Saturday night

On the appointment Saturday night sky was Cloudless as millions of Stars twinkled in the heaven above the location was the ground Of a small school completely deserted as a result of it student terminal vacation the school was the only one of it kind in the little street buried in the lush equatorial rainforest this was not one of those night that one feared that a demon might suddenly creep up and devour one rather it was cool balmy night appropriate for cuddles and kisses but contrarily it was also the ultimate night for a few hundred boy who had been converged on the desolate landscape

It was the second time the Redbeard confraternity had met at this rendezvous. One of their member who was occupying a key position in the skeletal structure of the organization the underboss had two days earlier obtained another permission from the paramount head of the street an the principal of the highschool to host another dusk at dawn party for his colleagues on the premises of the school the head and the principal did not bother themselves previously on the reason that informed the preference of the street over the state capital where there was electricity and better facilities to host such event and at this time they did not bother either. The request of the leader of Redbeard was also accompanied with 'brown envelope' and bottle of the best brandies in the market.

The boys had arrived the street shortly after twilight arriving singly in batches and large parties the people in the street eyes had searched the darkness as chains of vehicle rolled past their sweltering block houses towards the eastern end student from the big school in town were coming to drum and sing again the youth and their weird way of having fun they thought as they went about rounding off the days domestic chores.

By 9pm the large party disintegrated into two group of young men that occupied the football pitch that was the arena of the night activity the first group was the fresh boys who all sat at the dewy grass huddled together they were all university of the new harbour student for the initiation ceremony belonged to their 'den' or campus for them the night was full of apprehension gloom and anxiety they sat there like slaves bound in the silent and sordid realization that their fate and well being lay in the hand if the other group every confirmed 'beard' or member of the confraternity was a master in the night like this they comprised the other group and one could easily distinguish them from the others not only their relaxed mood but by the uniform they were all clad in a combination of red and black tee_shirt upon black short and black beret or turbans to march their colours the colours of terror on campus so well known to all student so many of the boys sitting on the grass could not disguise their admiration and impatience to appear in this dreaded colour every beard strolled freely around the initiate and they would sometimes pause in the midst of the mute crowd to peer at a particular person if interest asking irrelevant question and knocking the fellow's head majority of them were smoking and taking cocaine armed with various weapon of assault like daggers axes short_guns and machete they patrolled the vicinity like hungry hyenas.