Lime Venom

Court after six

Saffron Veer tells the parents waiting beyond the net that their children will get water after she dismisses them. The children know she doesn't mind them stopping early. It takes her until the end of term to explain it that way to the parents. She runs badminton at the Juniper Flat recreation centre, where she can stand with her back turned and name a bothersome skylight from the point where players glance away. She gets along best with the adults assigned to feed the shuttle during warm-up. At the end of a session she offers them the other end of the court and waits to decide whether they've arranged their half of the evening sensibly.

Her brother Eli knows she can keep score during a conversation about anything. When he brings sandwiches to the gym before a long drive, he makes sure he has wrapped both hers separately. She will save one for the way home and eat it fifteen minutes after the first unless somebody interrupts her.

Waiting outside the truck

She had entered the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 as Lime Venom by the time people at DGM began to consider asking where they might improve a line. Saffron had a very good idea from watching where the cones came into view. She kept all of it to herself until someone asked. The gap between her seeing something and their asking became a long one. A co-worker found her leaning against the Aston after practice and invited her to the track walk. She went along prepared to answer questions. Everybody was looking at the course. Nobody asked her anything. She had to open her mouth first.

On the return for Race 3 after Race 2 she waited in the transport queue again, with the Alpine Assault BMW and the Cobalt Fury Renault. She remembers the line alternately drifting forward by one vehicle and coming to a complete halt. By the time she could move, she'd taken Eli's second sandwich out twice and put it away again. Somebody at the front was checking all the wheels still sat square on the trailer; she admired how much time that person gave the job.

A battered feather

Justin Timberbrakes asked her after a test if she'd seen him use the course the way he said he would. She told him about one steering motion she'd caught from the fence and asked him what he'd seen from the same position on her run. At first she felt awkward waiting. He gave her one thing, right where her attention usually went to something else. She keeps a battered shuttlecock on the bench now because she had it in her pocket the next time they tried the exchange and wanted to put her hands somewhere. Justin started sliding it across the bench when he was ready for her account.

When Saffron gets a turn right the Aston leaves it with very little loose motion. From the fence a person can see whether she knew where the turn was going to end. She wants to get a second run in when the light shifts, just far enough apart that someone can tell how the angle affects her. That's the part Justin has been asked to watch.

A way to ask

At the recreation centre there is a younger coach who can lead the new group without asking anybody to feed the shuttle. Saffron is waiting to see if the adult players will come in early enough to ask for a change to the format themselves. Today she nearly asked the question for them. She has put the old shuttlecock in her driving jacket. Eli has left one enormous wrapped sandwich on the front step, with two halves facing each other.