Scene 3
"Bugs", Nouni says on the phone in a very noisy crowded palce
"Aiwa ya habibty"he replies back "eih el dawsha eli gambek di?"
"Bugs, enta bete3mel eih delwa2ti?"
"Nouni" she was out of breath, it was too noisy, he couldnt decide if this was excitement or fear, he got really scared ," Nouni, enti kewayesa? Where are you?"
"Ana kewayesa alhamdulilah... mate2la2sh... Bugs.. la2eteha"she was almost screaming from excitement
"la2eeti eih ya Nouni? wa2a3ti albi ya sheikha"
"Yousra ya bugs.. Yousra beta3et Abe..She's here.. begad.. LAZEM tigi!"
"La begad?!! Fein? ana fel 3arabeya aslan"
"Fel JW Marriot , el exhibition beta3 el NGOs.. how fast can you be here?"
"20 mins maximum"
"Tab.. eshta.. i'm waiting for you.. "
"khalas.... see u in a bit"
Nouni was too excited to actually go around doing anything useful.. so she decided she'd use this opportunity to rest her feet a bit.. She heads to the rest room.. She thinks it's really funny how this is the only hotel she can think of where the word "rest room" is used literally, not only does it have loo cabinets and washbasins.. it has a couple of lounge seats, where girls can sit, take their high heals shoes off and "rest"... which is exactly what she is planning to do for the next 10 mins or so until Bugs shows up.
She sits down on a very comfortable lounge chair, takes off the heals , rests her back against the chair and looks around her examining the people.. she usually pumps into someone she knows wherever she goes. On the right side, a girl talking on the phone, apparently arguing about some booth preparations, a couple of older ladies , clearly from a governmental institute talking about cooking, and to her left a few girls fixing their makeup. Then the door swings open and Yousra walks in and sits on the chair beside her, takes her shoes off, looks at her and smiles. That's the perfect opportunity, she thinks to herself, Abe bardo 7azzo 7elw.. She looks at Yousra and smiles back then starts a conversation.
"el 2a3da di na2eseha begad cappuccinos, wala eih?"
"Ma3aki 7a2.. el marra el gaya momken n-recommend a coffee machine 3and el baab"
"el sana di aslan a7san keteer mel sana eli fatet. El facilities a7san keteer begad. Meen el organizing group?"
" USAID"
"khosara awi en kol 7aga well organized yeb2a 7ad 3'eirna eli 3amelha. I dream of a local entity te2dar te3mel 7aga organized. Dayman yekoon fee 7aga to2a3 fel planning or el logistics or keda..it's sad, really!"
"I know what you mean, bas hane3mel eih ba2a. "
Then Nouni's phone rang, it was Bugs...
"Sorry ma3lesh khatibi."she told Yousra as she picked up the phone "bugzi..., enta weselt?.. tab 7ader ana tal3alak." then she smiles to Yousra as she puts her shoes back on and says "khalas i'll see u inside ba2a"
Yousra smiles and nods.
Nouni runs to meet Bugs...
"fein heya?"
"walk with me le7ad gowa a7keelak fel sekka" and they start walking
"Nouni.. begad mesh mohem el quessa... eb2i e7ki el quessa l Ibrahim.. ana 3ayez atamen el bent kewayesa wala wa23a!"
she gives him the i-dont-like-what-you're-saying-but-we'll-talk-about-it-later look
"la2 mesh wa23a khales... bas not very friendly. Aslan tel3et a distant cousin l Salma."
"Salma? Salma meen?"
"Ya bugs.. Salma el Tonsi"
"Salma merat Amr?"
she nods
"La ya ragel! Tab good.. 3eila welad nas awi"
"That's her over there. Bos, on your left, mo7agaba , badla gray me2alema"
"Isharb mauve keda?"
"Yep, ha what do you think? Helwa, sa7?"
" ana bas shaeyf profile.. estani keda... umm.. not bad bas mesh wow khales"
"eih howa eli mesh wow khales.. di mozza ya 3am"
"Mafeesh mozza f 3enaya 3'eirak ya gameeeeeeeeel"
"Ya bugs i'm serious."
"She;s okay"he takes out the phone and dials Ibrahim's number, looks at Nouni "I'm calling him"
Nouni pulls the phone from his hand "ana eli ha7keelo"
"I knew you'd do that"
"Aiwa ya Abe.. .., alhamdulilah.... ezzayak enta...."
"Put him on speakers"
"Abe.. you're on speakers"
"ah.. fa watch ur language"
Abe laughs, "Eih akhbarkom? wa7ashtooni"
"E7na alhamdulilah, enta eli ezzayak? Gai emta?"
"lel asaf... i've been delayed.. I'll come next Thursday.. el office fee 7agat lazem azabateha"
"eih da khosara.."
"Nouni has good news for you"
"I found her"
"meen? Yousra? you found her begad? Wala eshe3'ala ya 3am Bugs?!"
"La wallahi begad.... just today..."
"Mesh scary looking nerd awi yan3i"bugs said jokingly
"Tab ma te7koli el mawdoo3"
"Shoof tool el 10 days eli fato w ana bas2al toob el ard and nothing came up until , enaharda fel NGO exhibition when I was setting up the booth in the morning, Salma el Tounsi, fakerha?"
"yes.. malha"
"Salma and I were talking and somehow el mawdoo3 changed to talking about Salma's distant relative eli was doing her MA beta3eteha f Montreal w beta3.. and it clicked en momken at least tetla3 Salma's cousin di ta3rafaha.. bas i didn't want to tell her 3ashan betsaya7 awi w keda and we dont want a show ya3ni. Bas f I made a mental note to meet that person or soemthing. "
"Aha.. ma3aki"
"el mohem a couple of hours ago ba3d lama el event started, Salma kanet wa2fa ma3 wa7da keda and they came and asked me iza I know who is running the Egyptian Food Bank project w keda fa I went to introduce them to Akram. El Mohem I introduced Salma and Salma intrduced her cousin Yousra El Tounsi fa tab3ana ana esta3'rabt fel awel w 2olt akeed el donia mesh so3'ayara keda ya3ni. Fa although i had a million things to do , ana fedelt wa2fa...and el kalam gab ba3do. en heya fe3lan yousra NABIL el Tounsi. W en she now works as a freelancer ma3 el USAID w f nafs el wa2t she works in a family run community center they built to help women headed households. "
"Very interesting..."
"I think en heya mozza looking bas Bugs doesnt think so. Bas el moshkela ya Abe en she's not very friendly... i tried to open ay kalam ma3aha fel lounge bas betgaweb 3ala 2ad el so2al awi ya3ni"
"Ya benti dont be judgmental awi keda.. maho he said she was shy"
"Bosso mesh 3arfa ba2a.. by the end of the evening i'll get her contacts... bas me7tagako ted3ooli en heya teb2a azraf men keda shwia 3ahsan mesh 3ayza atkhene2"
"Nouni begad enti hayla.. I owe you one.."
"Abe.. dont be silly.. I owe you a million aslan... esma3.. I have to go begad.. Bugs ma3ak..salam ana ba2a"
"Salam"
Bugs turned the speaker off but before he started talking , Nouni put her hands on the receiver bit of the phone and said "Bugs, hatigi 3andena belil? Please ta3ala.. We've both been very busy w begad wa7eshni"
"w howa ana 2a2dar te2oolili wa7eshni di w mageesh"
"Bamoot feek.." and she disappeared in the crowds.
"Sorry ya Abe.. la7za 7elwa matet3awadsh.. I think your love story is putting her back in the romantic mood i miss so much"
"Tab great...Esma3.. ana 3aref enta akeed el international call hato2tom westak.. fa mesh hatawel 3aleek.. 3ayez 7aga abl ma 2afel?"
"enta gebt el necklace el Tiffany, sa7? for Nouni's birthday?"
"Ah tab3an."
"La2 yeb2a tamam keda ya Abe.. rabena yekhaleek leya. Tewsal bel salama insha2allah... w ah.. el bet Helwa el sara7a ya Ibrahim.. bas akeed mesh ha2ool keda 2odam Nouni"
"Mashi ya 3am.. wala yehemak.. salam ya Bugs.."
"Salam"
"Bugs", Nouni says on the phone in a very noisy crowded palce
"Aiwa ya habibty"he replies back "eih el dawsha eli gambek di?"
"Bugs, enta bete3mel eih delwa2ti?"
"Nouni" she was out of breath, it was too noisy, he couldnt decide if this was excitement or fear, he got really scared ," Nouni, enti kewayesa? Where are you?"
"Ana kewayesa alhamdulilah... mate2la2sh... Bugs.. la2eteha"she was almost screaming from excitement
"la2eeti eih ya Nouni? wa2a3ti albi ya sheikha"
"Yousra ya bugs.. Yousra beta3et Abe..She's here.. begad.. LAZEM tigi!"
"La begad?!! Fein? ana fel 3arabeya aslan"
"Fel JW Marriot , el exhibition beta3 el NGOs.. how fast can you be here?"
"20 mins maximum"
"Tab.. eshta.. i'm waiting for you.. "
"khalas.... see u in a bit"
Nouni was too excited to actually go around doing anything useful.. so she decided she'd use this opportunity to rest her feet a bit.. She heads to the rest room.. She thinks it's really funny how this is the only hotel she can think of where the word "rest room" is used literally, not only does it have loo cabinets and washbasins.. it has a couple of lounge seats, where girls can sit, take their high heals shoes off and "rest"... which is exactly what she is planning to do for the next 10 mins or so until Bugs shows up.
She sits down on a very comfortable lounge chair, takes off the heals , rests her back against the chair and looks around her examining the people.. she usually pumps into someone she knows wherever she goes. On the right side, a girl talking on the phone, apparently arguing about some booth preparations, a couple of older ladies , clearly from a governmental institute talking about cooking, and to her left a few girls fixing their makeup. Then the door swings open and Yousra walks in and sits on the chair beside her, takes her shoes off, looks at her and smiles. That's the perfect opportunity, she thinks to herself, Abe bardo 7azzo 7elw.. She looks at Yousra and smiles back then starts a conversation.
"el 2a3da di na2eseha begad cappuccinos, wala eih?"
"Ma3aki 7a2.. el marra el gaya momken n-recommend a coffee machine 3and el baab"
"el sana di aslan a7san keteer mel sana eli fatet. El facilities a7san keteer begad. Meen el organizing group?"
" USAID"
"khosara awi en kol 7aga well organized yeb2a 7ad 3'eirna eli 3amelha. I dream of a local entity te2dar te3mel 7aga organized. Dayman yekoon fee 7aga to2a3 fel planning or el logistics or keda..it's sad, really!"
"I know what you mean, bas hane3mel eih ba2a. "
Then Nouni's phone rang, it was Bugs...
"Sorry ma3lesh khatibi."she told Yousra as she picked up the phone "bugzi..., enta weselt?.. tab 7ader ana tal3alak." then she smiles to Yousra as she puts her shoes back on and says "khalas i'll see u inside ba2a"
Yousra smiles and nods.
Nouni runs to meet Bugs...
"fein heya?"
"walk with me le7ad gowa a7keelak fel sekka" and they start walking
"Nouni.. begad mesh mohem el quessa... eb2i e7ki el quessa l Ibrahim.. ana 3ayez atamen el bent kewayesa wala wa23a!"
she gives him the i-dont-like-what-you're-saying-but-we'll-talk-about-it-later look
"la2 mesh wa23a khales... bas not very friendly. Aslan tel3et a distant cousin l Salma."
"Salma? Salma meen?"
"Ya bugs.. Salma el Tonsi"
"Salma merat Amr?"
she nods
"La ya ragel! Tab good.. 3eila welad nas awi"
"That's her over there. Bos, on your left, mo7agaba , badla gray me2alema"
"Isharb mauve keda?"
"Yep, ha what do you think? Helwa, sa7?"
" ana bas shaeyf profile.. estani keda... umm.. not bad bas mesh wow khales"
"eih howa eli mesh wow khales.. di mozza ya 3am"
"Mafeesh mozza f 3enaya 3'eirak ya gameeeeeeeeel"
"Ya bugs i'm serious."
"She;s okay"he takes out the phone and dials Ibrahim's number, looks at Nouni "I'm calling him"
Nouni pulls the phone from his hand "ana eli ha7keelo"
"I knew you'd do that"
"Aiwa ya Abe.. .., alhamdulilah.... ezzayak enta...."
"Put him on speakers"
"Abe.. you're on speakers"
"ah.. fa watch ur language"
Abe laughs, "Eih akhbarkom? wa7ashtooni"
"E7na alhamdulilah, enta eli ezzayak? Gai emta?"
"lel asaf... i've been delayed.. I'll come next Thursday.. el office fee 7agat lazem azabateha"
"eih da khosara.."
"Nouni has good news for you"
"I found her"
"meen? Yousra? you found her begad? Wala eshe3'ala ya 3am Bugs?!"
"La wallahi begad.... just today..."
"Mesh scary looking nerd awi yan3i"bugs said jokingly
"Tab ma te7koli el mawdoo3"
"Shoof tool el 10 days eli fato w ana bas2al toob el ard and nothing came up until , enaharda fel NGO exhibition when I was setting up the booth in the morning, Salma el Tounsi, fakerha?"
"yes.. malha"
"Salma and I were talking and somehow el mawdoo3 changed to talking about Salma's distant relative eli was doing her MA beta3eteha f Montreal w beta3.. and it clicked en momken at least tetla3 Salma's cousin di ta3rafaha.. bas i didn't want to tell her 3ashan betsaya7 awi w keda and we dont want a show ya3ni. Bas f I made a mental note to meet that person or soemthing. "
"Aha.. ma3aki"
"el mohem a couple of hours ago ba3d lama el event started, Salma kanet wa2fa ma3 wa7da keda and they came and asked me iza I know who is running the Egyptian Food Bank project w keda fa I went to introduce them to Akram. El Mohem I introduced Salma and Salma intrduced her cousin Yousra El Tounsi fa tab3ana ana esta3'rabt fel awel w 2olt akeed el donia mesh so3'ayara keda ya3ni. Fa although i had a million things to do , ana fedelt wa2fa...and el kalam gab ba3do. en heya fe3lan yousra NABIL el Tounsi. W en she now works as a freelancer ma3 el USAID w f nafs el wa2t she works in a family run community center they built to help women headed households. "
"Very interesting..."
"I think en heya mozza looking bas Bugs doesnt think so. Bas el moshkela ya Abe en she's not very friendly... i tried to open ay kalam ma3aha fel lounge bas betgaweb 3ala 2ad el so2al awi ya3ni"
"Ya benti dont be judgmental awi keda.. maho he said she was shy"
"Bosso mesh 3arfa ba2a.. by the end of the evening i'll get her contacts... bas me7tagako ted3ooli en heya teb2a azraf men keda shwia 3ahsan mesh 3ayza atkhene2"
"Nouni begad enti hayla.. I owe you one.."
"Abe.. dont be silly.. I owe you a million aslan... esma3.. I have to go begad.. Bugs ma3ak..salam ana ba2a"
"Salam"
Bugs turned the speaker off but before he started talking , Nouni put her hands on the receiver bit of the phone and said "Bugs, hatigi 3andena belil? Please ta3ala.. We've both been very busy w begad wa7eshni"
"w howa ana 2a2dar te2oolili wa7eshni di w mageesh"
"Bamoot feek.." and she disappeared in the crowds.
"Sorry ya Abe.. la7za 7elwa matet3awadsh.. I think your love story is putting her back in the romantic mood i miss so much"
"Tab great...Esma3.. ana 3aref enta akeed el international call hato2tom westak.. fa mesh hatawel 3aleek.. 3ayez 7aga abl ma 2afel?"
"enta gebt el necklace el Tiffany, sa7? for Nouni's birthday?"
"Ah tab3an."
"La2 yeb2a tamam keda ya Abe.. rabena yekhaleek leya. Tewsal bel salama insha2allah... w ah.. el bet Helwa el sara7a ya Ibrahim.. bas akeed mesh ha2ool keda 2odam Nouni"
"Mashi ya 3am.. wala yehemak.. salam ya Bugs.."
"Salam"