Chapter 14:

  Aboutrika’s Strop.

  January 21st, 2025 (revamped on May 9th, 2025)

  As Harith was walking to the restaurant, which was a bit far—

  Suddenly, the loud roar of a motorcycle cuts him off.

  Person on the Motorcycle: “Yo! What’s poppin’, Harith?”

  The person riding the motorcycle speaks. His voice is loud and somewhat high-pitched.

  Harith: “Yo, Aboutrika! Been a while since I’ve seen you around!”

  Aboutrika: “So, where ya goin’?”

  Harith: “A—”

  Harith doesn’t even get to finish.

  Aboutrika: “Got it. Hop on.”

  Harith hops on, and Aboutrika revs the bike with a loud growl before speeding off toward Harith’s destination.

  ?

  Tariq: “Guy didn’t even greet us.”

  Zahra: “Who even are they?”

  Tariq: “The guy who hopped on is Harith. The one driving is his best friend, Aboutrika.”

  Tariq: “Hey, why not stick with us? It’s Amina’s birthday today, and we’ve got her favorite food. Harith’s bringing us all together. Sounds good?”

  Tariq: “Oh, and Harith said his sister’s wedding is soon. A huge event. Wanna join? We’re all heading to Cairo and renting an apartment for a few days.”

  Zahra: “Heck yeah! Let’s go. When is it?”

  Tariq: “He said it’ll be January 13th. That’s in two days.”

  ?

  Meanwhile…

  Harith (on the bike): “Yo, can you hurry up? It’s almost night.”

  Aboutrika: “Oh? Don’t you wanna have fun? I’ll show you fun.”

  Suddenly, Aboutrika maxes out the speed—160 km/h.

  Harith’s face starts tearing up from the wind, the speed so intense it feels like his flesh might peel off.

  Harith: “CALM DOWN, YO!”

  He yells.

  Aboutrika: “WHAT, DIDN’T I TELL YOU I’D SHOW YOU WHAT FUN IS?!”

  Harith: “WATCH OUT—”

  The bike slams into a boulder.

  Both of them go flying.

  Aboutrika quickly whips out a small toy-like jump pad and tosses it beneath them to cushion the fall.

  Harith: “Uh… thanks. Guess that was really ‘fun’.”

  Aboutrika jumps up and checks the motorcycle.

  It’s damaged. The tire’s blown out from the impact.

  Aboutrika: “FUCK you, HARITH!”

  Harith: “Bro, not my fault you weren’t paying attention!”

  Aboutrika: “I’ll put the same hole from that tire into you…”

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  He pulls out a penknife and steps forward.

  Harith: “You ain’t scarin’ me, my guy. I’ve seen the same prank over and over.”

  Harith casually rests a hand in his pocket and leans back slightly, completely unfazed.

  Aboutrika sighs, puts the penknife away.

  Aboutrika: “You got me… Wanted to see you crawl in fear.”

  Aboutrika: “Let’s go.”

  They enter the store.

  Harith: “Yo, I’m the one who ordered four plates of Koshary.”

  Worker: “Oh… we just threw those away. Unfortunately.”

  Aboutrika: “You WHAT?!”

  He whips out the penknife again.

  Aboutrika: “Go make ‘em again, or I’m burning this place to ashes. Ain’t nobody disrespecting Aboutrika in this city.”

  Worker: “Y-Yes, sir!”

  The worker bolts to the kitchen like a cartoon character.

  Aboutrika: “And make them five plates!”

  He smirks at Harith.

  Aboutrika: “I gotcha covered, bro.”

  He slams his palm on Harith’s back.

  Harith: “Aboutrika, you’re gonna get us arrested.”

  He mutters, half-worried.

  Aboutrika: “Huh? Arrested? There’s no police in Al Qantara, my man.”

  Harith: “Oh… right. Only in East Al Qantara.”

  ?

  A few minutes later—

  Worker: “Uh… s-so the Koshary is 300 pounds… but hey, think of it like a gym membership! You’ll be lifting the price and working out your wallet!”

  He lets out a nervous laugh.

  Aboutrika goes quiet, expression stoic. Then bursts out laughing.

  Suddenly, he slams 150 pounds on the counter—his penknife resting on the worker’s neck.

  Aboutrika: “Real funny. I’ll be lifting these plates for 150—along with your soul!”

  The worker passes out from fear.

  Harith: “Yo… lemme teach you a technique I use in moments like these.”

  Aboutrika: “Which?”

  Harith: “You hit the upper part of the joystick… twice.”

  Aboutrika stares.

  Aboutrika: “?”

  Harith: “And then you… RUN AWAY!”

  Harith bolts. Aboutrika follows—only to come back, snatch a 50-pound bill off the counter, and leave the guy with 100 out of 300.

  They exit the restaurant—????? (Al Taieb), a well-known spot in Al Qantara West.

  ?

  Outside, Aboutrika looks at his damaged bike.

  Aboutrika: “Was gonna drive you back to celebrate with your lil’ GF, but thanks to you—”

  Harith: “Girlfriend? Amina’s a good friend. Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

  Aboutrika: “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Your lil’ love story ain’t gonna fix my bike.”

  He sighs.

  Spots a tuk tuk passing by and sticks his hand out. They hop in.

  Tuk Tuk Driver: “Where to?”

  Aboutrika: “Jamal Abdel Nasser Street.”

  The driver eyes him for a second.

  Aboutrika (slightly turned, hands in pockets, voice cold): “We goin’ or nah?”

  Tuk Tuk Driver: “Calm down, asshole. Get on.”

  Aboutrika glares at him, then steps in. Harith sits beside him.

  Aboutrika: “??? ???? ? ???? ??? ???? ?????. ??? ????? ?????.”

  “I see what’s goin’ on. I see it clearly.”

  Tuk Tuk Driver: “???? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?????. ??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?? ?????.”

  “See what? You’re just some punk acting tough. You’re nothing but an uneducated brat.”

  Aboutrika lowers his head. Shadows veil his eyes. A chilling atmosphere surrounds him.

  Harith nudges him.

  Harith: “Should I…?”

  Aboutrika: “It’s aight. I got this.”

  The ride ends.

  Tuk Tuk Driver: “That’ll be t—”

  Suddenly, Aboutrika yanks him by the hair and slices his neck with the penknife.

  Aboutrika: “??? ????.”

  “That’s one.”

  He kicks the driver’s head against the front glass—shattering it.

  Aboutrika: “??? ?????.”

  “That’s two.”

  Harith doesn’t interfere. He quietly exits, watching from a distance.

  Aboutrika backflips out of the tuk tuk.

  The driver loses control, crashing into a building. The vehicle bursts into flames.

  Aboutrika: “????? ??? ???? ????? ? ???? ????.”

  “Hope I taught you a lesson—and left my mark.”

  Harith sighs. Amazed, slightly shocked.

  Harith: “That was cool and all but… you’re definitely getting us arrested.”

  The driver groans in pain, barely audible.

  Aboutrika: “Huh? What was that?”

  He flicks his hand at the burning tuk tuk.

  Aboutrika: “??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ???????.”

  “I’ll never let anyone disrespect me. Not while I’m alive and kickin’.”

  Harith expected nothing less. He’s used to this when hanging out with Aboutrika.

  Harith: “W-Wait… did you burn our Koshary?!”

  Aboutrika pulls out toy-sized white bags.

  Harith: “Wait… so your Disposition turns stuff into tiny toys?”

  Aboutrika: “Pretty much. Why’d I get a Disposition like that…”

  Harith: “Come on, bro. You love toys. Your Disposition ain’t random.”

  Aboutrika: “The hell you talkin’ about? Watch it, man. You don’t know what you’re sayin’.”

  But deep down—he really does love toys. He’d never admit it, though.

  ?

  Back at Tariq’s house…

  Tariq smells something.

  Tariq: “Wait… did I leave the oven on?! A good chef never—”

  He bolts inside, checks everything.

  Tariq: “Phew. All good.”

  Harith and Aboutrika had already entered.

  Harith: “So… isn’t it time to wake her up?”

  Harith: “Wait, how the hell didn’t that door slam wake her up?”

  Tariq: “Didn’t I tell you? She wouldn’t wake up even if the house was on fire.”

  Harith: “Only one way to test that.”

  Tariq splashes a bucket of water on her. No reaction.

  Harith: “Let me try…”

  He zaps her with electricity. Still doesn’t wake.

  Aboutrika: “I got this.”

  He pulls out bangoo—a strong-smelling Egyptian drug.

  No reaction.

  Harith and Tariq: “DUDE, WHAT THE FUCK?! Where’d you even get that?!”

  Aboutrika: “Bitch said she ain’t wakin’ up. Just provin’ it.”

  Tariq: “Wait… I’ve got it.”

  He places a box of Koshary near her.

  She instantly wakes up.

  Amina: “Ugh… Why am I wet? Why do I feel a burn?”

  Then she spots the Koshary.

  Amina: “Oh! Is that the one I always wanted to try?! Thanks, guys!”

  Tariq: “But, uh… no cake. So—”

  He places a candle in the Koshary, nods to Harith, who shuts off the lights. The candle lights up magically.

  They all sing Happy Birthday.

  All: “Now blow the candle!”

  She does—and eats the whole Koshary in one bite.

  Everyone stares.

  Amina: “What? I was hungry all day.”

  They all dig in and enjoy the food.

  Tariq: “Damn… better than I expected. I’ll upgrade the recipe myself.”

  Aboutrika: “Classic.”

  Harith: “Whoa! No wonder you were hyping that place up, Amina!”

  She had already fallen asleep again. No one bothers waking her.

  It was midnight, anyway.

  Harith: “Alright, guys. Tomorrow we head to Cairo for my sister’s wedding. We’ll rent a place nearby for a few days. Y’all in?”

  He stretches out his palm.

  Aboutrika: “I’m down. I’ll drive. I know Egypt’s roads like the back of my hand.”

  He slaps his palm onto Harith’s.

  Tariq: “I’ll bring the food, I guess.”

  He joins the hand stack.

  Harith: “And Amina… Hope she knows about this.”

  They all raise their hands in a united motion.

  They all sleep over at Tariq’s.

  Who knows what’ll happen tomorrow?

  It’ll be a long trip.

  ?

  To be continued…

  ?

  Character Spotlight:

  Aboutrika: “Your average hoodian? Hell nah. Dude loves toys… He can’t possibly act like a gangsta and love toys… right?”