The screeching from car brakes and Frikk suddenly barking woke her up.

Ninni lost control of the bike. She tried to avoid hitting Frikk and fell headfirst into the flowerbed in the middle of the roundabout.

For a moment she was so stunned she couldn’t breathe. Frikk put his wet nose on her face and she felt a rush of relief.

She sat up and shook her head. Before checking herself, she ran her hands over the dog to make sure he was okay. He licked her face. The wagging tail showed her everything was fine.

‘Good boy, Frikk,’ she muttered.

The car stood partly on the pavement, with the motor running. There was damage in the front where it had hit a fence on the other side of the road.

The driver didn’t come out of the car. She could see the airbag hadn’t deployed. Was he hurt?

Ninni tried to get up but her knee hurt, as did her elbow.

She finally managed to get on her feet and limped over to the car. She knocked on the window.

‘Er du skadet?’ she asked in Norwegian.

She fumbled with the earphones, pulling them out, while she knocked again. Perhaps he needed an ambulance. She could barely see him through the tinted windows.

Finally the door opened and the driver stepped out. He had a look of stunned horror on his face.

‘Er du skadet?’ Ninni tried to see if he had any injuries but, lucky for him, he looked fine.

‘Sorry, I don’t understand,’ he said, looking confused and dazed.

Ninni repeated the question in English.

‘What? No, I’m not hurt. That’s what seat belts are for. What about you?’

‘I’m fine.’ Ninni looked properly at him for the first time.

He was driving a shiny car and wearing a fancy suit. No wonder he thought the road belonged to him. Idiot, she thought, relieved now.

He looked down and discovered Frikk, who bared his teeth for a second. ‘Is the dog okay?’

‘He’s unharmed, and no thanks to your driving,’ she said.

The driver looked surprised. ‘This wasn’t on me. Are you insane, coming into the road like that?’

Ninni’s anger flared up. ‘Are you insane? You could have killed us! Damned idiot,’ she added for emphasis. She held onto Frikk. He didn’t look terrifying, but his bite was sharp.

The driver pointed at the bike. ‘You came flying out of nowhere. Why on earth would you ride across a roundabout like that?’

‘I did not come flying out of nowhere. I was following basic traffic rules, which you clearly haven’t mastered. Oh, and if you haven’t already noticed, you were driving the wrong way through the roundabout!’ Ninni waved her hand in his face. ‘You shouldn’t be allowed in a car.’

That shut him up. He turned around and looked at the road with a deep frown.

She knew all about his type. Driving a powerful car, blasting music and not caring about anyone but himself.