Manholing

“Man holing?” Billie asked from behind me over the laughter and chatting of friends in our friend Lissy’s house. Jason, another friend, was shaving his legs.
“Yeah in a minute,” I told him. I grabbed my library book and my purse. We said ‘bye to Lissy, Jason, and Lissy’s little sister, Harley. Billie and I walked down to my house so I could change into my bathing suit and an old pair of jeans. Once arriving at my house, Billie sat on my couch with my eldest sister while I changed and fried some SPAM for him to try. He didn’t like the SPAM too well so I ate it. We told my mom that we were going to the creek. 
Just as we were leaving my friend, Mark, pulled up and asked us if we would help him load something into his car. Well we helped… Sort of. After we helped him he dropped us off at the creek that we often play in. Billie and I walked along the creek until we found the entrance to the sewer pipes. We sat down for a few minutes. We sorted out what was going in with us and what was staying out. We decided that a book, some incense and some oils were going in with us so we could meditate in there.
We climbed in, with me leading the way. When we came to the first manhole, Billie led. We switched who was leading at every manhole. At the fourth manhole we came too, we decided to take the lid off.
“Oy!” I said as a slipped and fell. “I feel Canadian!”
Billie laughed and said, “Help me get this off.” So I helped him, scratching up my shoulder. It took us a few minutes. We ended up next to a road. Billie stuck her head out and said, “I feel like a gopher!”
I laughed at him as he waves to everyone who passes by. He asked me if I wanted too as well. So I did. “Oy! I’m a Canadian gopher!” I yell and wave as a red car passes. “Uh-oh” I said seriously and ducked back in. “The guy turned around.”

Billie and I continued down the pipe. Taking our time, until we heard some one yell, “You guys had better put this man hole covering back on before someone falls in!”
“Oh my god!" I yelled as Billie and I speed up. We ran and ran for a while, stopping every now and then to listen. “I think they are following us,” I said shaking.
“No they can’t be,” Billie replied. Then right next to us a covering came off. We were shocked and started going again.
“Hello? You guys need to come out! It’s dangerous,” A man shining a flashlight said.
“Billie, I’ll go. Just go back and get out. I have a clean record and I won’t get into as much trouble as you will,” I said and Billie agreed because he was afraid of going to jail.
I told the man that I was coming. And he was shining the flashlight around trying to find out where I was. I began to crawl towards him as Billie crawled away. I climbed out of the manhole. They man told me that there was gasses down there that I could have passed out or died and that if there was a leak then the pipes would fill up fast and I could drown. He asked if there was anyone else down there. I told him no.
The cop pulled up. He had a rectangular face. He asked what all the guy explained to me. I told him. He asked me if there was anyone else down there. I also told him no.
“If you are lying to me then I will arrest you now,” he told me.

I looked at the officer, shocked. “Well my friend Billie was down there with me but we split up I think he went back.”
“Billie who?”
I didn’t answer right away because I saw an officer drive by that I knew and didn’t like too well. But I told him Billie’s last name. He asked me to empty my pockets. I walked over to trunk of his car. I pulled out a Wicca book out of my pocket and laid it on the trunk. Next came a bowl with a few cones of incense and then a few bottles of oil.
He looked at the things with obvious curiosity. He told me it was alright and I put the things back into my pocket.
He began to ask me questions.
"What's your name?"
I told him my name and spelled out my last name for him.
"How old are you?"
"15"
"Where do you live?" I gave him my address. He also asked me my mother's name and how to spell it.
"What were you doing down there?"
"We found it at the creek and just wanted to know where it went."
"How long have you been in there?"
"What time is it?"
"About 7"
"About half an hour to 45 minutes."
"Get in the car. I'll drive you home." The whole time he was writting in his notepad. I listened as he talked to the operator and then the other officer who was working on this. He said that Billie and he were on a first name basis. Once arriving at my house he gave me my shirt, I had put it in Billie's bag because I had a bathing suit on, and told me to ask my mom to step out onto the porch.
"Hey Mom," I said as I stuck my head into the house. "Come out onto the front porch."
"Why?" she asked, seeming upset that I interupted the show she was watching.
"'Cause I was brought home by the cops."
My mom sighed and said she need shoes. I was standing on the front porch dripping all over. My mom stepped out and the officer noticed and then walked up to the front porch.

Later that night, I talked to Billie on the phone. I told him about how I only got grounded for like two weeks. And that Annie, my sister, was upset I wasn't in more trouble. I told Billie what happened when I got out. He told me that he had gotten caught as well. And that the cops had thought we were doing "Satanic rituals" in there. Billie said that he cleared it up that we were only going to meditiate if we did anything. Billie got in more trouble, than I did. He got more time added to his probation.

About a month later, I got a paper in the mail, saying that I had to go to "court." It turned out to not be court. It was just a meeting in the court house. I got put in a program called Diversion. For three months, my mom had to know where I always was and set a curfew for me. Also I had 15 hours of Community Service, most of which I did at a Toys for Tots thing, and I had to write a letter to the City of Rittman, explaining why I did it and that I understood why I was getting the charges or Criminal Tresspassing and Disorderly Conduct.