I quickly scrambled up the ladder to a large metal vent that was about three feet tall and four feet wide. Upon closer inspection, I saw a small indentation on each of the two bottom corners.
I held my breath. Then I grabbed the bottom corners of the vent and pulled really hard. Miraculously, it popped open!
I cautiously peeked inside, praying that a pack of mutant rats wouldn’t jump on my face and mistake it for cheese.
It was pitch-black inside, and I couldn’t see a thing.
I flipped on my flashlight to take a closer look. I was at the end of a square gray metal tunnel that seemed to go on for FOREVER.
And EVER!
And EVER!!!
Based on all the movies I’ve seen, tunnels like this ALWAYS lead outside. PERFECT!!
Or to the roof. COOL!!
Or into a giant garbage Dumpster. EWWW!!
Or into a 1,200-degree scorching incinerator. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!
Okay, on second thought, maybe this WASN’T such a good idea after all.
I sighed deeply and turned around to stare at the dank, musty boiler room and the jagged hole that led back to my dark, cramped locker.
Did I want to hang out here for the next (*doing the math in my head*) EIGHTY-TWO HOURS?!
Definitely NOT!!
I quickly hoisted myself up into the tunnel and crawled inside as the vent door slammed noisily behind me.
I slowly crawled through the tunnel, trying to ignore the sudden claustrophobic panic I was feeling. Yes, I was actually starting to miss my very spacious, dark, and dank boiler room! . . .
I hadn’t seen any rats yet. But what if there were poisonous spiders? Or snakes? Or hungry ORCS?!
I was just about to turn around and head back, when the tunnel took a sharp left turn. . . .
That’s when I spotted a dark rectangular shape about fifteen yards away.
I immediately froze.
What if it was a trapdoor to a chute that would send me plummeting headfirst fifty feet straight down into the school’s, um . . . SEWAGE SYSTEM?!
I cautiously inched forward to take a closer look as my heart pounded in my chest.
Actually, it was another VENT!
Only this one was slightly smaller than the one in the boiler room.
I shined my flashlight on it and then squinted to see what was on the other side.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a classroom.
But it wasn’t just ANY classroom. It was . . .
I even saw the burnt spot on the lab counter where, on the second day of school, Thug set his textbook on fire to IMPRESS his cute new lab partner. . . .
But, unfortunately, Thug’s little fire spread from his book to her lab notes! Then from her lab notes to her purse!
The fire alarm went off and the sprinkler system came on, and soon four screaming fire trucks were speeding toward our school at seventy miles an hour.
It was INSANE!!
Thank goodness no one was hurt.
Of course, students were thrilled when school was dismissed and we were sent home for the rest of the day so the janitors could clean up.
I think Thug definitely should have gotten suspended for that little prank. But he swore it was all a big accident, and the principal gave him the benefit of the doubt.
I feel really sorry for Thug’s lab partner. The poor girl was probably traumatized. I never saw her in our lab again, so I’m pretty sure she transferred to a different class. Or maybe even a different SCHOOL!
Anyway, I FINALLY figured out where I was. Inside the school’s extensive ventilation system.
It’s basically a mile of tunnels that run through the entire school, with vents inside every classroom, as well as the gym, cafeteria, teachers’ lounge, office, and hallways.
It’s pretty much an endless LABYRINTH!
SWEET! Right?! I felt like I was in my own virtual reality VIDEO GAME or something.
And I, MAXWELL CRUMBLY, was the mighty . . .
LORD OF THE LABYRINTH!
Anyway, I was in the eighth-grade hall and crawled past my art, English, and social studies classrooms.
But there was only ONE room I was anxious to visit before I headed for home.
Yep, the boys’ bathroom!
And, judging from my current location inside the vents, I needed to go about forty yards beyond my social studies class, hang a right into the main hall, go twenty yards past the computer lab, and BAM!
Estimated time of arrival, two minutes and thirty seconds.
However, as I was approaching the computer lab, I noticed the strangest thing!
A light was on inside, and I could hear voices. It sounded like several adults.
Only, I couldn’t imagine why teachers, or even janitors, would still be at the school so late on a three-day weekend.
My curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to investigate by taking a closer look.
I had no intention of blowing my cover and possibly risking a detention for being on school property after hours, even though I was actually there against my will.
Besides, it would be almost impossible for them to see me stealthily spying on them from way up inside the vent, right?!
Hey, what could possibly go wrong?!
