Ms. Carter should have known better than to underestimate these three students. Eric, Peter and Vlad were the brightest students in her senior math class at Springfield High. It was the senior class trip and she'd caught the three of them playing texas hold-em in their hotel room with three girls from her lower tracked course after curfew. The three boys were her favorite students and she knew they were generally good boys despite their parents wealth and she had sneaked over to visit the boys at that age too so the tall dark haired teacher only smiled and asked the girls to head back to their room. Even if everyone was legally an adult she didn't want anyone coming home pregnant.
Ms. Carter watched as the girls fled from the room with a strangely relieved look on their faces and then took a seat on one of the beds. Now that it was second term senior year and everyone had received their college acceptance letters the young teacher felt she could relax and be friends with the students instead of a disciplinarian. After all they would be in college in a few months and she had only graduated two years ago herself. So instead of yelling at the boys about the cards, poker chips and cash scattered over the hotel table she asked, "So what were you playing?"
"We taught the girls to play Texas hold-em," Eric replied grinning.
"Yah, and we were winning too," Vlad added in a slight russian accent wearing a matching grin.
For a moment Ms. Carter found herself wondering why Eric, with his broad shoulders and nicely defined chest wasn't more popular with the girls. When she was in high school she would have loved to date a guy on the math team who looked that good. Blaming the drinks she'd just had down in the hotel bar with the other teachers Ms. Carter turned her thoughts back to the card game.
"Great game. I used to play with my friends back in college."
"Want to join our game," Peter boldly asked, the long after school training sessions they had done for the math olympiad making the slender boy with light brown hair more comfortable treating her as a friend.
"I might as well try a few hands," Ms. Carter said hiding the itch to play she felt at the mention of the game, "Tell me what the chips are worth and I'll just buy into this game."
"Ummm," Eric mumbled blushing faintly and keeping his eyes cast down at the bed, "We weren't playing for money." Stumbling over his words Eric corrected himself, "I mean we were but not in terms of chips."
Catching a glimpse of the small heap of girls outerwear and hair clips piled in the corner Ms. Carter's eyebrows rose and she pointedly asked, "What *were* you playing for?"
Despite looking a bit sheepish Peter explained, "Well, everyone started out with some chips but once you lost those you had to take off a piece of clothing to get more."
For a second the boys held their breath but instead of delivering an irate lecture Ms. Carter laughed out loud. Seeing the worried looks on the boy's faces the sexy young math teacher reassured them, "Don't worry I won't get you in trouble. I remember playing strip poker when I was your age too." The alcohol making her a bit less inhibited Ms. Carter laughed, "I have fond memories of letting Johnny Frankovitz win a game once. I just want to know how you convinced the girls to play."
"At the end of the game anyone who wanted their clothing back had to buy it back for $25 an item and we let them think the extra clothing they started out with made it easy money since none of us brought another outfit," Peter explained looking impressed at his cleverness
"Did you really have enough cash to cover that," Ms. Carter asked disbelievingly.
"Yes," Peter answered, "our parents all sent us with a bunch of cash."
"It wouldn't have mattered," Vlad said smugly, "we wouldn't have lost. We play all the time online. None of the guys at school will even play with us anymore."
Grinning at his own cleverness Peter added, "But we didn't really think the girls needed to know that."
Someone really ought to teach these arrogant boys a lesson Ms. Carter thought to herself. It would serve them right if she didn't let on that she had helped put herself through college hustling poker and took their money. For a second the young dark haired teacher hesitated knowing it was unethical. Sure, as second semester seniors they were all 18 and she no longer had any real control over their future but she knew she shouldn't sleep with her students. Telling herself that these boys weren't going to tell anyone about the humbling lesson she was going to give them Ms. Carter brushed aside her concerns and filled with liquid confidence challenged her student, "If you boys are so cocky are you willing to play a game against me?"
"Uhh..What do you mean," Eric stammered trying hard not to stare at his teacher and blushing furiously.
"Say same rules on the condition that this never leaves the room?" Ms. Carter confidently suggested, "But this time it costs $50 bucks to buy back a piece of clothing."