Celia Thomas and Amy Jordan had been friends for a very long time. As Amy put it, “We’ve been friends since ‘forever ago’.” They had most classes together at school and sleepovers as much as possible. Amy lived straight down the street a few blocks from the school. Most everyone knew where she lived, but she was very shy and Celia was the only one who was able to befriend her.

Because they were so close, the slight changes in Amy were easy for Celia to recognize. Amy became quieter and didn’t seem to be the happy girl she had always been. The question, “Amy, are you OK?” was always answered with an unconvincing “yes”. Other things began to change; the main change was a new rule made by her parents that Amy was to have no friends over to her house. The reason given was that Amy’s dad was working at home now, and couldn’t have any disturbances. The girls took this in stride and spent more time at Celia’s house.
But Amy’s time at Celia’s house became less and less, and her mood became more sullen with time. After school and weekends, Amy spent most of her time at home, and questions about why she was so busy were answered, “I’m helping my parents”. Her free time was reduced to almost none. The time at school became almost the only time they spent together.

Monday at school, Amy looked even worse. She appeared to be holding back a flood of tears.

During lunch, Celia had to ask, “Amy, something terrible must have happened for you to be so sad and be quiet about it. Could you tell me about it? Please?”

“Let’s go outside.”

The two girls went and stood by a tree in a part of the schoolyard away from the other kids.

“OK, Celia, you have to swear not to tell anyone this.”

“I swear!”

“OK. My dad’s new business at home is drugs. There are drugs, guns, and a lot of money at my house! People are coming in and out of the house all hours of the night. Sometimes, my dad makes me count money.”

“Oh no! What are you going to do?”

“I can’t call the police. Some of the police are actually involved with drugs, too.”

“Amy, my mom works for Child Protective Services and I could ….”

“No! Don’t tell anybody. They’ll know it came from me; swear you won’t tell anyone!”

“OK, I won’t tell anyone!”

Now, Celia was even more worried about her friend. She barely heard anything her teachers said the rest of the day. She trudged home after school and fell across her bed. She felt helpless. Finally, still dressed and with all her books scattered on the bed, she dozed off.

“Celia?”

Celia awoke with a start and sat up. Then, Amy’s problems hit her again and she plopped back on the bed. “Hi, Mom.”

“Honey, what’s the matter? You look like you lost your best friend!”

“Not yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t say. I swore not to tell.”

“Oh. OK. Well, get your homework done. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

Suddenly, all the stress of holding in her friend's troubles pushed torrents of tears from her eyes. “Mom, I can’t tell. A friend is having trouble at home and I swore I would not tell!”

“Honey, would this have something to do with the girl who lives just down the road from the school. She’s always been a good friend to you.”

Celia hesitated. “Mom, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell.”

“OK. You didn’t tell. I’ll just say don’t worry about your friend. She will be alright.”

Celia’s mom went to fix dinner, and her mother’s reassurance made her feel a little better. She tried to put the subject out of her head and hoped she would see Amy tomorrow.