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