Free Thrasher by K.S. Smith

stood up on the other boat.
    “Holy shit, it’s Miss Hamilton.” The entire group of them started cheering.
    “Hi, guys.” I waved, setting my drink down as I approached the edge of our boat. “Miss Tate is here as well,” I said, pointing over to Megan while she waved from Tripp’s lap. “What are you all doing out on the water at this hour?”
    Mikey, the driver and one of my seniors, tried to answer for everyone. “We were just out on the water having a good time. We’re sorry we came too close to your boat. I promise it won’t happen again.” The rest of the kids all spoke up, ensuring me of the same thing, and I could hear in their voices that they’d all been drinking.
    “How much have you all had to drink tonight?” I asked, trying not to sound like their mothers.
    Mikey piped again. “Nothing, we haven’t been drinking at all, ma’am.”
    I knew better than to believe them, so I continued. “So if I got on your boat, I wouldn’t find any empty beer bottles or smell alcohol on any of your breath?” I asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.
    And that’s when Angela Henderson, the current valedictorian of our senior class, broke down in tears. “Yes! We’ve all been drinking. There are beer bottles everywhere. Please, Miss Hamilton, please don’t call the coast guard. I promise we’ll go straight home.”
    The rest of the kids groaned, obviously knowing they’d been busted.
    “You’re right,” I said sternly. “You’ll go straight home because we are going to see to it that you get there safely.” I glanced over to Tripp. “Your turn to play captain.”
    He stood and hopped onto their boat. “My pleasure. Which way are we headed?” he asked the kids, and Angela stood, pointing in the direction of her residence.
    Once we’d delivered them all safely back to her house, I made all of them line up on the dock as I began to lecture them. “I know senior year is all about having a good time, but for God’s sake, guys, don’t be stupid. You all have bright futures ahead of you, and one mistake could ruin that in an instant. Just imagine what could have happened had I not been the one to find you all. What if it’d been the actual coast guard who’d pulled you over? You’d all be in a heap of shit right now. I understand you’re going to drink. That’s fine. We all do. But don’t be stupid about it. Stay at home. Have a good time. Don’t be an idiot and get behind the wheel of a vehicle. You could end up killing yourself — or worse, someone else.”
    Positive they’d learned their lesson, or at least been scared shitless for the time being, I turned to Duke. “I think it’s time to call it a night.”
    He started the engine and made his way back toward my parents’ house while Tripp went on and on the entire way back about what a nice boat those kids had and how he was going to look into buying one for himself.
    I walked Megan and Tripp around to the front yard while Duke got everything squared away on the docks. “Thanks for coming over tonight. It’s been fun. Megan, I’ll see you at school on Monday, and Tripp, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon as well.” I hugged them both before they made their way toward the car to leave.
    When I got inside, Duke was sitting on the couch with the TV turned on, watching Fox News. I rolled over the back of the couch next to him and rested my head in his lap. His hand instantly began to rub my head as I snuggled up and closed my eyes. I lay there in silence for a few minutes, and then he asked me a question completely out of left field.
    “If those were our kids, would you have wanted their teacher to reach out to us and let us know what’d happened, or would you have wanted her to handle it like you did.”
    I opened my eyes and sat up, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “First off, our kids are going to be perfect angels, so we won’t have to worry about them ever drinking underage and pulling a stupid stunt like