more on the driver

The driver had been precocious as a child. A lot of auspicious characters start out as such, but he had also been very talkative. His hair had flown off his head in unintentional dusty blonde wisps back then. His eyes were not as keen as they would become but the beginnings were certainly apparent. He looked for detail in everything, wanted to know how everything worked. And that was just the thing, the how of it. He was probably the only child who has ever existed who never asked "why?" of anything he encountered. "Why" never even crossed his mind, as though he had been born into an innate understanding of the great mystery. Or perhaps motive was simply less interesting to him than the action and mechanics of things.

He was smaller than other children his age and he was bullied, as were all of the smart ones. He never once wondered why the other boys treated him in such a way. He merely observed how they did it and adjusted. The Tommy Minker incident was the pinnacle of his young life and a milestone on his way to becoming the driver.

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