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DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Hunger Game s or the film/novel Don't Say a Word. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I make no profit out of this and all of the characters, unless otherwise no ted, belong to their respective owners, the great Suzanne Collins and Andrew Klavan.
Chapter 4: Juvenile Delinquent
Three Days Later…
"It's a nice day today isn't it?"
Nothing.
"They say it's going to be the hottest day of the week…well, if you think 68 degrees is hot then it's your kind of day."
Silence.
"Would you like to go for a walk?"
More nothing.
"I heard that you like to read. I could bring you some books if you want."
The silence continues.
Annie Cresta gave a long sigh as she looked at the fragile girl in front of her. It was now Tuesday, three days after that frightful night when Katniss Everdeen had attempted to end her life. Now, at twelve o'clock in the afternoon, Dr. Cresta was desperately trying to get the young girl to talk. She even went as far as to sit in her line of vision in order to have some form of eye contact with the young girl. However, the young girl had done nothing but sleep and keep her eyes on the wall. Nothing Annie said or did could make the girl take her eyes off that wall.
Annie gave another sigh as she looked towards the one-way mirror at the front of the room where she and her colleagues could watch the girl from next door. She tucked a lock of her auburn hair behind her ear before she looked down at her watch.
"Our time's up," she said as she looked at the girl in front of her, "I'll swing by later to see how you're doing. Maybe I can even convince Dr. Aurelius to let me take you to our garden outside."
The silence still lingered in the room as Annie let out yet another sigh before she slowly stood up and walked out the room with her clipboard in her hand. She walked into the room next door to Kaniss' and looked towards the glass wall. She could clearly see the young girl still looking at the wall, not moving an inch.
"I don't understand," said a voice in the room.
Annie turned towards a handsome young man her age, with copper hair and perfectly tanned skin. He was tall and muscular, an obvious fan of waking up at the crack of dawn to run 5 miles. His teeth were straight and perfectly white. His sea-green eyes had the ability to make any woman's bra pop open on its own. Not that this ever had an affect on Annie. She was used to his looks and charm to be cast under his spell, much to the chagrin of her friend. She gave a small smile as she put the clipboard on the table in front of her and sat on the chair beside him.
"Most suicide attempts would usually be cracking right now, asking us to give them the drugs and to let them die. Why hasn't she cracked yet?"
"I don't know," She said, "Maybe she's still in shock."
"I don't think so," said the man as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Finnick, or "Finn", Odair had always been a good friend of Annie's. They've been the best of friends ever since they could remember. They went to high school together and even went to med school together. Although Finnick had decided to practice medicine in New York, he was always available to lend a helping hand every time she would have trouble with a patient. To say that Finnick Odair was responsible for making Annie Cresta a successful doctor before the age of thirty was an understatement.
"Maybe she's just having a reaction to the medication you guys gave her when she first came here," he said.
"I tried looking through her medical records last night, but nothing makes sense," She said as she grabbed her clipboard from the table and started to look through her notes, "Nothing here indicates there was ever anything wrong with her. Her file's clean, almost as if she's never been sick a day in her life."
"That's weird," he replied. He took the clipboard from his friend's hand and looked through Katniss' file.
"Hmm…" he said after a few moments, "I might know why."
"What did you find?"
"These records are only from hospitals in the central California area, maybe even from all of California. You said she was a foster child right?"
Annie slowly nodded, "Yea, well, at least that's what Dr. Aurelius said."
"So she's probably moved around a lot. Maybe you should ask Social Services for her records. I'm sure they'll give you something. Or maybe her foster mom knows something. I'm pretty sure they had to give her information about her medical history when she took Katniss in."
"I'm not too sure about her foster mom."
"Why's that?"
"She dropped off all of Katniss' stuff last night. She said she just couldn't have a 'crazy' person living with her anymore. There were nothing related to medical records there, just…just…" Annie suddenly stopped as a sudden realization came to her.
"Just what?" asked Finnick as his best friend suddenly stood up and started to look through the manila folder on her clipboard.
Annie's lips suddenly curved upward as she took out a neatly folded blue colored piece of paper, "Just a birth certificate."
Finnick smiled and stood up to look at the paper in his friend's hands, "I bet if we put her birth information in the system we could find anything we want to know about her."
Annie nodded her head as she suddenly heard someone walk into the room. They both looked over and noticed Effie walk in, the click-clack of her heels echoing around them.
"Excuse me Dr. Cresta?" she asked.
"Yes Effie?"
"Dr. Aurelius wanted me to remind you that you would be supervising our new custodial worker. He said he spoke to you about it earlier today."
Annie let out a sigh. Dr. Aurelius had left a memo on Annie's desk stating that she was to be responsible for him. Up until this point, she had completely forgotten about the 'delinquent' she would have to supervise until the end of his probation.
"He's waiting for you in your office," said Effie.
"Ok, I'll be there in a moment," Annie said once she pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. She really did not want to be responsible for some juvenile delinquent. She was a doctor in charge of the well being of patients, not a babysitter.
Effie nodded as a smile suddenly found her lips when she noticed the young man for the first time, "Finnick!" she exclaimed, "I didn't know you were here! When did you arrive?" she asked as she bent forward to hug the man, giving him a full view of her certainly fake cleavage.
Annie tried to hold back a laugh at Finn's obvious discomfort once Effie began to stroke his hair.
"Last night," he said as tried to look at everywhere else but Effie's cleavage.
"Well you look as handsome as ever Finnick, have you been working out?" she asked as she began to squeeze his biceps.
"Oh Effie," he said as he grabbed her hand and pressed a soft kiss to it, "You always know how to make me blush. You're looking more exquisite than the last time I saw you. Dare I ask, are those new?"
Annie rolled her eyes as Effie blushed and began to giggle like a schoolgirl, "Oh you devil, you," she said, "Let me guess, you're here to help Dr. Cresta again?"
Finnick flashed a charming smile, "Of course. Everyone knows Annie here can't function without me."
"Hey!" exclaimed Annie as she playfully punched him in the arm.
"Ouch! That hurt," said Finnick, rubbing the sore spot on his shoulder.
"Oh suck it up Odair," she smirked before turning to Effie, "Effie can you please do me a favor?"
"Sure, what is it?" she asked
"I was wondering if you would type the information on this birth certificate into our database. Find out where she was born and to whom and the like."
"Sure, I'll get right on it," said Effie as she took the paper in her hands. She quickly looked over its contents before she turned towards the glass wall.
"How's she doing?" she asked as she saw the sickly girl stare at the wall.
"Not to good." said Finnick, as he took out his phone.
"The poor thing." said Effie.
"Yea," sighed Annie, "that's why I need you to see if you can find out anything about her."
"I'll get right on it," she said as she was going to walk out the door, but not before she quickly turned back around, "Don't forget about the boy."
"Oh, goody!" said Annie sarcastically as the woman left.
"Sarcasm does not fit your wondrous face Annie," said Finnick.
"Don't start with me Finn, its bad enough that I have to see her practically throw herself at you, now I have to go play babysitter. Why do you even lead her on?"
"Jealous Annie?" he asked while he wiggled his eyebrow,
"You wish Odair," she smirked.
"Well, if you're not going to be the one flashing your tits then the least I can do is let someone else have the honors. How much do those even weigh?"
Annie broke out in laughter, "I'm not sure, but I think she can use those as flotation devices if there was ever a massive flood."
Laughter consumed them both. Finnick began gasping for breath when he began to laugh too hard, while Annie began to rub her side in pain. This all stopped however when she looked down at the court papers for the new custodial worker that Effie had left behind.
"I guess I should go play babysitter," she said with groan.
"It can't be any worse than what you already do," said Finnick, "How much trouble could he possible be?"
Peeta was ready to poke his eyes out from boredom as he sat in a pristine office decorated with awards and diplomas. He'd been sitting there for the past thirty minutes waiting for some doctor to 'lay down the law.' He still couldn't believe how stupid he had been. He just had to go and listen to Gale! He didn't think it was fair that although the whole team was there, vandalizing the Mutt's gym, he and two other juniors were the only one's that got caught. Gale had stayed inside the building and hid in a janitor's closet until Saturday morning. Lucky for the team, the school did not cancel the rest of their season but instead made the whole team clean the CTH gym and gave them each detention for the next three months. Not only that, but Peeta's parents had grounded him until the end of the school year, and his grandma agreed to check in on him and Prim everyday. His three weeks of no school and no parents had officially gone down the drain.
As Peeta sat there he remembered his court trial the day before and how they had sentenced him to 500 hours of community service. He was shocked when he learned he was being forced to serve as a janitor at the local hospital.
"What did you think you'd be doing? Brain surgery?"
He still heard the mocking voice of the head of the custodial department in the hospital laughing at him in his head.
"So, where exactly am I supposed be at?"
"The twelfth floor."
"What's that, like pediatrics?" asked Peeta with a hopeful look.
"Nope, the psychiatric ward."
"Psychiatric? You mean like crazy people?"
"Don't get too close, they might bite."
Peeta suddenly felt his phone vibrate and checked to see the caller ID. The word Dad flashed on the screen before he decided to answer it.
"Hey dad," he said.
"Hey Peeta, I'm just calling to let you know that you're mom and I are on our way to the airport. Grandma will check in on you and Prim's with the neighbors."
"Ok dad."
"Remember, if we get one phone call from grandma about you during our trip, we're coming straight home. You understand?"
"Yes dad."
"And if something happens to Prim…"
"I know," Peeta cut him off, "don't worry about it dad. I told you, Gale's sleeping over most of vacation so we'll both be there."
"Why doesn't that make me feel any better?"
"Dad, just trust me will you?"
"I don't know about that son."
Peeta sighed.
"Dad please just trusts me. I promise nothing will happen."
He heard his dad sigh on the other end of the line, "Ok son, and don't forget to make sure Prim goes out with a jacket every night, and that she takes her vitamins."
"I won't."
"Ok then. Goodbye Peeta. I love you."
"I love you too dad. Tell mom I'll miss her and that I love her."
"I will. And remember," said his dad before he hung up, "One screw up, and we're done being the nice parents."
"Ok, bye dad."
"Bye son."
Peeta hung up his phone before he heard a cough coming from the doorway.
"Rule one," said a beautiful woman with a clipboard in her hand, "No cell phones. It interferes with our machines."
She walked into the room and sat behind her desk.
"Are you Dr. Cresta?" asked Peeta a bit confused. For some reason, he thought Dr. Cresta was an old guy with grey thinning hair and wrinkles all over his face.
"Yes, and you must be the juvenile delinquent I'm in charge of. Peeta is it?"
"Umm, yea," he said extending his hand to which Annie just stared at. Peeta dropped his hand before running it through his golden locks.
"So here's the deal, you'll work from eight to two on weekdays and nine to one on weekends. No cell phones, no eating or sleeping on the job, don't speak unless spoken too, and absolutely no friends visiting. We don't need any more delinquents running around here. Understand?"
Peeta nodded his head. She then took out a neatly folded grey janitor uniform from her desk drawer and handed it to him.
"Oh, and one more thing," she said, "There is absolutely no need to for you to speak to any of the patients here. You just go in, give them fresh sheets, clean up after them and then you'll go on your way."
"Sure thing," he said. Truthfully, Peeta didn't have befriending a crazy person in mind.
"Okay," she said as she took out some papers and handed some to him, "Here's a map and some stuff that you have to fill out before you get started."
She handed them to him along with a pen.
"Sign here, and here, oh, and here."
"What's all this?" he asked as he signed his name on the lines she pointed to.
"Basically, you just agreed to be my bitch for the next two months."
"How fun," he said sarcastically.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Both Peeta and Annie looked towards the doorway and saw Effie standing with a paper in her hand.
"What is it Effie?" asked Annie
"I need to speak to you, privately."
Annie sighed in frustration. Didn't Effie know that she had to get Peeta situated as fast as she can so she could get back to work?
"Can't this wait?"
Effie slowly shook her head, "It's about Katniss."
At the mention of Katniss' name, both Peeta and Annie stared at Effie, wide eyed in shock.
"Umm, Peeta," she began "I'll be right back. Just finish going through the paperwork."
Peeta nodded his head as he watched Dr. Cresta leave the room with the plastic-like clerk he met out front.
Could it be? Could the girl whose suicide attempt he couldn't seem to take his mind of off be here in this hospital? How many other Katniss' lived in the area, or in the whole country for that matter? Peeta didn't know, but he was soon about to find out.
"What's going on Effie? What happened?" asked Annie once she met Effie out in the hallway.
"It's about the birth certificate you gave me."
"Oh, did you find anything?"
"That's what I need to speak to you about."
"What do you mean?"
Effie let out a nervous chuckle "Well you see," she began, "I typed all the information into the database and I didn't find anything at all. Then I thought about Katniss was really a unique name and started researching how many people there are with that name. I came across an article about someone with that name."
"But what's the problem?" asked Annie.
"The person who the article was about was named Katniss Everdeen. According to that article, Katniss Everdeen died twenty years ago in a New York hospital."
"Y-You're kidding," said Annie, dumbfounded.
"I wish I was. I thought maybe it was a mistake, so I got a hold of a friend who works through Social Services."
"What did your friend say?"
"H-H-He…" began Effie, before she looked away from Annie's piercing stare.
"What did he say?"
"He said there is no record of a Katniss Everdeen ever existing."
My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims in Boston.
I'm going to try and update as soon as I can, these next two weeks are going to be hectic since I will be graduating from college. Please bear with me.