Too Much of a Good Thing

I received one vote in the "Best of the Best" competition for English 150.

Seth had great confidence that he had passed another drug test. Now that he only had to take one test a week and never on the weekends, he knew it would be a whole lot easier to time a drink here and there. Seth had deceived the drug court team in the past and certainly he was crafty enough to fool them again. A charismatic personality worked every situation for him. Seth was sure that he could make it through his probation this time because he had already spent two 90-day terms in the state prison and there was not going to be a third.

The alarm on Seth's phone reminded him that he needed to call to see if he had a drug test that day. Calling everyday was part of the program. He knew he would not have a test that day because he already had taken one for the week. Everyone who had to take drug tests was assigned a different color. The various colors represent the stage of the program that the criminal had obtained. Seth listened with a half ear to the automated voice on the other end of the phone as he read out the colors for that days tests, which included teal, maroon, bronze and gold. Did he say gold?

Seth called the number again, again the voice repeated, "Teal, maroon, bronze, and gold." He immediately started guzzling water to flush the booze from his system. By the time he reached the center for drug testing, Seth felt like an overfilled water balloon.

Friday morning Seth's phone rang; it was his counselor, Ginger. He and Ginger had become good friends over the past several months. She had helped him so much since he started seeing her. Ginger indicated that she wanted to talk to him before the weekly drug court session began that afternoon. She asked Seth to meet her at the courthouse a little early. Seth didn't think much about the call because Ginger loved bouncing ideas for recovery off of Seth before presenting them to her clients.

Seth began driving down Main Street to the courthouse. He had a smile on his face as he thought about how easy it was to fool the drug court team. Life was good. He met Ginger on the front steps of the courthouse and she motioned for him sit on the bench with her. Seth became concerned as he looked into Ginger’s eyes. They didn’t smile like usual. As Ginger spoke, her words rang through his head like a dinner bell, "Seth, your last drug test showed positive for alcohol."

Seth’s smile quickly faded away. Later that afternoon Seth entered the courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit with shackled hands and feet while the sweat poured off his brow. As the judge brought the gavel down, Seth felt as if someone had just punched him in the stomach. He became Jello as he listened to the judge’s voice say, “Seth, third strike buddy; you are out. Five years in the state prison. No possibility of parole.”