Karyn was worried about Jon. The past couple months he had become more recluse, more solitary. No more would they hang out after school; instead he would always hurry home, muttering something about chores. He had always been responsible, but this was something different.
Once she had offered to come over and help out, but in a panicked voice he had rejected the offer, stating that he didn't mind at all, that it would be faster if he just did it alone. After that he had rushed home without even saying goodbye.
Then there was the time she had seen him at the mall. She spotted him coming out of a store, she wasn't sure but she thought it was a women's clothes store, and when he spotted her she bolted. That was very hard on her; it took her weeks to get over the rejection. When confronted at school the next day, he just pretended that it didn't happen, stating that it must have been someone else.
She had been excited when he had revealed to her the secret of the wishing stone, something that obviously was something he'd want kept private. So it wasn't that he didn't trust her, it was something else. Something he was afraid of being found out.
At first she had worried that it was drugs. She had seen it happen to a couple kids at school; behavior changes, attitude changes, all because of an addiction. Somehow Karyn couldn't see her friend succumbing to that. He hadn't started hanging out with anyone new, and instead of being more broke, he seemed to have more money all of a sudden. It just didn't add up.
Today was the day that she would get to the bottom of things. Karyn had decided at lunch that she would she would follow her friend home. Even though she knew it would put their relationship on shaky grounds, the way she saw it they were already there. She was sure that she hadn't been seen the entire walk, making sure to duck off the sidewalk every time Jon would peek around. So good she had done that in no time she found herself standing on Jon's stoop, ensured that it was to his house that he had gone to after school.
She stood, unsure of the next step to take. Should she ring the bell and go in? Should she wait and see what he did next? She debated silently for at least five minutes, afraid to take the action she knew she needed to take. Then, as her resolve suddenly swelled, she reached out and pressed the ivory circle that made the bell inside ring. She heard the chime, relieved to have done something, and listened to the footsteps as they approached the door.
When it opened, she saw...
