"Miss Avery?"

"Hm?" 

"I think I peed myself."

Stella Avery took her squinted gaze off the bulletin board to stare down at the boy lingering in front of her.  Tony was holding his--pieces, to put it lightly, switching from foot to foot.  The mass of wetness on the front of his pants was undeniable.

"I'm pretty sure that's true," Stella gave him a heavy sigh.  "Again, Tony?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders, his cheeks turning from soft pink to bright red.  "I couldn't hold it no more."

"Why didn't you ask for the pass?"

Tony shrugged again.  "Dunno."

Stella sighed, ripping a hand through her long, brunette waves.  For someone with little patience, she did extremely well when it came to teaching kids.  Maybe it was because art was more of a free-spirited subject to teach, unlike math or science where the kids were glued to desks for forty-five minutes at a time.  Stella encouraged free movement in her classroom, loved to dole out finger paints, glitter glue, and all the other stuff she knew parents hated to keep in their homes. 

"Come on," she sighed, keeping her eyes narrowed on him.  "I'll take you to the nurse's office.  I'm sure she still has a few pairs of spare sweatpants, but you really need to tell your mom to pack you some extra ones, honey."

Tony hung his head, more so from embarrassment.  "Yes, Miss Avery."

"Katie," she called to her aid who was currently elbow-deep in a mound of molding clay.  "I'm taking Tony to the nurse, okay?"

Katie laughed deep into her belly.  "Good luck, boss."

Sighing, Stella took the boy on the ten-minute journey to the nurse's station.  Nurse Carter smiled upon her approach, her eyes narrowing at the boy underneath Stella's arm.

"I got a wet one," Stella smiled.

"Ah well, you're in luck," Nurse Carter came around her desk and smiled for the boy.  "I have a few spare pairs of sweats in the back.  Come on honey, you can change there too."

She took Tony around the shoulders, winking at Stella before leading him away.

"I'll send him back when he's all set," Nurse Carter called.  "Just go back to class, Stella."

She flashed a tight, tired smile.  "Right."

There was nothing like an ice-cold Coke to take her away from the stresses of the day.  Stella made a pit stop in the teacher's lounge on the way back to class to take advantage of the newly stocked fridge.  The raises were pitiful in her line of work, but their principal, Joseph, made it a point to provide sanity snacks for the staff.  It was one of the reasons she loved working at Smithfield Elementary.  Everyone, down to the janitorial staff were nice, kind people.  There wasn't a day spent arguing or holding bitter feelings against her co-workers.

That was a good thing.

She had more bitter feelings to deal with than most people she knew.  Yes, ten years had passed, but the horrible ache in her gut had never really gone away.

Benjamin had screwed her, so hard.  It was a blow she'd been too naive to see coming.  One day they were together, as deeply in love as two people could have been.

Then he was gone.  No note, no apology.  Benjamin turned his back and chose Hollywood over their relationship.

Since then, Stella had rolled up her sleeves, held her head high as she accepted the wounds Benji had given to her and started fresh in a new town.  It was far from the people who knew about the relationship and would have brought that pain to the surface time and time again.  Still, she was guarded, unsure, and afraid of letting people get close to her despite the fresh start.  She had developed a few tight-knit friendships over the years, but that was all.

Once she had been outgoing, a people person.  Popular and loved.  That person had been gone for a decade.

Stella was a shell of who she used to be, and that was Benjamin's fault entirely.

Stella slipped her coins into the vending machine and retrieved her Cola from the bottom of it.  A relived sigh escaped as she sat down on the two seat sofa, casually flicking on the television for fifteen minutes of uninterrupted bliss.

"You're a BLEEP- BLEEP. You slut!"

Stella's breath caught in her throat as the scenario began to play out before her eyes.  It was TMZ of all things, showcasing the celebrity mishap as only they could.  

"Why don't you get on your knees you BLEEP slut!  Suck my BLEEP!  Don't you know who I am you BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP---"

She looked on with bated breath as Benjamin Foster danced around the dimly lit nightclub, shirtless, beer clutched in his hand as he continued to scream at the young girl leaning against the bar.  Every other word out of his mouth was masked by the bleeping sounds of censorship. 

It was a publicist's worst nightmare.

The smile started slowly at the corner of Stella's mouth, then formed into the grin she was holding back.

She knew it shouldn't have made her happy.  After all, she heard the news about his mom through a family friend.

But try as she might, Stella couldn't help but feel vindicated at the sight of Benjamin screwing his career to all hell.

After all this time, he was finally getting his.  That precious career was tarnished and it was his turn to grovel for forgiveness.

Karma was a bitch.

Her phone chimed in her pocket, prompting Stella to lower the volume on Benji's lapse with society as she pulled it out of her pocket.

Game/Set/Match: You have one new notification from Justhanginout81682

Stella rolled her eyes.  Hadn't she deleted this yet? Her roommate Meredith had casually installed the app on her phone a few weeks back, even putting in her credit card to pay the thirty dollars for the first month's service.  She was convinced if any app could get her friend a date, this one could.

It was brand new.  An app that didn't use pictures and casual bios as a means to connect people, but still guaranteed a soul mate to you within the first six months.  After taking a series of surveys, the algorithm reached out to potential matches on behalf of the user, instant messaged the accounts and prompted you to wait for a response.  Once comfortable with each other, the app would send the users out to a public place on a blind date. 

The rest, of course, was up to fate.

It had been weeks since Stella filled out the forms and this was the first time the thing had notified her of a message.  She wasn't in the mood though.  She didn't want some guy talking her up, calling her 'babe' when she wasn't that, and propositioning her for sex after the first hour.  With a shake of her head, she clicked on the notification, ready to delete the message glaring up at her.

Justhanginout81682: Hey, I know this is a dating app, but you wouldn't be up for casual chatter would you? Someone told me this is a good place to talk to people and I guess this thing decided you and I would have a lot in common.

Stella felt the smile playing on her lips.  The introduction was different for sure and it made her curious.  After a few moments of debate, she decided to reply.

Fingerpaintgirlie6883: Hmm casual chatter seems okay :) How are you?

She pressed 'send' and waited.

Justhanginout81682: Oh wow, that was quick.  I'm having a bit of a bad day actually. How about you?

Fingerpaintgirlie6883: It's been interesting, to say the least.  Sorry to hear your day isn't going so well.

Justhanginout81682: Thanks.  Hey, what's your name? I hate being so impersonal even though this is a chat app.  My name is Greg.

Stella thought for a few moments.  She wasn't ready to go there yet.  After all, this guy could have been a stalker or a serial killer. 

Fingerpaintgirlie6883: Michelle.

Justhanginout81682: Nice name. So, what can you tell me about yourself, Michelle?  I see you like finger paint ;)

Fingerpaintgirlie6883: Lol. I'm an elementary school art teacher.  Finger painting is my life's work.  What about you?

Justhanginout81682 is typing

It seemed to take forever for his response to come in.  Stella felt a twinge in her gut that reminded her why she didn't date. 

Justhanginout81682: I work in public relations.  Hey listen, I gotta run.  Will you be around later? Maybe eleven or so?

Fingerpaintgirlie6883: I might be.  You can message me then.

Justhanginout81682 has signed off.

Stella frowned.  He hadn't even said goodbye.

What a jerk.