I knew that the two men seated at the bar in front of me would be exchanging fists soon. The entire establishment could feel the magnetic repulsion immolating from their shared space. It was nearing 1AM now, and both of them had drank enough of the sauce to loosen their tongues. Yet against all of my better judgement, I still felt that I could change the impossible in this situation.

Their voices got raised over the television that sat in an upper corner behind the bar. Looking back, it could have been over anything. The long haired guy in a leather jacket wanted to watch a rock concert. The slimmer man with the backwards cap wanted to watch sports.

I suppose the entire place joined in on their conversation when the long haired fellow threw his stool back in a fit of rage and yelled out “what did you call me!?”

Then came the expected “Hey what’s your problem, Bro!?” From the opposing backwards hat guy.

That was the moment I had decided to step forward. It was a foolish thing to do. “Hey guys, relax. There’s a documentary on the animal station that I kind of wanted to-“

That is when the first fist struck my face. It caught me completely off guard and I stumbled backwards. Before I could even register who threw the punch, there came another, and another. Before I knew it I was throwing punches back, and all three of us were now going at it.

When the dust settled and all three of us laid on the floor of the bar, bruised and catching our breaths, I looked back up at the barmaid, her hands on her hips, staring over us with an angry frown. In one hand she held the plug to the television.

“All three of you! Out! NOW!”

“No, I wasn’t trying to-“ I tried to explain, but she cut me off.

“I SAID OUT! NOW! YOUR BANNED! DON’T COME BACK!”

I limped out of the bar, the other two following me in tow, still grumbling at each other over who’s fault it really was. That was the moment when the lesson hit me. Next time, just leave it alone.