C-G is seemingly a small school with not very many secrets; even the “secret hallway” isn’t as hidden as everyone would like to believe. There are some rumors that have been roaming the halls for quite some time, though. The most well known of these would be the hidden tunnel connecting the two basements at C-G.

Where this rumor started, I don’t think anyone will ever know. Was it a possibility in the construction process? Was a senior just hoping a little too hard for an easy route to class? Or, perhaps, is this secret passage is real?

Curiosity I’m sure has consumed many of the young hearts at C-G, some who needed a break from running up and down the stairs, and others who just wanted a little adventure. I can say with certainty that I was the latter of the two. And with that, I found myself in the depths of the H basement, looking for suspicious or unmarked doors. Of course, I found one at the very end of the hall holding the math rooms.

When investigating the existence of the secret tunnel that connects the two basements, I ran into one of C-G’s fine custodians, Bill. He had popped out of the unmarked door I was examining, and looked somewhat surprised I was there. Upon questioning, he confessed reluctantly that there was no hall or room that connected the two basements. Of course I was disappointed, but I thanked Bill for his time.

What happened next was something that words can hardly explain.

Bill, noticing my deflated state, told me that the school did have another secret tunnel, one that virtually no one knew about. Enthusiasm reinvigorated, we were off, from the quiet H basement to the lower gym. Right across from the girls locker room entrance, we stopped, and he motioned to a small door with the label “Boiler Room.”

At first, I didn’t think much of it. I’ve seen plenty of tiny, cramped boiler rooms in my time, but out of politeness, I followed Bill through the door.

My mind was absolutely blown.

A boiler room, at least 10 feet down from where we were standing, opened up in front of us; the room was about the size of the cafeteria in length. Not only was the room below us gigantic, but it was full of pipes, gears, and machines that I have never seen before. We went down the very steep ladder into the heart of the machinery. The sight was incredible; never had I thought that such a boiler room could exist underneath our quaint little school.

I had completely forgotten about the tunnel at this point, being so consumed with awe from what I was witnessing. Bill pointed to the far wall, where a ladder stood. Near the ceiling, there was a small opening that seemed to lead away.

“That’s the start of the tunnel,” he said with a smile. “And now I’ll show you where it ends.”

We climb back up the stairs and out of the boiler room. Bill led me past the cafeteria and into the new auditorium. Right inside the lobby that connects the auditorium to the school, there is an unmarked black door.

Pulling out exactly the right key, Bill opened the door to reveal a giant hole with a ladder extending from the top of it to the bottom; this was the end of the tunnel. Before the new auditorium was built, Bill had told me that the tunnel ran the entire length of the building.

This tunnel was not what I was expecting; it was definitely not the short-cut to class everyone was hoping for. Although this tunnel would be impractical for students to use, this revelation of such a sub-basement underneath the school was mind boggling. Not only that, but how the custodians know about all of these hidden passageways. It makes me wonder how many more secrets C-G holds behind these walls and even under these floors.