The sun had long since passed its peak by now. Taking the path alone, zigzagging along the sandy roads and cursing himself for having gone so far off course, Jojo quickened his pace. Normally, it would have been easier to follow the asphalt road to the thiongane barracks where the event was taking place, since he was already in that area. Unfortunately, halfway along, there was the house of someone that would slow him down and that he wanted to avoid seeing again right now.
Ariel...
Jojo forced himself not to sigh in exasperation, sensing that it would be insensitive of him. But the fact was, since he'd kissed her, she'd become far too overbearing and clingy.
Now that I think about it, that happens a lot with the girls I kiss.
Jojo was the introverted type; he never made the first move when it came to socializing. But once introductions were made, he attached himself quickly and considerably, that was the type of person he was. And with girls, it was the same, even if Jojo quickly became affectionate with them rather than with his male counterparts. He liked to make them laugh, chat with them, and play the games they wanted to play without flinching too much. His only problem was that when he got too attached, Jojo had this really bad habit of kissing them.
... I'm so stupid.
Of course, he knew that this gesture was more important than it seemed; Daniel had lectured him for a whole day when he'd told him about it in a plaintive voice, saying that it was largely his fault. But Jojo really couldn't help it. When a girl he liked got too close to him, and their eyes looked at each other for a long time, instinctively, almost mechanically, he'd lean into her lips...
Surprisingly, he was never rejected or pushed away during these moments. On the other hand, the girls' behavior tended to change, drastically or slightly to some degree, towards Jojo, who underwent no particular internal change. He still felt a great affection for them, that was certain, but not to the point of wanting to have them close to him, and of wanting to hold on to them like a jealous toy. He felt it was selfish to want to keep all someone's affection to himself.
Daniel doesn't stop yelling when I say that. I'm really the problem.
Jojo felt bad, but he didn't know how to handle it. He was also unable to push away someone who showed him loving feelings, for fear of hurting him. In the end, to avoid making things more complicated, Georges preferred to get a little distance from the person concerned, in this case Ariel.
Breathing in with relief, Jojo went straight out through an alleyway deformed by gutters that had somehow sprung up from under the ground to reach the asphalt road once again. Just a few meters away, a junction led directly to the thiongane barracks in Keur Massar Nord. However, at that very moment, something bothered the young boy.
... It's too quiet...
Or more precisely, he couldn't hear any music, any singing. Every now and then, he seemed to hear a muffled hum, like a whisper. Fearing that something serious had happened, he quickened his pace towards the wasteland.
---
The wasteland that surrounded the rear of the Keur Massar Nord barracks was filled with a dense, murmuring crowd, which was worrying. Jojo tried his best to make his way through, picking up a few insults and remarks about his poor education along the way, but eventually gave up. Something was really wrong, and this couldn't be the end of today's ceremony; the new recruits from the five armed corps were to be introduced and welcomed by the top brass, who were to make a speech, before concluding with a demonstration of Sembou control by the diambars. Jojo may have taken a little time, but normally it would have been barely 15 to 20 minutes since 2 p.m. had struck.
He kept moving, and as he did so, he could hear snatches of information through the murmurs blown by the crowd. "It's horrible...", "Poor little thing..." "Somebody stop him...", "It's inadmissible...". It seemed obvious that something serious was going on now, but the crowd had become far too compact. Jojo was getting seriously annoyed; why was it so crowded today, when usually no one gave a damn? He was about to try and push through again when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something strange on a baobab tree to his left. He felt a certain shock when he saw that most of his friends were there, their faces tense or frightened, sitting or clinging to the branches of the tree to get a better look at what was going on.
_ Where were you? shouted Daniel from the highest branch.
_ I was just... hangin' around, Jojo said evasively, starting to climb as best he could - he's never been good at this - what...?
He didn't need to finish his sentence, as his height enabled him to see, from the top of the very first branch he climbed, the strange and frightening scene that had everyone in a tizzy.
The thiongane barracks stood in front of them; from the back, it was clear to see that it was a simple three-storey building, barely 600 square meters in size and bounded by an enclosure wall topped with barbed wire. There wasn't really enough room inside for such a ceremony, and across the street was the main road, so they only had the back as a fairly open area.
It was really pathetic. Jojo often wondered why the Thionganes were subjected to such humiliation. The Ndimbelanes post a little further away was much bigger and fancier, but it was this location that was chosen every year, as if to emphasize the ridiculousness of the place. From what he told himself, it was an old tradition, but he really didn't think it had anything to do with it. From a distance, the flagpole was visible, but the boy didn't see the flag itself. He therefore concluded that it must be at half-mast, as usual.
Five tarpaulins were erected, four large white ones on either side of a smaller one covered with green, yellow and red ribbons, the colors of Senegal. This tarpaulin was occupied by a head table at which 6 people were seated, probably the four captains of the MTOA corps in view of their decorations. However, it was the sixth person who posed a problem; even from this distance, Jojo sensed that she was far too young to end up among these top brass. She might have been the daughter of one of the captains, but normally this place could only be occupied by a Diambar of rank. From this distance, her only distinguishing features were stiff, heavy-looking braids that twisted to the floor in her sitting position. Something golden shimmered on his grey clothes and his sitting posture was nonchalant, a cheeky contrast to the other captains, who stood with dignity while staring at the spectacle.
In the middle of the four other tarpaulins that were to contain the new recruits and their families, in this sort of courtyard that was closed off by the crowd who didn't dare approach any closer because of a line of diambars who, judging by their blue-black outfits, must have been ndimbelanes, stood a teenager wearing the same outfit as them, whip in hand. Next to him, slightly behind, must have been his corporal, watching the crowd, a young boy at his feet, his back bare and trembling, streaked with long red welts. It was only the sight of his shaven, dirt-covered hair that made Jojo realize it was his friend Abdou who was suffering like that.
_ What the hell?
_ Hush, urged Saliou a little further on, pushing aside the scattered leaves that were in his way, make sure they don't hear you! Speak more politely.
_ But what's politeness got to do with it, Jojo exclaimed, lowering his voice furiously, is that Abdou?
_No, it's a hyena in a suit, of fucking course it's Abdou, Jerome retorted breathlessly from one of the branches. On closer inspection, he saw that he was struggling with Ousmane, as if to prevent him from moving, one hand dangling over his mouth.
Deeply overwhelmed, abandoning his progress up the tree, Jojo stared again at Daniel.
_ What's going on?
_ It's all the fault of that idiot Ousmane, declared Moussa, pointing to Abdou's younger brother, who had tears in his eyes, "he insulted the ndimbelanes.
_ He did what? exclaimed Jojo.
_ You heard him right, grumbled Jerome, standing on a thick branch just above him, that moron, without lowering his voice, declared during the passage of the new ndimbelanes recruits that they were all incompetent bastards, who kill more people than they save.
_ Did he say that because of the recent riots in which 12 civilians were killed?
_ Honestly, Ousmane's too stupid to understand anything, says Daniel bitterly, he just had to repeat the same words he's heard everywhere.
_Regardless, bad luck for him, everyone heard him, continued Moussa, tightening his grip on one of the branches. The crowd began to stir, Ousmane's words must have triggered their buried anger. Then, before things could get out of hand, several ndimbelanes moved at the same time, forming a protective line, and at the same moment, the guy with the whip appeared right in front of us, facing Abdou and Daniel.
_ I didn't even see him coming, Daniel declared, his hand holding Ousmane and shivering, it was as if his sembou was nailing me to the spot. He said... He asked who had said that between Abdou and Ousmane. I was so stunned I couldn't say anything. I thought it was over, but Abdou said he was the culprit and they took him away. There was nothing we could do, nothing except stop Ousmane from screwing up his big brother's sacrifice by running as far away as possible. The guy holding the microphone next to us undressed Abdou and they whipped him ten times in a row before ordering him to stay on his knees. It happened just 2-3 minutes before you arrived.
It was pure madness. It's true that since the recent violence at MTOA, or more generally in the Keur Massar district where they were, Jojo had heard rumors that the ndimbelanes had become very aggressive towards the people. You could be beaten to a bloody pulp and deferred for the simple theft of a loaf of bread. But this was beyond anything he had imagined. Abdou had done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment.
Jojo also wondered why the Keur Massarois, usually so quick to cause chaos despite their agitation, couldn't get beyond this simple line. It was only then that he saw a slight disturbance that tipped him off. He didn't know why, but this small change in the atmosphere gave him the answer without him knowing why. They were using sembou, but strangely enough, it was just being released purely, without any other form.
As the crowd began to revolt even more, the supposed corporal spoke up, his voice amplified by the PAs on either side of the tarpaulins.
_ Let this be a warning, declared the corporal, his voice devoid of all compassion, from now on, we will ensure that no deviation is tolerated. We will protect the peace and security of Senegal, and we will correct any outrage to our work.
_ You're a bunch of cowards, said one voice, waking up all the others, you're picking on a kid like him, you've got no shame!
_ It doesn't matter who it is or how old they are, retorted the ndimbelane, if anyone incites or says anything to upset the peace of the country, we'll be without mercy. Officer Nabil, whip this delinquent one last time and take him away until further notice.
The Diambar raised his whip, Abdou was already bending down, ready to take the blow. The crowd grew more agitated as Ousmane struggled and wept above him, held back by Jerome's grip, and then all seemed confused. Space and time seemed to expand in a swirl of color and brilliance, and Jojo felt himself being tossed about, pushed by an unknown force. Voices, sounds and cries mingled in his ears, and his body seemed to be pricked by millions of needles. Jojo experienced all these feelings with disconcerting clarity, like a slow, logical sequence of events, but they didn't last a second. The time for one blink, then another.
Yes, that's all it took.
When he opened his eyes again, the scenery had changed. He was standing in the middle of the courtyard, holding the hand of the officer with the whip that was halfway down Abdou's back.