We were three friends brought together by a certain mutual understanding, which began as a certain misconduct that went unnoticed. Then we started repeating it over and over again.
But the real beginning was in the entrance of Tamer’s building when I was there with him one day. We went out to meet our friend Sherif who was waiting in the hall. To our utter surprise, we found the floor tiles wet and there was a strong smell. Our friend admitted it was him, that he could not hold out and that he did not know why. We asked if anyone had seen him. He said there was absolutely no one. We fell silent, contemplating what he had done. Then we burst out laughing.
Other places followed. The school was our first target: the headmaster’s door, the deputy’s door, the teachers’ door, the door to the lab. The explanation that spread around was that a stray dog had entered the school and peed there. We liked that, and decided to expand the range of our operations. And so we went into the streets: doors of buildings where our friends lived with their elegant lobbies, the corners of nearby streets, electricity boxes, cinema seats, phone booths, waiting rooms . . . etc. The more dignified and respectable the place was, the more excited we got when attacking it. We mastered the technique to perfection: our eyes scanned the place to make sure it was empty. This was accompanied by unconscious signals to the bladder. Then, each quickly took his penis out and pressed it, signalling the release of a gush of urine amidst suppressed hysterical laughter. After finishing, we quickly left the place, intoxicated with the moment of courage we had seized. We felt our friendship becoming stronger, and that we had turned into a gang of wolves inflicting damage on the people around us before disappearing into the city and, regaining our meek expressions.
We always waited for the perfect moment, the moment nobody shared with us, the moment the noise of a crowded place subsided and passers-by were no more. We chose places frequented by people day and night, that no one thought would turn into crime scenes. With quivering hearts, we watched the waves crossing the place ebb, until the moment came when the chosen place shook off the city’s watchful eye totally and became quite empty. Everybody had vanished and only we remained. The terrifying loneliness that filled us when we stood there ignited anger concealed inside us. We attacked the city in order to liberate ourselves from our emptiness, and sprayed its holy places with urine, leaving a horrible stench and wonderful splashes.
Once, while walking along the main street of our neighbourhood, we passed a number of buses belonging to the National Bank parked by the pavement. It was before eight p.m., which is not late enough on a crowded, busy street. As soon as we passed the buses, it hit us, and we knew, thanks to the experience we had gained, that the Bank buses would be our next victim. Without a word, we looked left and right to make sure we were alone. Then each chose a bus, and prepared to piss on the bank’s name and logo. While caught up in our delirium, which was doubled because of the kind of authority we were confronting, we heard footsteps. A man appeared from behind the first bus. It did not take us long to realize he was the driver and had sensed something suspicious going on. We were at a loss, we stopped peeing immediately and started running, laughing loudly, that hysterical laughter that turned to a fear that stole into our hearts. What would the driver do if he caught us? Did he understand that we were only peeing, or did he think we wanted to steal the buses? Would we be subject then to punishment by the law? What had got us into this whole thing? Because we knew the way well, we took a turn and entered the street that led to our school. The driver was chasing after us, not giving up. We ran as fast as we could. We passed the Honesty Bookstore on our left, then turned into the dark building after it. There, our band dispersed. I was the only one who actually went into the building while my friends kept running. The stairwell was gloomy. I held my breath as I peeped round the door from my hiding place, thinking I might see the driver or one of my friends. I listened carefully, then started feeling a sharp pain in my bladder, and tensed up, fearing one of the tenants would come along by chance and question me about what I was doing.
