Stella was furious. “No harm done? Really? No harm done!” she exclaimed, reminding her neighbor that they had repeatedly called the authorities during her pool’s construction, yet felt entitled to use it without permission. Mrs. Jacobs merely smirked and said, “Well, maybe if you weren’t such a nuisance, we wouldn’t have had to call the cops.” Realizing she wouldn’t get an apology, Stella took a deep breath, said, “Fine, you want to play this game,” and concluded, “Cool. Let’s play.”
Back at her house, Stella spent several hours printing screenshots from her security cameras. She was already in a terrible mood because her final business meeting had been a disaster, plagued by technical difficulties and difficult clients. She felt a strong need to regain control over her life. When Nathan arrived and found out what she was doing, he asked, “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Stella responded, “Yes!” and explained, “I’m so tired of everyone taking advantage of me.” Nathan tried to soothe her, massaging her shoulders while saying, “But this is a lot, Stella.” Stella insisted, “It is, but they need to learn that it’s not okay. This behavior is not okay,” and continued printing her flyers.
The flyers showed the Jacobs family enjoying the pool, captioned with the bold text: “Be cautious! Trespassers in the area! Check your backyards!” Nathan laughed softly and remarked, “I don’t know what the backlash is going to be like.” The following morning, the couple walked around the neighborhood, taping the posters to local lampposts and mailboxes. As they went, Nathan observed, “People are watching, babe,” to which Stella replied, “That’s the point.” By the time they headed home, groups of neighbors had gathered around the flyers, whispering and pointing at the Jacobs’ residence, which had suddenly become the center of local gossip.
Around midday, a loud knock came at Stella’s door. She opened it to find a furious Mrs. Jacobs, backed by an embarrassed Mr. Jacobs. Shoving a flyer forward, she demanded, “What the hell is this?” Stella smiled and replied, “It’s a warning to my neighbors about trespassers. It seemed like the responsible thing to do.” Mrs. Jacobs yelled, “You need to take these down right now!” to which Stella retorted, “Or what?” and asked, “You’ll just call the cops on me again?” Mr. Jacobs then intervened, stating, “This has gone too far. You embarrassed us in front of the whole neighborhood.” Stella stood her ground, replying, “No, you embarrassed yourselves by trespassing.”
