Noah Underwood

Noah Underwood is the young protagonist in the story, "Flush." Living in the Florida Keys, Noah enjoys an outdoor life of fishing, swimming and boating in the marinas and beaches around his small town. He lives with his parents and younger sister and has a fairly carefree life until his father is arrested and jailed for sinking the Coral Queen, a gambling boat that is moored in a nearby marina. Noah is conflicted and confused when he visits his father in the jail. He wants to support his father but he doesn't fully understand his actions.

Noah tries to keep peace between his father and his mother who is upset and on the verge of filing for divorce over her husband's behavior. Noah learns that his father sunk the boat because it was illegally dumping its sewage—including human waste—into the pristine waters of...