Max’s mother’s sports car handled the curve brilliantly, gripping the dirt and crunching over the gravel like a Formula One car doing an easy lap of the track. Max held onto her armrest with white-knuckled hands. She looked over at her mum, unsure why she wasn’t freaking out at the not-so-gentle conditions her prized car was being put through. Not only did her mother not seem to mind, she had a wide smile spread across her face, and as they drove into the yard in front of the house, she suddenly threw the car into a slide and skidded to a sideways stop. ‘Yeah!’ Her mum pulled on the handbrake, tossed her hair back and flicked open the boot. ‘Let’s get this party started.’ Even though Max was enjoying the benefits of her mother’s better mood, the ‘I’ve been rescued from kidnappers and I’m going to live every moment to the fullest’ attitude was sometimes hard to get used to. Especially when Max felt her life was in danger. Max prised her fingers away from the door and stepped out of the car, happy to be on solid ground.
