Paper Towns

Quentin catches Radar yawning, and takes over as the driver; he loves driving anyway, especially as it is his car. He reflects on the fact that traveling teaches people things. For instance, he is willing to pee in an almost empty bottle of Bluefin energy drink while driving 77 miles per hour. He also likes the turquoise color that his urine makes when mixed with the drink. He has kept the bottle, partly to look at the color but also because he sort of wants to let the others see it. Radar forces him to throw the bottle out of the car window, though, and when he does, it smashes. Radar says that he hopes the memory of the exploding pee is so traumatic and damaging to his psyche that he forgets about it altogether.

Quentin realizes that it is in fact possible to get tired of eating GoFast Bars. He and Radar also find that they have consumed too many energy drinks, and are unable to stop tapping their fingers or fall asleep. Though it is time to wake Lacey and Ben up, they decide to let them sleep. Quentin imagines how lonely it might feel to be traveling alone, though he reasons that Margo probably enjoyed the solitude. With nothing left to do, Radar and Quentin convince themselves to drink more Bluefin energy drink.

It is time for the group’s next stop, so Quentin and Radar wake Ben and Lacey up. This time around, Ben pumps gas while the others head for the gas station store. A man stares at Radar’s confederate flag shirt before he directs them to the clothing section. Quentin buys pants for Radar and a pink shirt for Ben that says “World’s Best Grandma.” When they get back to the minivan, Ben tells them that they have lost one minute.

The group finally hits the dreaded construction zone that Radar had mapped out earlier, and it is impossible to drive faster than 35 miles per hour. Quentin notes that it is a good thing that Lacey is driving, as he would be nervous moving so slowly. Lacey requests an unscheduled pit stop, and they oblige her because she cannot pee as easily in the car as they can. Quentin moves into the driver’s seat, as the entire mission has been his idea anyway, and Lacey happily goes back to sleep on one of the back seats.

It is early in the morning, and Quentin is at the wheel while Radar and Lacey sleep. Ben, in the passenger seat, says that he is worried about how Quentin might feel if the reunion with Margo does not go as planned. He talks about how much he idolized Lacey initially, so much so that now that they are dating, he has had to fall in love with her all over again and learn to love the real her.

Quentin is upset with Ben for lecturing him like a child and for acting like he has a better grasp on things now that he is in a relationship. Before he can respond, however, he sees two large cows in the middle of the road. They are so large that he cannot swerve around them or even stop in time to avoid hitting them. He realizes at that moment that to hit the cows will mean disaster for them, and that they are all probably about to die. In his panic, Quentin freezes and actually takes his hands off of the wheel. He thinks about how much he wants to live to grow up, how he is sorry for putting everyone’s lives in danger in his pursuit of Margo, and he even blames Margo for leading them on this wild goose chase that will kill them all.

However, just as Quentin releases the steering wheel, Ben reaches over and grabs it, swerving the minivan onto the shoulder. The minivan goes into a spin before it finally comes to a stop without having hit the cows. Quentin realizes that, miraculously, he is alright, and looks over to see that Ben is alright as well. Ben is shouting at Quentin, however, and it turns out that Quentin has been cut and is bleeding, though not badly. Lacey and Radar are unharmed as well. Radar was sleeping in the back, and luckily did not fall out when the back door opened. Lacey climbs into the front seat and checks Quentin’s cut, and Quentin starts crying in response to this maternal attention.

Quentin turns off the minivan’s engine and takes his foot off the brake. The four of them hear liquid pouring from somewhere and fear it might mean that the minivan has been badly damaged. Afraid that the sound is leaking gas, Ben runs away from the minivan, screaming and accidentally exposing himself. However, Rader finds that it is just the beer bottles that are leaking. The group inspects the minivan and, though none of them really knows anything about cars, agrees that it is undamaged. Quentin thanks Ben for his quick thinking and for saving them all, but Ben assures them all that he was really only trying to save himself. They all take a vote and decide to keep going, though Quentin refuses to drive anymore. They are just 542 miles from Agloe.