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The Beguiling Beneath is scheduled for publication in early January 2026! |
By B. P. Gibson
Overview
The Beguiling Beneath features memorable characters as diverse as our world. They aren’t misfits, just teens with real-life challenges. Ahmed is a refugee with PTSD and heroic courage. David is struggling with coming out and feelings for Pablo. Mandy has an insatiable curiosity and a propensity for manipulation. Cory, a gold star son, hopes to win Linnie’s heart, but most of all, wants to be adopted.
Did you know many schools built during the Cold War have tunnels meant to serve as bomb shelters? The tunnels in The Beguiling Beneath replicate the tunnels under a Southern Arizona school built during the Cold War. See photos of the actual school tunnels that inspired The Beguiling Beneath.
In this contemporary romantic comedy-drama, Garrett, Howie, and their friends discover and explore their school’s labyrinth of underground tunnels as they maneuver through the thick and thin of awkward social moments. They learn to accept each other’s uniqueness, discover that not everything in life is fair, and realize they have the power to make the world a better place.
The Beguiling Beneath is scheduled to be published in early January 2026 and is a sequel to Because You Left Me. You can read an excerpt of The Beguiling Beneath below.
Chapter One
Garrett
I’m a good kid. I just made a few mistakes. Okay, more than a few mistakes, but they were more poor judgment than anything. They weren’t intentional criminal acts, not exactly. Some of them, maybe, but out of necessity, most of them out of necessity. I had to hide Mom, or Blake and I would have ended up in the foster system. I guess I didn’t need to drive Mom’s car because we could have lived without the trampoline, but I did need to take Mom’s money to pay the bills and buy groceries. I guess it’s all water under the bridge now, except for the community service, which was a leftover remnant. That leftover remnant was how Cory and I found the biggest secret of our lives.
Cory_Rodriguez and I have been friends since preschool, so he volunteered to keep me company each time I stayed after school to help Mr._Whittley as part of my community service. We finished sweeping the classrooms and then returned to the custodian closet to ask Mr._Whittley what other tasks he had for us. Mr._Whittley was still cleaning the restrooms, so we put the brooms, dustpan, and rolling trash bin back in place and waited for Mr._Whittley in the custodian closet. It’s not a closet like most closets. It’s a room with a sink, mops, buckets, rolling trash bins, a rickety desk, and shelves filled with supplies, including tools, cleaning chemicals, and stacks of small towels. It’s a good-sized room for a closet, almost as big as my bedroom. Cory and I stood there waiting for Mr._Whittley and talking about things when Cory noticed it first.
“What’s that?” Cory asked. I glanced down where Cory was looking and saw a large, square metal plate covering a portion of the floor. I hadn’t noticed it before and thought it was weird.
“I don’t know,” I told Cory. We looked at each other and then down at that thick metal slab.
“Why is it there?” Cory asked. I shrugged. We examined the metal plate and realized it was sunken slightly into the concrete, just enough to be flush with the floor. Along the edges was the tiniest space between the metal and the concrete floor.
“What’s it covering?” Cory asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I answered. In an instant, the thought hit me like a ton of bricks. I flashed a grin. “You want to find out?” Cory nodded, and I leaned out the doorway to see if Mr. Whittley was heading our way. Mr. Whittley’s large, rolling trash bin was outside the girls’ restroom, which meant he was in there cleaning. I turned back to say the coast was clear and found Cory holding a large screwdriver, obviously ready for the task at hand. We went to work immediately. We lifted the large metal plate, made the discovery of our lives, and opened the possibility of a whole other world beneath.
Mandy
Have you ever had a party when your parents weren’t home? You weren’t supposed to have a party, but you invited over a few of your closest friends and convinced yourself it would be all right. After all, you were just having a little gathering, not an actual party. Unfortunately, those close friends invited a few of their friends, who called some of their friends, who invited everyone they knew. Before you realized it, you had more than a hundred friends, friends of friends, and total strangers in your home. That’s how it was with Garrett’s and Cory’s discovery. Everyone wanted to experience it, and no one could keep it secret. It started with a few friends, but in no time, the whole escapade blew way out of proportion.
I found out about Garrett’s and Cory’s discovery simply because I had to know what was happening. It wouldn’t be fair for me to miss out on anything, and knowing what was going on opened so many opportunities. So, when the first note passed by me, I snuck a peek. Okay, maybe it was more than a peek.
What I read made me wonder, In on what? The notes were like potato chips — no one is satisfied with just one, so I devoured every note. I figured if Howie and David used me as their note-passing conduit, I had some ownership over those notes. After all, possession is ninety percent of the law, isn’t it? I decided if I owned those notes, I should at least know what they said. Besides, half of the notes were from Howie, and Howie Goldstein was my heartthrob, my soulmate, and my everything.
Their messages never named their exact mystery location but did provide clues. They mentioned bringing supplies like flashlights, water bottles, phones, and even rope.
There was also the phrase “down under” and the question, “How far do they go?”
Rope? How far does what go? I wondered. Are they planning on spelunking? They didn’t capitalize down under, so I was pretty sure they weren’t talking about New Zealand or Australia. Besides, they couldn’t travel that far, at least not without adult permission, and from the sound of their notes, this was a no-adults adventure. For instance, David’s note said he didn’t want to get in trouble.
Howie wrote, “There aren’t any rules saying we can’t explore the school.”
The school? I mentally reasoned, If their exploration is at school, that would rule out spelunking unless there are caves under the school, which is highly unlikely. Their notes discussed changing “expedition plans” due to Howie’s orthodontic appointment.
Their last note revealed when they planned to execute their plans, “Tomorrow, after school! I’ll tell Cory and Garrett.”
So, Cory and Garrett are in on this, I mentally reasoned. That was information I knew I could use. I glanced across the classroom where Garrett and Cory were sitting far out of note-passing range, silently reading, and oblivious to Howie’s and David’s note conversation. By then, I had a lot of questions and a heart filled with hope…