Harry Whoopee

By Mohamed Hermassi

Harry Whoopers, is a literary Novel, who tells the story of a young 8-year-old kid from a poor neighborhood family living by sorting rubbish.

His parents are alcoholics. He has never been to school. He is often encountered rummaging through the trash cans of rich people. This is where its story one day begins.

An extraordinary adventure, which will project him before the stage of intrigue of a society thirsty for money and power. Caught by this ruthless machine, he who has only what nature has given him to face: his innocence, his purity, his love for a young girl of his age and his background, in addition to a power that he accidentally got.

You will discover its route rich in twists and turns. The dream of these two kids is a bit like the dream of each of us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: Feb 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781071588468

Book preview

Harry Whoopee

M Hermassi

––––––––

Translated by Saleem Rustom

From the same author:

The Transfer (Scientific Novel)

The Longest Marathon (Dramatic Novel)

The Eighty Day Week (Literary Novel)

80000 Years (Literary Novel)

M. Hermassi 2009

Reproduction and translation, even partial, is prohibited. All rights

reserved for all countries

ISBN.978-9973-05-256-8

Introduction

Harry Whoopee is a novel counting the story of a young 8 year-old kid from a poor area family, living off what he picks from public dumps. His parents are alcoholic. He never went to school. He can be often seen searching the bins of rich people. It's where, one day, his story starts. An adventure which would propel him on the intriguing scene of a society thirsty for money and power. Caught by this pitiless machine, he who only has what nature has given him to stand up to life: his innocence, his purity, his love for a young girl his age and his environment together with a power he accidentally obtained. You will discover his itinerary rich in rebounds. The dream of these two kids is somewhat like the dream of each of us.

Part One

It all started one beautiful day, Harry going doing his round of the trash cans in the chic Belvédère city. It is 6 in the morning, and Harry knows well that the trash pick up lorry goes comes to the area at 7:30, so rather be there before it than after. Sure, he is not first on site, but the cats are no competitors. Harry, with his leatherette shoulder-strapped, was at his third trash can, when he stumbles upon a bag full of multicolored dragees. - What a waste with these kids of bitcs! Not knowing how to read, and relying on his nose, he chews one of the lozenges, and finds it tastes delicious. he empties the contents into his pocket and continues his round whistling.

He mechanically throws a lozenge in his mouth from time to time. They day goes by cheerfully and at 7 he comes back home with some knick-knacks amongst which is a Barbie style doll which he offers to his little sister Marielle, aged 5. The same night Harry experiences stomach pains, followed by bloating, gas emission and hellish diarrhea. At dinner time he is really not well. He refuses to have dinner and retires to sleep. A never-ending ballet back and forth from his bunk to the restroom goes on all night. This little merry-go-round does not go unnoticed, and at breakfast his mother asks him what he's got. Sloppy reply.

- Nothing serious, I have a bout of diarrhea, that's all.

- You again ate these non-ripe fruits or unwashed. Here, look at

your nails, they are disgusting.

Harry, for all answer gets up and leaves the house. It's the only way

to not be harassed. To avoid having to answer more questions, he decides to spend the day by the lake, in the old fisherman's hut. He  is often besieged by his diarrhea along the way. His stomach has emptied and only spasms and gas jets persist.

- It's always better to pull down one's pants every five minutes.

His walk is painstaking. He feels drained for not having eaten since the day before. He decides to rest, chooses a well shaded place under a tree and lies on his back. He dozes off fast.

A strange noise wakes him up in a startle. A nauseating smell stagnates around him. He quickly understands he is the source of this gushing.

- Oh shit, fortunately no-one is here to piss me off!

He even takes pleasure in distributing farts to people he does not like.

This one for mister the Priest, that one for uncle Henry, and another for aunt Odile owl face!

Around noon he feels the pinch of hunger and he goes on to pick wild blackberries which he crunches with delight, not the least caring about the consequences. He no longer had diarrhea, but gas emission however took on a frightening rhythm. This is getting embarrassing, he says to himself. What'll I do in the presence of people? An idea comes to him: I must train to fart without noise! After many attempts he takes note that it is not efficient each time. Some remain rebel to his attempts. Not getting discouraged, he spends the day trying, unsuccessfully. He resigns himself to spending the night in the old shelter, saying to himself that tomorrow things will get better. The situation remains unchanged the whole night. Waking up in the morning after a bad night's sleep he sets off to the stream for a basic wash. He again feels hunger invade him and returns to the hut, searches the place and finds some matches lying around in a box. He quickly makes himself a fishing line with a stick, some thread and an old nail for hook. He searches under the bark of an old tree and finds some worms. Happy with his craft, he whistles to himself in admiration and throws his line in the stream. He does not have to wait long to feel some resistance at the end of his line and pulls out a beautiful trout. The grilled trout was delicious even without seasoning. After this extra meal, his gas emission concerto resumes. He lets it all out without constraints. Lying on his back he thinks about the future line of conduct to adopt. He decides that he will in no case return home until he is completely cured. But what'll I do if this situation turns out to be permanent? Many solutions are contemplated, but none being really satisfactory. Living alone all the time is not an easy thing. Ignoring people's distasteful remarks will end up getting to me. It's a real Chinese puzzle. The solution is perhaps at home. On this optimistic note Harry takes the return path. He alas notices that his condition has worsened along the way. The diarrhea stopped but the rest on the other hand...! He compares himself to a skunk and says to himself he'd be better off finding a colony of skunks and settle with them and then shit, shit, shit.

His mother was rinsing the laundry, and Marielle was playing with her doll when Harry entered.

- Behold mother, here comes Harry!

- You look good! Where were you? Little rascal, we've been looking everywhere for you, look at this!

- Mom leave him alone, and also it's not true, nobody looked for him, even Dad said, good riddance, let him go fart somewhere else!

- Little vermin, you lose nothing to wait!

- Marielle, feeling threatened, takes a few steps towards her brother. Harry doesn't flinch. He runs straight to the laundry rack, gets some change, leaves the house, fills a bucket of water, and washes near the hen-house. He puts on the clean laundry, and leaves the others behind.

His mother insists on trying to help him, offering him various herbal remedies, but Harry remains tight against any attempt to help. Short and evasive answers discourage his mother, who abandons him to his fate. The days go by without any improvement. Harry has no more diarrhea, but the gas emissions persist. He avoids contact as much as possible, and retreats in his shell. He notices that even his family apart from his sister, begins to tire of his condition, and shows him a certain distance. He spends a large part of his time in the fisherman's hut, where he finds a certain tranquility. He strolls in the surroundings, and enjoys fishing for trout. Slowly his life is organized, he sports his handicap with courage. The fact of spending most of his time alone frees him and avoids unpleasant remarks. His parents no longer even bother to know where he spends his long days away from home. Which seems to suit everyone. One evening when he returns home in the early evening, he finds the whole family busy cutting up a pig they had just slaughtered. His father greets him miserably, he calls him a liar, a good-for-nothing, and a whoopee. Finally he calls him Harry whoopee. Harry feels hurt deep inside himself, he withdraws even more. A hatred is born in him, and makes him more aggressive towards people. Since that day, the nickname: Harry whoopee sticks to his skin, and follows him everywhere. This nickname does not take long to spread throughout his entourage, and even beyond. The situation turns to tragedy for Harry, who decides to flee as far as possible. As it is the period of transhumance, he decides to accompany a shepherd during his seasonal journey. He finds him easily. The departure takes place a week later. He says to himself finally I'll be able to breathe, far from the wickedness of men. Shoulder bag and a cane in hand, he walks forward, securing the left side of the herd. Rex the dog trots here and there, bringing back the ones disbanding, as if to say watch out, I am keeping an eye on you. As the days go by, Harry finds his inner peace, and even his zest for life. The fact that his position in relation to the master shepherd is on the opposite of the herd, Harry is no longer shy about giving vent to his backfires of compressed air. Sometimes he even teases a few sheep by scaring them with a loud fart. He laughs like crazy upon seeing these animals being taken by surprise and startled as they look at him as if saying stop this bad joke. Days go by so without incident, rather in gaiety. Harry feels in great