Consumed Read Free Page A

realise those little machines...They take you miles out of your way.”
     
    “Sorry but I have to call bullshit on that one,” Dan chipped in from the seat behind Michael’s. “You can program them in so they take you the most direct route.”
     
    “Big companies...You know...The real big boys...Like McDonalds...KFC...even the main supermarket chains...They’re in with the people who make those little boxes.”
     
    “What?!” Joel said.
     
    “They pay them a substantial amount of money, I’m not sure whether it’s yearly or monthly or...whatever...They pay them a fuck load of money to ensure we, the drivers using the maps, are forced to drive past the various companies...All it takes is ten percent of us drivers to stop off and make a purchase...That’s a lot of money thanks to a forced route.”
     
    “Really?” asked Hayley.
     
    “No. Not really,” said Dan, “that’s complete shit.”
     
    Joel called out to the back, “Can someone please just pass it back through?” he turned to Michael, “Can you put it back on the windscreen, please?”
     
    “No!” barked Michael. He addressed the back of the van, “I swear, you pass that through, I’ll throw it out of the window.” He turned back to Joel who was still driving, “You just missed your turning.”
     
    Joel was visibly getting stressed, “This is ridiculous.”
     
    “Come on, trust me, I know a short cut. Turn right just up here, you can get back on route.”
     
    “Fine but you’re paying the extra fuel money if we get lost.”
     
    “We won’t get lost. Trust me.”
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     
    Joel was sitting in the driver’s seat still. The early morning sun illuminating his face - showing his irritation clearly to all those who glanced at him. Once comfortable, now he wanted nothing more than to swap with someone else so he could relax and de-stress from the journey already traveled - not that he’d swap with anyone else...Not whilst they were in his VW camper van. No one got to drive other than him. He was looking out of the window, staring towards a petrol station they had stumbled across - the only building they had seen for what felt like hours. A building that they were all surprised to see was open for business when they pulled up outside. On first impressions it looked as though it was derelict - ready for demolition. The back half of the building, visible as you drove up to the property, already looked as though it had been partly demolished.
     
    “Just relax,” said Hayley, “it’s all part of the fun. And, on the bright side, we’re getting to see lots of new places.”
     
    “I don’t want to see lots of new places,” hissed a clearly stressed Joel, “I want to see the campsite. I want to see the campsite. I want to see a nice pint of cider. I even want to see a warm sleeping bag...A comfortable pillow...”
     
    “And I wanted a real man...I guess we can’t have everything we want, hey?” snapped Lara. Unlike Joel, she wasn’t stressed from the journey. She was already stressed simply from being in the same vehicle as Joel.
     
    “Fuck off,” said Joel.
     
    A bell, above the petrol station’s door, chimed - alerting everyone in the van that the door had been opened. Joel turned his attention back to the station’s entrance and watched as Michael stepped out, back into the fading daylight; a sheepish look on his face.
     
    He crossed the forecourt and jumped into the front of the van, back onto the passenger seat, next to where Joel was sitting - and fuming.
     
    “Well?” barked Joel.
     
    “The funniest thing...” said Michael. He tried his best not to laugh, sensing Joel’s annoyance.
     
    “How far?”
     
    “Did you want that in miles or kilometers?”
     
    “Cut the shit, Mike, how far out of the way have you taken us?”
     
    The satellite navigation system had informed Joel the journey should have taken approximately four hours. So far, they had been on the road for just under six