title: Plucking the Stinger
author: Stephanie Rogers
description: STEPHANIE ROGERS'S poems have appeared in journals such as Pleaides, Ploughshares, Southern Review, New Ohio Review, and Third Coast, among others. Three of her poems were selected for inclusion in the emerging writers anthology Best New Poets (2013, 2009, 2006). She currently works as a medical editor for a pharmaceutical advertising agency.
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  ![Chapter One](../Images/00003.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  “Ouch! Shit!”
  
  
  
  
  
  I jump back from the car and flap my hand around. My finger stings like
  hell—and when I look at it, I see why.
  
  
  
  
  
  Breaking a nail lifting a suitcase. That figures. Just another reason why
  coming back to Shelton Bay is a mistake. If I’d stayed in Charlotte, at least
  all ten of my nails would still be intact.
  
  
  
  
  
  I suck on my finger to soothe the sting and glance through the back window of
  the car. Mila’s still asleep, thankfully. If she was awake and caught me
  cussing there’s no doubt she’d be shouting, “Mama! Bad!” and following it up
  with a few excited rounds of the bad word.
  
  
  
  
  
  I breathe a sigh of relief and move back to the trunk. I give the offending
  suitcase one last tug and it flies out of the car. The gravel crunches as it
  hits the floor, and I jump to the side. Fucking shit. Mondays suck.
  
  
  
  
  
  Never, ever move on a Monday. Especially not back to the place you ran from in
  the first place.
  
  
  
  
  