Monday

In retrospect, it wasn't a very good idea to start texting the fox in the late hours of the night, and Sam clearly knew that. Not only was she still in the bathroom, but she also needed to sleep early for her next shift at 6:30 am. Caution was thrown to the wind, and Sam had been texting with him for about five hours, culminating their last chat at 3:30 am.

What had her so enthralled? It was too early to say. The conversations were friendly and lively, but there was no hint of attractions whatsoever (at least not as much), which only attracted her more. Here she was, texting a fox, thinking that he'd want to meet up just to hook up. But in reality, he was asking silly questions, like what was her favorite color, or the earliest memory she could remember. It was very refreshing and calming. Scrambling to go to sleep, the poor otter jumped out of the tub in a panic, clothed herself in her salmon-patterned pajamas, and slept for the three hours that her time allowed.

"Sam!" A loud pig voice echoed in her mind. Funny. What was Gerald doing in her dreams? "Sam, wake up!"

"Whuwhuwhuwhat? I'm awake, I'm awake!"

"Jeez louise, Sam," said Gerald.

"How long have I been out?"

"Just in time to get out of your break. What the heck kept you awake last night? Bad dreams? You didn't count any salmons like I told you last time you had insomnia?"

"No, it wasn't that," Sam said. "I just…slept late, that's it."

"You don't just sleep late, Sam. You must've had a reason."

"Ugh, just let me get to work, Gerald. I don't want to talk about it!" She said, in an angry voice not typical of her.

"Fine, fine, I won't pry. Just don't fall asleep on any customers, please."

"I won't," said Sam, gathering her apron from her locker and beginning work. The other server working today was a raccoon, and it was his turn to be relieved on a break. "Cooper, go on break!" she told the mammal, who swiftly took off his apron and ran to the employee rest area. With a sigh, she began reading the orders and waiting on Gerald.

"Two chicken fat Jell-Os for the tigers in Table 2."

"On it, Gerald," she said, getting the smaller plate of Jell-O on her silver platter. Before she went to deliver the order, Gerald touched her shoulder.

"Hey, Sam. I think you should know that the one who must not be named is here."

"Huh? I don't know what you mean, Gerald."

"Did you forget already? You told me not to never ever say his name in front of you."

"Oh," she said, her spine shivering. "Do you know why he's here?"

"No idea, but don't worry. If he gives you hell, I'll throw him out."

"Now, now, Gerald, let's not be rash. It's been, what, a year since I last saw him? He's probably changed since then."

"Alright, if you say so, but the second I see him acting funny, he's gone."

"I appreciate that, Gerald. Now, let's get these hungry tigers some food."

It was all going swimmingly. After an hour back, there was really nothing to report. She kept on sending orders quickly and keeping each of her customers happy. She still felt a bit drowsy from last night, but she'd make sure to keep herself awake until her shift was over. She tried very hard not to look over to the table containing You-know-who, but it kept getting increasingly hard. She kept wanting to know how they were doing, if they changed their physique somehow, or if they had brought a date, but Sam kept strong, not wanting to give that person the satisfaction.

"Uhhh, Sam?" asked Cooper, who at this point had come back from break. "You've been requested at Table 4."

"Table 4?!" Gerald asked, alarmed. "That's his table, Sam! You can't do that."

Nervousness coursed through her whiskers at that very moment, even reaching the furs at the tip of her tail, but she stood her ground. "It's alright, Gerald. I'll just do whatever he wants and get it over with. He's a customer."

"But a bad one!" Gerald said, really trying not to scream. Thankfully, the natural chatter of the restaurant was enough to mask his voice.

"It's very sweet you care a lot about this, Gerald, but it's okay, I can take it. I'm your best server, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I guess you are. Well, I'll be paying attention either way. Don't want him to get any ideas."

Nodding, Sam took her notepad and silver platter and began making her way towards the accursed Table 4.

"I thought I was your favorite server, Gerald," said the raccoon, who also looked at Sam going over to the table.

"Stop being lazy then! Bus the empty tables!"

Her heart seemed to beat every second or so. Usually when one was nervous, their heart rate would go up, but for her, it seemed to slow down, like it was her body telling her that a storm was coming and that she needed to prepare or else she'd be swept away. She acted very brave when she talked to Gerald, and even she believed her ruse, but in truth, she was terrified. She thought she had moved on, but it only took one minute for all of the bad memories to start resurfacing.

Taking a few more steps, Sam unfortunately tripped, dropping her pen in the process. Crawling towards it, she could see someone else had gathered it for her. A brown paw just like hers. It could only belong to one person. Looking up, she found herself being correct.

"You dropped this, miss," said a male otter, smiling at her. He was wearing an orange T-shirt with the words Otto printed in black. He also sported navy blue sweatpants. To most otters, he'd be considered attractive. But that was all he had. She reluctantly grabbed the pen from his paw.

"Thanks," she said, forcing a smile. "What would you like to get?"

"Are you on the menu, beautiful? Hahahaha."

It took all she had not to slap him across the face with the force of a thousand winters, instead just taking a deep breath and putting the menu in his face. "This is all we have, sir."

"Aww, come on, Xam, what's with the animosity?"

"It's Sam," she cordially corrected. "You know this."

"Last I checked, you really loved that nickname," he told her.

"Yeah, when we were dating. Now it's just a dumb name that satisfies your weird obsession. Anyway, can you please just order what you're gonna order?"

"Like I said, would you become available on the menu again?"

She scoffed, increasingly losing her patience at the persistent mustelid. "I already said no, Max. Please don't make a scene, just order your food and go."

"Come on, Sam, can't we let bygones be bygones? This past year has been especially harsh without my palindromic counterpart," he said, looking at her with sad eyes, which she knew were faker than flying reindeer.

"Firstly, that's not a thing. Second, that's an extremely horrible thing you tried to do, changing my name to try to fit backwards with your own name. Normal people don't do that!" Her voice was elevated, and she knew that if it went any higher, she'd be making a scene. This otter just brought so much anger out of her. "And thirdly, that's a mighty fine way to court someone, asking if they're 'back on the menu' like I'm just some seasonal dish you can get once every year."

"Come on, I'm at a restaurant, it's a restaurant joke," he reasoned. "You used to love my jokes. They were the tenet of our relationship."

"That is not at all how you use that word in a sentence," she whispered this time.

"Tomato, potah-to. Anyway, can't you at least give me another chance? I promise I've changed," he boasted, lifting his chest higher with his paws on his hips. She didn't laugh, just frowning at his lame attempts at being goofy.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can do that," she said quietly and sincerely. "Now, please, can you just make my job easy and order actual food?"

He chuckled. "You know, that's what I like about you, Sam. Even with me annoying the heck out of you, you're still kind enough to take my order."

"This isn't the first nor will it be the last time taking an order from a weird, slash annoying customer. It comes with the job. Now, your order, please?"

The otter looked intensely at her, seemingly thinking of more words to say. Ultimately, he sighed. "Fine. Roasted salmon with tuna chips on the side. Light on the salt." With his order stated, he slumped on the chair and looked elsewhere, no longer paying attention to her.

"Ookay then. Coming up."

Walking back to the kitchen counter to give the order to Gerald felt like it was going in slow motion. This unexpected visit brought her many mixed feelings. Nobody ever expects to meet their ex like that, especially if you have to serve them at a restaurant. She sucked it up and did it, but she still had to do everything in her power not to show weakness in front of him. He was an over and done deal, and she had moved on.

"Roasted salmon with tuna chips on the side, light on the salt," she reiterated the order to Gerald in a monotonous voice, a combination of her sleepy self and having to deal with Max.

"What did he want? Did he bother you?" Gerald whispered. While they were many feet away from the otter, he didn't want to take any chances of being heard.

"I don't know if he was serious or not, but he said he wanted to get back together."

"Oh, what a dirtbag. What did you say?"

"I said no, of course. Kept telling him to just order his food and get it over with."

"That's good, Sam. You did good."

"Man, just look at him," Cooper said, coming in from the other side with another order. "Who comes to a restaurant with a sports jersey?"

"That's his normal wardrobe, actually," Sam told him. "Shows off his physique better, he says."

"What an ass," said Cooper and Gerald in unison.

"I'm hoping that wasn't a compliment," she joked. "Anyway, enough gossip, back to work, you two!"

"Hey, Sam, I'm the one who says that!" Gerald said, taking both pieces of paper and starting work on his order. She knew Gerald was a fast worker, but now she wished he could take his sweet time with this one. She just didn't want to interact with him at all. It made her nauseous to even think about speaking to him again. But she couldn't back away. This was something she had to do; for her sake and for his.

"Salmon and chips, Sam," Gerald said, putting the order on the table for her to take it. With another deep breath, she went back to give him the food.

"You know, I had this ex once," Cooper told Gerald, as both of them looked at Sam. "He was crazy, let me tell you. Wouldn't stop messaging me, and he even knocked at my mom's door to see if I was there. I dodged a bullet, I tell you."

"Cooper, just bus the tables, man!"

Now at Table 4. "Here you go, enjoy your food," she said as quickly as she approached him, ready to leave him to it. However, he stopped her in her tracks when he suddenly grabbed her forearm with his left paw, making her wince. "Let go of me, Max," she said with a menacing voice.

"Are you seeing somebody?" he asked her, while also softening his grip on her, slowly letting go. "Is that it?"

"What? No. And if I was, it wouldn't matter to you or anybody."

Taking a bite out of the salmon, the agitated otter smiled. "Pretty good. Does that pig cook for you like this every night? Hmm?"

"What?" She asked, more confused than anything. His attitude had turned completely around. It's like he was waiting to start an outburst from the very beginning. "I don't know what you're sa-"

"Or how about that raccoon? Does he pipe you every night?"

"Oh my gosh, dude," a female bunny on the other table heard him, reacting accordingly. "Like, that's not cool to say."

Max didn't show a sign of hearing that, still focused on Sam. "Come on, just admit it! You love being passed around. That's why you left me, right?"

All eyes were on her again. Because of course they were. She couldn't go a day without getting attention. At this point, all the patience she had stored left. "Get out," she said silently.

"What?"

"You are being disruptive to the other patrons in this fine establishment," she told him in an elegantly triumphant voice. "Please, kindly get out. We can bag your fish if you want."

"You can't just throw me out!"

"I can and I am doing it right now. Please get out. You're banned."

A normal mammal would get the hint that they are unwanted and then leave. Surely he would do that, right? Wrong. In a very childish outburst that not even the most spoiled children would even attempt to do, the male otter grabbed a pitcher full of water from a nearby table and threw it with force on the floor next to Sam, splashing her with water. The most dangerous part of this ordeal was the fact that it was a glass pitcher. Combined with her not having anything to protect her feet…

"Who do you think you are, huh? You think you're better than me, you sow snot?" he said with an angry expression, staring down at her with vice. At this point, the outburst had warranted the full attention of absolutely everyone. Some were already pulling their phones out to record this eventful situation.

"Call her that again, you piece of shit!" screamed Cooper behind her, trying to get in between them. With a blank expression, Sam gently pushed him away, still looking up at him. While he was only a bit taller, it still took the river otter some head tilting to look at the sea otter's eyes.

"What do you hope to gain from this?" she asked calmly. "Because it isn't me. What do you even want? Are you mad you couldn't control me like you controlled everything in your life? Well, excuse me for being my own person-"

"Agh!" he exclaimed, flattening the cooked salmon with a closed fist. "Don't get all high and mighty on me like I was the one at fault for everything. You could never reach my heights. I always had to be two steps below you. You couldn't even satisfy my di-"

"That's enough!" screamed the boar cook, grabbing the angry sea otter from the hem of his shirt and lifting him up with incredible strength. The current audience gasped at the sight, the flashlights from the many cellphones illuminating the scene like a stage from a play. But for Sam, it was very much real. "You are going to get out of here, and never bother this poor otter anymore, or so help me, I will serve you on my menu! Are we clear?"

"Clear as fuckin' daylights, piggy, now let go!" Gerald did as the otter said and put him back down on the ground. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, bottercup," he told her. "You'll see me again."

"You don't scare me, Max," she told him decisively. If she said it out loud, she would totally manifest it as a real thing. It was hard not to feel scared around him.

"Oh, yeah?" he said, backing off slowly. "We'll see about that. See ya later, Xam."

With the usual suddenness of his arrival, the otter made his exist just as so, silently walking towards the exit, while everyone still watched, unable to even breathe. Cooper looked at Sam with sullen eyes, seeing at the paralyzed river otter, drenched in ice water from the pitcher and…

"Sam, you're bleeding!" he exclaimed. This finally made the otter snap out of her trance and looked down to where she felt a slight sting. As expected, one of the pieces of glass from the shattered pitcher had wound up at the bottom of her left foot, giving her a small slice that was openly bleeding and mixing with the water on the floor. "Let me get you to the break room. To all our patrons, our apologies for this. Please continue with your lunch and we hope you are still having a good time." After addressing the crowd, the phones were gone and the spoons and forks were grabbed again, continuing their feeding like normal. Cooper gave a nod to Gerald and began taking Sam to the break room to tend to her wound. He sat her down on one of the chairs and instructed her to stay still while he looked for something to patch her up. The otter complied, having no reason to really go anywhere.

"Why did he even come back?" she asked herself, not realizing Cooper was already covering her wound with a bandaid and coban wrap. "I forgot all about him. Why'd he even come back?" she asked again.

"Sam, I'm sorry to pry, but…I've had crazy exes before. But that was on a whole 'nother level. I mean, he threw a full pitcher of water at you. You got hurt! You need to call the police, get a restraining order on him."

"Oh, I tried that, Coop. A year ago, when I was just starting the break-up. He paid off the judge."

"Cheese and crackers…" he cursed, unable to really imagine how much despair she must be going through having him back and threatening her like that. "There must be something we can do to help. Y-you can crash at my apartment for a few days. To get the heat off you."

"No, Cooper, it's okay. He doesn't know where I live."

"But he sure knows where you work! What if he follows you home?"

"I'll be fine, okay? Don't ya worry."

He hesitated for a moment, wanting to say more to her to convince her to stay somewhere else tonight, but he ultimately sighed. "Okay. Anything else you might need, don't hesitate to tell me. That's what friends are for."

"There…there is something you could do," she said shyly.

"Anything!" he insisted again. Sam took off her glasses, revealing newly formed tears.

"Could you hug me? This all just came on to me so fast, I tried being strong but it's all falling on me and I don't know how to solve it, it's just too mu-"

She had apparently said everything she needed to say, as it was enough for the raccoon to lunge at her and cover her with a candid hug that she desperately needed. She quietly sobbed into his shoulder, returning the hug with one paw while she held her glasses on the other.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, okay? It'll all be alright. You will be alright."

"I'm sorry, but c-can I take the rest of t-the day off? I don't think I can go back there."

"Absolutely, Sam. Take all the time you need. I'll make sure Gerald clocks you in for the whole shift too."

"R-really? You'll d-do that?" She got out of the hug, looking at him with a surprised expression.

"It's no big deal. Gerald will probably not hesitate to do that favor for you. You are his favorite server, after all."

"Y-you don't k-know," she said while sniffing. "H-how relieved t-that makes me."

"Don't sweat it. You'd do the same for me. Now get out of here and stay out of trouble."

She nodded with another big smile and got up to leave, making sure not to put much weight on her cut foot. She hung up her apron and exited off the back door. Hopefully she'll clear her head by sleeping and maybe chatting up the fennec fox for the remainder of the day. She was about to get on her scooter before she saw something…bizarre.

A small…deer….reindeer? It was indiscernible from her distance, but nonetheless, a mammal ressembling a deer seemed to be hiding in a bush…looking straight at her.

Wednesday

Finnick drove towards an inconspicuous spot on the border of the Tundratown district, very far out into the icy mountains that were the turbines. Giants of steel delivering winds of freezing cold towards the town of cold-starved mammals. For a fennec like himself, who needed to be in more arid places like Sahara Square or just plain ol' Downtown, it wouldn't be a walk in the park to get to that area. However, it was of utmost importance that he did.

A few years ago, Greg had given him this place as a recommendation for quality off-brand materials. He'd already been to this place a few times to buy miscellaneous objects for his car, among others (his elephant suit came from one of these such stores). Now, you could be asking yourself, how are there even illegitimate stores hiding in the coldest place of Tundratown? This was a question that Finnick had asked himself the first time he had been led here, and it was a simpler answer than he had thought.

Arriving at the pickup site, the small fox got out of his car with about three layers of clothing on his person, including some foot protectors and gloves. Kneeling on the ground, he scraped some of the ice on the floor, revealing a hidden speaker.

"Argument with your spouse again?" the speaker said.

"Yeah. She just needs to meet me in the middle," Finnick replied.

"Why don't you tell her that yourself?" the speaker said again. This was Finnick's cue to get closer to the wall. They had thankfully made it easier to find the entrance, having a distinct marking that could only be seen with UV light, which Finnick had in hand. The hidden marking was just a simple arrow pointing at a groove in the wall above him. Nick knocked three times, and in a few minutes, it was open.

"Haven't seen you 'round these parts much, Finnick," said a panther. "Still sad over your partner being part of the fuzz? Hahahahahaa."

"Very funny, Ravi. Now let me in, please."

"Of course, your majesty, come right in," he said sarcastically, opening the door further with a whine.

Inside, it was mostly dark due to being inside the ice block that made the district run, lit up by the many storefronts and fires of some vagrants who had nowhere else to go. Finnick never ceased to be amazed at how such a community could live inside so much machinery. The name that had been chosen for this establishment when first founded was very accurate.

"Welcome back to The Inbetween, foxy. You missed us?"

"Not a chance. Just here to pick up the stuff. Greg already called?"

"Oh yeah, he made sure we weren't cheating you out of it. Good kid. Not sure how he still talks so happy all the time. It makes me sound depressed! It's crazy."

"Yeah, Greg's like that. A happy little kid, even after all he went through."

"Let's hope he stays that way. You and Skye still tight?"

"Yeah, why?" Finnick asked, arching his brow at the bigger mammal.

"No reason. She just hasn't been back here in a while."

"Why would she even need to come back here?"

"Oh, she hasn't told you? Girl used to be a big part of this place in her haydays. Everyone here misses her a lot. Still love how well she has settled in the real world."

"Really? Didn't peg her for an Inbetweener," said Finnick. "Any other famous patrons I should know about?"

"We've had a few Mayors here. Some rich guys, some tech bros, you name it. We even had a vixen mayor from the other side of the world here some time ago. Still crazy we've managed to stay somewhat out of the limelight."

"Yeah, how in the heck does that work?" Finnick asked. "Y'all just make like a tree and leave whenever people have to do maintenance here."

"Oh, my sweet dear fennec, how naive you are. You think the people who do maintenance here aren't also in our payroll?"

"I should've figured. You guys have got this place plenty figured out."

"You can say that again. Enough small talk, let's get you what you came here for, shall we?"

"Yeah."

If he didn't have a guide in front of him, Finnick would end up getting lost in the maze that was the Inbetween. Since it was mostly a mess of tubes and wires, it was difficult to go around it without the help of someone who has been there for years. It's a completely new layout from the one he was always used to back in the city. Uneven passageways and elevated flooring was the norm for the place. Finnick tried to traverse the place without too much eye contact with the store owners or the ones selling. He knew this place probably attracted a lot of attention from unreasonable folk who might not be as friendly as Ravi. He tried not to get in too much trouble.

"I've always been curious about something," Finnick said, still walking behind the panther. "How come we can't hear the engines outside. Those are really friggin' loud. I'd assume-"

"That's your first problem, Finnick. There is no assuming in the Inbetween. Anything you imagine can and will be possible here. As for your question, the original city founders knew that doing maintenance in a place with one of the loudest and most obnoxious sounds in the world would be hell to maintain, not to mention the cost of labor. So, they did the sensible thing and built sound-proofed metal plates all around, including inside of the engines. During maintenance, they have to open a small hole through the metal that does let out a little sound, but it lasts for only a few minutes. Anyway, we're here."

They entered a door labeled Tommy's Place. Inside was mostly junk and water, coming from the lidless fish tanks sprawled around. Species of exotic fish roamed around the tanks freely, flaunting themselves to possible sellers. Looking down, Finnick could see another bigger fish tank, this time with a glass lid. Bigger fish were roaming around down there, including some sharks.

"Don't mind those, they're Tommy's pets."

"Pets, huh?" Finnick gulped, imagining being eaten whole by one of those things. He'll try not to offend this seller, make the purchase and go.

Ravi seemed to understand Finnick's worried face, putting a paw on his shoulder. "Don't worry, they're vegetarian."

"Are you pulling my leg right now?"

"Told ya anything's possible here, man."

"Ravi's right, new customer," a voice said in the dark. "They only eat my cabbages." A grizzly bear as big as the fish tank below them came out from a door in front, with two heads of cabbage on his paws. He opened a hatch leading to the tank, throwing the cabbages. "Eat up, my babies!"

"Did he just call them his-"

"Yeah don't mention that," Ravi told Finnick. "It's just his thing."

"Uhuh," said Finnick. He would do anything Ravi said. No making enemies this time.

"Yo, Ravi, you seen this viral video yet?" The bear asked the panther, seemingly ignoring the small (but big of spirit) fox. He decided not to rudely intervene.

"Which one, man? There's a lot!"

"This chick called in the middle of the Olivia Floor Show and straight up revealed some juicy secrets to the entire audience. Hold on, let me send it to you."

"Uhh, excuse me?" Finnick called out. He was never one for patience, especially when he was feeling ignored. He hated that. "Can I just buy what I came to buy and leave? It really shouldn't keep you long."

The bear, with an unamused expression, turned to the fox. "Oh crap, you're not a rabbit," he said surprised. Ravi put his paws on his mouth, trying to hold onto his laughter. Finnick was not amused in the slightest. "Oh, I'm sorry I blurted that you, man, I-I really thought…with your long ears-"

"I will totally erase that slip-up from my mind if you would please just show me the merchandise. Please?" He would've never said that to someone who just insulted him so openly like that, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and he really didn't want to get kicked out of here.

"Sure thing, sir," the embarrassed bear said, collecting a covered fish tank. Putting it in front of Finnick, he took off the mantle. "Voila! Tommy's special salmons for a great price!"

Every color and length of Salmon imaginable stood before Finnick's eyes, all swimming around the tank. He wasn't a fish expert, but they sure looked well-fed and healthy, without any trace of malnourishment. It was clear the bear enjoyed the thought of keeping fish happy.

"Listen, I don't know much about salmon. I've only eaten shitty ones at fast food places. So, what do ya recommend?"

"Well, King salmons are the priciest among this pile. They have quite literally the best taste out of any fish ever. Not just salmon."

"Is this your appetite talking?" Ravi said. "I've had tuna that tasted better than those salmons."

"But I'm not selling tuna. Am I, Ravi?! You wanna get my customer to run off to some other shady dealer and buy discount tuna?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, Tommy," Finnick said. "I'm not going anywhere. This salmon isn't exactly for me. It's for an otter."

"Oh? An otter?" Ravi asked. "Now that's interesting. You of all mammals have a date? Now I've seen everything."

"I asked you to opine, Rav? Shut your mouth, please," Finnick told him. The panther did a zip expression with his mouth and smiled.

"Well, if that's the case, this actually changes things," Tommy said. "To tell you the truth, otters eat a lot of salmon. Like, a lot. They sell that shit as candy bars down there. So, naturally, buying salmon to an otter, while still good food, will have to be some wayy stronger fish to actually hit, ya know? Cuz you do wanna woo this otter, right?"

"It's…not exactly woo. It's just to show gratitude."

"Gratitude? For what?" the panther said aloud.

"I told you to zip it, Ravi!"

"No, that's a valid question," the bear said. "What's the gratitude for? I can hook you up with the perfect fish, but I need some more context."

The fennec sighed. "I ate for free at her restaurant. She used her own money to pay for it."

Ravi's eyes became wide, opening his mouth to try to say something, but ultimately chose not to.

"Hmm, that is a pretty big deal. I think this one fits best," the bear pointed at a beautiful gold-colored salmon. "One of these guys is actually a completely new salmon species I've been working on. It's a cross between a King salmon and a Sockeye salmon. I called it Socking. And since you're friends with Greg, it's half-off on it."

"Alright, I'll take it then. Pleasure doing business with you."

"No problem. I'll bag up Miss Frizzle for you, just a moment." The bear left, back to the door he had got out from.

"Did he just-"

"Yeah, he names all his fishes," Ravi said, already knowing what was on Finnick's mind.

…

It had all gone according to plan. With his salmon now obtained, stored in a light portable cooler, Finnick was off to the exit, relieved that no major occurrences against his favor showed up to put him down. He was about to cross the final door, still being toured by Ravi. He was so, so close.

"You hustled that otter, didn't you?" he asked, dropping the bombshell of knowledge down his face.

"H-how did you-"

"I've been on this place for twenty years, Finnick. You see a lot of bullshit go around, day after day. And what you said back there, my friend? That was some fresh bullshit, with some horseshit sprinkles."

"Ok, well, it's none of your business."

"Oh, I know. But I'll just let you know, it won't work."

"What won't work? I'm not trying to make anything work, I'm just showing some goddamn gratitude for a change. Is that too hard to believe?"

"You want me to be honest, bro? Yeah, I think that's too hard to believe. No offense, man, but you're kinda good at being a deceiving little shit. You've hustled your way through your life like it was nothing, earning enough street cred to create your own gang."

"A piece of shit would create a gang."

"Wrong. A smart person would create a gang. A piece of shit would still go around hustling poor people so that your poor self can get a little less poor, so now you're trying to atone by giving back to your victims. Did I hit the nail on the head?"

"F-fuck you, man, what are you saying all this shit to me for?" The exit was right there. If he could just leave now.

"Oh, nevermind, no. You're gonna make her give you dinner again! You just bought this salmon as a front, but in reality, you're gonna get close enough to her so that she can just give you food for as long as you two remain friends. Is that it? Did I get it right this time?" The panther got uncomfortably close to Finnick's face, which finally prompted the fennec to snap and push him away.

"Leave me the fuck alone! Get away from me and Greg!" The fennec sprinted towards the exit, not before hearing another hurtful comment from the panther which made him stop in his tracks again.

"You're rotten, Finnick," he called out. "And you always will be. Why do you think no one sticks around? First it was Nick. Greg will probably be next. See ya next time." The panther turned the other way, as Finnick began closing the door, giving it a good swing in anger.

He was seething, and he was seeing red. If there was something to break in all the snow-filled surroundings, he'd take his bat and start going at it, but unfortunately for him, he had to stay alone with his thoughts. Alone with the fact that everything Ravi said was probably true. Like a fish out of the cooler, he was rotten. (He's been talking to Sam too much, the fish allegories have gotten to him). Everything around him always seemed to go to crap. He just hopes that he's wrong about Greg. If he lost the respect of that arctic fox too, he might as well lose the respect of everyone. Finnick drove back home drowned in his thoughts, with Miss Frizzle's corpse eager to be cooked in four days.

Monday

She was in panic mode.

That deer had totally freaked her out. She took her scooter and got out of there like a bat out of hell. She made sure to pick different exits and go through every alleyway imaginable just to make sure she wasn't being followed by that horrid picture. When she got home, she threw the scooter into the corner, locked her door with trembling hands and ran towards her room, looking for the one thing she needed. She wondered why she didn't just save it in her wallet, cursing herself to no end for her mismanagement of such a precious item.

"It's here!" she screamed, taking the object very hard with her paws, afraid she would drop it by accident. The card was worn after being stowed away in one of her cabinets for a year, but she was thankful the contents were still legible. You're Otterly Amazing was the message at the forefront of this card, but the back was what mattered most to her.

A phone number, and the person it belonged to: Officer Nicholas P. Wilde.