Setting: The future, 2040, New Cairo, Egypt. Sarah and Nadia’s house. The set is split into two: the living room and the kitchen. They are both 25. The power is out. Sarah and Nadia are sitting at their kitchen table.
A (/) indicates an interruption
Sarah: Yalahwy I’m so bored.
Nadia: Yeah I know.
Sarah: Is the food ready yet?
Nadia: We’ve only just put it on the heat, matesbory ba2a!
Sarah: For fuck’s saaaaaake when’s the power coming back! Uffff. You’d think that in 20 fucking 40 we wouldn’t still get power cuts.
Nadia: It’s cause everyone’s at home isn’t it.
Sarah: (dramatically) My god when will it end!
Nadia: It’s only been out for like 10 minutes ya Sarah. Begad ovar awe!
Sarah: No not the powercut, this! El e7na 3aysheen feh da.
Nadia: I know it fucking sucks begad.
(Nadia lights a candle)
Nadia: Maybe this kinda thing happens in every lifetime. I mean we know our parents went through it.
Sarah: Aywa bas akeed there’s like much better technology nowadays wala eh! We should be immune to all kind of illnesses now. I mean we found a cure for cancer and that was apparently like a huuuge deal.
Nadia: Yeah.
(beat)
Sarah: Well at least we live in this dope ass house. Can’t imagine being quarantined in an apartment for a whole month.
Nadia: Yeah thank fuck for that.
Sarah: (gets up, over to stove) okay food’s ready now! (Dishes out for both of them)
Nadia: Sarah, the food is cold!
Sarah: I don’t even care I’m starving! And it was taking forever.
(Sarah eats her soup really quickly.)
Sarah: You know, we’ve technically been through something like this twice so far.
Nadia: Yeah but we were only five then. Kan esmaha eh el tanya de?
Sarah: Coronavirus. I’ve actually read that this one is even worse. Will probably take twice as long to be done with it.
Nadia: Oh well. You done with that already?
Sarah: Yup! (she scrapes the last bit of soup into her mouth, drinking from bowl. Sighs). Well I’m still bored. We could play snakes and ladders? Or boggle! Or we could like… knit together!
Nadia: Okay teta! I don’t think it’s quite come to that yet.
Sarah: Mashy mashy. I think I’ll go have a nap then, that should pass the time.
Nadia: Okay habebty.
(Nadia goes to wash Sarah’s bowl, but leaves hers on the table, untouched.)
(A doorbell rings. Nadia stops for a moment while she registers this. They have not seen anyone from the outside world in a month as the city is on complete lockdown)
(She goes to open the front door)
Nadia: Amr?! What the fu… What are you doing here?!
Amr: Hey baby
Nadia: A7a (she laughs vibrantly) I haven’t seen you in forever!
(Amr motions for a hug. It is a tight, very meaningful hug)
Amr: Eh el a5bar?
Nadia: I’m good dude how are you?! Oh my god ta3ala, come in of course!
Amr: Ufff this is nice! If I’d known you were gonna end up being rich…
(Nadia lets out a very loud, flirtatious laugh)
(Amr sits on the couch, Nadia sits very close to him)
Amr: So how have you been? Bete3mely eh fe 7ayatek?
Nadia: I work in a marketing company. It’s great I actually might get a promotion- well I was gonna get a promotion and then, you know the universe happened.
Amr: Ah shit yeah/
Nadia: And of course, Sarah/
Amr: (intrigued) Yeah what’s that like?
Nadia: It’s awesome begad, we just get each other, you know?
Amr: Yeah
Nadia: (teasing him) Do you though? I mean last time I saw you you were all anti- commitment.
Amr: Yeah nothing’s changed there. (beat) So you’re like a real adult! I mean you got the house and the/
Nadia: I know it’s crazy. Ana mabsoota. you know everything’s- just- stable.
Amr: You mean boring?
Nadia: No! Stable. That’s a good thing. Are you telling me you haven’t grown up men a5er marra shoftak?
Amr: Sure I’ve grown up but I still know how to have fun y3ni. (beat) Mesh fakra el ayam el 7elwa?
Nadia: Aywa tab3an fakra (laughs). Yalahwy kona karsa begad. I can’t believe I was so/
Amr: Fun!
Nadia: More like irresponsible! I know we laugh about it now bas sa3etha begad… Mesh mesada2a en ana kont keda.
Amr: Konty gamda fash5 ya benty. Konty bet7aly el a3da walahy.
Nadia: Yeah I was pretty lit wasn’t I.
(They both laugh)
Nadia: So are you still a pilot?
Amr: Yup. Mabashta3’alsh el shahr el fat da though obviously. I’m going crazy begad. Although I have gotten in my jet and just flown to Europe and back a few times.
Nadia: Woah you have your own private jet?
Amr: Mmm you could say that I guess… (beat) Beta3et one of the rich assholes I work for.
Nadia: Can’t be that much of an asshole if he lets you fly it Europe!
Amr: Well he doesn’t know about that does he?
(They laugh)
Nadia: Sanya how did you even get here?! Enta geit men el Maadi men3’er ma zabet yewa2afak ezay?
Amr: 3eib ya benty, ma7adesh ye2dar yemsekny aslan.
Nadia: Oh yeah I forgot how much of a dude you were. (mimicking him) Look at me I’m a man I drive really fucking fast and shit.
Amr: Bas ya bet (he tickles her playfully)
Nadia: God, I missed you. Enta lesa betkalemhom? Ali w kda?
Amr: Aywa I see them kol feen w feen kda benenzel playstation. Sa3at benroo7 Juno’s bardo…
Nadia: Yalahwy (laughs) matfakarneesh bas bel ayam de.
Amr: Leh bas dana 7ata gebt ma3aya…
(Amr pulls out a black plastic bag from his backpack, along with a pack of cigars)
Nadia: No you didn’t!
Amr: You know I did baby. Haty el shot glasses.
Nadia: Umm... actually we don’t have any.
Amr: Eh? Wow you’re even more boring now than I thought!
Nadia: Shut up! Sarah mabteshrabsh.
Amr: Haty azayez tayeb 3adeya. W tafaya.
(Nadia makes a face, suggesting they don’t have one)
Amr: Of course not! Why did I even think you’d have one?
(Nadia goes to the kitchen to get the glasses, returns with them and with a plastic bag to be used as the ash tray)
Nadia: I haven’t done any of this since… since the last time I saw you actually.
Amr: Bethazary, well I’m glad I came over then!
Nadia: You know I don’t think I should actually. At least not the cigars.
Amr: Ehh come on! Loosen up shwaya, looks like you need it.
Nadia: La2 begad. W ba3den Sarah will kill me, the whole house will reek of smoke.
Amr: Yalahwy ya Nadia be your own person shwaya! Come on where’s the fun, cool Nadia that I used to know? (He puts his arm around her)
Nadia: Okay fuck it! (picks up her glass, waiting for him to pour her a drink)
Amr: That’s my girl!
(They cheers and down their drinks)
Amr: Woo!
(Amr pours them another)
Nadia: Bera7a 3aleya shwaya tayeb, ba2olak I haven’t drunk in like 5 years!
Amr: Oh we need to get you up to speed then!
(They down their drinks)
Nadia: Wow I forgot how shit that tastes.
Amr: Let’s put on some music or something.
Nadia: Oh my god faker youm beit Yehia?
Amr: A7a! (laughs hysterically)
(Amr goes to put on some music)
Amr: A7a da kolo Beethoven wala eh?
Nadia: (giggles) Feen da (goes to look at records, picks one out)
Nadia: Here we go some smooooth jazz.
Amr: Ooh you know how sexy that smooth jazz makes me feel.
(She pours them both a drink, definitely more than a shot. She hands Amr his drink)
Amr: (laughing) Ehh kol da, you wanna get me drunk ba2a.
(They down their drinks, maybe in 2 goes this time, it is messy, they spill some down their shirts)
Amr: Oooh dance with me baby!
(They dance, getting very physical and sexual, and laughing hysterically)
(Amr takes out 2 cigars, putting one in Nadia’s mouth. He lights Nadia’s and then his)
Nadia: (takes a long and slow drag. She coughs. They laugh)
Amr: (going to sit down) Ta3aly.
Nadia: (sits cuddled up to him)
Nadia: How’s Yehia doing by the way? Does he miss me?
Amr: Mmm probably not.
(They laugh)
Nadia: I’ve been thinking a lot about you guys recently. All the fun we used to have. Wel kona benhabebo. I really miss it, I’d honestly kill to go back in time lel ayam de.
Amr: I know walahy. I think the craziest night was definitely youm beit Yehia.
Nadia: I know, I’ve been thinking about that especially.
Amr: Man Hussein was all over you.
Nadia: Yeah…
Amr: It’s a good thing Yehia was shitfaced or else he would’ve killed you two.
Nadia: (there is a shift in her tone and overall energy, but she is still laughing) Yeah I know right.
(pause)
Nadia: We were like… terrible people.
Amr: (laughing) Yeah, we really were.
Nadia: No like, truly just shitty people.
Amr: Hey come on we were young. We didn’t know what we were doing.
Nadia: Amr, we were 20.
Amr: Exactly! We were raving college kids still figuring everything out, the last thing we needed was the burden of relationships!
Nadia: Me and Yehia were different though, we really cared about each other.
Amr: I know you guys were so serious all the time. I remember we stopped hanging out cause of that.
(They laugh, Nadia’s laugh dies down quickly)
(Beat)
Amr: So, there’s a party tonight.
Nadia: Seriously? In the middle of a fucking pandemic?
Amr: Yeah we gotta stay sane during these rough times. Drink to forget w keda. Dance the pain away. El kalam da kolo. You should come.
Nadia: Yeah right/
Amr: All the boys are coming. Yehia, Hussein, Youssef, kolohom. Ta3aly begad, ne3mel reunion keda lazeez. You were just saying how you missed the old days, ta3aly we’ll have an unforgettable night zay zaman.
Nadia: I don’t know dude, what if we catch the virus.
Amr: Ya benty fokek ba2a. As our ancestors used to say, Yolo!
Nadia: I mean I do really miss everyone, and this was super fun. I don’t know, hashoof.
Amr: Mashy. I’d better get going ba2a. (he gets up to leave) Okay baby (he kisses her cheek) hashoofek beleel ha? Hastanaky.
Nadia: I’ll see hader.
Amr: Adios!
Nadia: See you.
(Amr leaves)
(Nadia stands in the middle of the room, registering what just happened. She lets out a laugh of bewilderment. She sinks into the couch. She is contemplating things.)
(Off: Sarah comes down the stairs)
Sarah: Hi habebty.
Nadia: (jumps) Sarah! You’ll never believe who was just here/
Sarah: What? Someone was here?
Nadia: Yeah it was so crazy I heard the doorbell ring and I was like whaaat so I go to open the door and I couldn’t believe it, it was Amr, remember from my old friend group at Uni/
Sarah: Sanya wa7da, you need electricity for the doorbell to ring ya Nadia. The power isn’t/ back
Nadia: It was so fun we drank and we had some cigars [please don’t kill me] and it was just like old times/
Sarah: Cigars eh ya Nadia, inside the house? I don’t smell/ anything
Nadia: It’s really weird though, I had 3 shots- well more like 5 actually and I don’t even feel kinda drunk…
Sarah: Are you sure you weren’t just having a nap too?
Nadia: No! I… (beat) He was here! We played music on the- (She goes over to the record player, which is turned off). Wasn’t he…
Sarah: Okay you psycho.
(Sarah brings in the candle that was in the kitchen, puts it on the coffee table and lights it)
(Nadia goes over to her display of paper planes. They are hanging in the living room as an art installation. She touches one or two, and smiles, reminiscing)
Sarah: So have you decided what you wanna do?
Nadia: You know, I think I’m in the mood for a good knitting sesh. Eh ra2yek?
Sarah: I knew you’d come around. I’ll go get the yarn.
Nadia: Hey (she grabs her arm, turns her so they are facing each other) I love you.
Sarah: I love you too, baby.
(They kiss)
End of Play