Hijacked

Chapter 21

DISCLAIMER: This is another chapter in which I will be using text from the book as the basis of my dialogue. This will continue through the next two chapters, so I apologise. The dialogue is therefore Suzanne Collins’s and not mine. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the chapters.

The next day I decide to go and eat in the cafeteria with everyone else. I figure that if I’ve confronted Katniss and managed to stay calm then I’ll probably be okay. Nevertheless, I’m nervous. It will be the first time I’ve been in such a busy environment in a long time, and with lots of people who will bring back memories I’m not sure I can handle yet. I’m told over and over that I have to ask if I want to sit with Katniss and the others, that I need to respect it if they would rather I sit elsewhere. That hurts a little, but I nod.  I’m assigned two guards to escort me and watch me, and my wrists are locked with handcuffs. The metal pinches at my skin if I wriggle too much, so I try and keep as still as possible.

As I walk into the cafeteria nervously, I slip up to get some food. My tray is balanced awkwardly on my shackled hands, and I focus on trying not to drop it. The food is identical to what I’d be eating anyway; it’s just that now I’m eating with everyone else. Across the room, I spot the other victors and Gale.

I walk over, my guards on my heels.

“Peeta!” Delly exclaims. “It’s nice to see you out…and about.”

I smile, silently thanking her for being so supportive.

“What’s with the fancy bracelets?” Johanna asks, nodding to my handcuffs.

A little while ago, this might have been enough to make me angry, but now I just reply calmly.

“I’m not quite trustworthy yet.” I tell her, half joking half serious. “I can’t even sit here without your permission.”

“Sure he can sit here!” Johanna tells the guards, and pats the seat beside her. I turn round to look at the two men, and they nod. I sit, gently placing my tray down. “Peeta and I had adjoining cells in the Capitol. We’re very familiar with each other’s screams.”

I didn’t know that about us having adjoining cells, but I let it go. Annie, however, presses her hands to her ears firmly. Johanna looks unbothered by the reproachful looks thrown her way.

“What?” Johanna asks, innocently. “My head doctor says I’m not supposed to censor my thoughts. It’s part of my therapy.”

Doing well then, I think, amused.

Finnick whispers to Annie, laying a hand on her shoulder, until she takes her hands away from her ears. Suddenly, the atmosphere around the table seems quiet and rather awkward.

“Annie,” Delly chirps perkily. “Did you know it was Peeta who decorated your wedding cake? Back home, his family ran the bakery and he did all the icing.”