From second on the grid, Julius was last after two corners and suspected he was the only one in the race who hadn’t driven a kart before. Matt and Freddie lapped Julius as they battled for the lead on their final lap.

Julius made an old-man’s groan as he climbed out, knees and ankles sore from being wedged as he crossed the floor to console himself with more junk food.

‘It’s a good circuit here,’ Matt said, glowing from victory over his little brother. ‘What did you think?’

‘I think the karts are too bloody small,’ Julius joked as he rubbed his knee.

Julius’s second and third races were no more comfortable, but he got a feel for the kart and put in a few respectable laps.

After karting, they drove back to Matt’s house. The five-bed house was big by London standards, but not in the same league as the homes Julius was used to. Abi’s friends all went home after the karting and Freddie was having a sleepover at his friend’s house, so dinner was a low-key spag Bol, cooked by the au pair and eaten with Matt, Abi and their parents.

It was the kind of proper dining-table scene that Julius’s family never did. Abi had a late-delivery gift of a new smart speaker for her room, Matt spoke at painful length about his flying lessons, while his mum tried to make Julius feel welcome by asking lots of questions about life in Nigeria. Matt’s dad, Miles, tapped emails on his phone until Julius got asked what his family did.

‘A bit of everything,’ Julius said warily. ‘My mum runs a religious ministry and a textile business. My uncle is the governor of Ondo State, though he might not be by tomorrow!’

‘Governor,’ Miles said, looking up from the pasta twirled around his fork. ‘I set up a tax-efficient pension scheme for some chaps doing a construction project in Nigeria. State governor is big there, isn’t it?’

Julius nodded. ‘Especially in the states with oil. The governor gets to decide where the oil revenue goes.’

‘Is Ondo an oil state?’ Miles asked.

‘There are offshore rigs along our coast,’ Julius said, as he demonstrated smallness with a thumb and forefinger held a centimetre apart. ‘But most Nigerian oil is further east, in the Niger Delta.’

Abi had googled, getting a bunch of results about the Adebisi family. ‘Holy shit, Julie, you’re loaded!’ she blurted.

‘Abi,’ her mother rebuked. ‘Don’t be childish.’

‘Interests in construction, property and West Africa’s largest textile business have made the Adebisi family one of Nigeria’s richest,’ Abi read defiantly from her screen. ‘Strong political and religious influence and close relationships with Chinese investors reinforce Adebisi’s position, particularly in Ondo State, where—’

‘Julius showed me a pic of his family outside the governor’s mansion,’ Matt interrupted. ‘The place is bigger than our school.’