The Tunnel

It was my Senior year of high school. Thanks God, only one more to go. I only needed a couple of classes to pass and all the required ones were in the morning, so I usually cut out around noon or so. I started on day one leaving after my 4th hour class. I got by with it by starting that way and staying that way so security thought I had early release and the later class thought I dropped the class. I pretty much knew the system and how to manipulate it. I had done the same thing my junior after 5th hour.

Just out past the school grounds was a retention pond that had a raised hill blocking the view of it from the school. On the other side of the pond was a large concrete drain pipe big enough to walk in crouched over. It had become my favorite spot to head to just after leaving school with a friend and blowing off a doobie. You could go back in those tunnels and come out various manholes almost a mile away from the school.

Early in the year I took one of the freshmen out there whom I had befriended. I showed him around while he ripped a roller. He thought it was the shit. No one could find you back in the tunnels. I didn’t realize it at the time but taking this freshman out there was going to end up being a big mistake later on down the line.

As time went by, there were more and more people who would go out there and party. Despite my warnings to keep the crowds to a minimum, it became THE hangout to party instead of being in school. I saw the writing on the wall and gave up the secret tunnel as a hangout. It just seemed to me that a bust would come soon with 30-50 people going out there at a time with beer and drugs, and just carrying it out to there openly. What, are these people stupid? Well, yea, they were stupid.

One day I was leaving and wanted to walk down to the burger joint to get a burger. The path there would lead me past the retention pond and by the now not so secret party spot. When I began to walk into the parking lot, I saw a familiar person walking along the rim of the pond. It was detective no balls. Well, that is what we called her. I can’t remember her name, but no balls I remember.

I hung out in the lot a bit with a couple of people who I usually got rides from in the work program until they had to go. No seeing detective no balls any longer, I proceeded on my way to the burger joint. I got past the pond, past the party pipe, and into the open field of tall grasses when all of a sudden this girl pops up out of the tall grass. She was begging for my help. Realizing that I was walking into a bust, I just told her to walk with me and say she was my girlfriend and we were just going to get a burger.

As we got to the end of the field at the bank parking lot, there was a squad car sitting there. I waved at the officer as I walked up and he motioned us over. I knew the officer pretty well so he knew I was not a big troublemaker (although I hung out with them all). ‘Where ya goin?”

‘Me and my girl are just goin to get a burger.’

‘Well, not today. I gotta take you back to the school.’

‘You can’t give us a pass?’

‘Nope, in the car.’ So we got in the car.

The officer brought us back to the school and into the principals office. I was amazed to find about 10 other people there and several detectives. We were told to sit in the chairs lined along the hall, so we did. Poor kids were all sweating bullets. I was calm as a cucumber, knowing I was not involved in whatever it was that was going on.

Then detective no balls walks the hall. She looks at the girl next to me with a disgusted look then looked at me with a bit of surprise in her eyes. She knew me too. Then she says she did not see me out there, but did the girl and I got sent to the deans office. The dean was pretty cool about it. ‘Campus violation? Well, I gotta do something to ya in light of the whole situation. Want a couple days off?’

‘Sure dean.’

And for me that was the end of it. And for the party spot it was the end of it too. 13 people were arrested that day and charged with various violations of law. The girl I was with was stupid enough to have not ditched her weed and had it in her purse. She got sent to rehab. So did a couple of others. A couple got jail and the rest probation.

About a month later, I was going to the burger joint again and a construction crew was out there putting steel rebar over the entrance to the tunnel. I watched them for a moment as I puffed on my smoke. A lot of good memories I had there. Unfortunately, those days were over, much like my school days. An era was ending and a new one beginning.