WEAPONS MAGE

THE BAR MANAGER

I ran and ran and ran. I ran like there was no tomorrow. I faintly heard them running behind me. There was a moment when a hand grazed my shoulder, but I didn't care. I imagined myself like an ostrich, morphing into a cheetah, and I felt empowered, felt my muscles contract and my running went faster.

I felt my muscles starting to strain but I ran, ignoring their cries of pain.

Just a little bit, I'm so near, so near. Just a little bit more.

And then I hit a huge wall.

My vision blacked out for a second and then I saw baby ostriches and baby cheetahs running in circles. Oh f*ck I'm drunk.

I looked back and saw a miracle. The tattoo g**g was retreating. I jumped up in joy and shouted at them, "What? Are you giving up? You pieces of s**t! Come back here, I'm going to beat you all!"

But they still ran away from me, which made me celebrating my luck.

"Yeah that's right! Go run back to your mommies!"

I laughed at my hilarity and luck when suddenly I heard a deep voice, "Are you done?"

I froze. I thought I was finally safe. But here I am, in the edge of the lion's den. I gulped and turned around slowly.

When I faced him, I saw a man wearing all black. He was looking at me, no, he was glaring at me as if I did something so unpleasant to him.

Oh, maybe it wasn't a wall I hit, maybe it was him!

I only thought of one thing to appease him, I would ask for forgiveness.

"Why are you wearing all-black?" As soon as I heard myself say those words, I immediately covered my mouth.

What happened to the kowtowing now huh? Oh f*ck you stupid Nina.

But instead of him getting angrier, I heard him laugh.

Oh sweet mother, how can a deep laugh sound so soothing? I listened to his laughter as if it was a lullaby. I swayed a little, thinking it was some kind of music, or maybe because I'm drunk.

But then he stopped, so I turned my back on him and pouted.

The night air was still, as if waiting for the right moment to strike at me. Hah! What more can you give me? Give me all of it now, because I've grown numb about everything.

"I followed you because the cash you left didn't cover the damages you cost," a voice broke my wily tantrums to the world.

I whirled around and faced him, my index finger repeatedly pointing at him.

"What damages? I paid for that bottle of vodka!"

"No, the payment you left only covered the price of every vodka shot you drank. If you wished to buy the whole bottle, you should have added a hundred. So technically, the bottle is still our property."

"What rubbish! The bartender gave the bottle to me! So I thought I bought it all."

The man hung his head and contemplated. "Okay, I'll reprimand that bartender. I'll make him pay for it. He wasn't supposed to give that."

"What? No, I'll pay for it alright? Don't get mad at him."

The man raised his brow. "Oh? You meant earlier that you would never pay for it. But now you heard that I'd let the bartender pay it, you'd rather pay for it."

"I'm just concerned. The bartender's wages couldn't even fully support his living expenses, what more to pay for that whole bottle. So, I'd take that responsibility. So, can I go now?"

The man's lips rose slightly upwards. "No, you still have to pay for the physical injury you've caused."

"Injury? I ensured that it fell in an unoccupied space!" I said rather heatedly.

"Yes, but you didn't calculate the shards that flew around and hit some people."

"Oh, that. Tell me how much it all costs. I'll pay for it." I took all the money I put inside my b*a and gave it to him. "Is that enough?"

The man stood there frozen. What is wrong with him? I pinched his cheeks and he started to move.

"Ah, I'm sorry."

I took his hand and placed the money in it. "Here. Is this enough?"

He looked down and counted the money. "This is too much." He took the excess money and returned it to me. I put it back in his hand.

We repeated this whole charade, waiting for the other party to give up. But as if we have the same big a*s pride, none of us backed out.

And I, being the kind-hearted person in the whole, wide world, gave it up. As soon as I placed it in his hand, I immediately took a few steps back, preventing him from giving me back the money.

I smirked at him. "Now there you go. All's well that ends well." I waved my hand at him and said with a wink, "Ciao!"

And before I knew it, I saw the ground running to me.