
"I just want to make sure that the young man holding the amplifier appears clearly in any picture I take." The man said, pointing at wasiu.
"What do you want with him?"
"He's my son and what I want with him is none of your concern,"
He had the same tribal mark with wasiu so I didn't bother to question his fatherhood claim.
"Okay sir, but you need to stop recording, the others may not be as lenient as I am." I replied and handed back his phone to him.
I wouldn't dare to hurt my best friend's dad.
Instead of walking back into the kiosk, I proceeded back to school after sending a text to wasiu. I asked him to meet me at the school gate as fast as he could.
I was about returning to the protest venue after waiting for a while when I saw him approaching.
What took you so long?
"I was in the midst of chanting students, even my phone wouldn't dare to notify me of some message." He replied.
"Well, your dad was in their midst too. He was capturing your lovely experiences from leading a protest,"
My dad?
"Yes."
The next expression wasiu donned was priceless. Someone who had the guts to protest the government is afraid of one man.
"Matt, I'm in trouble," he said slowly.
Why?
"I promised him I won't be involved in things like protest and shit. He vowed to withdraw me from school the moment he discovers I broke my promise."
So, what're you going to do? I asked.
"Pack my load, I guess."
"We'll figure this out." I said as we made for our hostel.
When we got to the hostel, standing in front of our room was wasiu's dad.
"Your dad is at our door," I whispered.
"That's not my dad." He replied.
"So he lied. Who is he then?"
"I've never seen him before."
"Mr Wasiu, You are under arrest for treason. You have the right to remain silent, whatever you say can be used against you in the court of law." The man recited as he approached us.
"We have a right to protest and..." I was saying when three other men suddenly appeared and clasped wasiu's hands in cuffs.
"You've got no right Matt, stay safe." The man said as he walked away.
He should have listened to his dad.
©Akinwole John Akintayo
#AnsaShortStoryWriterOfTheWeekContest
Good attempt. Needs to be properly edited though. And the piece surely deserves a better title!