As the hot coffee hits me, a string of gasps follows.

The coffee did make contact with my skin in some areas, like the side of my neck, a little bit on my cheek, my hand which I used to block most of the coffee, and pits and parts of my suit.

It burns. Especially, my hand.

The waiter begins to apologize profusely, I shook my burnt hand off, it burned but I didn't want to show it, especially to the scumbags who planned this, "it's fine," I said, cutting the waiter off mid his apologetic rant.

"What?!" "What?" Asked both the affronted Mr. Raynard and the confused waiter, Mr. Aardwolf was watching amused by the situation, and his assistant Vivian seemed uninterested.

Instead of answering their questions, I asked the waiter as I pushed my chair back and stood up, "Where's the restroom?"

"Uh..." he was hesitant, confused by my reaction perhaps, but he points his index finger to the direction nonetheless, "it's to the left, down the corridor, third door to your right," he said.

"Thank you," I nod my head acknowledging his helpfulness, then turn to excuse myself from the table, and walk away calmly.

Other human hybrids' eyes were on me as I walked through the sea of diners, some avoided eye contact upon locking eyes with me.

Walking down the corridor, the door right across the men's washroom opens, and out comes one of the scheming waiters, more specifically, the waiter who pushed our waiter, he had this smirk on his face, clearly satisfied with what he had done, and I wanted to wipe it off.

"Does it hurt?" I asked as he walked past me, making him pause and turn around.

"Excuse me?" He asked, his face a mixture of confusion and taken back, he probably didn't think I'd say something to him.

"Your shoulder," I said as my eyes fell upon said shoulder, "you pumped really hard into your coworker... was it worth it?" I wondered out loud, dismissing the burning sensation in my hand.

"What was worth it?" He asked confused.

"Pulling such a childish move with your friend," his face turns pale but I continue saying what's on my mind, "and getting yourself mixed in the webs of misfortune, your friend may have done the planning, but you..." I paused as I stepped closer to him, "you, however, executed the plan, what would you have done if I backed away from the table?" I asked.

"..." he doesn't say anything, rather he looks lost for words.

"You should really think about who you surround yourself with," I said, "getting you to do their dirty work so their hands would stay clean was a very manipulative thing to do, no matter who was asking," I pointed out, turning around and heading to my original destination, the restroom.

I push the door open with my uninjured hand, and walk in, heading straight to the sink, opening the water tap, biting my lower lip, I immediately put my burnt hand under the running cool water, then I use my uninjured hand to cool down other areas where the hot coffee had reached.

I must have been away for too long because the next thing I know is Mr. Raynard barging into the restroom.

I turn off the water tap, and grab a paper towel to dry my hands, "I'm sorry, I must have been gone for too long," I apologized, putting my hands behind me, using the uninjured hand to squeeze my forearm above the burn area, squeezing a little too tight, trying to trick my mind into thinking about that area instead.

Mr. Raynard sighs, slipping his hands in his pants pockets, he looks at me, kind of sizing me down, "that's alright, the manager would like to speak with you," He says before he turns away and walks out of the restroom.

I sigh, letting my hands fall to my sides, I look at the mirror, fixing myself up as much as I can before walking out.

The manager, the waiter who accidentally poured the coffee on me, and Mr. Raynard were waiting in the corridor, outside of the restroom.

The Giraffe Human-Hybrid waiter looked paler than before, his shoulders slumped down, head looking up upon my exit from the restroom, then down to the floor, for a tall man, he looked super small right now.

"Sir, we would like to apologize to you on behalf of our restaurant, and we would totally understand if you were to file a complaint to HQ," the manager says as he took a step closer to me.

"There's no need, it was an accident," I shook my head, hearing my answer, the waiter looked both hopeful and relieved, while Mr. Raynard looked ticked off.

"Now that you've confirmed that he won't file a lawsuit, are you going to give the man some first aid?" Mr. Raynard asked, crossing his arms and showing his sharp canines.

"Y-yes of course," the manager stammers, "Geoffrey, go grab the first-aid kit," the manager orders the waiter who leaves instantly to do what he's told, "can I see your hand, sir?" The manager asks.

I hesitate for a moment, glancing between the manager and Mr. Raynard,  both looking expectantly, here goes nothing I guess.

Having been holding my injured hand behind my back, I let go of my hold on it and extend it in front of me, seeing how it was trembling from the pain, I use my other hand to squeeze my forearm and hold it still.

The manager gasps, his eyes wide, glancing between my burnt hand and my face, "sir, you have to go to the hospital, first-aid is not enough," he says, his voice laced with worry.

I put my hand behind my back again, "it's alright I can manage," I dismiss his worry, making him look at me like I grew two heads.

Before he says anything, Geoffrey comes back with the first-aid kit, he hands it to his manager who hands it to me, his eyes looking past me like he's trying to avoid an uncomfortable situation.

I get the message and take the first-aid kit from his hands, turning around and returning to the restroom.

Like I said before, it's common to avoid touching an owl human-hybrid, it's not the first time someone avoided touching me or providing medical care for me, and it's not the first time I tended to my own injuries.

After placing the first-aid kit on the counter, I unlock it and the first thing I gravitate towards is the Ibuprofen, I swallow two capsules dry, then while my hand is under the cool water again, I search the kit for an antibiotics cream, and thankfully I found one.

Feeling relieved I unscrew the tube and apply it to my hand, my neck, and my cheek.

The medicines kicking in make me feel exhausted, putting everything back into the kit, I walk outside and hand the kit to the manager, he tries to hand me an ice pack, but I rejected it.

"Your boss said he'll be waiting for you outside," the manager informs, and true to his words, I walk outside finding Mr. Raynard, Mr. Aardwolf, and his assistant outside, waiting for their transportation.

Upon noticing me, Mr. Aardwolf asks, "how's your hand, Puma?"

"It's alright, sir," I answer.

"That's good to hear, but I have to be honest, it's my first witnessing an Owl hybrid's bad luck with front row seats," he laughs finding humor and amusement in the situation from his perspective.

It wasn't my bad luck though that got me burnt, it was the prejudice towards me that did, but if it was my bad luck to be born an owl human-hybrid, then I guess every hateful attack or crime against me would be considered as bad luck.

"..." I don't say anything about what he said, and neither did everyone else, his laughter died off as he noticed the arrival of his car.

"We will be in touch Raynard," he said as he shook hands with my boss, then walks off, and inside his car with his assistant behind him.

Once they are gone, Mr. Raynard hands me my bag, "do you have a high tolerance for pain?" He asked.

I had my eyes on the bag when he handed it to me, looking up when I thought he said something, "pardon?" I asked but seeing annoyance on his face, I corrected myself, "sure, I guess."

Thankfully, Mr. Bernese arrived just in time to avoid further unwanted conversations -on both sides- with my boss.

He gets in first, and I follow behind him, closing the door with my good hand.

"Take us to the hospital first, Bernese," Mr. Raynard orders.

"That's not necessary, I can go by myself after work," I protest.

"We will drop you there, and after you get your hand checked you can come to the office if you want," Mr. Raynard says with finality.

"But..." I mumble as I begin to see dark spots in my vision, I sink back in my seat, the adrenaline rush leaving my body, the pain in my hand, and other areas, the lack of sleep, the stress, and exhaustion are taking over.

"No buts." Mr. Raynard says, which My ear picks up faintly like a muffled noise.

"Okay..." I mumbled before everything went black.