Car journey

“Are we almost there?” Bella grew restless, tapping her foot against the back of her mother’s chair with frustration.

Joe, sitting beside her, sighed. “That’s the tenth time you’ve asked. We still have quite a distance to cover.”

The Hobson family was on their way to Scotland to visit Nana and Gramps during the school holidays, planning to stay for a whole week.

They had packed their suitcases into the car, bid farewell to their friends and Granny, who would be taking care of their pets while they were away.

Now, Bella and Joe were in the back seat, but Bella was growing restless.

“Why don’t you take a nap, Bella?” Dad suggested.

“I’m not tired!”

“How about watching another movie on your tablet?”

“Don’t feel like it.”

“Let’s play I Spy,” Mum chimed in. “Joe, you start.”

Bella usually loved this game. Joe would pick something he could see, and the others had to guess what it was.

Joe glanced around and spotted some cows in a field.

“Using my little eye, I spot something that starts with the letter C.”

“Car,” guessed Mum.

“Nope.”

“Camper van,” Dad tried.

“No.”

“Cloud?” Bella ventured.

“Wrong.”

“Then what is it?”

“Cow,” Joe revealed.

“But I don’t see any cows,” Bella said, looking around.

“Well, not anymore,” Joe admitted. “We passed them earlier.”

Bella wasn’t amused. So Joe let her take a turn. However, they quickly ran out of things to spy. The view was mostly fields, hedges, the road ahead, and passing traffic.

It was a welcome relief when Dad suddenly said, “I spy coffee,” prompting Mum to exit the motorway and pull into a service station.

A quick snack lifted everyone’s spirits. After refueling the car, Mum assured them, “We’re almost there.” But as Dad headed back to the motorway, they were met with a massive traffic jam.

“Must be roadworks,” Mum said.

“This is going to take forever,” Joe groaned.

Dad turned the car around. “We’ll steer clear of the motorway and opt for the quieter back roads instead.”

“But we don’t know the way,” Mum pointed out.

“We’ll use our phones for directions!”

They drove into the hills, leaving the traffic behind. However, they soon lost phone signal.

“This was never a good idea,” Mum muttered.

“Nonsense,” Dad replied. “I know where we’re going!”

Bella dozed off as the roads narrowed into country lanes. Eventually, they reached a crossroads.

“Now what?” Mum asked. “Left, right, or straight ahead?”

“Hmm,” Dad pondered.

“We’re lost,” Mum said. “Admit it! And there’s no one around to help us with directions.”

Mum and Dad began to argue. Joe sat quietly, unsure of what to do. He had no clue which way led to Scotland. The only silver lining was that Bella was still asleep, sparing him from her constant questions about how much longer it would take.

Suddenly, Bella woke up.

“Are we nearly there yet?”

“No,” Joe said. “We’re lost.”

Bella pointed out the window. “That way!” she declared confidently.

Dad started driving in the direction Bella had pointed.

“But she’s just guessing!” Joe protested.

“She sounds sure,” Dad said. “We have to go somewhere!”

They hadn’t gone far when Mum exclaimed, “Look! A signpost! Bella was right!”

Joe couldn’t help but laugh. It might have been a lucky guess, but thanks to Bella, they were no longer stuck at the crossroads.

“Are we nearly there yet?” Bella asked again.

“Yes,” Joe said, “this time we really are!”