The Fishing Trip

Ahmed barges into my room with eyes full of excitement. He holds a new fishing rod in his right hand and a camera in his left. Ahmed enjoys fishing. I am indifferent about it. Maybe it is the age difference. I am thirteen and Ahmed’s sixteen.

“Guess where we are going tomorrow morning?” Ahmed shouts.

“Umm… Fishing?” I quietly answer while hiding my face under a magazine.

We used to go fishing a couple of years back, but only on the side of the Red Sea back in Egypt. I caught a couple of tilapia fish before, but they measured the size of my hand.

“Yes but on a boat this time in Port Credit. With fisherman to help us catch big fish.” He swings the fishing rod and dances left and right.

Ahmed charges out with his new shiny rod to inform Hatem. Hatem is just a year younger than me. He is not really into fishing, but we always push him to come.

The clock reads 10 p.m. I want to stay up a little longer to play video games with Hatem. But I decide to sleep early so Dad does not get angry again. Dad expects us to be on time for everything. He hates being late, especially if there are people waiting on the other end. He always uses the cliché phrase Time is money to remind us when we are running late. Sometimes running a little late ruins our trips. The family ends up fighting and arguing in the car the whole way. I feel nauseous when we fight and wish to teleport somewhere else.

Dad bangs on the door the next morning to wake me up at 7 a.m. I rush to the bathroom and shower quickly in order to give my brothers a chance to shower. The fishing trip starts at 9 a.m. I spend thirty minutes dressing and packing. I wait silently in the living room. I hear the buzzing sound of the shower and the bathroom door slowly shutting. That must be Ahmed. Mom stomps down the stairs to fix us some breakfast before we leave.

“Omar go put the rod and the bags in the car. Let Hatem help you.” Dad orders.

“Sure Dad but Hatem is still not up yet.” I murmur.

“Hatem is still asleep? Didn’t I wake him up thirty minutes ago?” Dad clenches his eyebrows.

“Yes Dad. But… I don’t know. He is still asleep.”

I don’t understand why Hatem can’t just rise up the first time Dad wakes him. It is not that difficult.

“You kids need to learn the importance of time.” Dad tosses his bag and rushes upstairs. “Hatem we are leaving in 20 minutes. This is your last warning. We are going to leave without you.” Dad yells.

“Stop that.” Mom responds. “We are not leaving anyone behind.”

“I am sorry but I can’t reach Port Credit thirty minutes late. We will look like shit in front of the fisherman.” Dad forces his wallet into his back pocket.

“For the love of God, please we are going fishing to have fun and enjoy ourselves. So what if we are a little late. Just relax.” Mom answers as she cracks some eggs on the counter.

“I am up Dad. Sorry. I just umm… Fell asleep again. I am tired.” Hatem mutters in fear.

“Well yeah that’s because you were up all night playing your video games. Go get dressed.” Dad snatches his bag and some Pepsi cans and marches to the car to help me with the bags.

I follow him slowly and quietly in disappointment. A part of me hoped this won’t happen but then again I knew it’s inevitable. Why can’t we just go out in peace without arguments and fights? Why can’t we just wake up early, get ready, shut up, eat breakfast and leave with no problems? I can’t remember the last time we left the house with a smile on our faces. There is always something we are arguing over. I don’t know.

I quickly sit in the left back seat and buckle my seat belt. The digital clock in our Honda CRV glares as Dad starts the engine. The blue digits read 8:30 a.m. I turn on the MP3 player on my phone and pull my earphones from my pocket as the rest of the family enters the car. Dad sets the GPS to the location and again begins talking about how time is precious. I tangle my earphones and untangle them to make myself seem busy. I knew they would just start arguing again. I jam the earphones into my ears and scan through my playlists to find a relaxing song.

“Dad can we stop by Burger King on our way to the boat? I didn’t have time to eat breakfast.” Hatem whines.

“Yes let’s stop at Burger King. Good idea.” Dad pulls a sarcastic tone as we pass along an old Tim Horton’s cafe. “Why not? I mean it is not like we are late or anything.”

“For the third time now stop it.” Mom howls. “Screw the fishermen. Let them wait a little. Tell them there was an accident on the road.”

“Oh great. There they go again.” Ahmed sighs loudly hoping Mom and Dad would hear him.

“You are missing the point here. It is not about the fishermen. It is about responsibility.”

I force my eyes shut and bump the volume higher on the song Guitar Sound by Ronald Jenkees to overcome the loud arguing. My brothers notice what I do and follow. I still don’t understand why. We are normal people. We laugh, play, joke and have fun like everyone else. But going out just does not work for us. After a couple of minutes of intense arguing, the car becomes silent. I stop the music and pull out my earphones. The loud electro song from Hatem’s earphones disrupts the awkward silence. I plug back the earphones and listen to some more instrumental songs on my phone.

We reach Port Credit at 9:30 a.m. Two fishermen wave at us when they notice us parking. They wear white shorts, grey shirts with fish drawing on them and white fisherman hats. One of them dashes to the car to talk to us. Dad lowers the car window.

“Good morning guys. I am sorry to tell you this, but we can’t go out into the open sea today. There is a storm gathering in the place we are headed. We’ll have to do this another time.”

“What?” Dad replies in disbelief.

“I am sorry Sir. I tried calling you but you did not pick up.”

Dad stutters when he notices the silent option set on his phone. “Oh… yeah. Who di-did that?”

“It is for your family’s safety and our safety as well to do this another time Sir. How about next week?”

“I will think about it and give you a call.” Dad starts the engine as he rolls up the window.

I play the next song on my phone- Dream on by Aerosmith-and rest my head on the side of the window. It starts to rain. The sound of the rain splattering on the windshield signifies the awkward silence. Dad sets his GPS to Burger King. Hatem smiles as he rests his back on the black leather seat.