Poker With The Teachers

I don't know how I get myself into these situations.

As a new teacher, I expected that I'd get the shitty jobs around the school. One of those shitty jobs turned out to be chaperoning a herd of seniors on the school's weekend ski trip. There were four teachers in all trying to keep 45 kids in line. Well, I guess they weren't exactly kids - most of them were 18, which is the legal drinking age here in Alberta. So, much of what we were doing was trying to keep the drinking down to a minimum on this trip, trying to keep the kids from getting falling-down drunk and abusive on the bus, and in general not having any fun ourselves.

There was only one male teacher out of the four, and Derek wasn't much help to us. He was a notorious drunk himself. So, it pretty much fell to Trudy Richards, Denise Boychuk, and myself to keep all those kids from getting alcohol poisoning or some other stupid shit like that.

I could see why Trudy and Denise were selected to go on this trip. They were after all PhysEd instructors, as was Derek. So why was I, a math teacher, stuck with chaperoning a bunch of kids over the weekend? I guess it is because I had the least seniority of all the teachers in the school. Everyone else managed to weasel his or her way out of it, and I'm the low spot on the totem pole so here I am.

Now don't get me wrong, I love kids and I love teaching them. However, riding herd on them during a weekend isn't my idea of fun.

The trip into the mountains was fairly uneventful. The roads were good, and the kids managed to keep a lid on themselves. The skiing that first day was pretty good too - nobody got seriously injured, the weather was nice, and the snow was deep and powdery. I suppose if I wasn't so busy watching over the kids I would have actually had fun myself, maybe cut loose and picked up a guy or two in the chalet.

Our group had a dozen rooms at the hotel, each with several kids. Trudy and Denise and I had a room together, Derek stayed in a room with a few unlucky senior boys, and the rest of the kids bunked together in groups of four or five.

Part of our job on this trip was to do a room check each night, to make sure that everyone was accounted for and that the kids weren't trashing the rooms. As I said before, Derek was a drunk, and he had passed out in his room fairly early, leaving the other three teachers to do the room checks. We went as a group from room to room, making sure everyone was in the rooms in which they were supposed to be. At 11:30 we were at the last room, and I was glad that this night was almost over - the long bus ride and the day of skiing had taken a toll on me, and I was tired and irritable.

"OK guys, room check" said Trudy as she opened the door. Inside the room were the last of our charges, four of the senior boys. Since all of them were 18, it was no surprise that they were drinking. Danny Bruce had brought a 40-pounder of rye, and they were sitting around on one of the beds drinking rye and coke and playing cards.

"C'mon in, ladies" Frank Parsons said with a wink, "there's plenty of room, and we'll gladly take your money." I had always liked Frank. He was six feet tall, had smoldering dark eyes, and was one of the better students in my math class.

"Do you have any idea how much they pay teachers nowadays, Frank?" laughed Denise. "I'll pass, thanks." She turned as if to leave.

"Oh, come on, Mrs. Boychuk. You aren't afraid of getting beaten by a bunch of kids, are you?" John Talbot smirked. "It isn't like we're playing for thousands of dollars." I thought to myself that John probably could afford to play for thousands - the blonde kid with the nerdy glasses was the son of a rich doctor.

Trudy turned to Denise and I and whispered, "You know, this might actually be fun. Why not? I don't mind taking their money." Her eyes twinkled. Trudy was a beautiful redhead, five foot two and maybe 105 pounds soaking wet. Even though she was in her early 30s, I knew that she still turned a lot of heads among the high school boys; I had seen the way they watched her walking down the halls in school.

"Are you nuts?" I whispered back, "I barely have enough to pay the rent from month to month, never mind wasting it playing poker."

Denise got a thoughtful look on her face. "These kids are already half in the bag. Maybe we should play, just to teach them a lesson about gambling." The lithe blonde continued "... and about gambling while drunk." She had an evil grin on her face. "An object lesson in what not to do, if you will."

"I think this is a bad idea", I said, "and perhaps we should just go back to our room."

"You're no fun," said Denise, sticking her tongue out at me. "Besides, it looks like these guys will be awake for a while, and part of our job as chaperones is to make sure that they get settled for the night."

Steve Jameson piped up, "So are you ladies gonna stand there and argue all night, or are you going to get in on the game?" The stocky, dark-haired wrestler was shuffling the cards. "Should I deal four hands, or seven?"

"All right, fine," I said, "We'll play a couple of hands - and then it's lights out and you guys get some sleep. We have a long day of skiing tomorrow."

Denise sat down between Frank and Danny. "So what game are you boys playing here, anyhow?" Trudy sat down between Danny and John at the foot of the bed, and I sat between John and Steve.

"The game is five card draw," said Steve, as he started dealing, "ante is two bucks." We all chipped in our two bucks, and the cards were dealt. I had a pair of fours, ace, jack, and a six. Not bad, but not great.

The betting started with Frank, who bet a buck. Denise raised it to five, and John eventually raised it to ten. I checked, and both Steve and Frank folded. Denise, Danny, and Trudy all checked. Denise took two cards, Danny one, Trudy two, John didn't take any, and I threw away the jack and six. I picked up another ace and a ten. "Two pair," I thought, "this should be fairly easy money." I was a little wary of John, though, as he had a bit of a smirk on his face.

"Five bucks" said Denise. Danny checked, as did Trudy. "Make it ten," said John. I squinted at him. There was already 90 dollars in the pot, 12 of it mine. I thought for a minute.

"The bet is ten to you, Miss Crane," said Steve, obviously impatient that I was taking so long.

"Fine," I said, "ten it is. Check." I threw in my ten dollars.

"Check," said Denise, throwing in another five, "I'm going to enjoy taking all of your cash tonight, boys."

"Raise you another five", said Danny, throwing in ten bucks. All eyes were on Trudy, who was nervously biting her lip. "What a terrible poker face," I thought.

"Mrs. Richards? Are you in or out?" asked John. He was still smirking.

"Nah. Too rich for my blood", said the gym teacher. "I fold."

"Ok" said John, tossing in five bucks, "and I raise ten," he grinned, throwing another ten on the pot, then looking at me.

I stared at him, hard. "I think you're bluffing," I said. "Call." I put fifteen dollars on the growing pile. His face dropped a little, but the smirk came back a half second later. "Aha!" I thought, "Gotcha, you were bluffing after all."

"Call," said Denise, tossing in fifteen dollars, "I've gotta see how this hand plays out."

"Call," said Danny, quietly, pulling a ten out of his wallet. "What ya got, John?"

"Pair of queens, ace kicker" showed John.

I grinned. "Two pair, aces and fours".

"Crap," said Denise, tossing her cards face down. "That beats the hell outa me."

"Three sixes", said Danny, with a huge smile under the beginnings of a moustache. "Thanks very much, I'm up over 130 bucks."

"And I'm down 37," I thought. Damn.

Frank scooped up the cards. "You ladies want a chance to win that money back, I assume...?"

"You're darn right I do," I said, "Deal!" Nobody moved as Frank shuffled and dealt the cards. We all wanted our money back, and Danny probably wanted more.

"Ante up, two bucks," said Frank. Everyone chipped in their two bucks.

I got dealt three queens, a four and a two. "All right," I thought, "time to win back some of that cash."

Denise opened with five dollars. Danny, Trudy, and John each checked the bet. "I'll see your five and raise five," I said, putting in my ten dollars while hoping my face didn't show how good my hand was.

Steve looked at me for a few seconds, and then threw in his ten without a word. Frank said "I'm in," and put in his ten.

Denise looked at her cards, nodded, and put five into the pot. "Check." Danny spent a long time looking at his cards until the guys started to razz him. "Alright, dammit, I fold," he said, laying his cards down. Trudy and John each put in five more.

Denise threw away two cards, Trudy one, John two, I threw away the four and the two, Steve chucked two cards, and Frank held all his. I picked up a pair of fives - full house! This could be a really good hand, I thought. "Five" said Denise, putting in her money.

"And five more," grinned Trudy. John scowled and folded.

There was no way I was going to let this pot get away on me. "And another five," I said, putting fifteen in.

Steve hesitated, then pulled twenty bucks out of his wallet. "You guys are really cutting into my drinking money", he deadpanned, putting it in, "but I'll raise another five".

"Check," said Frank, putting twenty in himself. "The bet is fifteen to you, Mrs. Boychuk." Denise crinkled her nose and thought for a second. Then she put in fifteen dollars and said, "Call."

Trudy was studying her cards, and it looked like she was doing math in her head. "I call too," she said in her singsong voice, "and I better win this, or I'm going to have no fun at all for the rest of the weekend."

"I'll see your bet," I said, putting in my five bucks, "and I'll raise it another ten." I thought for sure that a full house would win the pot, and I wasn't averse to raising the stakes a bit.

Steve paused for a bit longer this time around, studying my face. "OK," he said, pulling another ten out of his wallet. "Call."

Frank was looking uncomfortable, but he put in his ten. Denise looked like a statue; I couldn't read her pretty face at all. She pulled out another ten bucks and put it on the growing pile in the center of the bed.

Trudy looked worried. Beads of sweat started to form on her forehead. "Dammit you guys!" she finally said, pulling ten bucks out of her pocket, "Call."

"Whatcha got, Miss Crane?" Steve asked me. I lay down my full house triumphantly, and Trudy groaned. Steve threw his cards down with a curse, and Denise looked decidedly unhappy. Frank, however, just lay down his cards face up and grinned at me. My mouth dropped open as I saw the six, seven, eight, nine, and ten of hearts.

"Dammit!" said Denise, clearly pissed off, "I'm down eighty bucks!"

"Thank you very much ladies," said Frank, scooping up the pot with a huge smile. I was down to my last fifteen dollars, and I'm sure that Trudy and Denise were in pretty much the same boat - teachers don't make a whole lot of money. All three of us needed to win that money back.

Denise sort of growled as she shuffled the cards. "Ante up!" she barked, and we all put in our two dollars. I got dealt a crappy hand, four clubs to the queen and a ten of diamonds to muck up the hand.

"One dollar," said Danny. I think he was taking pity on us.

"I'll see your one, and raise you another four," said Trudy, putting in her five bucks.

"Sounds good to me," said John, putting in his five. I bit my lip, looking at my cards and willing them to be a better hand. What the hell, I thought, there was a one in six chance that I'd pull another club. "OK," I said, putting in my five bucks "five it is." Steve, Frank, and Denise all put in five, and Danny put in four more. This was the first hand that someone didn't fold immediately, so for sure the pot was going to be pretty good.

Danny took two cards, Trudy kept all of hers, John took two, I ditched the ten of diamonds, Steve took two cards, Frank took one, and Denise surprisingly took three cards. I was saying a little prayer when I pulled up my card. I guess I must be living right, because I pulled up the seven of clubs: a flush!

"Five bucks," said Danny, putting his cash on the small pile.

Trudy looked upset. "Ah, look, guys, I'm out of cash. Anyone want to give me a loan?" John and Steve laughed. "Looks like you're out, Mrs. Richards, but thanks for playing!" smirked Steve.

"Now hang on a second guys," said Frank, "This game is getting fun, and there's no reason we should stop. Tell you what, Mrs. Richards," he said, grinning at Trudy, "I'll give you fifty bucks so you can keep playing... on one condition." He pulled a bottle of Cuervo Gold out from where he had it hidden under the double bed. "I'll give you fifty bucks on the condition that you drink five shots of this."

Trudy was perturbed. I knew she wasn't much of a drinker; she had gotten a little crazy at the staff Christmas party on only a couple of drinks, and her husband Dave had taken her home kind of early. She hesitated, clearly trying to think of a way out of this.

"Come on Mrs. Richards, it won't kill you. And besides, it isn't fair that all of us guys are drinking and you ladies are sober," needled John.

"Hang on a second. Mrs. Boychuk, Miss Crane, can I talk to you two for a moment?" Trudy said, looking at us in turn. We all got up from the bed and huddled.

"I really want to win my money back," Trudy was almost whimpering, "but I don't want to lose my job over a few bucks. Can I trust you two to keep quiet about this?"

Denise and I looked at each other. "I won't say anything," I said, "and in fact I might be in the same boat as you in a minute. Denise?"

"Well, as long as we're all here things won't get too crazy," she said with more confidence than I felt, "but yeah, I can keep quiet about it if you two do. There's no reason for anyone else to know that we had a few drinks with our students. None of them are minors."

With that settled, we headed back to our places on the bed. "OK," said Trudy, "I'll do it, five shots of tequila for fifty bucks. But this had better not get out of this room, or I'll have your hides, all of you!" She glared at the four students.

Frank smiled and produced a shot glass. "Don't worry, Mrs. Richards, your secret's safe with us, right guys?" The other three nodded their assent.

He poured the tequila into the shot glass and handed it to her. "What, you mean right now this instant?" she said. Frank nodded, "I'm afraid so, that's the only way this will be fair."

"Fine, let's get this over with." Trudy took the shot glass from him and downed the tequila in one fast gulp, making a face as it burned down her throat. She held the shot glass out to him, and he refilled it. Trudy looked at it, then pounded it back. Her eyes started to tear. She held the glass out again, and Frank refilled it once again.

Her third shot caused her whole body to shudder, which made her perky tits jiggle. The boys were all staring at her as she raised the glass to her lips a fourth time. She took a couple of deep breaths and then tipped her head back. I could see the sweat beading on her forehead again, and she looked like she was only barely holding it all down.

She put out her hand, motioning Frank to hold on, and waited for a few seconds. Finally she seemed to get her nerve back and held out the shot glass in a hand that was none too steady. He poured the fifth shot. Trudy visibly psyched herself up, then drained the fifth shot of tequila.

"OK, Frank, how about that fiffy buksh?" She slurred. That alcohol must have hit her little body pretty hard, I thought. Frank handed her ten fives, and she immediately put one into the pot.

"See your five, raise another five," said John. He looked at me. I was down to my last eight bucks, and I couldn't make the bet. "Uh, guys? Anyone want to loan me some cash?" I looked around the room, hopefully.

"Sure," said Danny, "No problem. But, you have to do the same deal as Mrs. Richards, five shots for fifty bucks."

I hate tequila. Can't stand the stuff. But, I had a good hand and I wasn't about to give up all my spending money. Besides, I outweighed Trudy by about twenty pounds, so I figured that I could do it if she could. "OK," I said, "fine, I'll do it. But, same deal as with Mrs. Richards. This doesn't leave this room. I don't want to have to deal with rumours about me drinking with students."

The four boys all affirmed their consent to the arrangement. Frank poured the first shot and handed it to me. It felt like my throat was burning. I gamely held out the shot glass and he poured again and again. Two, three, four, the shots went down. I started to quiver a little, and wished that I had eaten something more substantial than a salad for supper. Frank poured again, and I drank the last shot. I had put away my fair share of bottles in college, but I hadn't drank a lot since then, and the tequila was hitting me pretty quickly. I wasn't as drunk as Trudy, but I was sure feeling no pain. Danny gave me fifty bucks and I put ten into the pot. "Check".

"Not with this hand", said Steve as he folded. Frank put in his ten without comment. Denise put in her ten and looked to her left. "The bet is five more to you, Danny."

Danny studied his cards for a minute, then pulled out a ten dollar bill. "I'll raise five more," he said quietly, looking at Trudy. She was having some trouble concentrating.

"How much is it now?" she said, having lost track of the bets. John piped up, "Ten to you", and she put in her ten dollars. John and I each threw five dollars on the pot.

Frank was absently gnawing on his left thumbnail. "Yo, pay attention!" Steve said, punching Frank's shoulder, "five bucks to stay in." Frank blushed a little and then put in his five dollars. It took me a second to realize why he was blushing; he had been staring at Trudy's tits.

Now it was Denise's turn. She needed five bucks to stay in, and she was out of money. "Guys, I'm tapped out. How about someone make me the same deal as with Mrs. Richards and Miss Crane?" She looked around the group.

"Sure", drawled John, "I'll cover that, fifty bucks for five shots." Frank started pouring more tequila. I could see Trudy kind of wavering back and forth as she sat waiting for Denise to drink her shots. I have to give Denise credit; she drained those shots one after the other as if they were water. Even though she was the thinnest, she was the biggest of the three of us, her 135 pounds stretched out over a five foot ten inch frame. "OK John, where's my fifty bucks?" She didn't slur her words at all, but I could see that the tequila had in fact affected her, as her eyes were starting to get a bit glassy. John pulled out a roll of bills from his pocket and handed her four tens and a five. "Don't spend it all in one place, now," he joked, winking at her.

"There" she said, triumphantly, putting ten dollars down, "I'll see the five and raise another five".

Danny nearly choked on his rum and coke, but he put in five dollars right away. "Check."

Trudy was definitely having trouble concentrating. "Mrs. Richards?" whispered John, leaning over to her ear, "the bet is five to you".

"Hmm? Oh! Okay." Trudy put in her five dollars and went back to staring at her cards, shuffling them around in her hand. John put in his five and called.

I had a really good feeling about this hand, and that hundred and fifty bucks in the pot was sure tempting. I just called though - no sense in getting greedy. For some reason, that struck me as funny, and I started giggling.

Frank just smiled as he put in his five bucks and called. "OK, Mrs. Boychuk, you raised last... whaddya got?" Denise lay down a king-high straight. Danny just muttered and threw his cards face down. Trudy put down her three jacks, looking morose.