Bartenders
The male bartender stepped back, the tension breaking through the divide created by the counter. "I-i'm sorry. I just wanted the issue to go under the rug. Please... buying a milkshake is one thing, but purchasing blood from a hospital? I can't do that!"
Perhaps it was a rare moment of courage. Perhaps she had just been pushed so far into the corner that it circled back into bravery. Perhaps at that moment, the female bartender decided she no longer could rely on her male counterpart, but in that moment, the girl behind the counter turned into a woman, leaping up and standing on the counter, much to the confusion of the male bartender, who stared wide-eyed and confused. She squatted down and grabbed a empty glass cup and placed it at her feet. Then, she took a fork and pierced the skin on her arm. Tears formed in her eyes as she tried to fight through the pain, while water trickled down from her arm into the glass cup.
"There is your blood ma'am," she squeeled. "Now please enjoy the atmosphere!"
But the atmosphere was no longer that of a bar. Eyes locked onto them from all corners of the room, wondering what the ruckus was. What they saw was a woman with tears in her eyes, bleeding into a cup.