Night Harvest

Text 1: Hers to Fill, by Hannah Okafor-Lyle

An original novel extract.

The combine came down the field towards her like a lit ship, all its lamps blazing, dust rolling off it in gold clouds that swallowed the stars. Priya gripped the wheel. Her uncle had shown her the pedals twice, slowly, that afternoon. Now it was nearly midnight, and he was up there in the cab of the combine, and the trailer behind her was hers to fill.

‘Steady,’ crackled the radio. ‘Match my speed. Don’t look at the auger, look at me.’

She pressed the throttle and the tractor lurched, then settled. The great arm swung out above her and the grain began to pour, a hissing, golden river that drummed into the empty trailer and then softened as it filled. She held the line. The two machines rolled side by side across the stubble, close enough to touch, and for one long minute she forgot to be scared. Wheat dust in her mouth. Engine thrumming through her seat. The whole field moving under her like a sea. When the radio said, ‘Good lass, that’s full,’ she found she was grinning so hard her cheeks ached.

How does Hannah Okafor-Lyle use language and structure to show Priya’s excitement at helping with the harvest?

You should use relevant subject terminology to support your answer.