The Bitter Side of Sweet

Amadou only has time to gather enough cacao pods for Seydou to make quota. He gets a brutal beating from Moussa and feels a pang of resentment that he seems to always be covering for Seydou. The girl, named Khadija, and another boy who didn’t make quota, are also beaten. To his surprise, the boys from his harvest team, Yussuf and Abdraman, carry him to the fire; usually, the boys don’t help each other for fear of what the bosses might do.

Moussa forces Amadou to sleep in the toolshed, along with the other two children who received a beating. Moussa also announces that Amadou won’t be allowed to work in the fields until he’s stronger. Therefore, he can’t protect Seydou, neither at night in the sleeping hut, nor in the field. That night, Amadou blames Khadija for his punishment before going to sleep. He wakes in the middle of the night to hear Khadija rubbing her bound hands against the rough corner, trying to break her bonds. He thinks about giving her a machete, because his hands are free, but decides against it.