The Boy with the Bread
Chapter one: Free at Last (Peeta's POV)
In the last 3 months I have been sent back to the burn unit, had several test done, and played "Real or Not Real" with my doctor, Dr. Aurelius. He taught me a coping exercise to help calm me down and it works like this… "I'm Peeta Mellark. I was captured by the capital. They hijacked me. I'm supposed to be in love with Katniss Everdeen. I don't know the difference between real and not real. Some of my thoughts are shinny."… It works most of the time. Dr. A steps into my room smiling. "Everything okay, Dr. A?"
"Every things terrific, Peeta!" Which seems oddly ironic after my mental break down yesterday. I had a flash back of Katniss. She was holding a knife to my throat. I could kind of tell it was a memory the capitol altered, it was shinny. "In fact, you might get to go home tomorrow." Right when the words hit me my jaw dropped. Home? I get to go home? Tomorrow? "Don't get too excited now, Peeta. You have to take a few tests for me today. Meet me in my office in 10 minutes and we can begin the first."
As soon as the door was shut I was up out of bed and getting dressed, that's when the feeling hit me… tomorrow I will see Katniss. Will she accept me even though the capital changed me? Does she even love me?(something inside me is wrong there's this voice that's telling me...) Don't trust Katniss she's a liar. She's going to hurt you like she did your family. No! I love Katniss and she loves me! She won't hurt me. She didn't hurt my family. The capitol hurt my family… I start shaking and the tubes in my arm start to ease fluid into my blood stream putting me to sleep…
… When I wake up my nurse, Zildia, is packing my bag and is telling me "Now Peeta, Dr. Aurelius needs to speak with you." She always speaks in a light flowing voice.
I stand up and ask her. "How long was I asleep?"
"Oh Peeta, don't worry, it's only been an hour everything is fine." I nodded my head in agreement even though I know nothings "all right" inside me. With that I was led down the hall to Dr. A's office, a large room with many machines, I have no clue and never will know how to use. I'm a baker's son. Dr. A is siting a beat up metal desk. He looks up at the scene, me in hand cuffs, a tall buff guard standing behind me, more for other peoples safety than mine.
Dr. Aurelius rises from his chair with a look of anger on his face as he stares at the guard. "I told you that I trust this boy. Get those cuffs off him then you are dismissed!" he yells. When the guard loosens the cuffs and is finally gone, Dr. A asks me to have a seat. I sit in a chair in front of his desk as he explains that in the first test, he will tell Peeta a thing that happen or didn't and he answers real, or not real…
"Your name is Peeta Grant Mellark." He began
"Real"
"You were captured by the rebels."
"Not real"
"You're in love with Miss Katniss Everdeen."
This one's tough, because I'm really not sure. Should I be? Yes I should. "Real" I hear myself saying, before my dark side can protest. The questions went on and on like this for 2 more hours and they told me that I'm finished and we need to start the next test. They call this one, Complex Situation. I'm strapped in to this giant machine to where I'm standing and I'm hooked up to many cords and they put their big goggles on my eyes…
…I'm in Victors Village, there's Haymitches house and my house and… Katniss's house. Then I hear a woman, she's screaming, I realize its Katniss. I dart into her house and straight up to her room. She's having a nightmare. I sit on the edge of her bed and sooth her till she stops and falls back to sleep…
"Well done Peeta, you handled the situation perfectly. And you only have one more test to go." He smiles and laughs then he says "I'm joking your bag is packed and the train leaves at 8:00 am tomorrow. Be ready." I couldn't help it the only thing I could do was smile. I'm going home to district 12!