No one said anything for a while. Amy just drove.

“Well …” said Rahul, eventually. “I guess we lost a lot of time there.”

“You think?” said Jack.

“Yes, I do. And yes, I know you’re being sarcastic.”

“Estimated arrival time at destination 23:30pm, Saturday,” said the sat nav.

“Yes, we’re cutting it a bit fine now,” said Amy. “Thanks a lot, Jack.”

This time, Jack didn’t say anything. Not even sarcastically.

“Do you think our parents are somewhere nearby?” said Janet, looking around.

“I don’t know,” said Amy. “I suppose so.”

The mood in the car had become very depressed.

Janet said, “Can I turn my phone on, then?”

Amy looked at Rahul. “Probably won’t make much difference now. They’ll probably catch up with us any second.”

Rahul nodded.

Janet picked up her phone.

“Aaaaaaaah …” she said.

“Why are you making that noise?” said Amy. “That’s like the sound my mum makes when she’s gone on about how much she’s gasping for a cup of tea and then makes a cup of tea and drinks the first gulp.”

“Because that’s how I feel!” said Janet, with her phone held up in her hand. “I’m gasping to turn my phone on!”

“Hold on, Janet!” said Rahul suddenly.

“Oh no!” said Janet. “What?”

“That car up ahead …”

“I’ve turned it on! I couldn’t help myself!”

“Well, turn it off!” said Rahul.

“What about the car up ahead?” said Amy.

“It’s not a car, is it? It’s a van.”

Amy squinted at it.

“It’s a van … with quite a high top on it.”

Now Jack squinted at it.

“And –” he got out the Binocuscope and peered through it – “a sticker on the back that says ‘HOT ROD’.”

“Oh my days,” said Amy. “Our parents aren’t about to catch up with us. They’re ahead of us! We’ve caught up with them!”

“Janet!” shouted Rahul. “Have you turned your phone off?”

“Er …”

“JANET!” they all cried.