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Introduction

Welcome to my blog. It's another week of the story "The Wounded Captain," and in this episode, I will be writing about The Fracas.
At the end of the story, please visit other episodes for a better understanding of this story.

The Fracas

The week following the Governor's Cup, both schools were in serious training with different strategies and tacts.

They recruited and camped foreign players and trained thugs. Both schools had their Boy's and Girls' Scouts and Brigade combat ready for the ongoing events. The Red Cross Society of both schools was also alert to save lives in case of any emergency.

Rumour went round that S.A.S. had met and bribed the referee of the match, which was to be played in a few days. The referee didn't come from either of the two communities.

The referee had many years of experience and a high connection to his credit before he was selected to handle the match. Actually, the referee did not collect any bribe from S.A.S. as it was rumoured in many quarters. The referee had travelled and later met at the park with one of the teachers of S. A. S who was also returning from a trip. Their meeting gave rise to the rumour that they had contracted a deal over the match that was to be played then. The rumour spread like wildfire.

However, a student who had gone home for a weekend saw the teacher and the referee disembark from a bus they had both boarded. He went straight to another schoolmate of his and told him about the meeting, and within a very short time, rumour went round that the referee had been bribed with Two Hundred and Fifty Naira. This baseless rumour didn't stop the match from being officiated by the appointed referee.

The match began with mixed feelings for both schools. Within ten minutes of play, Abia's team scored the first goal through a corner-kick. This was equalized by the opposing team before the end of the first half.

The second goal came at about twenty minutes into the second half. The off-side goal was scored by Abia and was disallowed by the referee who recorded an off-side position against two members of C.S.S.

As a matter of fact, the goal was an offside one, and the referee was fast enough to notice it. The side linesmen had noticed it too, but were biased and deliberately refused to lift up their flags in order not to convince the spectators that it was truly an off-side.

The side linesmen were believed to have had no particular interest and were nominated for the first time to serve as linesmen. They refused to lift their flags because of their love and concerns for the victory of Abia's school, for their nieces were students there. Abia's school did not take kindly to the disallowed goal. "There is no smoke without fire," they told themselves.

They took their minds back to the rumour they had heard about the bribe of two hundred and fifty Naira by S.A.S. and concluded that the rumour bore an element of truth.

Immediately, the games master who walked like a blood-thirsty masquerade with charcoal skin ran into the field. He talked rudely to the referee. His students and players surrounded the referee. And within a twinkling of an eye, a free for all fight began between the two schools.

The referee, linesmen, Abia, and the games master of His school had serious injuries to nurse. Abia was hit by a missile that threw him unconscious on the ground.

Buses belonging to both schools were burnt. The students went berserk. Many properties in the stadium were destroyed.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading to the end. I believe you enjoyed the story. To understand this story better, please do well to read other episodes below.

• Episode 1, Taboo on Playmates
• Episode 2, Hocky the dog
• Episode 3, The Gardener
  Episode 4, The-master
• Episode 5, The gate man encounter with Itina
• Episode 6, Thieves in the warehouse
• Episode 7, The Cook and The Steward Imprisoned
• Episode 8, Reward For Honesty
• Episode 9, The White Master
• Episode 10, The Powerful Strokes
• Episode 11, Abia Becomes Captain
• Episode 12, Ndopnda in school
• Episode 13, Abia woth the juju man