I'm still on restriction, a fact my 82-year-old father reminded me of when I turned 50 last summer. ;)
I ditched school a few times my senior year in high school. Trouble was, I'd forgotten the "1st law of life in a small town for adolescents" - everybody, including teachers and principals, know your parents.""
I only ditched once, but we did get caught- for the reasons you stated. I had forgotten about that part of growing up in a small town. I think now, that we all had our "small town" safety net. With everyone keeping an eye on us, if anything bad had happened, I know they would have stepped in after calling the cops. No 911 then. In fact, the chief of police in my home town taught me to drive when I was 15/16. Dad paid him and I really learned how to stay out of the ditches with ice and snow.