‘Just bad luck, I suppose,’ I said instead.

Mum and Dad came through the lobby. He was wearing a light blue suit, open-necked shirt and brown brogues. She also looked smart; I noticed she’d put on lipstick.

They knew Xander already because he’d come to stay with us for the February and May half-terms. Mum and Dad like him, mostly because he has this way of making everyone – adults included – think he’s interested in them; it has something to do with asking questions and actually listening to the answers. Anyway, back home in England he’d done a job of showing an interest in the whole conservation thing and now he asked them how they thought the land lay, ‘Looking ahead to the vote.’

Mum beamed at him when he said that. ‘Well, we’re off out lobbying this afternoon. The vote’s still weeks away, but we need to get a groundswell of opinion among people in the right camp, and that means meeting with as many influencers as possible, right away.’ That explained the lipstick.

‘Yes,’ said Dad. ‘It’ll be tricky: there are lots of people with a vested interest in exploiting the DRC’s natural resources. Between now and the summit, we have to get as many of the good guys as possible onside.’

I nodded, but couldn’t help yawning.

‘And this evening your uncle’s arriving to have dinner with us,’ Mum said to me.

Dad pursed his lips. He and his brother don’t exactly get on.

‘Make yourselves comfortable here until then. Use the pool, feel free to order snacks on the room number, possibly catch up on some sleep,’ she went on hopefully.

‘Just keep out of trouble,’ said Dad. Perhaps surprised by the harshness in his own voice, he added, ‘Wish I could spend the day swimming instead of beating my head against a closed door.’ It sounded like he meant it.

They set off. I realised I was hungry, and ordered a club sandwich and chips. For a joke I got Xander another Coke. Amelia ate salad with something local called makemba. ‘It’s a kind of plantain dish,’ she explained. I must have looked what I felt: none the wiser. ‘Cross between a potato and banana, idiot.’

‘Sounds great.’

‘It is,’ she insisted. But she’s a terrible liar, and couldn’t stop herself adding, ‘in small quantities.’

At this point a movement caught my eye and I looked up at the hotel roofline to see another armed security guard taking a stroll. I went to check the rear entrance of the hotel, and sure enough that was guarded too. These guys were obviously supposed to make the guests feel safe, but the idea that we needed protecting in the hotel at all was a bit unnerving.

On my way back to the pool I found a stray tennis ball. It seemed there was a court here as well. Xander and I played catch in the pool while Amelia did laps. Xander’s also pretty good at roofs. It got a bit competitive, with each of us chucking the ball harder and harder at the other, until finally I let rip properly, glancing it off the surface just in front him at maximum speed. He missed the catch and the ball took out a tray of drinks on a poolside table, very loudly indeed.