White Niggers
Chapter 15
Saturday, August 17th, 2019, 07:00
Parking lot of the "Hofer" supermarket, Engerthstraße 154B, 2nd district of Vienna
Timur walks out of the supermarket with a bunch of air fresheners in his arms. He gets into the van and sniffs the air. He spent the last week cleaning the car inside and out. He can't smell any bad odor. Either the smell is gone, or I got used to it, Timur thinks.
He hangs one of the cardboard air fresheners shaped like a green tree, on the rear-view mirror. Would be a shame if I couldn't smell the stench any longer, but Lisa could, he thinks.
"Timur, good morning!" A voice says with a strong Turkish accent.
Timur turns around. It's Ali.
"What are you doing so early?" Ali says.
"Morning," Timur says. "I'm sprucing up my car."
"That's your car?" Ali says.
He walks around the van and strokes its metal.
"Back in those days, they really knew how to build cars," Ali says.
"Want to get inside?" Timur says.
"Sure," Ali says.
Timur gets inside, then moves the binder clip folder with materials on Lisa's thesis from the passenger seat to the glove compartment. Ali takes the passenger seat.
"Do you smell anything?" Timur says.
"Nah," Ali says. "What am I supposed to smell?"
"Gasoline, smoke, carrion," Timur says.
Ali sniffs the air several times.
"Nothing like that," Ali says. "This car smells like my sheets after my wife washed them."
Ali looks at his watch.
"There is some time until we need to open the pizzeria," Ali says. "Why don't we take her for a spin?"
"I'd rather not," Timur says. "It's a coin toss with the ignition, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
They drive a few hundred meters to the pizzeria. Then they get out of the car.
"How much did you pay for it?" Ali says.
Timur tells him about the conversation with the used car salesman.
"Very impressive," Ali says. "You will be a great entrepreneur some day."
Ali starts talking about his youth and his first car.
"Listen, Timur, I know a guy who owns an auto repair shop," Ali says. "He may help you fix that ignition problem."