Peppermint And Gunpowder

Chapter Twenty-Three: That Little Girl In That Too Big T-Shirt

This morning it was blueberries.

The morning before, it was oranges. And before that, apples.

Every morning so far, breakfast has been the same. Toast with ample butter, water for me and orange juice for Gracie, and some type of fresh fruit. Strawberries, blueberries, oranges, apples...

Every dinner is the same too. Plain chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and some type of vegetables. Last night it was steamed carrots.

I have began timing the rations of food. Breakfast marks the beginning of the day, dinner marks the end. At the end of the rotation, the track starts again. Strawberries, blueberries, oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries...

Twenty-seven days I have tracked with my timing. I don't know how many days passed before my timing, before everything was scheduled.

Every morning, Olivia comes to the room, fake rose perfume strong as ever, smiling broadly. Some days she has a binder in hand, others a manila folder. But most days, she has nothing.

* * * *

The door opens slowly, and Gracie slips past. Her face is slack, she doesn't smile. It's been weeks since I've seen her smile--a real smile.

"Gracie?" I call from my bunk. She looks up, hand still on the handle, before crawling onto the bleach white bed sheets. She lays her head on my lap, closing her eyes.

"Are you alright?" I play with her hair. She mumbles something, an incoherent noise at most. "It's okay, baby, just sleep. You need to sleep."

Her breathing steadies as she falls to an uneasy sleep, and as I watch Gracie slip into a sweet land of sleepful bliss, I hum softly--as if she could hear me through her subconscious.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

I do not see the door open, do not hear Olivia's heels on the tile floor leading to our room.

She stands on the threshold, clasping a glass of water in one hand and an orange bottle in the other. Gracie sits up, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Based on our studies over the past month, we have came up with a medication for both you and Gracie that will boost your mind, capabilities, and overall health." She smiles and hands the orange bottle to Gracie, who eyes it suspiciously.

Moments pass of silence, nothing more than Olivia holding the bottle with no one to receive it.

Breaking the silence and unspoken oath, Gracie takes the bottle, slips a single capsule into her mouth, and presses the glass to her chapped lips. Olivia hands the bottle to me. I take the bottle and glass without question.

Olivia smiles again and takes the glass and orange bottle from my hands. She nods her head once, then exits. I turn to Gracie.

Once I'm sure Olivia is out of earshot, I whisper hastily, "Gracie, you need to listen. Whatever is in these pills, we can't trust. Do you understand?"

"But why?" Gracie asks, licking her lips slightly, as if that would change the fact that she's already had one dose of whatever was in that capsule.

"It changes the way you think, the way you see the world. I don't know how, but it will. Science is a powerful thing, but free thought is greater." I pull her to my chest, holding her in a tight embrace. "These people, they're bad people. They tell you this pill will make the 'bad thoughts' go away, but they really put them there. These people, nor these pills, are safe."

"Okay." She doesn't ask anymore questions after that, but I swear, I hear a clicking noise inside her head, the little gears turning, as she tries to comprehend everything.