Summary

“Are We Nearly There?” by Kate Smalley Ellis tells the story of Jen, a 17-year-old girl who is driving the family car to her grandmother’s. This is her first experience on the motorway, and her mother is anxious and nags her about the driving, while her relaxed father is in the backseat with her younger sister. As she drives, Jen has various flashbacks about the previous night when she got drunk and lost her virginity to a man named Simon.

Jen is stressed about driving on the middle lane of the motorway, and she often feels that she is not in control of the car. All the while, her mother keeps telling her what to do and how to drive. Her father falls asleep, and her sister constantly distracts her either by talking or singing.

Jen remembers that...