I was in fifth grade, and one of my friends, who we'll call Amanda, loved to surf the AIM chat rooms. That wasn't something I was into; just chatting with my friends was good enough for me.

Amanda would go on chat rooms and discuss her favorite band or movie, and I thought it was all right as long as she didn't give any personal information out. I trusted her to be safe. That is, I trusted her until I started getting strange phone calls.

One day, I was chillin' in my room, watching TV, when the phone rang.

"Hello?" I said when I picked up the phone.

The voice on the other end sounded like a middle-aged man: "Hi, is Penny there?" (Penny's not my real name, but let's imagine it is. This guy knew my real name....)

I was scared because I couldn't figure out why a man would be calling to talk to me.

"Yes, one second," I replied, not sure exactly what to do.

Putting my hand over the mouthpiece of the phone, I went into my older sister, Becky's room.

"Becky! This guy is calling and asking for me, and I don't know him, and he sounds kind of old..." I explained worriedly.

"Uh, well, ask who he is," she replied, trying to be calm.

I held the phone back up to my ear and said, "Can I ask who's calling?"

"Um, is she not there?" the man said without answering my question.

As soon as I tried to reply, he hung up. It was a bit eerie and puzzling. Soon I just decided to try to forget about it.

A few days later, I got another call.

"Hello, can I talk to Penny?" the same voice asked. This time, I was completely freaked out.

"Yeah, hold on," I said.

Again I brought the cordless phone (with my palm over the mouthpiece) into my sister's room.

"Becky, Becky. That guy is calling again for me!"

She, too, was concerned and confused. "Er, okay, ask who he is again."

"Can I ask who's calling?" I spoke into the phone.

"John," he said.

"Uh, okay, hold on," I said again.

"He said 'John'," I told my sister. "I don't know a middle-aged John!"

We both started to almost-panic.

Trying to be sensible, I said to the man on the phone, "I'm sorry, Penny isn't here right now, can I take a message?"

"Um, no..." he said, and again, just hung up.

This time my sister and I told our parents. I was NOT going to be frightened again; this was just too strange. We looked up the phone number on the Caller ID, and it was a number from Florida (we don't live there). We knew then that I couldn't know the person. My dad blocked that phone number from our house, so that "John" couldn't call us again.

Whoever he was, I just didn't want to think about it.

Later that week, I went over to my friend Amanda's house and happened to tell her about the mysterious phone calls.

"Oh, by the way!" I began. "This guy called my house a couple of times asking to talk to me and..."

"John?" she asked, as though she knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Yeah, how'd you know?!" I exclaimed.

Amanda didn't respond, she just started laughing in shock. I began to think she'd played a practical joke on me or something.

"Amanda, what the heck is going on?" I demanded.

Then I realized what a horrible act she had done.

"Did you give out my phone number on a chat room???" I shouted, in total disbelief.

While trying to stop laughing, she said, "No! I said it was my phone number. I didn't think he'd actually call it." Again, she burst out giggling.

"I can't believe you, Amanda! You gave out my HOME PHONE NUMBER on a CHATROOM to someone you DON'T EVEN KNOW???" At this point I was outraged, and I couldn't believe she would do something so foolish and irresponsible.

Amanda was still laughing, as if it was actually funny. I couldn't imagine how she could think this was even the slightest bit amusing, and I was so angry you wouldn't believe it.

"Fine, if you think it's so funny, then I'm going to tell your parents," I said as I started to walk toward her mom's home office.

"NO!" she yelled in a panic. "Please don't tell them!"

"Fine, I won't tell your parents," I said. But I knew that when I got home, I was absolutely going to tell my parents. And I did.

I explained the whole story to them, and how she gave out my phone number. My dad immediately called her parents, but unfortunately, they didn't believe him. He said that from the background he could hear Amanda saying, "Penny must have given it out!"

Needless to say, that was the end of our friendship. I only talked to her once after that incident, and on the phone she apologized. I knew I would have to let this go, because I couldn't stay mad at her forever, but I also knew that it would be very hard to forgive her for endangering me and my family's safety.

John never called again (thanks to our blocking his number), and all seems to be well, now that it's over.

Now I am very aware of how important it is to be cautious on the internet, and I try to discourage all of my friends from going on any chat room (besides Whyville, which I am completely in favor of).

Stay safe, everyone!

Oh, and choose your friends wisely, too....

Editor's Note: Your "friend" put you at tremendous risk, doing something I hope no one in Whyville ever does. By giving out a phone number, you are also giving out a huge amount of information about yourself. It is a simple task to take that number and find out where you live, and from there, what school you go to, where your parents work, and more. If your address is unlisted, that can help keep you safe, but it's not a guarantee.

It cannot be stressed enough. NEVER give out your personal, PRIVATE information.

Give out your password long before you give out ANYONE'S phone number. Trading real life addresses and phone numbers is considered highly inappropriate in Whyville. It is a 911-able behavior, and asking for this information will lead to banishment. Our town is a safe one, so help us keep it that way!

Take care, everybody. We care about you all.