The boy with the bread: The back story to Peeta Mellark

Chapter 5

Peeta never needed to sign up for tessare, or any of his brothers. They had enough food to feed themselves somewhat properly, so this was new to them. There are many twelve to eighteen year old's who sign up for it because they just simply need more food. In District 12, once you turn twelve -- when you are eligible to be reaped for The Hunger Games for the first time -- you can go to the justice building to recive grain and oil, every month, once a month, in exchange for your name to be entered in the reaping bowl extra times. Which means your chances of being picked are higher, that can mean life or death for some people. Peeta was thankful he didn't need to do this, but forever felt sorry for those who did.

"Peeta wake up! Come on, you useless child!" Peeta slowly woke up to his mothers loud, ugly voice, only to realize that he is starving. So when he finds out that all is for break feast is a quarter slice of burned bread, he automatically knows that it won't be a good day.

The baker was already hard at work to finish off anything he can before the peacekeepers come. Today is the day that the most vicious, strict and probably heartless Peacekeeper will come to the seam and examine every specific detail. This was the first time it's ever happened--from what Peeta remembered, so it is nerve racking to see how it will affect the District.

Thinking about the situation more carefully, Peeta does remember something that might be similar to this event: It was probably seven or eight years ago, so Peeta was eight and his brothers were ten and twelve. Anyways, his father's bakery wasn't doing so well. At the time, his mother was sick, and they didn't have the right medicine to heal her. They couldn't afford to buy some off of people, or even trade for a little something. Peeta was too young to bake on his own, only his oldest brother, who had just turned 12, would be able to. It was the worst time to get a new head Peacekeeper, Maxwell. He was violent, rude, everything Peeta's father was not, which meant trouble for him and the bakery. Peeta briefly remembers his Father being yelled at in front of the whole district, just not what the man yelling actually said. But what really happened was far worse than Peeta's memories. His mother was at the verge of dying. She had been sick for weeks on end, without any sign of recovery. Peeta stayed home from school to help her out, but what would an 8 year old know about health? When the baker found out that Maxwell was on his was from the Capitol, he knew that it was over for them.

When Peeta witnessed his Father being made a fool of, about how he was not able to run a bakery and that he was a coward and useless to the Seam, Peeta never wanted to see his family break a part again. After that scenario, Maxwell and the mayor decided to give his father one last chance at running the bakery, which relieved them--but their family wasn't completely back to normal. That's when they needed a miracle to happen. Back then, Katniss' dad was still alive, and both him and his wife were full of knowledge about medicine and natural healing. Thankfully they found the right items to heal her for some time, with just a bit of help from the mayor. Unfortunately, there's always a chance for her to get sick again, but the family try's to think positive. Ever since then, shes been rude to everyone, her smile never to be seen, and sadly started to hit her family once they got older. Peeta thought she would grow out of it, but eight years later, she is still the same. So how can he have hope? What will it take for her to show how much she really does love him? Deep down he knows she does. Deep down, in his battered heart, hes figured out that she distances herself away from him and the rest of the family. So that if she does get really sick again, they won't miss her too much when she dies. If you love someone to the point where you can't picture the world without them, then how will you be able to let them go? Its inevitable that you can distance yourself from everyone, forever, but the thought of it hurt him, and what other reason could it be? She wasn't always this . . . cruel to people.

One time, Peeta's Father told him how he met her. It was before she changed, which meant Peeta enjoyed hearing it come from both his mother and father, "So your Father was trading at the Hob one day with my mother who sold house supplies," She said to Peeta and his brothers, "Anyway," his father continued, "I wanted to trade some bread that my father gave to me to trade for more baking tools. Originally, her mother said no--"

"--But when I came along," his mother interrupted, "I traded it, even when my mother declined. She was furious with me, as she always was, but I fought her until she agreed. And the next day, he found me strolling the roads of District 12 and it took off from there."

Peeta was overjoyed when he heard their story. Hearing it from both of them is amazing, but how cool would it be to see your parents fall in love in person? Obviously, it's not possible, but what goes on in Peeta's mind is beyond realistic. He was lucky to hear come from both their mouths, because a few weeks later, was the next hunger games, and his oldest brother, needed to be sent to the reaping, which terrified his mother. She went crazy for days before the actual time came. She got mad at everything, cried for no reason, and was just plain upset at the world, but who can blame her? All mothers had to send their kids to the reaping, so she saw it coming. But what Peeta never found out was that her best friend, Lindy, was reaped when they were 14. That was a horrifying time for her, watching her best friend go through hell in the games. How can you be healed from such unbearable pain? The games never brought joy to anyone but the Capitol people. At least tha's what Peeta thought. The memories that his mother had from her past were brought back when her first son stood with all the other 12 year old boys, nervously waiting for Effie Trinket so read a name off a slip. What horrors will she bring when all 3 of her boys were sent?

After Peeta's oldest brother didn't get reaped, she was releived of course, but still never seemed to get better. She was still mad, still strict, and her smile somehow disapered. Peeta, his brothers and father didn't understand why all of this happened, and why it won't ever go back to the way it was. Then a few years passed and both of his brothers were sent, then all three of them. She never changed back, never greeted Peeta with a smile when he came home from school. Never baked with joy or pride, or even looked at the bakery the same way. None of them bothered to ask her why she changed, they were afraid of her response, wheather is would be verbally or physically.

After hours of baking, Peeta took a break and strolled around the seam, watching people at work, nervously getting ready for Maxwell to come, in about an hour, from what the mayor had told them.  He starts to walk back home when he hears a loud ruffling noise, only to see that a hovercrafts flying over District 12.