Sacred Oaths

EPISODE 21: NEWS FLASH.

SACRED_OATHS

Author: Samuel Frederick

Episode 21: NEWS FLASH.

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Oluchi’s mouth was agape, followed by Simon’s, and then Boma’s.

Their faces all had expressions of shock as they stared intermittently at the items on the floor, especially that of Oluchi who seemed even more surprised than the guys.

They kept on exchanging glances between each other and looking back at me.

“What is that?” Simon asked, pointing at the polythene bag whilst coming to me.

I thought he was referring to the bundles of cash so I wanted to fabricate something to tell them but Simon advanced further and bent down to inspect the nylon thoroughly.

He poured out all of the remaining contents which were the white T-shirts with the APC logo imprinted on them.

“Fifi, what is this?” Simon repeated, holding one of the shirts as he looked me deep in the eyes. I was unable to speak all of a sudden, frantically searching for the most appropriate words to say.

“Can't you talk?” He raved, shooting daggers at me. “Answer me!”

Just then, Bauchi, Mimi, Eagle and Kingsley came inside. They had been laughing on their way in but stopped abruptly at the scene they met.

I could see the obvious shock on their faces at the sight of the tons of bundled cash all over the floor, excluding Mimi who just stayed rooted to her spot, unfazed.

“Are you deaf?” Simon continued, sounding impatient. “I said what is all this nonsense?”

For some indescribable reason, I still couldn't find my voice. As much as I tried, the words failed me terribly.

The next thing I knew, a thunderous slap befell my left cheek before I could even blink my eyes. I almost fell on the floor due to the strong impact, but the wall behind rescued me. Mimi screamed loudly and ran to me, shielding me from Simon's view. Likewise, Boma and the other guys rushed to Simon and held him back.

“Are you crazy?!” Oluchi yelled, hitting him repeatedly on his chest. “Are you mad?!”

“Tell her to talk!” He kept on shouting at the top of his voice, trying to break loose from their grasps. “She’s hiding something! She is a traitor! Let her speak! Let her confess right now!”

It took a strong punch from Boma’s fist to Simon’s gut to calm him down, which sent him to his knees as he started gasping for air.

“What's your problem?” Boma snapped angrily, attempting to throw another punch at Simon but Bauchi held his arm and signalled for him to calm down.

I stood transfixed with my hand caressing my left cheek, still not believing what just happened. Mimi held me by my shoulder and walked me out of the room and Oluchi followed behind us, cussing and swearing at Simon.

A drop of tear trickled down my face when we got to the backyard and settled on a bench there, while Mimi and Oluchi continued to console me with concerned looks on their faces, even though I already told them I was fine. They just weren’t willing to stop showing their concern over me.

“But why? Why would he slap me?” I started soliloquizing, expecting no answer from anybody in particular.

“Babe, take it easy, wipe your tears.” Oluchi comforted me, caressing my left shoulder. “It’s going to be all right. Everything’s going to be fine.”