Back To You

Chapter Two

"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.